Campus Ladies premiere

After seeing the overzealous promotion that Oxygen has done for their first original series, Campus Ladies, I felt that the show could go either way: original and absurdly funny, or dreadfully boring. Having seen the hour-long premiere, my feelings haven't changed.

These first two episodes were a mixed bag. Unfortunately, most of the parts that would have been funny had already been shown ad nauseum in the promos. There were some surprising highlights, however. Abdul (Amir Talai) showed signs that he may develop beyond a tired, dimensionless stereotype and become the most interesting character. Barri (Christen Sussin) has a comic delivery that could really bring out the potential of a good script (which is forthcoming, I hope).

The remaining characters, through no fault of their own, were as dynamic as week-old corpses. The odor, however, came not from the characters, but from the writing. The script seemed at odds with itself. The premise of the show really begs for raunchiness, but it seems the writers hesitated when they should have gone for the gusto. And why is it that, in a show about not fitting in, these two middle-aged and out-of-touch women manage to fit in so quickly? This undermines the vulnerability and awkwardness that supposedly makes them likeable.

Despite its faults, I think I'll watch a couple more episodes to see how it develops. With better writing and character development, this show could become a winner after all. It won't be easy, but I always like to root for the underdog.