TVSquad

How swinging is CBS's new summer series Swingtown? It's not swinging in the Sinatra-Rat Pack-ring-a-ding-ding way. No, this Swingtown is set in an era ten years later, specifically July 4, 1976, the bicentennial. But Swingtown, which premieres on Thursday at 10 PM ET, is not a nostalgic, optimistic wallow. However, It does evoke a time when America was undergoing a lot of change as the college kids from the late sixties were moving into the seven-year-itch of marriage, raising children, exploring boundaries.

Swingtown reminded me of Knots Landing meets Boogie Nights with a dollop of The Stepford Wives thrown in there, too (maybe it was those scenes in the supermarket). Superficially, there are elements of Swingtown, in particular the attention to detail in the production design and music, that are as spot on for 1976 as Mad Men was for 1960. When you see that pop-top can of Tab, you can't help but go back in time.

Reunions are hot, you know? On February 12, for example, Oprah reunited (most of) the kids from The Cosby Show, with Bill appearing via satellite. Well, never one to let a good idea go to waste, NBC jumped on the theme. They recently had a Family Ties reunion on Today, so now the morning show is commencing tomorrow with a series of more "Together Again" features. Tune into 8:00 a.m. hour each day so you don't miss a thing!

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Carol Bruce: She was well-known to TV audiences from a number of roles, including the mother of WKRP in Cincinnati's Mr. Carlson, as well as several appearances on Knot's Landing. She also appeared on The Twilight Zone (80s version), Studio One, Party of Five, Profiler, Diagnosis Murder, The Golden Girls, Jake and the Fatman, Doogie Howser, M.D., Diff'rent Strokes, Perfect Strangers, General Hospital, as well as the movies Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, American Gigolo, and the Abbott and Costello film Keep 'Em Flying. She died of pulmonary disease at age 87 in Woodland Hills, CA.