Review: "Learning Town" on Geek & Sundry

Paul (on the right) and Storm (on the left)

Last week, I received an email asking if I'd like to review a new show on Geek & Sundry called "Learning Town with Paul and Storm".  Squee!  I love Paul and Storm, going from complete ignorance of their existence to a total fan after seeing them open for Jonathon Coulton.

My first actual thought (besides the squee) was, "Can this be a kid's show?  I mean, Paul has a potty mouth."

It turns out that this is not a kid's show.  It's a comedy about two comedic musicians with a serious math/geeky bent who take over a kid's show who happen to be named Paul and Storm.  The first webisode covers the death of the show's previous host, a snappy parody of Meatloaf, and the introduction of the "villains".  (I have to put quotes, because I don't think that these characters have enough brains to be real villains.)

The show both was in some ways exactly what I expected and in some ways exactly not what I expected.  I like how Storm and Paul exaggerate their own personalities a little, so that the Paul and Storm in the show aren't them.  I expected there to be a funny song; I didn't expect the parody of Meatloaf.  In fact, if you're not a Meatloaf fan you might not recognize the reference, though I don't think that's required because the production is funny anyway.  I expected a cover band reference, though to be honest it went by so quickly I had to rewind to hear it clearly. I did not expect Paul to be able to speak for over seven minutes without a single vulgarity - only the villains use such language.  I expected cheesy humor, and I got cheesy humor.

Overall, I will be staying tuned for more webisodes.

"Learning Town"  on Geek & Sundry.

Here is a sneak peek of the show, for your entertainment.