Running the Halls

I remember watching Running the Halls on NBC's Saturday morning lineup a few years back. It was about a group of high school students living at a boarding school, and it was genuinely entertaining. The actors were all quite talented, and they established the characters with unique personalities, unlike today's teen shows where the actors are pretty much interchangeable. Standouts include Trevor Lissauer, Senta Moses, and Richard Speight Jr. (who you can't turn around these days without spotting him on a commercial - he's the Zippo guy). The charm of Running the Halls came from its knowing campiness. The camerawork had a different, blurry look, similar to the way British television is shot, and the laugh track was very obviously fake. The show made no effort to be trendy or modern - I guess that's why it didn't last.