It's True, You Can't Go Back Again: Family Ties - The Complete First Season

The Good: Moments of character, Moments of acting
The Bad: Laugh track! No DVD bonus features, Very tired concepts, Strangely formulaic, Music
The Basics: Decent acting and mediocre characters are underplayed by domineering issue-oriented plots and some truly campy 80's family references for this debut season.


Well, all right now. I grew up in the early 80s. That's my big confession for today. I am a child of the 80s and I remember watching Family Ties as a kid. Indeed, it was probably Family Ties that made me into enough of a Michael J. Fox fan to watch the Back To The Future Trilogy (reviewed here!) and Spin City while he was on it. I do not believe I ever saw the entire first season of Family Ties and in the past, I've used Family Ties as an example of a series that ought to release itself as a complete series boxed set as opposed to season by season volumes. After sitting through the four-disc, twenty-two episode Family Ties - The Complete First Season set, I stand more firmly by that idea. I can't imagine spending money on this set . . . and I can't recommend it.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Family Ties is a pretty simple concept: two children of the '60s have had children and find themselves in the early 80s as middle aged parents of kids growing up in a very different world than the one they envisioned when they were protesting, fighting the power and loving freely. They continue to be politically active, but discover they have raised a Republican son, a daughter that is entirely superficial and another daughter who has no verbal self-control. Indeed, the DVD box describes Elyse and Steven Keaton's youngest daughter Jennifer as a "precocious tomboy who always speaks her mind," but an impartial viewing of the first season finds Jennifer to be a pseudo clone of Alex; she follows him and delivers lines that are often the counterpoint to what most would expect from a young woman. But the truth is, we soon come to expect the blunt quips that come from the seemingly innocent girl and it becomes somewhat predictable that the camera will focus on Jennifer and she will deliver a blunt retort that seems beyond her years.

The show seems, in many ways, like an afterschool special with various episodes having a moral and a stand. The show is largely episodic, with the Keaton family encountering such tribulations as Alex attending an exclusive club because he is interested in a girl, Mallory going off with a boy on her own, Jennifer succumbing to peer pressure to hate boys, Alex being seduced by an older woman, Mallory being hit on by a sleazy older man, and Steven and Elyse protesting nuclear arms on Thanksgiving. The show is largely a family show, with episodes like "A Christmas Story" describing how each of the children came into the world and "Elyse D'Arc," wherein Steven is finding it untenable to not have time alone with his wife. The series is also largely about political issues, which is encapsulated in episodes where Alex leaves his job at a small, independent grocer to go work for a chain, Steven and Elyse bringing a gun into the house after they are robbed, Elyse advising one of Mallory's friends who gets pregnant, and Alex playing the stock market.

The problem with the first season of Family Ties as it appears in this DVD boxed set is that it is horribly dated and it plays on it terribly. Steven and Elyse constantly reference the '60s and all they fought for, as if one is likely to forget they were aging hippies by the time the opening credits (which illustrates their early relationship) finish rolling. It becomes a pretty tired mantra as everything in their personality becomes justified as a function of their era as opposed to . . . well, simply it being their personality. As a result, most of their conversations and viewpoints they express contain virtual "works cited" lists wherein they reference moments in their past that justify their views as opposed to simply having their views and the convictions for them. It seems silly in retrospect.

Similarly, Mallory's entire character the first season seems to be to be interested in boys but constantly calling attention to how grossed out she is by her parents expressing affection for one another. Now, I like that Steven and Elyse are open and kissing a lot in the series, but it gets real tiresome to have Mallory walk in and express discomfort with it. Moreover, if Mallory has been raised by these people her whole life, it seems odd that she's not more open to it by her sophomore year of high school!

The other terribly dated and tragic element of this boxed set is the laugh track. I cannot think of a show I have watched recently that is so dependent upon and utterly misuses a laugh track as this first season of Family Ties. There are episodes where the laugh track is used after lines that are biting or not funny and the laugh track cheapens the impact of them instead of adding any genuine levity. It's like the producers simply turned the laugh track on and set it off at thirty-second intervals.

In many ways, the laugh track and applause at the end of every episode make the show ripe for parody. So, too, is the campy "issue of the week" sincerity of each episode. The first season is very much like a catalogue of social and political issues of the day explored in earnest for twenty-five minutes. It's almost surprising that when Strangers With Candy (reviewed here!) came along, they did not simply make a parody of Family Ties to more poignantly nail the after school specials they were criticizing.

It is certainly not all bad, though! Because of the canned applause at the end and the terrible laugh track, along with the limited sets - most of the action of most of the episodes happens in the kitchen and living room of the Keaton house - Family Ties - The Complete First Season has the air and attitude of being a half hour play every episode. There is a very theatrical quality to the whole series at this point that resonates well and works wonderfully. Sure, Mallory and Alex square off to give dialogue that is delivered with a passion and wide-eyed sincerity that seems like a high school production at points, but there is something refreshing about the show's simplicity in that way. Indeed, with each episode standing like a little play, we get something that is virtually unseen on television (or DVD) until The West Wing (reviewed here!); writing that is largely theatrical and sometimes dense delivered by true professionals who have a strong sense of dramatic presentation.

While this season is largely issue-driven, the characters are the constant. Here are the principle characters of Family Ties:

Elyse Keaton - A flower child who is an architect and has raised three children to be their own people. She is deeply in love with Steven and works with him to raise actualized, independent children, while still fighting for the causes she believes in. She is liberal, proud and strong-willed,

Steven Keaton - Director of the local PBS station, he has been married to Elyse for almost twenty years and is only really baffled by Alex and how his son turned into a conservative. He works with Elyse to hold onto the principles of pacifism, citizen involvement in government and the right to protest,

Alex P. Keaton - A young Republican, he is a big supporter of Ronald Reagan, supply-side economics and male-domination in the workplace and society. He takes on a little brother who idolizes him, works to score with the ladies and applies his genius to pursuing personal wealth and glory. He is a classic overachiever,

Mallory - Alex's dippy sister who only cares about boys and reviles the affection Steven and Elyse show to one another. She has some self-respect and intelligence but she is constantly berated by Alex and neglected otherwise,

and Jennifer - The ten year-old daughter of Steven and Elyse. She is pretty independent, though she is at an age where it is not cool to like boys and she has a friend who is a boy. She comments on puberty, politics and family happenings almost like she was a narrator and largely, she involves herself in schemes Alex comes up with to her own advantage.

The cast is a decent one and the show makes good use out of Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, and Tina Yothers. Justine Bateman, who plays Mallory, is lost in the shuffle of the first season too often, but her character is also pretty simple, so it's hard to truly evaluate her performance.

It is the performance of Meredith Baxter-Birney that dominates the first season of Family Ties. As the matriarch of the Keaton clan, Baxter-Birney is charged with playing a smart, efficient, emotionally-connected and in control mother and while I don't know how much of her performance is simply the function of wonderful casting, she pulls the roll off quite well. Baxter-Birney steals virtually every scene she is in and becomes the cast member who seems most instantly at ease with embodying her character and the complexities that come with it.

Family Ties either gets better or my continued watching is going to completely corrupt my childhood memories. The show is smart in its topical nature but it lacks subtlety to be genuinely entertaining and it is not focused quite enough on character for my tastes. On DVD, the show is a complete wash; it looks good, which must have taken some work and it sounds fine, but there are no DVD bonuses. Not one.

As well, there is something lacking and that is some of the original music. The back of the box references that and there is one painful scene where Alex is talking about music and changes the music, but then nothing plays! It pretty much guts the humor of the scene when character reference music that is not playing!

The show might get better, but in its first season, it's a tough sell and it does make me wonder how the series survived to get as good as it got. As it stands, it's not there yet!

For other television shows that focus on families, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Once And Again - Season 1
Veronica Mars
Arrested Development

5/10

For other television reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Past Its Peak, But Still Fun, Spin City Season Three Is Worth Watching!

The Good: Funny, Moments of character development, Moments of performance
The Bad: No DVD bonus features, Plots get "sitcommy," Some character stagnation
The Basics: Funny, a little dated and with some moments of genuine character, Spin City Season 3 is a worthwhile addition to the collection of anyone who likes sitcoms.


There is no show I seem to get quite as excited about running into on cable when I travel - having no cable television at home - than Spin City. I'm not sure why, but whenever that or Girlfriends comes on, I always seem to stop my morning channel surfing while traveling and give it my attention. My wife seems to have picked up on this because recently when she found Spin City: The Complete Third Season in a discount bargain bin, she picked it up for me. The truth is, I'm grateful to have the boxed set and I appreciate her getting it for me, but the third season is an unremarkable DVD set which adds nothing that the original episodes did not have. As such, it offers little value to the DVD buying audience who is adding it to their permanent collections.

But more than that, the third season of Spin City was a series of true hit-or-miss episodes which either worked exceptionally well or failed miserably with very little middle ground. And while characters like the Mayor and Janelle and Nikki have a chance to truly grow and evolve, some of the others, most notably Paul and James, truly stagnate. The inclusion of Carter's geriatric dog added an element that was amusing for one appearance, but became painful as the season progressed, almost as painful as Stuart's new girlfriend, Deidre. But, on the balance, the quality of the episodes is enough to recommend the boxed set, if for no other reason than to get the "comfort food" of the sitcom whenever one wants to be able to watch it!

The Mayor of New York City decides to run for re-election and at a press event for it, Mike takes credit for saving a baby from an accident. Shortly thereafter, Mike meets Heidi Klum and he begins dating the supermodel. This, naturally, sets off Nikki, who has carried a torch for Mike and, unfortunately, sets her lying about her feelings. Her lie to Mike is called when she makes up a fictitious boyfriend and Mike invites them to have dinner together. When Mike finds himself single again, it is after Nikki has met the man, Arthur, who meets all of the criteria she assigned to her fictional boyfriend and Mike gets jealous of Nikki and Arthur, doing all he can to keep the two apart.

While Mike's jealous machinations run most of the a-line stories, Stuart begins dating the equally-perverted dominatrix Deidre and Carter hooks up with an old friend of Mike's. The Mayor starts dating Janelle and Paul and Claudia move toward having a child, which they require some outside help for. And, ultimately, Heidi Klum returns to throw a wrench into Mike's new relationship.

Unlike most situational comedies, Spin City, which is set in the staff of the Mayor's Office in New York City, goes for more serialized episodes in the third season. The arcs essentially go from Mike and Heidi to Nikki and Arthur to Mike and Nikki. While there are some episodic episodes which break up the season from being a true serialized work - like "The Nutty Deputy Mayor" where Mike wears a fat suit in order to understand the ordeals of obese people or "An Officer And A Gentleman" where Mike's old friend returns to New York, comes out to Mike and tries to date Carter - the bulk of the episodes flow surprisingly well from one episode to the next to tell a story of a year in the life of the office.

Rather annoyingly, there is a clip show ("That's Entertainment"), but most of the episodes are fairly fresh. "Back To The Future IV: Judgment Day" relies almost entirely on understanding "Back To The Future" and appreciating the chemistry Michael J. Fox and guest star Christopher Lloyd have with one another. And the show, occasionally, remembers it has a political context, as episodes like "The Deer Hunter" make satire out of what politicians will do for campaign contributions. And there are some general sitcom gems, like "Monkey Business" which takes the time to develop the friendship between homophobe Stuart and his homosexual roommate, Carter.

Like anything truly worth watching, the third season of Spin City is all about the characters. Here are the primary characters and how the third season finds them:

Mike - The Deputy Mayor of New York City, he begins dating Heidi Klum until his feelings for Nikki surface. When that happens, he is forced to compete with Arthur, almost donating a kidney in the process. But when they do hook up, they are surprised to find that it's not all fun and games. Over the course of the year, Mike inadvertently shoots a baby deer, confronts his oldest friend, comes to believe his mentor is insane and helps the Mayor out of every tight jam he gets himself and his staff into,

Carter - The gay professional continues keeping Stuart under his roof and takes in the ancient dog who nearly dies virtually every time he is on screen. He acts as a confidant to Nikki and loathes Diedre, which makes it difficult for him when he tries to use Diedre to get back at Stuart for using one of his ex's. He has a fling with Mike's naval officer friend,

Stuart - Continuing to be an antagonist at the office, he hooks up with a woman as kinky as he is. He comes to appreciate Carter more and keeps everyone in the office from meeting his sister for reasons he won't share with anyone,

Paul - Ever the pennypincher, he is bullied while performing his job by a new reporter. He and Claudia want to have a child, but discover they can't, so Paul does his usual cheapskate attempt to use Mike to artificially inseminate her (in this case, liquor). He helps Stacey learn to be cheap after she fails to bust him for abusing sick leave,

Nikki - After suffering through Mike's parade of girlfriends, including Heidi Klum, she makes up a boyfriend based on the Arthurian legends and has to come up with a man who actually meets those criteria when Mike invites them both to dinner. She manages to get what she wanted from Mike, but then finds herself getting more and more possessive of him,

Stacey - She tries to bust Paul for abusing paid sick leave, but ultimately learns how to be as grossly cheap as him,

James - He has a funeral for a cow and loses his life savings by putting his faith in Mike and the stock market,

Janelle - Begins secretly dating the Mayor and has a tough time breaking up with him when she's done with the relationship,

and Mayor Winston - After enthusiastically turning around his re-election chances, he finds himself crippled by untimely laughing spells. He causes a p.r. crisis when he pitches poorly at a baseball game with a symbolic first throw and he hides from the cameras when Thanksgiving at the Mayor's is turned into a reality show. After getting dating advice from unlikely sources, he starts seeing Janelle and accidentally outs her as his girlfriend on Politically Incorrect! And before it is all over, he has an action figure made of himself.

By the third season, all of the cast knew their characters and as a result, there is nothing spectacular or surprising that comes from most of the acting. Barry Botswick manages to bring some substance to the bumbling mayor in the latter episodes when the Mayor and Janelle are struggling. Similarly, Michael J. Fox makes Mike both funny and actually emotionally-interesting when struggling with his feelings for Nikki.

If there is any standout in Season Three for the acting, it is from Connie Britton, who plays Nikki. Her character has oscillated between dippy and strangely cold. But in the plot arc with Nikki and Arthur, Britton is actually able to infuse genuine happiness into the character, which offsets well the character's earlier sadness in the season. That she credibly portrays the entire emotional range makes her character pop in ways that she hasn't up until this season.

Ultimately, for a boxed set with no DVD bonus features, it is the quality of acting, plot and little character moments that make it worth buying and Spin City The Complete Third Season has just enough to warrant the attention of anyone who likes a good sitcom.

For the other works with Richard Kind please check out my reviews:
Toy Story 3
Spin City - Season 1
Spin City - Season 2

5/10

For other television reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Better Than The First Season, Spin City's Abandoned Concept Works Well In Season Two!

The Good: Funny, Decent character development, Moments of acting
The Bad: Light on DVD bonus features, Some predictability
The Basics: One of the funnier seasons of Spin City, The Complete Second Season drops on DVD as a strong ensemble comedy worth anyone's time and attention.


Sometimes, the benefit of DVD can be to see the effect a program has on the viewer as opposed to the objective quality of the series. So, for example, in the case of Spin City, I loved it when it first aired and because I do not have cable and it was never locally syndicated, when I would find myself traveling in strange cities and turn the television on on Sunday mornings, I would be thrilled to find episodes of Spin City there for me to enjoy again. When Spin City finally hit DVD with the complete first season (reviewed here!) was was once again reminded of the sense of betrayal I felt back in the day when the show first aired and the original concept - being Mike Flaherty juggling his job as deputy mayor of New York City with being in a long-term stable relationship with a member of the press - was abandoned.

With Spin City The Complete Second Season on DVD, that sense of betrayal is gone; the show is headed in a different direction and as a result, it recovers well from my justified gripe with it. Instead of struggling with the conflict between personal and professional, Mike Flaherty becomes a sexy deputy mayor who is looking for love outside the office and struggling to keep his staff from jeopardizing the political future of the mayor of New York City! This season is more consistently funny and utilizes the whole cast better than the first season did. As a result, it is much easier to recommend and leaves the viewer with much less to complain about!

With the Mayor and Paul A.W.O.L. in Miami, Mike rushes to recover them both before their absence is noticed. Succeeding with that, Mike works to keep Paul out of an insane asylum when he has a nervous breakdown. As he struggles to hold the staff together and negotiate the terms of the Mayor's divorce, Mike begins to fall in love with the opposing counsel, Laurie. As Laurie befriends the staff and sends Mike for a loop by revealing she is not looking for commitment, Paul reunites with Claudia, the Mayor gets caught on camera buying porn and a new assistant for Mike is hired.

As Stacey adapts to life in the mayor's office, Nikki goes through more men, James gets a new hobby and Carter and Stuart spar constantly. But Stuart is promoted, putting him in a job where his sarcasm is unwelcome and likely to get him fired. When a crime spree hits New York City, Carter deals with ethnic issues and he and Stuart are pushed together into a living arrangement neither one is comfortable with, but both need.

The second season of Spin City is a welcome addition to anyone's DVD collection and no one will miss anything from not having the first season with it. The second season is more politically sharp, dealing with issues like racism, crime and pornography. As well, the show explores more personal issues like emotional abandonment, commitment and the search for love. There are outrageous episodes like "Radio Daze," where Mike's competitive nature gets the mayor into hot water by forcing a mock-election with a radio personality and "Bye, Bye, Birdie" wherein a night of bachelor and bachelorette parties goes horribly awry when Carter, Mike and James end up stuck in a hardware store while it is being robbed.

But perhaps the best reason to pick up the second season is "In The Heat Of The Day." Like the first season's "Grand Illusion" - wherein Carter and Nikki stage a wedding to protest the anti-gay marriage stance of the Mayor's office - "In The Heat Of The Day" is a great combination of a character study and a political commentary. Carter, running to lose weight as part of the Mayor's fitness initiative, is apprehended by the police because there is a black suspect supposedly fleeing a crime scene nearby. Mike wants to keep the issue from the press, but Carter is understandably angered by the event and its repercussions. The episode works because it explores the issue from every possible angle and Spin City dares to do what few other programs do: it allows the secondary cast to shine. Michael J. Fox has a peripheral role in "In The Heat Of The Day" and accomplished actor Michael Boatman is able to carry virtually every scene of the program.

As a result, despite the emphasis on Mike Flaherty, the second season of Spin City comes across as more of an ensemble work. Like all great character-driven comedies, the characters - not the jokes - move the series forward. Here is how the second season finds the principle characters:

Mike Flaherty - Dating Laurie, a lawyer, until she leaves, Mike juggles women on his birthday and New Year's, until he and Nikki hook up on New Year's Eve unwittingly. As Mike tries to help the Mayor and Paul with their love lives, he tries to keep Stuart and Carter from destroying New York City with their ridiculous antics. He keeps the Mayor proud and positive by doing such things like competing against a disc jockey for the hearts and minds of New York City's citizens,

Paul Lassiter - After being declared mentally incompetent, he is sprung and given more power around the office. When Carter is incarcerated, he fears he might be a racist and he is reunited with Claudia, who he gets on the fast track to marry,

Stuart - The conniving deputy to Mike, he and Carter spar more often until the time comes when they open a gay bar together, lose everything in the process and are forced to move in with one another. He immediately takes to hitting on Stacey,

Carter - Furious over being detained for simply being a black man running, he once again becomes politically active. Against his better judgment, he opens a bar with Stuart and after one fabulous night, loses everything. He takes in Stuart and tries to come out to his old priest,

Nikki - After dating a string of losers, she and Mike more or less end up together at the New Year's party, which complicates their working relationship. Along with Stacey and Janel harasses a water delivery man,

James - The brunt of many of the office jokes, he lusts after Paul's hot mother, but otherwise is a background player in events like the holdup during the bachelor party,

Janel - Also a placeholder, her high point comes when she competes for the affections of the water delivery man with the other office women,

Stacey Paterno - Mike's new assistant, she is a straight-talking, feisty woman who immediately takes to fighting with Stuart. She arranges for Stuart to get his comeuppance when Stuart uses a rumor about his sexuality to score with the office women,

and The Mayor - Single and free, he witlessly runs the City with Mike at his side. He buys porn, has an affair with Mike's mom and outs Santa Claus to the children of New York City. He begins working on his memoirs and as re-election nears develops a stuttering problem.

Spin City uses its cast fairly well, including Barry Bostwick and Connie Britton in the supporting roles of the Mayor and Nikki. Richard Kind continues his role as the witless press secretary, Paul and this season he has some moments when he plays his character's idiocy with style and enduring humor. Michael Boatman and Alan Ruck, in this season are paired up more and more to play off one another with "Odd Couple" chemistry as Carter and Stuart, respectively. As the season progresses, they become the ones to watch.

But largely, this remains a Michael J. Fox vehicle and he is brilliant and energetic as Mike Flaherty. He plays off Paula Marshall (Laurie), Meridith Baxter and his real-life wife Tracy Pollan perfectly and he has great on-screen chemistry (of different sorts) with each. In this season, Fox hones his sense of comic timing to deliver lines with a greater sense of irony and enthusiasm than in the first season.

On DVD, the set is light on features, which include a gag reel and featurette on the making of season two. The producers discuss changes made in the cast and the direction of the series and it is entertaining, but fans will be left wanting something more.

Still, it is hard to argue with how good the season turns out. These episodes are highly rewatchable and fun. The characters develop over their experiences and the outcome is a decent season of television that anyone who loves comedy will appreciate.

For other works with Michael J. Fox, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Boston Legal - Season 3
Boston Legal - Season 2
The Back To The Future Trilogy


8/10

For other television reviews, be sure to check out my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing of all that I have written!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Upon Further Review, Spin City "Season One" Is Far More Average Than Extraordinary.

The Good: Moments of humor, Interesting characters, Decent acting
The Bad: Quickly sacrifices concept for familiar, Several gags that hold up poorly over rewatching.
The Basics: All twenty-four episodes on two discs from the first season of Spin City remind viewers how the show started high and quickly became something familiar.


For celebrities who peak young, there is often a lag between the project that makes them a household name and the one that illustrates that that initial success was not a fluke. There are few actors who create iconic characters who are later able to come back and form equally iconic roles afterward. Take, for example, Ted Danson. Danson's role on Cheers was his defining role and while he had Becker afterward, it was never as popular as Cheers and he is likely never to be identified more as Dr. Becker than Sam Malone. See? Even though it has been over a decade since I last saw an episode of Cheers, I could recall the character's name.

One of the other 80s actors that comes easily to mind as one who has created a seminal role for himself is Michael J. Fox. Fox arguably peaked early with his role of Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties. Still, as Fox searched for roles after that comedy, it seemed like more often than not, his projects were referred to as "vehicles." The most successful Michael J. Fox vehicle to date - and possibly the final chance Fox might have to make a recognizable character for his resume - was Spin City. After years stuck on DVD with mediocre "best of" collections, Spin City has been released as complete season DVDs. The thing is, upon rewatching Spin City "Season One" the show seems suddenly less audacious than it did when it originally aired and my excitement over it diminished when watching the set twice.

Mike Flaherty is the deputy mayor of New York City under Mayor Randall M. Winston, Jr., a wealthy ridiculous mayor whose marriage is on the rocks. But Mayor Winston's idiocy aside, Mike's job is made a hundred times more difficult by the fact that he is dating a prominent reporter, Ashley. Having moved in with Ashley, Mike works to keep his home life and work life separate, though he often finds himself working with his problematically witless staff to keep Ashley from breaking stories that Mike is not yet ready to become news.

As part of his daily job, Mike finds himself voted Sexiest Man in New York City, negotiating a strike with the sanitation workers, haggling with a real estate developer who is a personal friend, keeping a Mayor For A Day contest winner from undoing Mayor Winston's agenda, dealing with a snowstorm, appeasing the deaf community, and ultimately, dealing with a missing mayor. Mike's team keeps him on his toes as he takes onto the staff a militant gay rights activist, an egoist, and more idiots than most people should ever have to deal with!

I remember loving Spin City. In fact, I recall loving it so much that when my Creative Writing professor in college noted that Carla Gugino's Ashley was being booted from the series, I was as outraged as one could be. Actually, I remember raising my voice and scoffing about how stupid a move it was and that Ashley leaving - which she does after about eleven episodes - gutted the concept of Spin City. And it is true. The show begins as a clever play wherein Mike Flaherty must juggle his home life and his work and for the first dozen episodes, the show is original, funny and has almost limitless potential. The latter dozen episodes in this boxed set feature Mike Flaherty simply going through the motions of dating.

This is not to say there are no funny moments in the second half of the season; "Deaf Becomes Her" and "Hot In The City" have some hilarious lines. In fact, "Hot In The City," wherein an ex-girlfriend of Mike's seeks to have his baby by capturing some of his sperm, is enduringly funny. But episodes like "Kiss Me, Stupid" and "Bone Free" could belong to virtually any sitcom in the past fifty years. That unfortunate level of interchangability in the characters and situations - and even the writing with the gags that the show is supposed to hinge on - is not present in the first few episodes and the show suffers some as a result.

Fans of Spin City who were attentive to the show will be glad to know that the DVD boxed set of Season One contains the original episodes as they aired. For those who watched the show, there was a disturbing trend; several episodes (like "The High And The Mighty") appeared on television in two ways. There was the original aired version - with Ashley present and in a supporting role - and a rerun version following Gugino's departure from the series where Ashley was removed from the episode and the scenes with her were reshot with other reporters asking questions of Mike or Paul.

Still, at its best, Spin City works because it is a character-driven sitcom. In the first season, the primary characters include:

Mike Flaherty - Deputy Mayor. He is constantly putting out brush fires around city hall. He goes head to head with his girlfriend, Ashley, about what the public has a right to know and what is a work in progress. He loves Ashley and when she leaves, he is heartbroken . . . for a time. Sexy and fun, Mike delegates responsibilities and largely attempts to keep City Hall functioning by keeping the Mayor out of the loop whenever possible,

Mayor Randall M. Winston Jr. - The Mayor of New York City. He is addle brained and trusts Mike implicitly. He and his wife are on the rocks and as he turns 50, he discovers Mike might be his best friend as well as subordinate,

Paul Lassiter - Press Secretary. More or less an idiot, Paul is constantly stymied by the press and Ashley walks all over him. He is mugged and lives in fear for a time, but finds a strange companion in . . . the Mayor,

Carter Heywood - A vocal activist in the gay community and the most prominent black member of the staff. Brought on by Mike to solve a p.r. problem with the gay community, he is energetic, eager to initiate change and finds himself torn when a past love surfaces to reclaim him. He and Stuart clash frequently,

Stuart Bondek - Deputy deputy mayor. Stuart is acerbic, offensive and prejudiced. He and Carter clash frequently and he basically sits around making sarcastic and sexist remarks for comic relief and to torment Paul, Nikki and James,

Nikki Faber - Mike's secretary. Constantly falling for the wrong guys, she works to support Mike when Ashley leaves,

James Hobert - Speech writer. James comes from Wisconsin and is green. He is picked on for his naivete,

Janelle - The Mayor's assistant. She serves largely in a supporting role this season,

and Ashley - Mike's girlfriend and a leading member of the New York City press. She ruthlessly asks the questions that no other reporter will, constantly putting Paul on the spot and leaving him sweating. She is offered a better job, which she takes, leaving Mike behind to advance her career.

Spin City has a pretty amazing cast, which includes Richard Kind (Paul), Michael Boatman (Carter), Barry Bostwick (Winston), Alan Ruck (Stuart - he was perfectly cast. Having met him in person, he is utterly hilarious and Ruck's personal sense of humor was a great fit for the Stuart character), and Connie Britton (Nikki). The show rounded the cast out wonderfully at the beginning with Carla Gugino who is now finding some success as Sally Jupiter in Watchmen (reviewed here!). Far more than just a pretty face, Gugino is plausible with the depth and tenacity of a reporter in the first season of Spin City and it is unfortunate to see her cast aside as she was.

But much of the show hinges on Michael J. Fox and he is memorable as Mike Flaherty . . . until the show alters its concept. After the initial episodes, Fox's performances seem more like a twist on the Alex P. Keaton overachiever than the juggling deputy mayor. In other words, Fox is used in more of a familiar than groundbreaking fashion. Still, he has an excellent sense of comic timing and the show works.

On DVD, Spin City "Season One" comes with minimal DVD extras, which include a featurette on the first season with interviews from all of the main cast (notably lacking Gugino) and the show's creators. There are also a couple of commentary tracks which are decent, but not earth shattering.

Ultimately, the first season of Spin City serves to remind viewers of the benefit of syndication; when a show works and is truly audacious and interesting, sometimes it is changed and the best episodes might be available without purchasing the entire boxed DVD set. Still, there is just enough with this DVD set to recommend it. The show was at its best right out of the gate and this boxed set has most of the best episodes the series produced. It is just unfortunate that so many of the best ideas for the show were mortgaged so quickly.

For other works featuring Carla Gugino, please check out my reviews of:
Sucker Punch
Night At The Museum
Snake Eyes

7/10

For other television program reviews, please visit my Television Show Review Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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