Pop Culture In Review: Sibling Revelry
03-17-2006
by Aaron Dicer

Sibling Revelry
Sons & Daughters, ABC, Tue. 8PM

I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Not the paralyzed by fear of rejection or inadequacy kind, more the perfectionism masquerading as procrastination kind. You know, the kind that says, "I want everything in my life to be perfect, but that's gonna take a lot of work, and I'm not quite sure I'm up for it." Ok, so maybe it's more procrastination masquerading as perfectionism, but the point is I really, really want things in my life to be perfect, and shouldn't that be enough? ABC's new sitcom "Sons & Daughters" seems to think so. In both execution and message this show seems content to just let the pieces fall and hope the puzzle puts itself together. Can perfection be achieved without effort?

The perfect show without really trying?

Let's get this out of the way right up front, it's inevitable that "Sons & Daughters" would get comparisons to FOX's recently cancelled "Arrested Development". Coming so shortly on the heels of Development's cancellation and dealing with another large dysfunctional family has given many Arrested fans a window of hope that they can just shift their addiction and pretend all is right in the world. Allow me to throw a hammer through that window immediately. I knew Arrested Development, Arrested Development was a friend of mine, and you Sons & Daughters, are no Arrested Development.

For one thing the convoluted cast makes it difficult to follow exactly who is who and how they are related. If you thought keeping up with 8 main Bluths was a bit much, just wait until you try and figure out which of the 16 sons and daughters sauntering in and out of the plot is which. It's like that first episode of Survivor every season, and you just want them to start voting family members off the island so you can figure out who is who. It's probably something you would get a hold of after a season or so, but I have a hard enough time remembering who is who at my own family reunion, I don't need to deal with someone else's.

But where the show suffers most is in its unconvincing and stilted dialogue. Viewers have become accustomed to the rapid-fire wit of shows like Arrested. Aaron Sorkin and David Kelly alone have written half a dozen shows that have raised the bar on writing comedy and drama together at a laugh per minute pace. Sons & Daughters never really lives up to these modern expectations and much of that is due to the improvisational feel it employs. What's funny is that the ads promote the improvisation with rabid glee. As if to say, "look we don't even write a script, we let our actors say whatever they feel like!" Can you imagine Taco Bell taking this same approach? "We let our employees make the call, stop by and see what's in your Chalupa today!" And yet with TV, somehow we are supposed to be thrilled that they skimped on the whole planning out the dialogue thing. I know improvisation can work in movies, I absolutely love what Christopher Guest and crew have done starting with "Spinal Tap" and all the way through "A Mighty Wind". ("Waiting For Guffman" is my personal fave; start there if you have no idea what I'm talking about.) But movies have a lot more time to work out each individual scene and do the editing; it just doesn't work with a television schedule. Too often the actors here seem to get lost in their own freedom reverting to childish vulgarity as an easy laugh. It's this lack of polish and intelligence that does the most damage to "Sons & Daughters".

The perfect family without really trying?

You'll notice the show is called "Sons & Daughters" not "Mothers & Fathers", and it's for a simple reason, each of us is a son or daughter, and the show's main goal seems to be to hit us where we live. Series creator Fred Goss (who also stars as Cameron, the son who seems to be at the center of it all) describes the show as "an unadulterated look at marriage, raising children and living in close proximity to an extended family." At its essence this is a wonderful idea, we all have family and innately understand the very strange effort of loving people for the simple reason that they have much of the same DNA as you. These are not relationships by choice; rather they are relationships by proximity. All families struggle with these issues and any show that deals with them in an honest and humorous way would be filling a void that has been around a long time. In fact, the last family sitcom to really deal in an honest fun way with true family concerns was probably "The Cosby Show", and I'm pretty sure that show had a decent run (Please tell me you remember the Huxtables, seriously, I feel way too old as it is.) The truth is, where "Sons & Daughters" succeeds the most is in the few scenes where it deals with real issues. A popular teenage son sticks up for his unpopular cousin, a stepfather deals with getting through to his stepson, and a wife deals with hurtful things said by her husband. The show shines in these messages of hurt, loyalty, and the importance of family, but unfortunately these scenes are too few and undercut by the reality disconnect that happens in many of the more contrived scenarios that surround them.

There is this sense in "Sons & Daughters" that you love family because you have too, that there is no need to put any effort into these relationships because they are just something we have to exist with. The truth is that family relationships even though not chosen are just like any other bond in that they need cultivation and care to really work. Kinda like TV Shows. The producers may expect that because they have all the right pieces that you will just make the show a part of your family and tune in each week because that's just what you do. But the truth is "Sons & Daughters" ends up being a very forgettable show that never can quite get it right even with the few touching views into the beauty and mess of extended family. What's so unfortunate is that with a written script and a little more maturity this could have easily been a genuine hit and something with which we could all identify.

But that would have taken a little more effort, and really, who has time for that?

Message - C-
Content - C-
Quality - B-

Overall - 72%

(Aaron Dicer is Program Director and does the morning show at 101.7 "The Fuse", in Saginaw, Michigan. He has also spoken around the country at youth events and seminars on how a Christian can interact with culture in a positive way. Every other week he will offer a new review of a TV show, Movie, or other piece of pop culture. You can hear him at wprj.org, read more articles at hookedonsiphonics.com, or be his friend at myspace.com/aarondicer. Questions, comments, opinions, ideas? Email him at dice@cmcentral.com)