Won't you take me to … Swingtown

Swingtown, it’s a great new show that plays on CBS in the States, and Global here in Canada. I’d give you the Wikipedia link, but I just noticed that it gives away some plot secrets for future episodes and I don’t want to be a spoiler for you! The show is a period drama about the impact of sexual and social liberation in 1970s American suburban households, examining such topics as open marriages and key parties.

Swingtown

What I love about the show is how casual, laid back and unapologetic it is. Nothing really dramatic happens on each episode, but instead the characters are slowly developed over a longer period of time. You see the seemingly perfect relationship of Tom and Trina across the street, slowly exposed as being susceptible to all the jealousies and insecurities that any relationship might encounter, open or not. The main characters, Bruce and Susan, slowly begin to break down barriers they have in their relationship and sub-conscious, allowing them to at least be open to new ideas and experiences, while their old friends Janet and Roger remain the ‘norms’ they’ve left behind who are trying to deal with their friends experiencing new fun without them.

The reactions of the ‘norms’ are surprisingly similar to reactions I have received from people I have met that have no prior exposure to open relationships. The idea of sex being fun and dating other people as not being threatening is mind blowing to many / most people. To be fair, I suppose if I was to sit down and really think about my own self in the past and how I might have reacted, I might also have my brain explode a little. Now though? It all seems to posess this strange, calming sense of normalcy.

The show is intriguing as it shows people on all sides of the open marriage debate / conversation. Those already in an open relationship, those considering trying one, those who are totally thrown off by it, and those who oppose it. Ok, well they haven’t shown THAT many people who oppose it, but hey, it’s a show about the 70′s after all. The free love era still had its lingering effects. Also, the 70′s provide a great backdrop to the whole topic. They don’t try to make it “cool” 70′s. There’s some cool elements, but also some terrible terrible fashion, making it seem all the more realistic. If the show had been set in the present day, I think the uproar from the media may have been stronger. As it is however, there remains a slight disconnect between the here and now, and the time period the show takes place in.

So far in Canada, the media has been slow to sensationalize the show, which I really appreciate. I did catch a brief clip of an American “entertainment” show that highlighted some “Real-Life Swingers.” Good for them for bringing attention to it, but boo hiss to them for making it so dramatic and taboo.

According to Wikipedia, family groups are in an uproar. (Didn’t you expect this though?) The conservative American Family Association urged members to write letters of complaint to the media, while the Parents Television Council followed a failed boycott attempt with an effort to convince CBS affiliates to preempt the program. Proctor & Gamble has stopped advertising on the serial.

Granted, they *did* show a very sexy MMF close to the end of last night’s episode. Even I was a little caught off guard by it. I mean I usually have to find that on a porn website, and here it was for free at 10:50 pm on Global TV. Who knew?