We’ve been eagerly awaiting the debut of this new series and not for the reasons you think. The perfect prelude to watching this show is having watched the Sex: The Revolution series on VH1. I was born in the mid 70’s and before watching that a month ago, I had no idea just how stifled sexuality really was and the fights for your rights to do as you please behind closed doors even when I was born. I took things like birth control, having whatever kind of sex you wanted and porn for granted. Because let’s face it, if you were a kid in the early 80’s, you kept hearing so much about this “Skinemax” (Cinemax) and you knew you wanted to sneak a peek.
Swingtown follows Susan and Bruce Miller and their 2 children who move a few blocks away. Bruce seems eager to leave behind his old neighbors especially his wife’s best friend and uber uptight Janet and her husband Roger who has seemingly given up on happiness due to his wife’s frigid nature. The Millers are greeted by sexy swingers Tom and Trina Decker who invite them to a party their first night in town. When Janet and Roger stop by unexpectedly with Tupperware in hand, Susan invites them to come with them to the party. Trina and Tom separately talked to Bruce and Susan casually bringing up that most people there were in open marriages and then Trina introduces Susan to Quaaludes. Feelin’ no pain, Susan finds Bruce and they discuss what was just said to them and seem intrigued. When straight laced Janet is sent to the “playroom” in the basement by a conniving Trina, she freaks and insists everyone leaves. Bruce and Susan decline and say they’re staying. Janet grabs Roger and storms out. Cue the music…bow chicka bow bow and off the swingers go to welcome their new neighbors in a rather intimate way.
Now the show is not exclusively about the sex. There are subplots involving the children like their teen daughter who has a stoner boyfriend with limited brain cells in reserve but she has a crush on her summer school teacher. Their son who has come in contact with a mysterious neighbor girl who was living in their house before they moved in and is eager to run away…from what has yet to be revealed. He is also friends with Janet and Roger’s son who has lied saying he has made out with a girl at school who later finds him and gives him the beating of his life in public. Right on sister! So there is a balance between family life and life after dark.
This was a real trip for us because I saw shoes I used to have, some of the outfits look very similar to what my parents wore when they were in school, the soundtrack is wonderful and the overall attention to detail is spot on. This is no surprise given Alan Poul of HBO’s Six Feet Under is involved which is a big plus because he is amazing! We were surprised that Swingtown was not put on a premium channel because it seems you could have the kind of freedom that would be needed for a show with this kind of subject matter. We’ll see if that ends up hurting them in the end. We think it could be very possible if this show is too “risque” for the white bread audiences that CBS’s sister channel Showtime could pick it up. This is definitely a show we’ll be watching for as long as it lasts. I say that because I’m just waiting for people who 1) are all uptight writing in saying its inappropriate 2) don’t get that the show isn’t promoting swinging but rather looking back at a point in time when this was not unusual 3) people who don’t get the 70’s and spend their time criticizing the styles, music, lingo, etc.
For us, it’s a refreshing departure from yet another cop/crime show that seems to be saturating the prime time market.
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