One of the very first things Alice found when she fell down the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll’s famous novel was a bottle that said simply, “Drink me.” Alice immediately looked for a warning, some sign that what was inside was not poison. Finding none, she tasted and, seduced by the exotic blend of scents and sweetness, finished it off.
Cautious people would say that she was a fool, but I was part of the “Drink me” generation – indeed, “Drink this” was the beginning line of many a great weekend party while I was in college – and the results were (for me, at least) always good.
So, having survived the era of beer, pot, coke, LSD, Quaaludes and more, I was prepared to sit back and enjoy the deja vu shenanigans of Swingtown. I was both disappointed and pleasantly surprised.
Disappointed, because these characters don’t remind me even remotely of anyone I knew in those years. Indeed, their materialism seems the very antithesis of the message of the flower power generation. Plus, they all seem jaded and unhappy rather than joyful, as if they already know their experiments are going to end badly. Worse, that unhappiness spills over into their children. And no wonder. While these parents should be spending joyful hours sitting down to meals and taking the kids on outings, they are so caught up in a self-absorbed pursuit of pleasure that their children are stuck raising themselves. This is Desperate Housewives on some sort of exotic and depressing narcissistic drink. And the people of Swingtown are old enough to know better.
Surprised, because the very things I didn’t like offer the promise that this show will be more than shocking. How does such parental self-absorption affect children? How does it affect relationships? Ah, there is a lot here to develop in Swingtown, promise that goes well beyond the superficial introductions of the first episode.
Likely there will be howls from the equally self-absorbed censors of America. There may be a few at CBS, too. After all, this is the network that brings us Survivor — where it is not sufficient to bleep out an occasional swear word, they must blur the lips as well. So it will be interesting to see if Swingtown gets to fulfill its promise, or lack thereof.
But enough of playing critic. For those who missed the premiere and caught the next day reviews, here is a summary of the opening hour.
The opening moments introduce us to Tom and Trina Decker. Tom is a pilot; Trina is an ex-stewardess, and the pair’s wicked ways are revealed when Tom brings home a stewardess for a bit of afternoon delight. Soon after, Trina notices the new family moving in across the street. “They’re cute,” Trina says. Always on the prowl for new conquests, they head over to invite the pair for their bicentennial celebration that night.
The new couple is Bruce and Susan Miller and their children Laura and B.J. The Millers have sold their suburban Chicago home and moved into this upscale community that is only a few blocks (but miles, culturally speaking) away. They have left best friends Roger and his ’50s style wife Janet behind. Janet acts like they are moving to Cleveland or even New York, which is to say, abandoned.
Susan, nicely played by Molly Parker (the uptight Alma Garrett on Deadwood) is nervous and unfulfilled. “Change is good,” she tells Janet, who later responds, “I never knew you were so unsatisfied.” This lack of satisfaction is revealed in her and Bruce’s far too brief lovemaking in the bedroom of their new home and the few lingering glances Susan gives to Roger whenever their paths cross. Can Janet fail to notice that the pair have a thing going on? Well, given that Janet is into scrubbing her oven in the middle of the night (I’m guessing Amphetamines, as they are so helpful for those obsessed with cleanliness) and ignoring Roger’s overtures that he has needs, yes. As for Bruce, well, the two-minute coupling in the bedroom says it all about him.
Meanwhile son B.J. meets Samantha, a strange girl who lives next door. She camps out in empty houses, wears her father’s wedding ring and wanders the streets at night on her bicycle. Given that her mother is a cokehead with a driving need to cover her windows with aluminum foil (Is it paranoia from the coke? Does she fear radiation? Is she suffering from flashbacks from too much LSD? Will we ever know?), Samantha has plenty of reasons for not staying home.
If B.J. is a bit smitten with Samantha, his older sister Laura is positively lovestruck by her summer school philosophy teacher. Her pot-smoking boyfriend Logan is, so, like, not with it that he thinks she’s taking advanced English. Still, she and Logan are having sex – protected, she tells her mother, adding that she is smarter than mom was when she got knocked up and had to get married.
As Bruce and Susan get ready to attend the Decker party, Roger and Janet show up with leftovers from their holiday cookout and tag along. Soon Bruce and Roger are smoking pot with Tom, and Trina is taking Susan on a tour of the house. During it, she confesses to Susan that, “Opening our relationship was the best thing that ever happened to me and Tom.” This is a “drink me” moment but instead of saying, “Well, maybe it works for you but…” Susan takes the Quaalude that Trina offers and soon acquires a certain glow.
Downstairs, Janet is looking for husband Roger. Trina says he might be downstairs in the playroom and sends Janet down to walk in on an orgy. Shocked, Janet finds Roger, tells Bruce and Susan exactly what is going on and says they should all leave. Roger goes with her. Bruce and Susan elect to stay and soon Tom and Trina take them someplace more private, and far more fun than they have ever experienced before (not that we see this part, this is CBS not Showtime, after all and I kept wishing this were on Showtime and produced by the folks who create Californication) given their happy smiles in the morning.
Swingtown is full of ’70s reminders – cans of Tab, cigarettes, bad furniture, worse haircuts and odd male facial hair – and a driving soundtrack of the greatest hits of the era. The show has the songs available to enjoy and download at www.last.fm/swingtown