Switched at Birth doesn't quite celebrate "The Homecoming"

     ABC Family's freshman drama Switched at Birth ends its summer run with "The Homecoming." Bay (Vanessa Marano) is no longer looking for her biological father, Angelo (Gilles Marini, Brothers & Sisters), but he finds her. This creates no shortage of drama when Bay is the only one in the family who wants Angelo around. Angelo attempts to explain why he left Regina (Constance Marie) a dozen years before the series began, and also makes efforts to reconnect. Meanwhile, Daphne (Katie Leclerc) tells Emmett (Sean Berdy) about her feelings for him, and even though Emmett ops to stay with Bay, Daphne isn't ready to give up.

     Perhaps because of the leap of faith required to accept the premise of the show, Switched at Birth doesn't seem to force unnecessary drama down the viewers' throats like other ABC Family dramas do. Until now. Daphne has never shown any interest in Emmett beyond friendship. Bay is right when she accuses Daphne of clinging to something comfortable and familiar when her life is in turmoil. With no one else to turn to, Daphne chooses Emmett. But she doesn't truly love Emmett. If she did, she would step back and let him be happy with Bay, which he most clearly is. Drama series do need drama to keep them going, but regarding Bay and Daphne's constant guy switching in the first season, this needs to stop. Especially when a dear, old friend is involved.

     Angelo appears to be a good guy, at first impression. His inability to trust Regina after learning that Daphne isn't his is a justifiable reason to leave. Yet, one can't help but wish Angelo had stuck around long enough to figure out what was really going on. Casting Marini in Switched at Birth is brilliant, as he makes Angelo immediately sympathetic, and it's easy to imagine that the character had the best of intentions with the nuanced actor in the role. Plus, he looks the part. Having little to work with in "The Homecoming," Marini is just getting started, but already brings the same wonderfulness he did to Brothers & Sisters, even after that series began slipping horribly in quality.

     How long it will take Regina and Daphne to forgive Angelo is certainly up in the air, but it will happen. It has to. Now that Angelo knows that Regina never cheated on him, he is determined to stay and be a part of his daughters' lives. He will succeed, because there is plenty of story to be had if he does, but almost none if they turn him away. To keep a drama going, story needs to be there. Expect Angelo to be around Switched at Birth quite a bit in season two.

     A sweet subplot of "The Homecoming" involves Toby (Lucas Grabeel) and Wilke (Austin Butler) trying to convince Emmett to play a gig with their band. When Toby realizes Emmett is breaking Bay's heart, he stops caring about the gig and talks seriously about his sister. But the best part of the whole situation is how quickly Toby and Wilke begin treating Emmett like they would any other guy. An obstacle portrayed in the show is the hearing community's strange behavior towards the deaf, something Emmett is well acquainted with. And of course, when the boys first meet Emmett, they are guilty of the same. But only weeks later, while perhaps taking slight advantage of the hook of a deaf drummer to land the gig, they are communicating perfectly normal towards Emmett. Lesson learned?

     Switched at Birth has been renewed for a second season, and will return soon (probably winter) to ABC Family.

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Article first published as TV Review: Switched at Birth - "The Homecoming" on Blogcritics.

Switched at Birth tells us "This Is Not a Pipe"

     ABC Family's new drama Switched at Birth premiered last night. It's the story of Bay Kennish (Vanessa Marano, Gilmore Girls, The Young and the Restless), who never feels like she fits in with her family. When a blood test at school points to her parents not being biologically related to her, Bay asks for DNA testing. The hospital reveals Bay was switched at birth with another girl, Daphne (Katie Leclerc, Flying By), who is deaf, and being raised by a single mother, Regina (Constance Marie, George Lopez). Bay's parents, John (D.W. Moffett, Friday Night Lights) and Kristen (Lea Thompson, Back to the Future, Caroline in the City) want to give Daphne the financial opportunities she missed out on, offending Regina. Bay still feels left out by both families, and has no desire to let Daphne into her life. Until she realizes Daphne is the only one who might understand what she is going through.

     Most of ABC Family's television shows aren't very watchable unless you are a preteen or teenage girl. However, this one has some real potential. For one, the cast is made up of people who can actually act very well, something many series on the network don't have. (Looking at you, The Secret Life of the American Teenager!) For another, while the hook is a rare happenstance, the reactions and emotions involved are portrayed authentically and tug at the heartstrings. This kind of secret exposed is never an easy thing to deal with. The real test is how long Switched at Birth can mine the complexities involved, and what kind of show it will be afterwards. The immediate plot is surely not good for a many years run.

     Bay is an angry girl, one who doesn't feel at ease in any situation. But she is also a vulnerable one. While she pushes for the DNA testing because she claims she doesn't fit in, she later breaks down to her brother, admitting she never really believes Kristen and John are not her parents. She is like any teenager, wishing she didn't get the mother and father she has, but loving them all the while, and expecting fantasies of coming from different stock to be proven wrong. It's a turning point for Bay, that scene, and once she is able to talk to someone, she begins to accept the situation. Which means she is much later to the party than the rest of the characters, even though she instigated it.

     John, Kristen, and their son, Toby (Lucas Grabeel, High School Musical, Smallville), are all supportive of both Daphne and Bay. It's tough, as the parents have to tell Bay she will always be their daughter, of course, but they also want to help Daphne, who has not had the advantages their money could have given her. They struggle with being all things to both girls. Daphne wants to please them, and so accepts some of their help. Bay, on the other hand, continues her teenage rebellion she is already exhibiting when the series begins, perhaps even cranking it up a notch. Toby has it a little easier than John and Kristen, as he just has to be there for his sisters, biological and the one he is raised with, and both already appreciate him.

     Now the real question is, how will Toby handle all the attention being heaped on the girls for a long time to come?

     But for all the Kennishs do, Daphne already has a family. Regina works very hard to take care of and provide for Daphne. She makes sure Daphne attends a deaf school, and gets any assistance she may need. She has every right to be offended when John and Kristen try to move in. While they may have Daphne's best interests at heart, it is arrogant of them to think their money makes them wiser or better for Daphne. Regina provides love, and Daphne acknowledges that, letting her mother know she will never be replaced.

    Striking a balance is going to be hard, made no easier by the fact that Regina and Daphne now live in the Kennishs' guest house. Kristen and John offer the place with no strings attached, and vow to stay out of the way, but that seems unlikely, given how much they butt in in just the first episode. Regina knows it won't be easy, but accepts the offer because it's what is right for Daphne. This is yet another example of the type of sacrifices Regina is willing to make for her daughter. It cannot be easy for her to swallow her pride in this instance.

     Daphne is the glue that begins binding both families. While Bay is off getting into trouble and being angry, Daphne is getting to know her new relatives, as well as making sure her mother is OK. She is a sweet, understanding child.

     How much of personality is nature versus nurture? It's an obvious question to ask in Switched at Birth. Daphne exhibits Regina's genuine caring and love, while Bay has Regina's artistic ability. Less obvious is how the girls relate to the Kennishs, but that may be because the Kennishs tend to act more 'proper,' which means, in this instance, more formal. It's just the way they live, though it does support stereotypes. Who knows how Daphne and Bay might be different if they grew up in different households? It's a question sure to pop up again and again, especially in this first season.

     And as Bay asks at the end of "This Is Not a Pipe," who is her father?

     Kudos goes to whoever came up with the title of this episode. "This Is Not a Pipe" is an artistic reference to René François Ghislain Magritte's The Treachery of Images, which looks like a pipe, but as Margritte says, it is merely an image of a pipe. This episode, and the series at large, will be concerned with what things actually are, versus what they seem to be. It's a valid question, given the nature versus nurture debate, and one that will be interesting to explore.

     Of course, this being a drama series, there are other elements besides the family. Daphne has a best friend named Emmett (Sean Berdy), who will keep her tethered to the deaf community. While Toby and Emmett do not get off on the right foot, this is because Toby, like his parents, does not understand the deaf community at all. He has not been exposed to their world before. Daphne is understanding, and through her, hopefully Emmett will be more accepting, as Toby is really trying, and any insult he causes is not intentional. And Emmett is just one, albeit the most visible one, of non-family members that will be involved in the show.

     Switched at Birth airs at 9 p.m. ET on ABC Family.

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Article first published as TV Review: Switched at Birth - "This Is Not a Pipe" on Blogcritics.

Private Practice finds "The Hardest Part"

     I was excited when ABC's awesomely casted, but often boring, Private Practice got really good this past fall. Charlotte's (KaDee Strickland) rape, the way she deals with it, and how Cooper (Paul Adelstein) helps her through things, is easily the highest point of the series thus far. That is followed by Addison's (Kate Walsh) mother killing herself, providing more well written, well acted emotional impact. But for the last month, nothing has sparked nearly that level of great writing. At least not for a full episode. There have been glimmers here and there, but sadly, the show is once again flailing.

     It's time to either put this puppy down or let it find its legs. It has already been renewed for next season, which could be used as a last effort to redeem itself. If it's really going to be this hard to find good stories for these characters, who are interesting, despite how they are sometimes seen, then it's time to end it. Use next season as a way to redeem the show, pouring every good idea ever had into one great season, and then let it gracefully bow into the night. Or get things together, realize what works (hint: focus on the doctors, not the patients!), and take it to the next level. I am very tired of it's floundering in mediocrity, and I hate any series dying a slow, painful death of decay.

    That being said, last night's final confrontation between Pete (Tim Daly) and his mother (the amazing Louise Fletcher) definitely falls on the terrific end of the spectrum. We know that Pete doesn't like his mother, and we know why. But helped along by his wife, Violet (Amy Brenneman), who is a very good therapist when she is written as such, Pete finally makes a reconnection. Of course, this is quickly followed by Sam's (Taye Diggs) pronouncement that Pete's mother doesn't have long to live. So we get Peter sitting by her bed side, and then a powerful breakdown of grief back at home. This is the stuff good Private Practice is made of.

     Cooper and Charlotte continue to be fantastic, too, even when they only get small scenes together. Cooper's story with his patient, a teenager who could lose his awesome musical abilities because of a brain surgery to remove a tumor, and the boy's grandfather who has a hard time showing his love, is sweet. Plus, I like seeing Cooper clash with Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), with whom he has a satisying but odd friendship. However, the scene where Charlotte buys Cooper a piano is even better. Sure, patient stories are fine as tools to help the doctors learn something about themselves, of expose a past trauma. They should not be the linchpin of a show like this, as they are in some of the weaker episodes, whose top selling point is its spectacular cast.


     That being said, I do appreciate a strong guest star in a small role. This week we see Vanessa Marano (Gilmore Girls, The Young and the Restless) and Laura Slade Wiggins (Shameless) as pregnant teenagers. They got in, did what they needed to do, and got out without being annoying. That may sound like an insult, but it's not. They served their purpose, and delighted people who were already fans of them (like me) who got to see them pop up on another show in a different part than what we'd already seen them do. Great job girls!

     I have advocated for Sheldon (Brian Benben) to find true love for some time. I did not mean this way. Sheldon has taken up with a therapist named Marla (Alex Kingston, Doctor Who, ER), who panned Violet's recent book. I have no problem with a new character raising conflict, of course. That's how dramas progress. But I don't see the chemistry between Marla and Sheldon. So far, I don't see much of anything to find all that exciting about Marla. I can't see her ever really fitting in with any of the other cast members, and I certainly don't want her taking Sheldon away from the group. Can't we do better for Sheldon?

     Addison is M.I.A. for her second episode in a month, as she pops over to sister series Grey's Anatomy for a part that is little more than a cameo in their special musical episode. She was always my favorite character on Grey's, but has turned into a whining, unlikable shell of the character she once was. While I love Addison and Busy's relationship in recent months, Addison's arc with Sam and wanting a baby grew stale before it even got going. I don't know why, but Addison doesn't work this way. We need to get back to the Addison that was very lovable in her cranky, flawed way.

     Also missing, though she has been missing a lot lately, is Audra McDonald's Naomi. She will be leaving good as a main character at season's end, but it seems like she's already been reduced to part-time, as this is at least the sixth episode this year she has sat out. I understand the series is trying to give the actress more time to spend with her family, which leaves all the way across the country from where the show is being made, but once the decision not to use has been made, can't some graceful send off be done? Or perhaps a role written so that she can pop in and out as she travels the world, looking to help all those who need it.

     Private Practice airs Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Scoundrels is surprisingly good

     ABC has done plenty of promotion for their summer season this year, promising good television.  This past Sunday, two of those drama premiered.  Sadly, The Gates was terrible.  However, Scoundrels had quite a pilot with "And Jill Came Tumbling After".  It introduced us to the West family, a group who are involved in the same occupational field: crime.  Each character has a distinct personality, and thanks to some great casting, they all gel together in a way highly pleasing.

     The patriarch of the West family is Wolf (David James Elliott, JAG), now serving five years in prison.  This means the responsibility of taking care of the clan falls squarely on the shoulders of his wife, Cheryl (Virgina Madsen, Sideways, Monk).  Cheryl decides by the end of episode one that she can't bear to loose any more of her family to prison or worse, so they all must go straight.  Although this is late in the pilot, it seems to be the premise of the series.  Not that anyone wants to go along with this plan.  Her kids worry about her being serious, the cop constantly on their tale (Carlos Bernard, 24) scoffs, and the episode ends with Wolf laughing heartily.  Clearly, Cheryl has her work cut out for her if she wants to save her family.

     If that was the entire premise, the show would be weak.  However, the Wolfs have four children.  Son Logan (Patrick John Flueger, The 4400) has already gone straight, and has just been accepted to the bar as a lawyer.  Although he claims to have studied law so that he could get his family off the hook for their misbehavior.  Identical twin to Logan is Cal (also Flueger), the screw up whom Wolf wants to take over making money and supporting the family.  Obviously there will be some kind of swap between the two boys at some point.  It's too good a gag to pass up, and allows Flueger to likely have more fun than anyone.

     That doesn't mean that Logan and Cal overshadow the Wolf girls, though.  Young adult Heather (Leven Rambin, Grey's Anatomy, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has beauty, but no academic brains.  The pilot finds her posing in next to nothing.  But when the photographer tried to withhold the best prints, she proves her scam skills by switching her roofied champagne for his clean glass and gains the upper hand.  In contrast, daughter Hope (Vanessa Marano, The Gilmore Girls, Dexter) has all the brains, but also the sneakiness.  She hasn't attended school for months, after blackmailing her vice principal (Jessica Collins, Tru Calling), who slept with 'good' brother Logan when the boy was only seventeen.  Instead, she's working on a screenplay.  The sisters totally have the Modern Family dynamic, but with an edge and little more affection.

     Add to the mix a senile Grandpa Wolf (John Lawlor, Phyllis) and you have a recipe that tastes delicious.  Scoundrels runs Sunday nights at 9pm on ABC.