The CBS summer show Swingtown is a fine example of how excellent shows sometimes never get a chance to really shine. It was heartbreaking for fans of this interesting slice of 70’s goodness to hear it was canceled after only one season. Originally intended to be a mid-season replacement, the Writer’s Strike caused Swingtown to be put off until the summer, and perhaps that was the death blow before it even began. Set in the mid-seventies, the show explores romance, the destruction of ‘traditional’ marriage, friendship, class differences, coming of age growth, and of course, swingers. Now Swingtown: The First Season is out for DVD, and the tragedy is that this will be the complete series as well.
The show is essentially about three couples: Susan (Molly Parker) and Bruce (Jack Davenport), Trina (Lana Parrilla) and Tom (Grant Show), and Janet (Miriam Shor) and Roger (Josh Hopkins). Bruce is promoted and with his new salary he buys a bigger house for his family on the rich side of town. Janet and Roger, their best friends and next door neighbors for years, are left behind as Susan and Bruce step into the world of their new neighbors Trina and Tom. Those two are sexy, intelligent, secure, confident, and engaged in a very open and comfortable marriage. Drawn in to the excitement and taboo nature of swingers, Susan and Bruce experiment with their new neighbors … and nothing is the same for them ever again. That pivotal moment is what the show really hinges upon, the opening eyes of Susan and Bruce to a decadent different world, and subsequently the consequences that come with it.
Over the course of the season Susan and Bruce slowly unravel in their relationship, and she finds herself unwillingly drawn to Roger, her best friend’s husband. He is often silenced and ordered around by his strong willed wife, and it is a journey for him as well to stand up for himself. Janet without a doubt goes through the most amazing transformation. She starts out as a very rigid and traditional woman, revering the 1950’s ideal of housewife, and despising Trina and Tom for taking her friends away. She also cannot handle them due to their open loving policies and general disregard for society’s expectations. Janet grows close to Trina, tries marijuana for the first time, befriends a porn star, and has an awkward (and adorable) crush on Tom. On the other hand, the wild swingers find a hiccup in their ‘perfect’ relationship when Tom is forced to fly to Tokyo all the time. They decide to be exclusive to weather it out together.
The children have stories of their own which reflect growing up in this new age, and that is what Swingtown is all about. Generations now cannot understand how big a change came about during the 60’s and 70’s, and how many families struggled against or for it. This show had a lot of soap opera-ish drama, but it was a period piece, an exploration of a time just as it is sexuality, conformity, and individuality. One of the major problems in the show was how it always seemed to be held back. It would have suited a more mature channel like HBO or Showtime, who they did approach first. To really get into depth about the revolution of sex and freedom you have to be able to show it, and they really could not on mainstream networks. A lot of the original feel for the show had to be watered down and cut for its more mainstream audience, and therein lay a serious problem. How do you turn a mature show into a suitable one when the former is its niche? We can spend months debating why it is that Swingtown was canceled, but all I can say is after watching the entire show in one sitting, it seems more of a tragedy than ever.
Swingtown: The First Season comes with all thirteen episodes and several special features. There are two commentary tracks; one for the pilot, and one for the finale. Extras include “Spirit of ’76: The Making of Swingtown,” a fantastic feature named “Have a Nice Revolution: Sex & Morality in 1970’s America,” deleted scenes, and a gag reel. The commentaries are very in depth about the origin of the show and how they planned out the historical aspects as well as the character development. I was fascinated by the interviews and comments made by the actors during the “Making Of” video, but the look back at the 70’s and the show’s reflection of it was especially wonderful.
Any fan of the show absolutely must get a copy of its one and only season. For anyone who missed this show, it is worth watching. The realistic characters and their elaborate relationships will draw you in even if the colorful charm of the 70’s setting does not first. It was an exceptional show unfortunately lost to the TV Gods, and we are the poorer for it. Swingtown: The First Season is available in stores now for $28.99, so get out there and take it to the limit … one more time!
ComicsOnline gives Swingtown: The First Season 4 out of 5 canceled TV shows.
