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CBS Comes Out Swinging With Risque Series Set In '70s

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By WALT BELCHER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 5, 2008

"Swingtown" brings back memories of the 1970s - most of them bad.

The CBS summer series, debuting at 10 tonight, takes us back to the days of disco, free love and really ugly hair.

It's set in that cultural dead zone between the end of the Vietnam War and the beginning of the Reagan era, the decade that gave us bad music, worse fashion and questionable morals.

At least it's a popularly held myth that in the so-called "swinging '70s," spouse swapping and marijuana smoking were rampant in America's suburbs.

Those who lived through the decade may beg to differ.

Yes, marijuana was more prevalent, and sex was on our minds.

Disco queen Donna Summer heated up the airwaves by moaning her way through "Love to Love You Baby," and the infamous, low-budget comedy porn film "Deep Throat" played in mainstream theaters. It was the beginning of singles bars. Women wore hot pants and knee-high leather boots, and men wore bell-bottoms, polyester shirts with gigantic collars and mutton chops.

The '70s marked a cosmic moment in pop culture history when sexual liberation, antiwar sentiment, feminism, gay liberation, equal rights, distrust of authority and countercultural values converged.

But as far as sex goes, my guess is there probably was more talk about swinging than actual swinging.

Having lived an "Ozzie and Harriet" lifestyle myself, I can't swear to that. But I have trouble accepting "Swingtown" as anything more than the scriptwriter's erotic fantasy.

The series opens with a suggestive scene in which a manly airline pilot seems to get too cozy with a stewardess (they weren't "flight attendants" then).

The camera pulls back to reveal that she's trying to clean a stain off his shirt from a spilled drink.

"Your wife," she says nervously, "is gonna kill me."

"My wife," he says with a wicked smile, "is gonna love you."

Cue the music: the 1972 classic "Stuck in the Middle With You."

Set in Chicago's affluent North Shore community, "Swingtown" is basically a soap opera with comic elements.

It follows three couples: the swinging airline pilot, Tom (Grant Show), and his sexy wife, Trina (Lana Parilla); the newly arrived squares who might be corrupted, Susan and Bruce (Molly Parker of "Deadwood" and Jack Davenport of "Pirates of the Caribbean"); and the seemingly strait-laced Thompsons (Josh Hopkins and Miriam Shor). But in the Thompson household, the teen children are doing all the swinging.

The always outraged Parents Television Council denounced the show for "driving a stake through the institution of marriage and family."

But the first hour plays like a cheesy soft-porn movie without the porn. It's an almost laughable sophomoric excursion through naughty behavior.

The swingers are like a couple of leering sexual vampires. Their prey, the square couple, is ridiculously square. And you can almost bet the farm that the righteous couple is going to be into bondage or spanking or something kinky and weird.

The first episode includes a menage a trios and an orgy as well as pill popping, pot smoking and cocaine snorting. But somehow none of it is as shocking as this series ending up on CBS, which used to be known for shows such as "Touched by an Angel."

"Swingtown" was created for pay cable networks like HBO or Showtime, where the sex would have been more graphic. But both networks passed on it. CBS bought 13 episodes because CBS President of Entertainment Nina Tassler felt the humorous, escapist, risque nature of the series would appeal to the younger female audience the aged network is trying to attract.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

The Jewish People: A Story of Survival, 8 p.m., WEDU, Channel 3

This new scholarly documentary explores how this once small group of nomads overcame numerous obstacles (including the Holocaust) to survive to the present day.

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night, 8 p.m., ABC

The late-night host gets a chance to show off in prime time.

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