Teenagers on TV: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

You would think that MTV would be ecstatic with all this attention.  On January 20, the Parents Television Council has called for a congressional investigation of the new show Skins, the weak remake of the original BBC production.  The PTC is upset about "the sexual content on the show involving cast members as young as 15," and noted it "counted 42 depictions and references to drugs and alcohol in the premiere episode."  By January 25, the PTC was crowing "We extend our thanks to Foot Locker, L'Oreal , Schick, and Subway for heeding our call to cease underwriting the dangerous content on MTV's "Skins." Of the eight advertisers we called out publicly after the premiere, none of them appeared in the second episode."  Even with a few adjustments in the advertising budget, you cannot pay for publicity like this. Sadly, I believe most teenagers hearing all this bluster will be disappointed once they see the actual show.  And the statistics may already be bearing this out - by the second episode only 1.6 million viewers were tuning in, a 51 percent drop from the first episode.

The slate of shows about teenagers here in the U.S. is all over the place (and also brimming with sexual undertones).  Yes, we have suburban teenagers that sing and dance (Glee); city-based greedy and mean teenagers (Gossip Girl); and remakes of U.S. teenage shows (90210).  Fortunately, we also have the college teenage experiences, which I find to be better written and a little more believable, in the form of the ending show Greek and the new show Glory Daze.  

However, if you are looking for something a little grittier and more interesting, I would recommend Showtime's Shameless.  I am amazed that the PTC is all exited about a little bit of partying on MTV, while Showtime brings you a family with a drunk and disabled dad, a missing mom, one teenage brother tutoring with benefits while the other is having gay relations with a married storekeeper, the teenage sister humping on the kitchen floor, and alcohol and drugs throughout the house.  And this is just the first episode!  Set in present-day Chicago, the Gallagher family breaks every taboo of the conservative PTC and yet I see five press releases on Skins and nothing about Shameless.  Whatever the reason, I recommend you ignore the paltry teenage shows on the other networks and spend a Sunday night with the Gallagher family.  The sex and drugs may be present, but you fine you really care about this family. You will not be disappointed.

Update: On January 31, Rolling Stone had a good review of the new Skins program, with the author stating "..the average Skins episode is one-fifth as obscene as any random 20-minute stretch of American Pie." I agree.  Such tame stuff, combined with lousy acting, is not a threat to anyone.  It just makes you wonder why it is worth broadcasting at all.

Second Update:  On June 9, Entertainment Weekly reported that Skins has been cancelled after only one season.   Now the PTC will need to find a new target.  How about 90210, if only for its bad writing?

Downton Abbey

It is hard to believe it has been 40 years since Masterpiece Theater broadcast Upstairs/Downstairs, the BBC series that followed the wealthy Bellamy family and their servants.  Well, this month a similar series is back on Sunday evenings - Downton Abbey - but this time it is the Earl of Grantham and his family.  The new series was created by Oscar-winning writer Julian Fellowes, who also gave us Gosford Park.  Told in 1.5 hour episodes over four consecutive Sundays, I have thoroughly enjoyed the show to date.  The family in this story needs to deal with one large issue, the future of the family's wealth, as well as many small issues, including the role of women in the ever-changing society just prior to World War I.

One of the more interesting aspect of the show is the dedication to Downton Abbey itself.  You get the impression that the Earl is just as much a servant of the house as anyone else.  All of this is peculiarly British and fascinating to observe (in a time of housing problems of our own Stateside).

The original Upstairs/Downstairs program lasted for five seasons in the 1970s, and given the quality of this current production it would be nice to see a similar run for Downton Abbey.  The acting and setting is superb, as one comes to expect from the BBC.  I have already read that series will have a second season.  If you missed the first episodes, you can catch up on iTunes.

Update:  On April 10, a three-part sequel to the original Upstairs/Downstairs can be viewed on PBS' Masterpiece.  It includes Jean Marsh reprising the role of Rose Buck, who is helping the new owners of 165 Easton Place find the right mix of servants.  The setting is just before World War II and should offer some interesting insights into the period.  More episodes are expected to follow next year.

Fringe Remains Fantastic

The Friday night return of Fox's Fringe (season three continued on January 21) came back with a bang.  We learned more about the problem with traveling between universes, and actor Christopher Lloyd was on hand to help explain these consequences.  This show gets better with each episode (and each repeat viewing).  In addition to the weekly mysteries, the very back story is mind-boggling as we need to remember that two alternate universes are battling for their very survival.  SyFy's Blastr had a recent story on 83 differences between these two universes that reminded me how the series treats every detail with a level of attention that is hard to find on television these days.  For instance, here are some interesting differences between the two worlds:

-- Airships are commonplace over NYC by 1985 and through 2010, and the Empire State Building continued the use of observation deck as docking platform, as originally intended.  The show does a great job portraying this alternate version of NYC.

-- The White House and the Pentagon were destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks. The White House was built with a glass dome in 2009, and the Pentagon was being rebuilt by 2010. In fact, in the series a polished bronze version of the Statue of Liberty serves as the new headquarters for the Department of Defense.

-- The American Flag has only 48 stars, not 50, designating that the geography of the United States is different.  We just don't know exactly what is missing, but we learn

• Texas is two states (North and South Texas), 
• Kansas and Oklahoma are a combined state (Midland). 
• North and South Carolina are a single state (Carolina).
• North and South Dakota are a single state (Dakota).
• Washington is known as Southern British Columbia.
• Michigan is two states, Michigan and Upper Peninsula.
• Virginia and West Virginia are not states, but are called the District of Virginia. 
• Louisiana is not a state, but a territory. 
• Nevada is not a state--in its place is Independent Nevada.
• The U.S. border seemed to extend into our Canada.

This is intelligent television and, luckily, the move to Friday night did not hurt the ratings.  I hope Fringe will be around for some time.

Update:  Fortunately, Fringe will be around for at least another season.   Entertainment Weekly had a good piece on the renewal and the uniqueness of the program: 

We each like Fringe for different reasons. You might be invested in the Peter-Olivia relationship, while others are happy just to tune in and see how eccentrically amusing Walter is going to be this week. Some fans want their Fringe more hardcore sci-fi, and to place it in the context of the history of speculative fiction, both literary and pop-culturally. (There are, for sure, papers to be written about Fringe as the inverse of the Robert Heinlein approach to sci-fi, or the layering of its Philip K. Dick/Samuel R. Delany/Cyberpunk synthesis.)

Why the Remakes When the Originals were Excellent?

I am not sure why SyFy found it was necessary to remake the BBC's fine series Being Human (see my earlier comments) about a ghost, vampire, and werewolf sharing a house.  The British version has fine acting, good story lines, and plenty of twists to keep you coming back for more.  The underlying theme of a vampire take-over of the world is both scary and fascinating (though we saw how this ended in the movie Daybreakers).  But I guess that was not good enough for SyFy, so tomorrow night the network is reintroducing Being Human as an American series set in Boston (really Canada) rather than Bristol, England.  Having seen other failures at Hollywood remakes, I am skeptical that this will work.  And why does SyFy need 13 episodes versus the BBC's first season of 6 episodes?  This will mean stretching the current story over twice as many nights, which I am hoping does not mean (1) poorly written back story or (2) diluted action.  I will get back to you on this.

And don't get me started on tomorrow night's MTV Skins, another remake of a BBC show.  This one follows the antics of a wild group of teenagers.

What is going on?  Do we have problems with the King's English?  And we have so many stories to tell in America about America (not to say we need to navel gaze, but we are crossing the seas to repeat shows rather than mine our own rich history), but first we need some good writers and, more importantly, big thinkers.  I believe HBO is one of the big thinkers with period pieces such as Deadwood and Boardwalk Empire.  And let's not forget Showtime's John Adams, a perfect mini-series covering a much forgotten period of American history.  If only such thinking was a bit more contagious.

Update:  I am surprised that I actually enjoyed the first episode of SyFy's Being Human.  While the acting and writing is fine, I was not a dark and unsettling as the BBC version.  This may simply be due to the non-American setting.  However, the actors portray characters that are just as lively and neurotic as the BBC version.  And the Boston setting works.  I would actually consider watching more if it wasn't for the fact that BBC is starting to broadcasting season three (beginning January 23 in Great Britain, though it will take some time for it to cross the Atlantic) and I would rather follow the original series for now.  I thought this review had some good insights on the show.  I may revisit the show at some point in the future.

New Show: The Cape

We are starting off 2011 with a new superhero, as if we were looking for one.  Even so, the early information on NBC's new show The Cape is encouraging.  Gone are the vampires of yore (last year), and back are the vigilantes in tights (or at least leather).  Everything I read indicates we are looking at the return of a humanoid Batman rather than an off-world Superman. Here is the official storyline from NBC:

An honest cop on a corrupt police force is framed for a series of murders and presumed dead. Forced into hiding and desperate to reunite with his wife and son, he recreates himself as a caped hero, determined to bring justice back to the city he loves. 

Sounds a lot like a zillion earlier movies, so the secret will be in the story development and most importantly the acting.  As far as stories go, I dropped NBC's Heroes after its first season due to the overly complex stories lines, endless flashbacks, and unlikeable characters (though I tended to like them the first season until they shifted).  It seems The Cape will be a little more grounded.  And the acting I have seen to date looks fair enough to keep the viewers coming back.  Here is the trailer for the show.  I just hope it follows the Christopher Nolan versions of Batman rather than the fun yet thin Tim Burton versions.  Maybe America needs a real superhero, for now.

Update:  Well, that was one horrible show and I cannot believe it will last for too long.  And this is after one episode.  I mentioned Christopher Nolan's Batman series in my earlier comments, but who knew The Cape would be a cheap knock-off?  The introduction of The Cape to the "bad guys" was identical to Batman Begins, where a mysterious, darkly-clad, caped  figure slowly picks off thugs packing illegal goods among various shipment containers.  Even the scenes of the caped crusader talking to a young boy among the building fire escapes was reminiscent of Batman Begins.  Was this really necessary, or did the writers simply miss the first Batman movie to revive the series?  And the silly flashbacks to figures we saw only 10 minutes earlier was insulting to any intelligent viewer.  By the way, what city was this supposed to be?  I saw the Chicago skyline from the air and palm trees at the street level.  Finally, the makers of the pilot could not even ensure The Cape could hold onto his cape through the first two hours.  If this was supposed to be cute it did not work.  The pilot was an absolute mess and embarrassing to watch.  And if you think it is just me, here are a few other reviews:

Hollywood Chicago:  The first two hours of “The Cape” feel like a program on borrowed time and it’s almost as if the writers and cast knew it. There’s desperation in nearly every scene and line of dialogue trying to sell you the importance of this story of the hero this dark world truly needs. I’ve been wrong before, but if “The Cape” doesn’t go the way of other pedestrian NBC genre efforts like “Knight Rider” and “Bionic Woman” then there must truly be some superheroes working at NBC because they know something I don’t know.

Hollywood Reporter:  If it’s not Batman -- though it sure gives off the Batman vibe without any of the interesting parts – then what exactly is The Cape? It’s another misstep by NBC, for starters. But more importantly it’s a series that looks like a whole bunch of cooks decided to build the most creatively awesome and different kitchen imaginable, forgetting for a moment that none of them can really cook. 

Second Update:  Time to hang up the cape (if you haven't lost it again), for the show has been cancelled.  UGO Entertainment pointed out that NBC was quick to jump ship, first cutting the season from 13 episodes to 10 episodes, and they showing the tenth episode online only.  Talk about running for the life boats!