Campus the Show

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Campus is an American sitcom about the daily experiences of several eccentric college undergraduates. Set at a nameless university, Campus is entirely produced by students at Princeton University, and showcases some of the best talent that the university has to offer. Conceived in 2007, it marks the rejuvenation of the Princeton Student Television Network (PSTN), an organization long dormant after much of its student content fizzled out with the discontinuation of shows like Grounds for Expulsion, Varsity and Shaymon University.

Contents

[edit] Current Showings

Campus is showing now on Channel 8 on Princeton television at 9pm EST, and on the show’s website.

[edit] Team

The Campus team includes many distinguished actors and filmmakers, from several established Princeton student groups, including:

[edit] Plot

Here follows an introduction to Campus from its website:

“Campus is the new sitcom sensation hitting US screens this fall. Hang onto your pocket protectors and join Noah, Paul, Mary and Samantha as they return from fall break to find themselves thrust into the freshman frenzy of funky friends, fatal fiestas and uncertainty. Be sure to bring a designated driver to this party, unless you want to be arrested for UNCONTROLLABLE LAUGHTER. Shot entirely in Technicolor®, this student-produced show features an incredible cast of college-goers in the roles of their lifetimes and is guaranteed to knock you straight off your futon.”[1]

The general storyline follows four students, Noah, Paul, Mary and Samantha, as they experience all of the highlights that their unnamed college offers – supposedly. Campus documents these four young adults, along with their enemies, friends and admirers, as they party and lust, scheme and insult, shine and fail.

Below are summaries for the episodes:

[edit] Episode 1 (“Extravaganza”)

(now showing)

Noah, a shy freshman at the unnamed college, returns to campus after a fall break with his family, to find that his frat-boy roommate Bill has just thrown a wild party. Bill, however, was injured during the experience and is lying in hospital. In his own tidy room, Noah finds Bill’s fraternity friend, Paul, who tells him that the fraternity has a problem: the most important part of the year – the Extravaganza – must be thrown this week, but with Bill in hospital, Noah and Bill’s room is no longer available. Paul changes his mind about this, though, after a conversation with the ever enthusiastic Samantha, who suggests that Paul could use Noah’s room even without Bill there. Anxiety and turmoil follow, but Noah is convinced by his new acquaintance Mary – who spends much time on the phone to her long-distance boyfriend – that he should just try to make the best of the party. Noah attempts to conduct a civilized event, but is eventually defeated, as chaos reigns in his room. He discovers Mary getting violently intimate with Paul, while he himself fails to attract the attention of his own crush – a charming and bubbly Jessie. Much to his delight, though, the party leaves his room when the supply of “root beer” runs low – and Jessie forgets her phone, for which she must return. The episode ends as Jessie and Noah talk, agreeing to go to lunch together, and Noah collapses contentedly on his futon.

[edit] Episode 2 (“Potato Chips”)

(premieres April ‘08)

Mary awakens to a phone call from her long distance boyfriend, Carlton, who says that he will be visiting her in a few days – but she turns around to find an ambiguously clothed Paul in bed with her. How can Mary deal with her feelings about both boys, especially now that her favorite potato snack is mysteriously being stolen from her room and campus life seems so bitterly cruel?

[edit] Episode 3 (“Long Distance”)

(premieres September ‘08)

Mary’s frail long distance relationship with Carlton is drowning her – but is overly self-confident Paul the answer to her woes? Paul seems to think so, and hatches a crafty plan to prove himself and eliminate the competition.

[edit] History

Campus was created by a subset of Blue Sands Productions – Kut Akdogan, Michael Bachand and Jeremy Kent. As the producing team, they are in charge of most of the behind-the-scenes work – writing, managing, directing, editing, marketing, and so forth. The show, however, has had a rocky ride before this team was soundly formed.

In the spring of 2007, Bachand heard of a student film company, myFilmU, that gave a considerable budget to students willing to make a television show based around the university they were attending. Bachand and Akdogan jumped on the idea, and began brainstorming ideas for a sitcom, until realizing that the work they did would technically not be owned by them. Splitting away from the company, the two continued work, with fewer restrictions – for instance, the show is no longer set at Princeton University; the college is generic and unnamed.

Working with a group of initially six writers, now including Kent, the team brought together a script for the first episode and, with some struggle, a cast of some of the most talented comedic actors at Princeton. Early summer 2007, and the whole cast and crew were raring to film.

With the help of Dean Thomas Dunne and PSTN, Campus acquired semi-professional filming equipment and began shooting in the fall of 2007. Two months later, the editing could begin – a draining experience for a producing team already stretched thin with academics. However, the show made the deadline and was ready for its premiere. On November 30th and December 1st, Campus made its debut at Frist Performance Center in Princeton University. The marketing was unfortunate, as it was not funded by PSTN as had been the case for previous Princeton sitcoms[2], so the majority of advertising was via internet and word of mouth.

After screening the episode in multiple locations on campus, to wide acclaim, Campus was put onto Princeton local television, as well as on the internet. With growing interest amongst the younger undergrads at Princeton, the show is set to carry on even past the graduation of the current producing team, which consists of sophomores. Many attributed the ending of previous student sitcoms on a failure to renew the producing team, who are responsible for most aspects of a student show, a mistake which Campus seems eager to avoid in its search for younger talent.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Campus website
  2. ^ Daily Princetonian article on PSTN debut