Throughout the history of the Internet, web-series come and go, each with varying degrees of popularity. Out of all the many examples that exist, there are few which hold the same impact and importance as others. Ironically enough, who knew that one of the critical web-series to ever grace the Internet came from a small team of Halo fans with quite the dedication for their work? For those out there familiar with a now huge production company called Rooster Teeth, the obvious answer to this rhetorical question is the now infamous Red vs. Blue.

April 1, 2003, a historic day for the Internet. More specifically, it’s the date when the first episode of what would become the current longest running episodic web-series in the history of the internet was created as well as when Rooster Teeth was formed. If this article seems like both a review and a lecture on the history of the company, it’s because talking about the formation of one becomes hard without bringing up the other since RvB is what put the company on the figurative map in the first place. Without this series, the world likely wouldn’t have Achievement Hunter, On the Spot, and RWBY among many others.

Red vs. Blue is a spin-off of the story within the Halo video game series. Two squads of soldiers (Reds and Blues) are held-up by each other in a canyon known as Blood Gulch as they constantly bicker, fight, and spout out quotable line after quotable line. On the Reds side is Sarge, the weapon-loving commanding officer of this group; Grif, a lazy, self-centered private; Simmons, a laid-back captain who often kills time goofing off with Grif; Donut, the team’s naive newbie; and Lopez, a sassy android who can only communicate in Spanish. As for the Blues: there’s Church, the short-tempered leader of the group; Tucker, the innuendo spewing, self-imagined ladies-man of the Blues; and everyone’s favorite character, the odd, off-the-wall Captain Michael J. Caboose. Out of every character in the series that’s made their mark among fans, none have come close to how ignorantly hilarious Caboose has proven to be. Aside from those two, there’s the Freelancers who are essentially highly skilled mercenaries which the audience is introduced to through Tex, a character we encounter rather early on in the series. There’s also Vic who acts as a communications officer in Blood Gulch.

Anyway, back to the story. The series eventually outgrows the canyon fans everywhere have grown to love, reaching beyond the small sandbox the story has pertained to for several seasons. Despite this, to discuss what happens after the Blood Gulch Chronicles (which follows the beginning of the story and sets the larger plot that’s going to unfold into motion), it would give some important plot points away. Fortunately, the whole series provides enough laughs to go around and it’s so interesting to see everything grow in terms of production. Another defining aspect Red vs. Blue carries with it is the many inside-jokes and famous lines that have become cemented in Internet culture as well as pop culture itself. From “What, like a puma?” to “I do not want to catch pregnancy!”, this series has brought fans far and wide hour after hour of memorable material inspired by something already widely-appreciated (Halo). If, from an outsider’s perspective, this seems kind of odd and you don’t understand how certain phrases can become so memorable, it’s all in the context and build-up for RvB and its humor.

Red vs. Blue is without a doubt one of the greatest web-series ever created and is still going strong to this day. It helped pave the way for future web-series and set a new standard for what a few fans of something can really do; not just because of the legendary legacy of RvB itself, but because it’s what gave Rooster Teeth the start it needed to give us the wealth of great content we have from them to this day. So, for both the series and the company, here’s to nearly fifteen years of wondering why we’re here.