Mr. Television
09-20-2007, 08:54 PM
http://communities.canada.com/nationalpost/blogs/theampersand/archive/2007/09/11/top-10-new-tv-series-no-8-pushing-daisies.aspx
Top 10 new TV shows: No. 7, Carpoolers
Carpoolers, debuts Oct. 2, ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT
The money that Gracen earns as a mediator is “our money”; the money his wife earns flipping houses is, to her, “my money.” Aubrey holds down a full-time job and does all the housework while his wife vedges in front of the television all day. Laird’s wife cheated on him and won the divorce settlement (he still regrets not heeding the assprint on the sliding door). And Dougie, the new guy in the car pool, is living in a freshly-wed state of grace, for now.
Despite its title, Carpoolers is not simply about four men living life in the fast lane. It’s a car ride like Lost is a plane ride. Perhaps a fifth of the pilot episode occurs on four wheels. What Carpoolers is, is a vehicle for a gentle exploration of the life of the middle-class male. Judging by the pilot, the suburban man is, in varying degrees, henpecked. At one extreme, Aubrey says the commute is the only good part of his life. At the other, Gracen is afraid to confront his wife about the $200 toaster she bought with “my money,” but when he finally “shares his feelings” with her, he is rewarded with understanding and sex (the wife is played by Faith Ford, from Murphy Brown).
Carpoolers was created by Bruce McCulloch, who conveyed the tone of the series during a press conference in July when he said: “Some of the things that are lost even in my work in The Kids in the Hall, or The Kids in the Hall in general, is we're humanists. We love our characters. And that is a different, quirky kind of comedy.” It works.
Top 10 new TV shows: No. 7, Carpoolers
Carpoolers, debuts Oct. 2, ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT
The money that Gracen earns as a mediator is “our money”; the money his wife earns flipping houses is, to her, “my money.” Aubrey holds down a full-time job and does all the housework while his wife vedges in front of the television all day. Laird’s wife cheated on him and won the divorce settlement (he still regrets not heeding the assprint on the sliding door). And Dougie, the new guy in the car pool, is living in a freshly-wed state of grace, for now.
Despite its title, Carpoolers is not simply about four men living life in the fast lane. It’s a car ride like Lost is a plane ride. Perhaps a fifth of the pilot episode occurs on four wheels. What Carpoolers is, is a vehicle for a gentle exploration of the life of the middle-class male. Judging by the pilot, the suburban man is, in varying degrees, henpecked. At one extreme, Aubrey says the commute is the only good part of his life. At the other, Gracen is afraid to confront his wife about the $200 toaster she bought with “my money,” but when he finally “shares his feelings” with her, he is rewarded with understanding and sex (the wife is played by Faith Ford, from Murphy Brown).
Carpoolers was created by Bruce McCulloch, who conveyed the tone of the series during a press conference in July when he said: “Some of the things that are lost even in my work in The Kids in the Hall, or The Kids in the Hall in general, is we're humanists. We love our characters. And that is a different, quirky kind of comedy.” It works.