• by Tanya Gazdik , June 30, 2008

Most of us might not be able to afford the gas to drive around aimlessly this summer, but we can point our browser to Crackle.com and watch comedian Marc Horowitz do it instead.

"The Marc Horowitz Signature Series" chronicles prankster Horowitz as he drives the shape of his signature on a map of the U.S., stopping in 20 towns along the way to stage one-off "community building" (read totally off-the-wall) experiments. In one town he goes door-to-door to personally serve residents a fancy breakfast in bed, and in another, invites residents to gather for a ceremony to "bury their problems"--photos of ex-girlfriends and video game consoles welcome.

The exclusive biweekly series will air new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays on Sausalito, Calif.-based Crackle, a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. "Marc's latest journey is unpredictable, smart and hilarious--exactly the kind of entertaining original content Crackle's unique audience appreciates and has come to expect," said Crackle GM Jonathan Shambroom in a statement.

"Signature Series" joins Crackle's instant hit "The Jace Hall Show," a comedy and lifestyle interview show hosted by video game personality Jace Hall. In the first 48 hours after the launch on June 5, more than half a million viewers tuned in to Crackle to watch the first show. Since the show's launch success, the first two episodes and their outtakes have gone on to attract over one million viewers.

The show is a 13-part original series with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the hottest game developers, and features rare interviews in which actors, musicians and athletes discuss their lives in the context of the entertainment convergence world.

Part of the viewing frenzy at launch time was fueled by rumors and speculation around Hall's "special glimpse" of the long-awaited "Duke Nukem Forever" video game, which he delivered in episode one. Episode two featured singer/actress Christina Milian as she challenged Jace's gaming skills.

Sony relaunched Grouper as Crackle last summer and turned the video-sharing Web site into a streaming entertainment network geared toward discovering new online talent. The site has some of the highest click-through rates on the Web. Crackle delivers programmed and customized video streams to a global audience via a multi-platform syndication network that includes Sony devices, IPTV, leading social networks and one-click viral Web distribution.