2008 Woodie Awards
Online-only show targets college humor
"Poor Paul" video provides entertainment, relatable topics to college kids
Lauren Smith
Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: Features
With show titles like, "Eat your Seaweed," "Rusty Trombone" and "Rub and Tug," the new online series "Poor Paul" grabs your attention before you even watch a single episode.
Created by Sean Michael Beyer, Geoff Hoff, Steve Mancini, Kevin Schlanser and Zach Bennett, "Poor Paul" consists of weekly five-minute episodes that follow a 20-something college student as he attempts to live on his own with two, shall we say, interesting roommates.
Zach Bennett ("Down the P.C.H.") stars as Paul, while Kevin Schmidt ("Cheaper by the Dozen 1 & 2", "The Butterfly Effect") and Nicholas Braun ("Sky High," "Minutemen") star as his roommates, Justin and Clyde.
Justin is spitefully bright and "too good for college," while Clyde is an OCD womanizer. Blended all together, it makes for an interesting apartment.
"'Poor Paul' really represents situations almost everyone can relate to," Bennett said. "You get three different points of view, and anyone who has ever lived with someone else … or has ever felt awkward can relate. It makes people laugh."
In their pilot episode, "Eat Your Seaweed," Paul is seen blogging (as viewers find out later, to no one) about the pressures of living with his two roommates who have been friends since they were little kids.
The first glimpse of Clyde is him placing a beer cap on his ceiling next to numerous others and telling Paul he has a date tonight - or, in other words, prepare to be sleeping on the couch.
Fast forward to later that night, when the viewer meets Justin for the first time. Paul has assumed his resting place on the luxurious leather sofa in the living room. Justin tries to convince Paul that seaweed is good for your health. As Justin chugs down a mouthful of the ocean's lettuce, Paul slips into one of his ever-occurring daydreams.
"Poor Paul" takes issues college students frequently deal with - being kicked out of dorm rooms, being forced to eat strange foods, wishing to be someplace else - and twists them to the extreme.
Created by Sean Michael Beyer, Geoff Hoff, Steve Mancini, Kevin Schlanser and Zach Bennett, "Poor Paul" consists of weekly five-minute episodes that follow a 20-something college student as he attempts to live on his own with two, shall we say, interesting roommates.
Zach Bennett ("Down the P.C.H.") stars as Paul, while Kevin Schmidt ("Cheaper by the Dozen 1 & 2", "The Butterfly Effect") and Nicholas Braun ("Sky High," "Minutemen") star as his roommates, Justin and Clyde.
Justin is spitefully bright and "too good for college," while Clyde is an OCD womanizer. Blended all together, it makes for an interesting apartment.
"'Poor Paul' really represents situations almost everyone can relate to," Bennett said. "You get three different points of view, and anyone who has ever lived with someone else … or has ever felt awkward can relate. It makes people laugh."
In their pilot episode, "Eat Your Seaweed," Paul is seen blogging (as viewers find out later, to no one) about the pressures of living with his two roommates who have been friends since they were little kids.
The first glimpse of Clyde is him placing a beer cap on his ceiling next to numerous others and telling Paul he has a date tonight - or, in other words, prepare to be sleeping on the couch.
Fast forward to later that night, when the viewer meets Justin for the first time. Paul has assumed his resting place on the luxurious leather sofa in the living room. Justin tries to convince Paul that seaweed is good for your health. As Justin chugs down a mouthful of the ocean's lettuce, Paul slips into one of his ever-occurring daydreams.
"Poor Paul" takes issues college students frequently deal with - being kicked out of dorm rooms, being forced to eat strange foods, wishing to be someplace else - and twists them to the extreme.
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