Dorm Life: Five Reasons to Watch

Dorm Life: Five Reasons to Watch

March 30, 2012 · by ssilcox · in , ,

By: Sarah Silcox

If you’ve never heard of Dorm Life, you should definitely check it out.  An original series on Hulu, Dorm Life is a web series about life as a college freshman.  I have composed the following list of compelling reasons to watch:

 

 

1.    All episodes are between 5-10 minutes in length.

We’re getting to that point in the semester when tests and papers run rampant and there never seems to be enough hours in the day.  In order to prevent yourself from pulling your hair out, it is important to take study breaks.  This is where Dorm Life comes in.  In between studying for your chemistry exam and writing your paper on feminist theory, take a ten-minute break, grab a snack, and watch a few episodes.  Once you get a few episodes in, you may become fairly addicted—so be careful and don’t use the show as an excuse to procrastinate.

 

 

2.    All of the characters are relatable college students.

I’m assuming that most of you reading this article are college students.  Well…all the characters of Dorm Life are college students as well!  You may not be a college freshman anymore but you can probably still relate to what it was like to live in the dorms and experience your first year of college.  All the characters are great, but my favorites are definitely Gopher and Shane.  Gopher is a party animal who is extremely kind at heart—you can always find him wearing t-shirts featuring various pictures of himself.  Shane is one of the odd-ball characters who is impossible not to like and has so many hilarious mannerisms like always saying “probly.”

Fun Fact: The actor that plays Shane (Jack De Sena) was once a member of the All That cast—yay for ‘90s Nickelodeon nostalgia.

 

 

3.    The show is a mockumentary.

Some of the funniest TV and film productions are shot using the mockumentary style (i.e. The Office, Parks and Recreation, Summer Heights High, Best in Show).  Basically the show is set up like a documentary, but uses fictional characters and story lines instead of real people and events.  By using this style, Dorm Life is especially successful in establishing character dynamics and relatable story plots.  Some of the funniest bits of the show are through the “candid” interviews with the characters as well as time spent with their webcams.

 

 

4.    The show was filmed, directed, and written entirely by college students.

Dorm Life was created entirely by a group of students from UCLA.  The show started as an expansion of a video sketch for the school’s annual talent show in 2007.  A number of the actors featured in the show also took turns writing, directing, editing, and producing episodes of the web series.  Being a Telecom major myself, I know how difficult it is to carry out student productions in a successful manner.  I think Dorm Life is an amazing example of young talent in an industry that can be extremely daunting.  Apparently some critics also agree because the series was nominated for multiple Webby and Streamy Awards in 2008 and 2009.  The show is also said to be the most watched original web series on Hulu—pretty impressive!

 

 

5.    The show is hilariously funny and will leave you laughing out loud.

These short little episodes are the perfect form of comic relief.  Having a bad day?  Watch an episode of Dorm Life.  Stressed out with school?  Grab a healthy snack and watch an episode of Dorm Life.  Having relationship or friendship troubles?  It’s time to watch an episode of Dorm Life.  They say that laughter is the best medicine and these short little episodes are the perfect remedy.

 

Below I have embedded the first episode of the series.  To see more click here, or search for Dorm Life on Hulu.

 

 

Last 5 posts by ssilcox

Tags: , , , , ,