TV to See: Swingtown

Perhaps you, like Susan and Bruce, are not quite sure if “Swingtown” is the right place to settle down. Why don’t you start slow by getting to know the cast? Play it safe and read their bios, and if you feel comfortable, move on to the First Look Gallery for some pictures from the show. Then, you can really start experimenting with video clips and then go totally wild and watch the season premiere.

“The summer gives you a kind of different license,” president of CBS entertainment Nina Tassler says, explaining why the network has elected to air this series, which one might’ve thought to see on HBO or Showtime. Producers Mike Kelley and Alan Poul said they tried to make the show part “Boogie Nights” and part “The Wonder Years.” In other words, it mingles complete debauchery with articulate and sincere reminiscence. Kelley says the series is loosely based on his childhood, a fact his mother, Marcia Arnold makes only a minimal effort to deny.  “A lot of us married very early because that’s what you did, and some people grew apart because they probably shouldn’t have been together in the first place,” Arnold admits.

Tim Goodman from the SF Gate likes “Swingtown,” but he doesn’t think CBS does, or the network never would have stuck the show in the awkward summer spot. It might become “compelling summer television” and Goodman felt the pilot showed a lot of promise. But most of the network’s other offerings are relatively conservative; its other forays into the edgy have not worked out too well. Enjoy “Swingtown” while it lasts, suggests Goodman, but brace yourself for the pain of its likely cancellation.

Reviews of “Swingtown” have been mixed. Some are positive, some are apathetic and others are downright acerbic. But almost all of the reviews give a nod to the show’s swinging soundtrack (even those who claim not even David Bowie can redeem the shallow plotline). Listen to streamed songs from the show’s playlist at Last.fm.