The show centers on a handful of couples, all of whom are thrown into the whirlwind of the changing times. It's July of 1976. Bruce and Susan Miller (Jack Davenport and Molly Parker) are a happily married couple with two kids. They've all just moved to a lakeside mansion, leaving behind friends and old neighbors Janet and Roger Thompson (Miriam Shor and Josh Hopkins). Roger is a laid-back sort, but Janet is wound tighter than a ball of twine. She's panicked that Susan will forget all about her once she's moved away.
That's not an unreasonable concern, considering that the Millers' new neighbors include the aforementioned sleazy pilot Tom (Grant Show, sporting a full-on porn star mustache) and his wife Trina (Lana Parrilla). Tom and Trina have an open marriage. But they're also selective about whom they invite into their lair. Despite Tom's assertion that his wife will love his twinkie stewardess, she's not thrilled with sharing her husband with such a tender young thing and advises him to pick someone in their own age group next time.
Thus, Trina is thrilled when she sees the Millers arrive. "They look happy," she says, with a dangerous glint in her eye. The rest of the episode sees the Deckers trying to gently lure the Millers out of their straight-arrow ways, with methods that include quaaludes and a backyard barbecue that gives new meaning to the phrase "bicentennial celebration." That party is also attended by Roger and Janet -- the former might have feelings for Susan and the latter is simply appalled that her friend has thrown in with such a wild element.
Indeed, the Deckers seem like dangerous folks, and this is where I have a problem with "Swingtown." Instead of giving these characters shading, "Swingtown" (at least in that first episode), paints the Deckers as sleazy predators. Tom is such an obvious lothario sleazoid, I'm surprised that he's never once seen massaging his mustaches and purring "Exxxcelllent!"
Trina, meanwhile, reminded me of the adult version of Georgina on "Gossip Girl." She seems like the kind of woman who seeks to reel you in, only to destroy you.
Meanwhile, the Millers seem pretty flat and one-sided. We never figure out just why they're so eager to make friends with the Deckers. They had their children young and missed out on the 60s Woodstock scene, so it's understandable that their neighbors' freewheeling lifestyle would have an allure. But would they be drawn to it so quickly? I doubt it.
I'm hoping that, in subsequent episodes, these characters will develop new levels. Certainly, the show has a fine bunch of actors. Parker, best known as the embattled Alma on "Deadwood," has a tender vulnerability that makes you believe in her, despite the patchy writing. And Shor is excellent as the buttoned-up Janet, creating one of the show's few three-dimensional characters. Yes, she's a priss, but Shor shows us that fear, not mere morality, is the root of her prudishness. When Trina plays a nasty trick on her, Shor makes you bristle at the betrayal.
Some have taken issue with the fact that "Swingtown" is a show about sex, shown on broadcast television, making graphic sex scenes impossible. That's a valid concern, but the lack of nudity and explicit content isn't what bothers me about "Swingtown." If the characters were interesting, we'd be more willing to suspend disbelief when the camera pans away right before a clinch.
Even so, it's still better than CBS's previous attempt to spruce up its image, the God-awful musical-mystery-drama "Viva Laughlin." Let's hope that "Swing" adds some spring to its step in future episodes.