Friday night’s finale of CBS’s surprisingly amazing SWINGTOWN made me cry my eyes out on more than one occasion. There was this overwhelming sadness watching what was probably the final hour of a show that deserved so much more attention than it received.

Swingtown surpassed it’s randy premise and proved to be a show about change on the cusp of the bicentennial and it only got better as the summer went on. No longer was it about Grant Show in the shortest shorts possible bedding every Trina, Susan and Farrah, it was about relationships, family and women on the verge of independence at an important time in American history.

Look at the transformation of Trina! She went from an almost one dimensional Barbarella to feeling responsible for the breakdown of the families around her and ultimately a child. Trina slowly became one of the most complex characters on the show and I loved watching her metamorphosis. Her friendship with Susan showed loyalty and guidance while her friendship with Janet showed true heart, generosity and shockingly maternal instinct. Her final moment on the beach with Tom had me bawling my eyes out. Lana Parrilla’s vulnerability and subtlety made me all mushy. Much like Trina, I half expected Tom to walk away and hate the idea of them becoming parents. Those Deckers surprised the shit out of me this summer and that was the one of the biggest thrills in watching Swingtown.

Then there’s Janet, that anal perfectionist who went from house frau to almost hip advice columnist by the end of the summer. Her transformation was shocking! Janet always provided a level of comic relief because she was so over the top in keeping up appearances at any cost. She was almost a caricature of the 50’s housewife and that’s why it worked. As Trina pointed out in the finale, they were no longer in the 50’s and she as a woman, as a wife, as a mother has a voice. Janet and Trina’s friendship was probably my favorite on the show. Two of the most unlikely characters found a way to change each others lives and found common ground despite their lifestyle differences and each was the better for it.

Hell, Janet barely flinched when Henry came out to her and this is a woman that was full of Country Club family standards so that was HUGE! Let’s hope she remembers her reaction in a summer or two when her own son probably does the same thing. Please that kid wanks it nightly thinking about his best friend and hoping his name (B.J.) comes true.

More about Swingtown after the jump… (more…)

We threatened to never do another TV Talk Podcast if you didn’t flock to iTunes and leave us comments… well I’m happy to report that you love us as much as we love you! Thanks to your generosity, we are back and this week’s podcast is a lot of fun!

We revise our thoughts on Swingtown now that we’re both completely caught up (and loving it), we talk about my chat with Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) and her stint on Burn Notice plus some scoop on her new Fox pilot Inseparable.

Next we tackle one of the most talked about Fall pilots, J.J. Abrams FRINGE! Kath and I will review the plot, the mystery and the hotness that is Josh Jackson but don’t worry we don’t spoil anything for you! We’re good like that!

Then it’s time for some listener emails because you guys are cramazing!

Who wants to talk Comic-Con? No? Tough because we run down the shows that will be in San Diego and vent our frustrations over the scheduling. If you’re going to be in town for Comic-Con and you’re a reader or listener, let us know… we’d love to see you!

Before wrapping up this week we have a little fun with our TV version of F, Marry, Kill! That’s right, we each pick one we’d boink, one we’d marry and one we’d go Dexter Morgan on. join in the fun and leave us some comments about who you’d F, Marry and Kill based on our choices. We’ll read some of them on the air in our next podcast.

It’s TV Talk with GMMR & Ducky #24!

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I finally had some time to catch up on the three episodes of SWINGTOWN that were sitting on my DVR and I’m happy to say that I’m still loving the show.

If you caught this week’s TV Talk Podcast, you heard me talk about how I wasn’t sure I knew where the show was going and that I wasn’t sure about what the show was trying to accomplish but I feel like I now have a better understanding of where Swingtown is headed.

While some of the retro references are far from subtle, I feel like the show has really started to capture the spirit of ‘76 and the issues at hand. Swingers and promiscuity are not the focus of the show (thankfully), at its heart is a family on the cusp of change. Swingtown is all about self discovery and becoming more self aware.

Bruce and Susan’s world has been turned upside down in every way possible. Bruce got a new job which allowed them to buy a bigger house in a nicer neighborhood and then they met the Decker’s who have opened their eyes to the sexual revolution. Having been knocked up the first time they had sex, these two have never had a relationship outside of their marriage and both are realizing that while they love each other, there may be more to life than the isolated and safe world they’ve surrounded themselves with for far too long.

The flip-flopping they’ve experienced lately is obviously some serious foreshadowing to the deterioration of trust between them. At times Bruce seems to be the one more open to swinging while more recently it was Susan that initiated the possibilities. That’s some seriously dangerous water these two are treading and it makes me nervous as all get out.

Where the show is starting to gain its footing is in the relationships and the insecurities among the women on the show. While Trina Decker originally came across as this voracious vixen we’re slowly starting to see how she may have been coerced into her lifestyle or at least how her sexual drive has kept her from some things she’s wanted out of life. I get the feeling that when she was seduced by Tom back when she was a stewardess, she left her job and gave up aspirations of her own.

Now that she’s met Susan and slowly befriended the repressed Janet, Trina is realizing she may be missing out on what she wanted out of life. Am I way off base there? In the cabin episode, there was so much sadness in the way she told the girls about Tom’s new Toyko route and for the first time she was a fully conceptualized character… I loved it.

The women of Swingtown are fantastic and I think that they’re the real story happening on the show. It’s about them rediscovering themselves and reassessing their places in what was a man’s world. Friendship, marriage and work have all been brought up in the more recent episodes and if they continue to explore what those things mean to women I think that the show will be fantastic.

I’m loving Laurie’s storyline and really really loving her hot ass teacher. Shanna Collins who plays Laurie is this incredible force on screen. The best part is the contrast in her character; she’s so worldy, well educated and sure of herself that you forget she’s still really young and stupid. She’s a teenager in every way and I love that they don’t dumb her down. Sure she’s trying to seduce her teacher but she understands the complications and is somewhat realistic about it. I love how she told her early summer fling, Logan, that there was no future. She talked to him in such a confident and almost condescending manner, it was awesome! Laurie Miller rocks!

I don’t know… I’m rambling now. I just basically wanted to say that I’m pleasantly surprised to see that Swingtown does seem to know where they’re headed as a series and that I’m connecting with it. I’ll shut up now.

Tonight is a moment I’ve been waiting for since May 2007 when CBS announced it was picking up a retro show called SWINGTOWN. The pilot is incredible and really catches the vibe of the 70’s and the ambigious issues or morality and sexuality for suburban couples. Okay, I was only 2 when this show takes place but that’s beside the point.

SWINGTOWN stars the always amazing Molly Parker, Jack Davenport, Grant Show, Lana Parrilla, Josh Hopkins and Miriam Shor (love you Yitzhak) in a 1976 Chicago suburb.

The show premieres tonight at 10pm on CBS. Be there or be square.

CBS finally announced the Fall Lineup today and amen, How I Met Your Mother is still on the hunt for a Mother!!!

I realize there is really NOTHING on CBS I watch. I thought ABC was my least watched network, but looking below at the lineup for the fall, I realized it’s the Eye.

What am I interested in NEW shows wise you ask? Let’s see…

VIVA LAUGHLIN
It’s about a businessman wanting to open a Casino in Laughlin, NV. Too bad Hugh Jackman runs a rival Casino. Wait, Hugh Jackman? Hells yeah, he’s also Exec. Producer.

I like it. I love it! The singing to music that actually moves the plot forward but is still just music in an episode. It’s like watching Moulin Rouge but where the actors just sing along. What you ask? Oh yes, there is singing!

Did I mention Melanie Griffith shows up, President Palmer the 2nd chimes in also. Well that and the fact that Madchen Amick co-stars and she’ll forever be Shelly from Twin Peaks! “New Shoes *raspberry noise*” I’m soooooo there!

MOONLIGHT
Vampires, enough said!

And the coolest show since Freaks & Geeks… SWINGTOWN! Swingtown doesn’t start until mid-season but it is hands down the best new show besides Pushing Daisies on a rival network. Granted, have I seen the pilots? Not yet but I will and I’m making assumptions based on my keen sense of picking what’s awesome.

Yeah, that’s about it… Well, besides those pesky 40 kids without parents for 40 days trying to make a town successful again. Yes folks, reality TV took kids and left them to their own wits in KID NATION.

The Amazing Race was renewed but not until the Spring 2008 season and the other good thing is that Without a Trace is going back to Thursdays!

Monday
8 p.m. How I Met Your Mother
8:30 p.m. The Big Bang Theory*
9 p.m. Two and a Half Men
9:30 Rules of Engagement
10 p.m. CSI Miami

Tuesday
8 p.m. NCIS
9 p.m. The Unit
10 p.m. Cane*

Wednesday
8 p.m. Kid Nation*
9 p.m. Criminal Minds
10 p.m. CSI: NY

Thursday
8 p.m. Survivor
9 p.m. CSI
10 p.m. Without a Trace

Friday
8 p.m. Ghost Whisperer
9 p.m. Moonlight*
10 p.m. Numbers

Saturday
8 p.m. Crimetime Saturday
9 p.m. Crimetime Saturday
10 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery

Sunday
7 p.m. 60 Minutes
8 p.m. Viva Laughlin*
9 p.m. Cold Case
10 p.m. Shark

*=new show

2007 Upfront Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc.