Camping in my book always was a double edged sword. On one hand it could be a wonderful and memorable experience full of fun and games as well as the beauty of the outdoors. But on the other hand it can be a living hell, form bad food, forced to bear our door discomforts, minimum technology, and worst of all boredom. This show though makes camp seem like a not so bad place to spend summer in.
This show is somewhat of a parody on the numerous camp films in the 80's, some good, some bad, or some so bad threat their good. It was made on a low budget but it was great because they don't rely on gimmicks to get a quick solution; it literally made those camp film a footnote compared to this show which was powered mainly by good dialog, good characters, and the oddball adventures they go on.
Indeed the characters are all odd and colorful, but they all despite not a great amount of depth we get to know them which makes them feel actually human. For the girls faction there's Telly an athletic overachiever, ZZ enviormentally conscientious and a bit bubble headed, and my favorite Dina Alexander a self absorbed dram queen that is too afraid to get both her hands and body dirty sometimes.
Then for the boys faction there's Michael whom was a straight man of the bunch though by second season he was replaced by Pinsky whom is sort of a young Fonzerilla he's cool and is able to get things going his way. Sponge is true to his name (or nickname) a brainac, Donkey Lips humble and slightly stumbling sometimes, and two of my favorites Budnick whom is a rebel of the bunch that constantly schemes to smuggle outside food and gives about everyone grief. Finally Ug a dumb as dirt camp councilor that tries to keep the kids under control but fails miserably.
Thhe show is loaded with memorable episodes which comply with two schools of comedy both physical humor but most of all verbal humor form small parts of the dialog to memorable quotes and one liners. Three of my favorite episodes were Capture the Flag when the characters had to go against another camp and unfortunately Budnick is a terrible commander and meets a dramatic demise (an homage to "Platoon"). A Halloween episode where all the characters make bet with Budnick that they can actually scare him of course they all fail miserably but there's a twist in the end; but the one thing that makes the episode stand out was it actually created a memorable monster that might have given kids nightmares. And finally the third episode which was the first and only two parter the show had where Budnick admits his feelings to Dina but has to change certain things about himself to keep her. Unfortunately the change just really cramps on his identity and Dina discovers she may have preferred the old Budnick than the ideal guy she had in mind.
This is an ideal camp we wish really would exist.
Rating: 4 stars
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