New show: Commuting with the 'Carpoolers'
Posted: Thursday, August 02, 2007 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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TV
TV critics often hear from viewers who are angry that there are so many reality shows on TV, and since the number of sitcoms is dwindling, they blame the reality shows for pushing out the comedies. That may be true in part, but if the sitcoms being pushed out are anything like ABC's new "Carpoolers," I'm not crying too many tears for them.
"Carpoolers" is just...dumb. Four guys (Jerry O'Connell, Fred Goss, Jerry Minor, Tim Peper) commute together to work, so for long stretches they're stuck in one spot, batting around topics as varied as their own family woes to the romantic history of Air Supply's "All Out Of Love." This could be a setup for a fun plot -- the guys in my favorite-ever movie, 1982's "Diner," created some unforgettable scenes out of moments when they were just sitting around talking, chewing the fat and some diner sammiches.
But "Carpoolers" is shooting for a much lower common denominator than "Diner." There are some funny scenes, sure (the above mentioned "Air Supply" scene isn't bad), but mostly, you would not want to be trapped in a vehicle with any of these men. They seem to hate women, including their wives or girlfriends. Their attitudes about marriage are straight outta 1948. Think I'm kidding? The pilot episode mostly revolves around a man who cannot get over the fact that his wife (played by Faith Ford) paid her own money for an expensive toaster, and he's afraid to ask her how much money she makes. The other men essentially egg him on, indicating that he shouldn't let her ever have the upper hand in the marriage.
Another man's wife is never seen, except for her feet. We're led to believe she lolls on the couch all day watching TV while her husband slaves away at the office and their kids are essentially left to their own devices. We're told that the wife of another carpooler financially devastated him in a divorce. Yes, positive images of women, and marriage, abound.
Could "Carpoolers" repair itself? Even if you remove the relationships with women, the show is awfully cartoony. A snooty sushi-eating carpool of four yuppie men battles with our guys for a parking space. Another carpool of four old geezers frustrates them. If not Emmy-winning, these conceits at least fit the show. But I'm guessing "Carpoolers" will find itself permanently parked long before the show has time to worry about that.
