Swingtown

Infobox Television
show_name = Swingtown


caption =
format = Period drama
runtime = 60 minutes (including commercials)
creator = Mike Kelley
starring = Molly Parker
Jack Davenport
Grant Show
Lana Parrilla
Josh Hopkins
Miriam Shor
Shanna Collins
country = USA
executive_producer = Carol Barbee
Mike Kelley
composer = Liz Phair
Marc "Doc" Dauer
Evan Frankfort
(original score)
camera =
network = CBS
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 13
first_aired = June 5, 2008
last_aired = September 5, 2008
website = http://alpha.cbs.com/primetime/swingtown/
imdb_id = 0928173
tv_com_id = 68683

"Swingtown" is an American television series created by Mike Kelley as a summer replacement series for CBS. The show is a period and relationship drama about the impact of sexual and social liberation in 1970s American suburban households, with story arcs involving open marriages and key parties. [cite news |title=Development Update: October 16-20 (Weekly Round-Up) |work=The Futon Critic |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7225 |date=2006-10-20 |accessdate=2007-06-14]

"Swingtown" premiered on Thursday June 5, 2008 [cite news |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20080414cbs02 |date=2008-04-14 |title=Breaking News - CBS unveils its 2008 summer schedule |work=The Futon Critic] , in the time slot previously occupied by "Without a Trace". The show was also picked up by Global in Canada, ITV3 in the United Kingdom, [cite news |work=Toronto Star |url=http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/222376 |title=TV lineup launch disrupted |date=2007-06-06 |accessdate=2007-06-15 |last=Bawden |first=Jim] Network Ten in Australia, Warner Channel in South America, [cite web |url=http://www.worldscreen.com/newscurrent.php?filename=warner073107.htm |work=World Screen |title=Warner Channel Takes CBS Paramount Titles |date=2007-07-31] and Universal Channel in Poland and Romania. [ [http://www.universalchannel.pl/ Universal Channel Polska] ]

After seven episodes of declining ratings, CBS moved the show's U.S. airing to Fridays, with the first season's finale on September 5. As of September 2008, the traditional start of the fall U.S. broadcast television season, there has been no announcement as to the show's future, though CBS did announce that creator Kelley has a new development deal with CBS Paramount Television and is developing "BiCoastal", "another hour-long show exploring relationships, marriage and sexuality". [cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSN0435367420080904 |title="Swingtown" creator goes "BiCoastal" in new drama| work=Hollywood Reporter| publisher=Reuters| accessdate=2008-09-08]

Premise

Set in the summer of 1976, the series begins with the relocation of the Miller family to a more affluent neighborhood in the North Shore, a suburban area of Chicago. Bruce Miller (played by Jack Davenport) is a futures trader working his way up in the business, married to Susan (Molly Parker). The couple have a teenage daughter, Laurie (Shanna Collins), and a young son Bruce Junior, nicknamed B.J. (Aaron Howles).

Tom and Trina Decker (Grant Show and Lana Parrilla) are the Millers' new neighbors. Tom, an airline pilot, met Trina while she was a stewardess. The Deckers quickly befriend the Millers, and the Millers just as quickly learn that their new neighbors have an open marriage. The move strains the Millers' friendship with Roger and Janet Thompson (Josh Hopkins and Miriam Shor), their neighbors and friends from their old neighborhood. They try to maintain their friendship with the Millers, but are appalled when they learn about the Deckers' marital arrangement. The Thompsons have a son, Rick (Nick Benson).

Although the show mostly focuses on the three couples, their children's stories are followed too, particularly Laurie, who is attracted to her summer school philosophy teacher (Michael Rady). B.J. and Rick's friendship is also tested by the move, and B.J. meets Samantha Saxton (Brittany Robertson), an enigmatic girl who lives next door to him in his new neighborhood.

Pre-production

Producers Mike Kelley and Alan Poul first pitched their idea to HBO, where Poul, who had worked on "Six Feet Under", had a development deal. Poul said HBO passed on the opportunity at least in part because it already had "Big Love" in production and "Tell Me You Love Me" in development. The two next approached "Showtime" (which coincidentally is owned by CBS Corporation), but before discussions with that network went anywhere, CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler found out about the proposal and within a couple of days, had read the script; she gave the series the greenlight in May 2007. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/arts/television/11stei.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1210616222-0Yi6xnUX5B93RLhbFuovpQ&pagewanted=all Take My Wife. Please. I’ll Take Yours.] , a May 2008 article from "The New York Times"] [Coincidentally, the late Nena O'Neill, co-author of a best-selling book from 1972 called "Open Marriage", was Tassler's second cousin.] The script, written in anticipation of a cable network deal, had to be rewritten for American broadcast television, all but eliminating the nudity and the graphic depiction of sexual acts. CBS ordered thirteen episodes from the network's production arm, CBS Paramount Television. [cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Brian Ford |title=CBS picks up 'Bang,' 'Power' plus four dramas |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7387 |work=The Futon Critic |date=2007-05-14 |accessdate=2007-06-14]

Reception

The 26 critics included in the show's Metacritic gave it mixed reviews (a "metascore" of 49). "Variety" said the series "exhibits rare depth" and includes "plenty of nifty touches, from the pop-song score and "Boogie Nights" fashions to the first-rate cast." [ [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117937301.html Review of "Swingtown"] from "Variety"] "The Hollywood Reporter" said "even skillful performances by its largely unknown cast aren't able to hide the lack of character development and the sense that the people in this series are almost self-parodies." [ [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/television/reviews/article_display.jsp?&rid=11212 TV Into swapping? Then trade this '70s show for one with depth and heat] from "The Hollywood Reporter"] Salon.com called it "stylish and '70s-sexy but also shallow enough to feel like a less funny, hollowed-out combination of "The Wonder Years" and "Boogie Nights" — which is exactly what the show's creators told the "New York Times" they were aiming for (without using the words 'less funny' and 'hollowed-out' of course)." [ [http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/iltw/2008/05/25/swingtown/index.html I Like to Watch] , from Salon.com]

Audience interest dwindled as the summer progressed. After a strong pilot episode, the ratings for "Swingtown" got progressively worse, aided by a mid-season move from Thurdays to Friday. The ratings problems have led CBS to see if any cable networks, or perhaps DirecTV, are interested in picking it up. [http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6589617.html CBS Paramount Shopping "Swingtown" to Cable Nets] , an August 2008 article from "Broadcasting & Cable"] According to executive producer Alan Poul, the first season ending was shot with the show's uncertain future in mind: [ [http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/08/grant-show-to-g.html Exclusive: "Private Practice" Paging Grant Show...] from Michael Ausiello's blog at "Entertainment Weekly"] :The season ends with a cliffhanger, but it's also a completely satisfying ending. So, if we go forward, there are many new things that are set up to explore. And if we don't go forward, there's no feeling that we've been left with something incomplete.

The American Family Association urged members to write letters of complaint to the media,cite news |work=The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) |title=War on "Swingtown" |first=Cheryl |last=Tucker |page=3 |date=2008-06-03] while the Parents Television Council followed a failed boycott attempt with an effort to convince CBS affiliates to preempt the program.cite news |work=Philadelphia Daily News |title=Around the channels, from 'Swingtown' to Disney |first=Ellen |last=Gray |date=2008-06-12 |page=47] Procter & Gamble [ [http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=128184 Advertising Age ] ] and Ace Hardware [ http://www.onemillionmoms.com/IssueDetail.asp?id=308] have stopped advertising on the serial.

Cast

Principal cast
*Jack Davenport - Bruce Miller, Sr.
*Molly Parker - Susan Miller
*Lana Parrilla - Trina Decker
*Grant Show - Tom Decker
*Miriam Shor - Janet Thompson
*Josh Hopkins - Roger Thompson
*Shanna Collins - Laurie Miller
*Aaron Christian Howles - Bruce "B.J." Miller, Jr.
*Michael Rady - Doug Stephens
*Brittany Robertson - Samantha SaxtonRecurring cast
*Nick Benson - Rick Thompson
*Kate Norby - Gail Saxton
*Rachelle Lefèvre - Melinda, Bruce's co-worker
*Rick Peters - Tony Mareno
*Kyle Searles - Logan Rhode
*Erin Daniels - Sylvia Davis
*Mark Valley - Brad Davis

Episodes

Episodes feature songs of the period performed by the original artists; Last.fm, owned by CBS Interactive, features the songs from the show in a sponsored group cross-promoted during each episode. [ [http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i51cfa2a984208f30c165968be09f8e87 Last.fm Teams With CBS's 'Swingtown'] from "Billboard" magazine's Billboard.biz]

eason 1: 2008

Ratings

Low ratings for the first seven episodes — the seven Thursday night episodes averaged 6.7 million viewers and a 2.3 rating in adults 18-49 — led CBS to move "Swingtown" from Thursdays to Fridays. Following the change, the ratings for the next four episodes averaged just 3.9 million viewers, with an average 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic.

Ratings details

In the following summary, "rating" is the percentage of all households with televisions that tuned to the show, and "share" is the percentage of all televisions in use at that time that are tuned in. "18-49" is the percentage of all adults aged 18-49 tuned into the show. "Viewers" are the number of viewers, in millions, watching at the time. "Rank" how well the show did compared to other TV shows aired that week.

Unless otherwise cited, all information comes from the The Programming Insider at Nielsen Company's "Mediaweek". [cite web |url=http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/63310451/ |title=Last Night's Results (The Programming Insider)|publisher=Mediaweek |first=Marc |last=Berman |accessdate=2008-07-20] [cite web |url=http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/34110412 |title=Weekly Results (The Programming Insider)|publisher=Mediaweek |first=Marc |last=Berman |accessdate=2007-10-05] .

DVD release

The first season will be released on DVD on December 9, 2008 [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Swingtown-Season-1/10426] .

References and footnotes

External links

*imdb title|0928173
* [http://www.last.fm/swingtown "Swingtown"] at Last.fm (a CBS Interactive website)
* [http://www.crashutah.com/somethingfornothing/2008/08/04/70s-music-from-swingtown-on-cbs/ List of Music Used On Swingtown]
* [http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6599678.html]