TVSquad

(S01E02) So, now things are starting to get interesting with Bruce and Susan and Tom and Trina and Janet and Roger. Oh, and there were also Brad and Sylvia who look great doing the hustle, and Paul and Martha who will never be invited back to the Thompsons after that awful dinner.

All in all, I'm getting hooked on Swingtown. It's a soap, no doubt about that. Being in 1976 is a time and a place and a specific social setting, but ultimately this show is about these characters and their intertwined lives. It's a serialized drama and rather addictive. More about the show after the jump, including all the happenings from tonight's show.



Bruce and Susan's fling with Tom and Trina at the pool party has left Susan unsure and Bruce intrigued. Still, when she voices her feelings, "We're not swingers," he agrees that it was a one-time only thing. Meanwhile, Trina's concerned that her open marriage with Tom may be too open. When he winds up getting promoted to the new Pan Am Tokyo route, he says they'll work it out, but Trina's not sure she'll be able to keep her mustachioed Captain under control when he's so far away for so many days at a time.

Back in the old neighborhood, Janet is having trouble processing what happened at the Deckers. She sublimates by baking an abnormally large apple pie. To the tune of "Hooked on A Feeling," Janet fantasizes that she and Roger are seduced -- in the kitchen -- by a naked Tom and Trina. Naturally, in reality, Janet's a complete uptight prig. She cancels plans with the Millers to play bridge and is icy cold when she runs into Susan at the grocery store.

With Trina cozying up to Susan, and Janet giving poor Susan the cold shoulder, is it any wonder Susan's drawn back into the Decker's seductive web? When Bruce leaves a message by phone that he's having drinks after work at the Playboy Club, Tom and Trina come up with the idea to bring Susan there and they can all have dinner out. That's where Brad and his wife, women's libber legal eagle and former Bunny Sylvia, join the foursome and they all dance and drink and have a great time. Susan's feeling all gooey about Trina, marveling at how Trina handles an open marriage. Of course, Trina's confidence is all a facade and Susan's trust in Bruce takes a hit when she sees Sylvia kissing him and later finds her business card in his pants pocket with the message, "Let's get together."

Roger is the sweetest of all the characters. He's such a stand up guy, turning down an invitation from Susan for a ride in the car, chasing the hideous neighbors out of the house by faking a bloody injury with son Rick, and encouraging Janet to make up with Susan. He deserves a better spouse. Janet is just such a pill.

While the parents are swinging, the kids are making friends. Laurie ogles her philosophy teacher, Mr. Stevens, even enduring a contrived feminist interpretation of Waiting for Godot to impress him. The dolt with dimples, Logan, tags along and makes a fool of himself before Laurie discovers that Mr. Stevens has a girlfriend. She's black, has a killer 'fro and hoop earrings and makes Laurie feel like a high school kid, which is what she is.

BJ, Laurie's brother, scores points with Samantha, the troubled kid next door. With his Philip McKeon look -- he was Tommy on Alice, remember -- BJ is a sensitive kid with a good heart. Like his mother. Samantha needs a friend and he reaches out to her.

Swingtown is proving to be intriguing. It may hope to be Mad Men -- it's not -- but I'm curious enough to tune in for more.

Other Notes of Interest

-- Tom is called on the carpet by Pan Am for taking a "stew" home for a three-way with his wife, an ex-stew. Instead of firing him for sexual harassment of an employment, they take Tom off the Miami route and promote him to the Tokyo route! Hey, it was 1976!

-- Trina's melon joke at the grocery -- obvious. Buy one get one free.

-- BJ gives Samantha a walkie-talkie, reminding me of Wonder Years. Samantha returns to her room; her mother continues romping with guys downstairs.

-- Logan brings Laurie a make up gift, the new Aerosmith album Rocks.

-- Captain Tom has a key to the Playboy Club - no surprise.

-- The apple pie is symbolism galore. American tradition, wholesome way of life. Everything Janet believes in. She brings it to the Millers only to find the Deckers and Millers returning -- in Tom's Porsche -- from dinner. and find Roger and Janet on the doorstep. Janet turns chilly again. Susan feels bad. "Love Will Find A Way" plays, underscoring the theme of the episode.

-- At the Playboy Club, they all do the hustle to "You Should Be Dancing" just like Saturday Night Fever. Then they slow dance to "Dancing in the Moonlight" and "Rock Me Baby." The music is really an asset to Swingtown.

-- The cinematography in this episode is filled wth dissolves and swipes.

-- Was that commercial with Peter Fonda selling Flower Power a Time-Life 8-CD set a national ad? Talk about retro!