Dorm Life’s Second Semester an Easy Sell for Superfans (And Carl’s Jr.)
- Editor rating:
- Premiere: February 2008
- Length: 10 minutes
- Budget: High
- Cast
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- Mike: Chris W. Smith
- Shane: Jack DeSena
- Marshall: Brian Singleton
- Steph: Jessie Gaskell
- Brittany: Hannah Pearl Utt
- Courtney: Nora Kirkpatrick
- Links
When you’ve found success with a given format, there’s little reason to change things up, and Dorm Life, produced by Attention Span Media, shows no inclination to raise the stakes, instead sticking with the formula that paid off so well in the first season. The most popular web series on Hulu (seriously, it beat Dr. Horrible) maintains its status quo: The drunk guys are still drunk, the sadistic RA is still sadistic, the hot girls remain immune to the Freshman 15. But each character remains committed to getting the boy/girl of their dreams, continuing the same hilarious comedy of errors from before.
Watching the five episodes available for review (the second season premieres tomorrow exclusively on MySpace before launching web-wide next Monday) reveals solid production values, clever gags, and a refreshing self-awareness. The show’s greatest drawback is that its well-honed cast has a lot of chemistry but aren’t exactly believable as kids below the drinking age. But Dorm Life fans don’t seem particularly bothered, in large part thanks to the cast and producers’ relentless efforts to engage with their audience during the early days of the show.
“Initially, it was a friends and family outreach on Facebook,” Attention Span Media president Josh McHugh said via chat, “asking pals to go check it out. Once there was a little momentum, we looked at who the most active viewers were, then we really focused on those superfans — answering any questions or comments they had, sending them schwag. With that encouragement, they turned around and really blasted it through their own social networks. It was a gradual process, but the nice result was that the number of views per month never dropped off dramatically, because new people kept finding out about it.” Dorm Life is a refreshingly home-grown success story, especially with the announcement that the second season has received sponsorship from Carl’s Jr. — some product placement will be integrated in later episodes.
Something to look forward to is the second episode of Season 2, The Screening, in which the “documentary” — i.e. the first season of Dorm Life — is screened for the students. It’s the show at its most meta, and watching the characters be confronted with their most embarrassing moments from the past season actually serves as a great re-introduction to the characters and their lives, to the point that I almost wish it were the first episode, not the second.
But even without these post-modern touches, Dorm Life would still stand out as one of the web’s most clever and accomplished web series. I would never want to go back to living with my freshman year roommates, but it’s great to get a laugh out of remembering why.
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[...] then Liz Shannon Miller chimed in on NewTeeVee: Dorm Life … stand[s] out as one of the web’s most clever and accomplished web [...]
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[...] perhaps?) format. Specifically, I’m starting to worry that between established entities like Dorm Life and newer shows like Bumps in the Night, it might be getting [...]
Striker and Swat Slack Off, Fauxmentary Style
— 3:16 PM on March 19, 2009
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Thanks Ms. Miller, for the big picture of the evolution of DormLife. The second season looks great, and as for the believability issue – it’s DormLife, not real life. Or is it?
Not very convincing, Mom – that “John Doe” thing is a dead giveaway. But thanks for the support!
Good work Liz Shannon Miller! I enjoyed your beautifully written review and the inside look into a very entertaining show. Thanks.
Excellent! Those ASM Producers (I’m looking at YOU, Josh McHugh!) really know how to get inside my head. Now . . how do they like it there? And how do I get them out?
Great article on a great group DormLife kids and ASM). If season 2 is as good as the buzz about it , we can look forward to laughing a lot this year. And that’s my favorite thing to do…..
Wow, four stars. Yes, congratulations on further turning the internet into a shallow, sophomoric cesspool devoid of any empathetic characters or the briefest suspension of disbelief.
I don’t have a problem with the show itself, as it is what it is: a farcical characterization of college that has absolutely no relation to actual college.
But to evaluate it as “one of the web’s most clever and accomplished web series,” when any episode of the show wouldn’t hold a candle to the worst 10 minutes of MTV’s programming, isn’t exactly furthering the web as a frontier of originality. NewTeeVee, congratulations on helping shape the web as a medium where quality filmmaking has no place.
Wow Mary…Harsh.
I gotta say, I’ve been a huge fan of Dorm Life since day one when I stumbled upon it on Hulu, and I have had the distinct pleasure to actually converse with several of the creative bodies / creators on the phone and via other messaging systems. They are amazing folks with a very down to earth perspective, and I think what they have created touches on many of the aspects a lot of college students can relate to.
Rather than focus on a ridiculous ad campaign, they have put the work into the production value and a no-holds barred guerilla style advertising campaign that is highly dependent on their fan base spreading its tentacles…and this system has worked, because believe it or not…this show rocks!
Always been a fan, and still am, keep the good times rolling Josh and Gang
I meant Wow Tyler…not Mary…typo.