America in Primetime Review

10/01/2013

America in Primetime

Television for some time was the box in the corner of the room that gave us Saturday morning cartoons and let us laugh at The Simpsons in the evening. As we grew older and refined our tastes in comedy, drama and animation, we slowly realised that maybe there was more to this whole television thing than we thought. America in Primetime is an amazing series that goes through the entire lifespan of television from the early serials of the 1950's all the way up to where we are now with Breaking Bad and it shows how far we've come.

The DVD presents us with four episodes that aired on SBS late last year. The show is broken up into these episodes highlighting four big parts of the televised universe. The first episode, ‘Man of the House’ tackles the changing dynamic the domestic male has been seen from Leave it to Beaver all the way up to Mad Men. The episode chronicles the historical differences and why the changes had to happen in a TV landscape, as well as how different creators have viewed that representation in American TV.

Episode two, ‘The Crusader’ shows how the ideals of heroism, American masculinity and popular ideas of anti-heroes have warped over time, and how they've been perceived in television. It’s interesting to see the creators and actors themselves talk about shows like The Wire, M*A*S*H, House and NYPD Blue with scholarly analysis, especially since they see the grey area in everything.

Episode three, ‘The Independent Woman’ tracks women’s rise to power in front of the camera and behind the scenes, as creators such as Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy), explain how they wanted to write their female characters. While I wasn't a fan of some of the shows mentioned, seeing the creators discuss their understanding of their characters deepened my appreciation of them.

Episode four, ‘The Misfits’ is a great look at the off-kilter characters. Breaking down the harsh and stupid characters into honest and stark representations, like Archie Bunker (All in the Family), really show how character is king for TV writers and how effective the tragic moments are in comedic shows.

The show is honestly a must-buy for those hoping to write for TV and those interested in a deeper understanding of television. TV's really a hit or miss game and even those talking about failure still see it as a triumph for just being seen – that’s the kind of spirit that television thrives on. Where would we be without shows like Game of Thrones, Freaks and Geeks, Murphy Brown, Frasier, Breaking Bad or even The X-Files? We might have a few extra hours on our hands, but we may have enjoyed the time a little less.

There are only two issues I have with the show and the first is its editing. There are often only bits and pieces from the people you really want to hear talk like the creators and showrunners - David Chase, David Shore, Vince Gilligan and Judd Apatow to name a few. There’s just too much to talk about and not enough time to do it, an inappropriate way of saying “I want more episodes”. But I expected special features on the DVD, I would have loved to have seen full interviews with all of the creators, actors, writers and producers, however there were no such extras.

Overall, the series is amazing and I hope America in Primetime is an on-going series that chronicles different aspects, such as the changing format of television, how those involved with making TV shows feel about the internet fandom and also a whole episode about animation. That'd be something amazing to see.

Highlight Episode: ‘The Crusader’

Score: 8/10

Written by HE