Tuesday Night Book Club May Become a Tuesday Night Worth Skipping - Episode 1 by Brian Busch
The new CBS show Tuesday Night Book Club is a very original drama that, at this point, is questionable in its consistency and artistry. It views like a documentary, complete with narration, but it's clear the creators wanted to convey something different than that. Resist the temptation to compare it to Desperate Housewives, because it’s different.
Tuesday Night Book Club is a one-hour series that follows the lives of eight women as they deal with day-to-day pressures of keeping relationships going, maintaining households and/or kids, and satisfying their husbands.
The premiere had a five-minute introduction consisting of a medley of clips showcasing each member of the book club, and their life situations. Several scenes in the show are introduced by a narrator, which is unnecessary, and the music is either too prevalent or
too top-40ish to achieve drama. Some scenes felt more like a WB teeny show.
The couple to keep an eye on - or get sick and tired of - is Lynn and Eddie. They argue from the get-go, and their first scene has every sentence being an attack at one another. The show continues with more petty, puppy love squabbles from these two, which make them stand out from every other couple. Neither wants to compromise, which is common in young couples but bad if you’ve tied the knot.
The couple’s first scene shows them unpacking in their new house, just six months into their wedded bliss. Lynn says she is going to need some help from him for their upcoming housewarming party this weekend. Eddie says, “Don’t you remember I work?” She retorts with the same question back at him. “What do you want me to do, call in sick so you can have a party?” Eddie the imbecile says. Their dialogue is so adolescent, and it gets worse later.
In discussing his marital challenges to members of the “book club” (the viewer forgets about the book) at the final party, Eddie is implored by Jamie that he needs to compromise. “I said ‘I do ,’” he says, referring to his wedding vow. “That’s a compromise.” Let’s hope his stupidity ends right there.
Sex is the theme
The plot centers around intimacy and - you guessed it - sex. The title of that book from the opening scene is Are You Good in Bed? Even a song played during the show has, as its main line, “Are we ever gonna have sex again?”
Tina does well as the confidant, and apparent leader of the group, who listens to all the women’s problems. What’s troubling about the show is some scenes looked straight out of a talk show, while others were well-scripted artistic portrayals. The flip-flopping of scenes from drama-to-talk-show-to-drama is shown in the following example.
Cris is a dedicated mother of two, whose husband of ten years just got out of rehab after kicking a bad addiction. In one scene, she is spilling her guts as if it were an AA meeting about her own husband’s alcohol problem with what appeared to be senior citizens, but it had the feel of a talk show. The next scene was Jamie and her husband talking about - and disagreeing over - the sacrifices each other has made to make an effort at marriage. This was artistic and well done. Two scenes later, Jamie packs up her Mercedes SUV and drives to Tina’s for a shoulder to cry on in another scene reminiscent of Dr. Phil. They both sit on a couch as the focal point, just like a talk show, with Tina playing Dr.Phil.
A Terrible Tour
The viewer is taken to a an irrelevant scene of Tina opening the door to a rental unit, showing Jamie what her life could be if she leaves her husband, and allowing her to dream a bit. The viewer though is given this tour of a plain, empty house, while Jamie dreams and opens doors, as a song plays in the background. Huh? Not exactly drawing emotion toward Jamie. Since when does Tina do real estate anyway?
Jenn is the trophy wife who spends lavishly because she married a rich businessman (whom I believe remained nameless throughout). The bad thing here is he is a fatherly, sugar-daddy type who is way too serious for this show. His voice is too serious, he looks too serious, and he is as bald as Rob Reiner. He looks like he was pulled right out of a Sunday morning political debate show.
This series is still raw, yet it is blunt, clean and has promise. Time will tell how this docu-drama will do!
Visit Brian on the web at mediabistro.com/brianbusch.
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