Why Swingtown failed

Friday night hurt it more than anything else, but all of your points are major contributing factors.

The quality wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Even actors who I normally like like Jack Davenport didn't put in stellar performances here. Period pieces are always really tricky and I think the setting of the 70s, when much of our culture was really bizarre (check out some of the outfits) didn't make it any easier. The fact that the show seemed to be trying to rock the nostalgia theme kind of hard may have hurt it too. Period shows that have been critical and commercial successes such as Mad Men or The Wonder Years have always been about more than nostalgia. The Wonder Years was primarily a story of Kevin Arnold going from a boy to a teenager. On that level it could appeal to people who had no memory of the sixties, or who had bad memories of it. I think that it also worked because it didn't try to force the time period down our throats or shove it in our faces. There were references of course to current events, and the daughter at least dabbled with the hippy lifestyle (and faced her parents disapproval of it) but the whole show wasn't about "what 60s reference can we throw into the show this week?" Same thing with Mad Men. There are references to current events but it doesn't shove some grand event at us every week. Swingtown seemed to be more like those shows like American Dreams which weren't so succesful and which were more self conscious about their shows taking place at an important time in American history.

The other thing that I think hurt the show was that people just didn't care for the premise. People LIKE sex in their entertainment (for the most part) but the generally don't like their entertainment to be ABOUT sex. Swingtown always had problems because the premise seemed to limited. How can you do full seasons of a show about sexual experimentation? Other shows work sex scenes around other themes and action. Even shows like Gossip Girl or Melrose Place or daytime soaps which are drenched in sex are all primarily about the machinations and schemes of the characters not about who is shacking up with whom. These premises give the creators a framework to hang the sex on. Rahter than the show being all about sex.

The TRUE Hero of Lost:
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I agree with jimbo29. The show was probably too racy for a major network. It may have worked on a cable channel.

I actually liked Swingtown and watched every episode. For me it was a trip back to my high school and young adult years when the world was carefree and blah blah blah.

So naturally I was predisposed to watching it, and enjoyed hearing the music again, seeing the clothes, etc. I don't know how much appeal all of those things would have for someone who had no nostalgia for the period.

Also, although it featured good actors, the scripts were really not outstanding. The characters were a bit cookie cutter. They may have developed over time, and perhaps were even starting to do so by series end. But in terms of writing and character development, let's face it folks, this was no "Six Feet Under".

I think another fatal flaw for Swingtown was the inclusion of the younger characters. After a certain point, I just started fast forwarding through all their scenes. Not JUST because they were young, but because the material invovling them was dull and their delivery sucked.

My two cents.

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With the possible exception of CBS being the kiss of death to new programs, I think everyone here has offered valid reasons. (Perhaps the Tiffany Network, the one with the oldest skewing viewer base, was NOT the likeliest home for a show titled "Swingtown.")

PrettySalad really nailed it for me personally. I avoided the show when it was initially broadcast due to the prurient nature of the advertising and the prospect of watching a show about my parents' generation behaving badly. (Ewww.)

So you can imagine my surprise when I watched the DVD set two weeks ago and found a thoughtful show about people coping with the seismic changes in the social landscape and listening to that inner voice that questioned the cracks in their Ozzie and Harriet existence. While there was some self-centered hedonism on display, with attendant damage (think of the drug-addled tramp next door and her angry, neglected daughter), the show was mostly about the emotional journey of self-discovery. Plus the set-up of what appeared to be three stereotypical couple "types" --- the predatory swingers who devour all to avoid the emptiness at their core; the tentative new swingers who abandon themselves to all-out debauchery and lose their souls; and the conservative couple who get left behind to stew in their resentful judginess ---- did not pan out that way at all!

I became quite invested in the story arcs of Roger, Susan and Janet----- especially Janet. The designated wet blanket who proved to be a real life force was on the most engaging journey of all the characters. Heck, she even charmed Harry Reems with her humor, loyalty and shoot from the hip honesty.

Jimbo29, you are right about the show not being water cooler material. To even bring it up would have sent out an uncomfortable vibe. Which is odd that we can talk about Dexter's latest kill, but sex talk is still taboo in the workplace. Though I am not sure that is such a bad thing within the context of our (USA, pseudo-Puritan) culture.

There_Is_No_Sayid, you are right about the show slathering on the cultural reference points with a trowel. That could be off-putting to people uninterested in the 70s. Oddly, I remember the fashions of the 70s as being hippie-lite and a bit tacky---- yet I lusted after Molly Parker's dresses.

Pipeman_Toronto, the writing was a little inconsistent---- which becomes more evident when you watch multiple episodes back-to-back. But it was still far better than many shows. Though I also think the children's story lines were a misstep. Besides being unconvincing, they missed an opportunity to show how the parent's new exploratory lifestyles would have destabilized their children's world. That and Roger and Janet's son was an absolute pill.

I agree about CBS being the kiss of death for this kind of show. Whenever they acquire stuff that skews younger they mess it up. The Flash and American Gothic are two other examples. And this show in particular really needed to be on Showtime, HBO, F/X, some network like that.

A second reason is kind of related to the first one, only it's how CBS screwed up this time: Consider the airdates. First episode aired June 5, last one September 5. In other words, it aired during vacation time. Reality shows sometimes do okay during summer, and thus vacation months for some reason, but dramas tend to die when placed their because their audience is travelling or otherwise engaged in summer activities. It also makes it hard for a series to get picked up because those decisions are generally made in June.