Only a few hours ago, I reviewed a stone-sober Israeli/Palestinian conflict drama that deals with suicide bombings and marital trust. And so now, naturally, I must review “Summer Fun” shows that revolve around drunk people telling stories and a soap opera about Spanish maids who almost never speak Spanish. Although honestly, if you’re looking for summer shows that aren’t awful, you could certainly do worse than any of these series…
Devious Maids…I know I’m supposed to blah-blah about how offensive this show is and how even the title is a slander against Latinos and a bunch of other shit I really don’t believe. If anyone is watching a Lifetime soap opera for a sensitive, thoughtful exploration of the Hispanic experience and the nuances of domestic work then they have lost the remote and wound up on the wrong channel. Anyone who is really offended by this show is clearly not the target demographic anyway.
I’ll admit this show is cheesy, shameless, and more than a little addictive. But you have to credit Marc Cherry (the creator of this and Desperate Housewives) for giving the people exactly what they want. He delivers cat fights that hinge on prosthetic legs, class warfare mixed with sexual shenanigans, and dialogue that is the perfect blend of stupid-smart. A show like “Revenge” only wishes it was this much fun. ABC passed on this show before Lifetime picked it up, but most of their “dramas” could learn a thing or two from it. I particularly love Dania Ramirez playing Rosie, a sweet caricature of a lovable maid just shrewd enough to suggest a sexier version of Lucille Ball. Grade: B+
Camp…I can’t believe I don’t hate this show. An actual rip-off of summer camp comedies (a genre that’s not very good to begin with) starring the severe Rachel Griffiths as a character who’s supposed to be somewhat fun and lovable should be an outright misfire, but—–against all odds—–it’s not. Some might hate this show, and I couldn’t blame them, but it has a goofy charm just pleasing enough to make it an all-right summer experience. Although I do wish the supporting, young/”hot” cast didn’t seem rejected from failed CW pilots and were just a little more interesting. Grade: B-
Drunk History…Again, another show that should absolutely be worse than it is. Drunk History is a one-joke series about drunken story-tellers weaving (or heaving…yes, they do actually throw up) a historical yarn they know. There’s a theme for each episode like the city of Boston or San Francisco and three stories from that setting. I can’t say it’s the funniest show I’ve ever seen (the gimmick can only go so far as one episode turns into five), but what surprises you is how interesting the actual history is. Whether they have the son of a legendary arsonist tell his infamous dad’s story or detail the infiltration of the KKK in Atlanta, you are actually learning something about American history you probably didn’t know before. Grade: B
Futurama…The end is here for a show that has had more deaths and rebirths than the actual, futuristic characters it depicts (who are usually getting cloned or reanimated or sometimes spinning all the way through history and back to survive another day). Fox cancelled Futurama all those years ago but it survived through a massive fanboy cult and several direct-to-video movies that enjoy the light of day on Netflix. Then Comedy Central brought it back for three more seasons, but, alas, the end is really here now and I don’t see it getting picked up by a third network. [Paging Netflix…hey, most of your users would watch it.]
So how is the final season stacking up? Like it’s not the final season at all. I would think the people who have worked on this thing for so many years would want to bravely push us into new directions and really explore wild-stories they haven’t gotten to. Nope, mostly they just seem like they’re burning through the B-plots of other shows and this season may feel more sit-com-esque than any previous one. They have standalone episodes focusing on characters, but most of it has been done before, and that’s a real shame because Futurama is a true original. Just go back and watch the older episodes (and even some from last season) to watch a show that somehow made evolution, alternate universes, wormholes, and the existence of a higher power into hilarious stuff. The good thing about Futurama is that its visual style is as lively as ever, particularly during the episode that spoofed Saturday Morning Kids shows (one of them seemed to be designed just to advertise a horrible-for-your-health kid’s cereal). Grade: B…Although my grade for the show over the years would have to be an A.