Rating: 5/5
Three Word Summary: Realistic College Depiction
If feelings of sadness when a show ends is an indication of a good show, then Dorm Life is a good show. Maybe sadness isn’t the right word — it’s deep sense of nostalgia and fond memories.
Because Dorm Life captures a real picture of what its like to live in a college dorm — the people, the friendships, the parties, the mess, the antics. This is distinct from a few of the other college-themed shows (eg. Undeclared and Community) because it focuses on just the world within the dorm building.
As with any show, the characters dictate the quality and this show happens to have characters of high quality. Not always quality of upstanding moral character, but of depth and development.
There’s Marshall, the jerk of an RA; hyperactive Steph; normal guy Mike; party animals Gopher and Shane; straight-laced Daniel Benjamin, a.k.a. Danny B; theatrical Josh; sorority sisters Brittany and Courtney; and near-silent, Amish-ish Abigail.
Over the course of their freshman year, these floormates form bonds, tell lies, have adventures and do general college things. And even when their actions border on the ridiculous, it’s only because college life borders on the ridiculous.
Dorm Life resonated with me perhaps because the two years I lived in a college dorm was the same two years that the web show was created (2007-08). And I can attest that I lived with people strikingly similar to those in this show.
Another unique aspect of the show is it’s brevity. Although there are about 20 episodes in both of the seasons, each episode lasts between seven to twelve minutes each — making the show, originally released online, a brief one. Much like the college experience it portrays, it speeds by much too quickly.
The framework of the show is a fake documentary, a format popularized by shows such as The Office. Dorm Life even takes this to the next level of meta-realism by having one of its characters (Josh) attempt to create a documentary within the documentary. Although he fails to live up to his own expectations, he does manage to capture beauty in the most poignantly beautiful moment in the show.