PILOT REVIEW: Camp

CAMP

Starring: Rachel Griffiths, Thom Green, Dena Kaplan, Tim Pocock, Charles Grounds, Nikolai Nikolaeff, Lily Sullivan, Charlotte Nicdao, and Rodger Corser

Created by Liz Heldens and Peter Elkoff
Written by Liz Heldens and Peter Elkoff, Directed by Kate Woods

Camp is a new comedy-drama set at Little Otter Family Camp. The show centers on camp director Mackenzie Greenfield (Rachel Griffiths), who is reeling from a recent divorce and financial troubles at the camp. Also in the main cast is a wide range of camp counselors and workers including a formerly Olympic bound swimmer, a kid with leukemia in remission, a rival camp director, and Mackenzie's rebellious son.

THE GOOD: This is a fun setting for a show. As a former camp counselor, it brought back good memories from some of my favorite summers. I know from my own experiences that there are lots of stories to tell when people are in the same small corner of nature all summer long with limited connection to the outside world. The very end of the pilot seemed a little more real and true to the bonding that occurs.

THE BAD: The problem was the vast majority of the pilot - really until the last 10 minutes or so was
brought down by a weak script. A huge pet peeve of mine with TV shows is when they don't know how to write for teenagers or young adults. They try to be "edgy" but it ends up sounding nothing like the way people really talk. The pilot really dragged at times filled with stereotypes and predictable situations.

BOTTOM LINE: I was pretty convinced with 10 minutes to go that I wasn't going to come back to Camp next week but then all of the sudden, it got a lot more real and lot more engaging. I don't know why it took them so long to get to that point and it's a shame because the ratings showed a big drop off at the half hour. But maybe I'll give it a chance, I loved working at camp and if it can remind me more of that, then it's worth sticking around for.