Published Apr 1, 2007
Have you watched some of the new shows on TV this season? They’re very retro, which is an interesting response to the couple of years of confusing shows, after the pattern of Lost and Alias, that dominated schedules for a while.
The list starts with the bizarrely critically-acclaimed The Winner, which suggests that Seth MacFarlane has reached the limit of the number of creative ideas he can have at once. Family Guy and American Dad are both amusingly old-school,but The Winner takes it too far. There are no jokes, just non sequiturs paired with a laugh track, and the plot seems to be limited to shocking — shocking — devices like “someone might be gay” and “the girl might like someone other than the guy.” The scenes and characters on this show would be too hackneyed to pass muster on CHiPs or the A-Team, to say nothing of TV these days. What’s going on here? Why is this totally unwatchable show on TV?
A better example of corny kitsch is ‘Til Death Do Us Part, a wonderfully retro show by my former neighbor, John Waters. This show’s recreations of spousal murders are plotted straight out of the ’50s and are deeply melodramatic — just what you’d expect from Waters. They’re a great relief from, and complement to, edgy shows like Cops and Most Shocking. ‘Til Death Do Us Part definitely gets a season pass on my Tivo.
Somewhere in between is BBC America’s heavily-hyped Robin Hood, which reminds me of nothing so much as Knight Rider. Violence is minimal — the occasional killing is always quite the shock, and never perpetrated by our heroes (Robin has foresworn killing altogether). Robin is supposed to be edgy and dangerous, like Michael Knight, but is just a guy with good hair and overblown lines — again, like Michael Knight. Maybe a better comparison is Magnum, PI — Robin’s effeminate, ineffective, loyal sidekick is exactly a Higgins. The show is moderately watchable but could probably be better.
The lesson is clear: corny is in. Old-school, retro, cheesy fare is back on TV. Fun for the whole family, huh? What do you like this season?
Two thumbs up for More Spousal Murders! Two more for the new season of The Shield. This very Tuesday, 10:00 PM on FX. I can barely sleep thinking about Forest Whitaker, the creepy, creepy Dutch (my favorite character) and our hero Vic Mackey. Mmmmmmm Mackey.
Wait, you actually watch new shows? I don’t even have time for the OLD shows I have on DVD. I haven’t started watching BSG yet…
Change is good. Well, except getting dumped for Michael Chiklis.