Sepinwall on TV: 'Swingtown' review

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on June 05, 2008 at 7:30 AM, updated June 05, 2008 at 7:49 AM
So the e-mail arrived in my inbox, and as soon as I saw the subject line "PTC Warns Parents About 'Swingtown,'" I assumed I didn't even need to read the message. The Parents Television Council, after all, is a group that objects to half of what's on television and usually wants it banned -- their leadership having not grasped the concept of the remote control or its ancestor, the off switch. With "Swingtown," a new CBS drama that features wife-swapping, casual drug use and other hedonistic hallmarks of its mid-'70s setting, I figured the PTC would be calling for advertiser boycotts, immediate cancellation, and a pronouncement that a show like this has no place on network television.

To my shock and unexpected pleasure, the PTC press release was eminently reasonable by their standards, saying simply that the group "is warning parents about the show's premise, noting that it drives a stake through the institution of marriage and family, and that children should not be allowed to watch the show." Giving parents information to make viewing choices for their family? Totally fine and on-mission.

But since the PTC isn't willing to go into this particular breach, I suppose I have to -- though our reasons would be completely different -- and say that a show like "Swingtown" has no business being on network TV.

It's not that "Swingtown" is particularly explicit in its depiction of sex or drugs. The sex is all implied rather than shown ("L.A. Law" was more risque on this subject 20 years ago, let alone "NYPD Blue" 15 years ago), as is much of the drug use (we see one character pop a Quaalude, but another character with a cocaine problem is never shown actually snorting the stuff).

It's a very PG-13 approach to potentially R-rated subject matter -- and that's the problem.

Simply put, there's no way to properly tackle '70s swinging suburbia without bluntly showing it to us in all its sleazy glory.

The show's main characters are Bruce and Susan Miller (Jack Davenport from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, Molly Parker from "Deadwood"), a square Chicago couple who move from the city to the suburbs and fall under the sway of their swinging new neighbors, airline pilot Tom Decker (Grant Show, whose porn star mustache is the most authentic thing about the show) and ex-stewardess wife Trina (Lana Parilla).

Given the title and the premise, it's not exactly a spoiler to say that the pilot episode climaxes with the four of them agreeing to all go to bed together. Not only is the big moment rushed, but we immediately cut from them all heading towards the bedroom to everyone waking up the morning after. You don't have to be a voyeur to feel cheated by that; who does what with whom, and how the other parties react to that in the moment (particularly the duo new to the concept of sharing partners) is the fundamental question with this kind of storyline, and post-Janet Jackson, a network series can't even show an artfully-shot version of that kind of scene.

Beyond that, "Swingtown" suffers from the broadcast network mandate of having to be as accessible to as many people as possible, and so it has to mark all its period references and thematic observations with a yellow highlighter.

Every song on the soundtrack, starting with Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" in the opening moments, has been played to death in '70s period films, and there's even a moment when Bruce is driving his kids past a 4th of July barbecue while playing Chicago's "Saturday in the Park" on his car's 8-track player. (When his teenage daughter asks if this is an ironic choice, he shrugs and says, "That's your department, Laurie.") As Susan's saying goodbye to conservative best friend Janet (Miriam Shor) before beginning the move to suburbia, she declares, "I feel like I'm ready for the next thing," while Janet insists, "I guess I'm just happy with the way things are." (Parker, who had some of the greatest dialogue in TV history as Alma on "Deadwood," looks embarrassed to be delivering many of her lines here.)

A show like AMC's "Mad Men," on a cable channel, with lower ratings expectations, can afford to be subtler about that kind of thing and just hope enough people get it to stick around, where "Swingtown" has to be as loud and obvious about its intentions at every turn. (In fairness, "Mad Men" did have its share of "Can't you tell that it's the '60s? Look at everybody smoking !" clunkers in its first couple of episodes, but nothing as relentless as in the "Swingtown" pilot.)

There are plenty of strong drama series on broadcast television ("Lost" and "House," to name just two), but not every concept belongs there. Forget "Won't someone please think of the children?" Won't someone please think of the discriminating adults?

Swingtown (Tonight at 10 on Channel 2) In 1976 Chicago, a married couple's lives are turned upside down by their new friendship with the swingers across the street. Molly Parker, Jack Davenport and Grant Show star.
