Just as NBC’s ’90s “Must See 

TV” era was defined by an array 
of nearly identical shows about 
young singles, ABC’s comedy 
programming in the 2010s is 
on track to be remembered as a 
gaggle of nearly identical sitcoms 
about families. Since the massive 
success of “Modern Family” in 
2009, ABC has consistently added 
more family-centric shows to their 
lineup, to the point where they are 
abundant enough to fill their own 
programming block.

While initially charming, the 

families have increasingly become 
predictable. An “ABC Family” (no 
pun intended) will be large and 
loud with an overbearing (but 
well-meaning) mother, a cool 
child, a nerdy child, maybe a quirky 
grandparent and so on. Recently, a 
new twist was conceived: take the 
same formula and add nostalgia. 
Normally, a show’s cohesion to 
the existing brand of the network 
is a good sign. Saying that “The 
Kids Are Alright” fits in perfectly 
should be a compliment to the 
show, but, alas it is not.

“The Kids Are Alright” centers 

around the humongous Cleary 
clan. They are Catholic, brash, 
politically-incorrect 
and, 
with 

eight sons rounding out the family, 
the testosterone is practically 
oozing from the screen. None of 

these characteristics should come 
as a surprise, as the series comes 
from showrunner Tim Doyle 
(previously credited with shows 
like “Roseanne” and “Last Man 
Standing”). The show follows 
the family as they navigate the 
turbulent social climate of the 
early ’70s. “The Kids Are Alright” 
sets lofty goals for 
itself, 
promising 

to 
deliver 
ample 

characterization 
for each of the the 
10 members of the 
family, as well as 
picking 
a 
setting 

wherein much can 
be 
unpacked 
and 

paralleled to today. 
The show fails to 
deliver 
on 
both 

accounts.

In the pilot episode, we are 

introduced to protagonist Timmy 
(Jack Gore, “Ferdinand”), the 
middle child of the bunch. And 
in typical middle child fashion, 
his entire storyline involves going 
to dire straits to be noticed by 
his parents. His attention-deficit 
disorder reaches a fever pitch 
upon the return of his eldest 
brother Lawrence (Sam Straley, 
“Chicago P.D.”) from seminary. 
Desperate for someone to notice 
him, Timmy establishes a phony 
charity to raise enough money to 
pay for an audition for a theatre 
troupe. The B-plot centers around 
Lawrence’s struggle to tell his 

father that he does not want to 
pursue the priesthood, and has 
no idea what he wants to do 
with his life anymore. Despite 
having a story that is centered 
around two characters’ very real 
struggles, none of the characters 
felt any more familiar by the end 
of the episode than they did at the 

beginning.

It was a mistake 

for the pilot to 
focus so fervently 
on 
Tommy 
and 

Lawrence. 
While 

entertaining 
and 

definitely 
funny, 

it 
greatly 
lacked 

exposition. For a 
show that marketed 
itself 
for 
being 

about such a large 

and crazy family, there was an 
expectation that viewers would 
be able to get to know a little about 
them. By the episode’s close, it is 
only revealed that Eddie (Caleb 
Foote, “American Horror Story”), 
the second eldest, has a girlfriend, 
one of the brothers is a big tattle-
tale and another happens to be a 
bit quieter. Introductions could 
have been as simple as a fast-
paced montage to familiarize the 
audience with each one of the 
brothers. While it is impossible 
for each brother to have a majority 
stake in the plot in every episode, 
the show needs to find some 
middle 
ground 
between 
that 

possibility and the feeling that the 

other brothers are just filler.

In 
fact, 
many 
elements 

of the show feel like filler, 
particularly 
the 
backdrop. 
If 

“The Kids Are Alright” is a semi-
autobiographical look at Doyle’s 
life, it should not feel as hollow as 
it does. The lighting, set design and 
costumes are all clearly executed 
to perfection, and the music 
selection is sublime. However, 
this is not a proper substitute for 
zeitgeist or heart. Multiple times 
in the episode, characters vaguely 
refer to the “changes” happening 
all around them. With so many 
“changes” being alluded to, it 
felt like a let-down that the only 
subversive conversation on-screen 
was a talk between father and son 
about the importance of a college 
degree and a half-baked reference 
to women maybe being able to 
make their own decisions.

Who knows? It is only the first 

episode. Maybe over time, “The 
Kids Are Alright” can challenge 
itself to identify and question the 
parallels between issues back 
then and issues now. Hopefully, 
the show can elevate itself out of 
the niche of shallow nostalgia. 
This is particularly important, 
because the thing about shallow 
nostalgia — especially for a period 
as regressive for the rights of 
marginalized groups as the early 
’70s — is that rather than coming 
across as a wistful look to the 
past, it appears more like a plea to 
return to it. 

By Joe Kidd
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/26/18

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

10/26/18

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Friday, October 26, 2018

ACROSS
1 Decision-making 
tool
5 Slips in pots
10 Assure, as victory
13 One of four on a 
keyboard
15 Comics unit
16 Nice handle?
17 Cheeky server?
19 Call from a cote
20 Former Rocket 
Ming
21 Hanoi holiday
22 “NBC Nightly 
News” anchor 
Lester
23 Sgt.’s underling
26 Bro on the go?
29 Alienate
31 Creator of many 
word lists
32 Sailing
33 Stately shaders
36 ’40s Giant 
manager
37 European auto 
left out in the 
rain?
41 Draw at a pub
42 Weight 
adjustment factor
43 One no longer 
serving
45 Prove to be untrue
47 Late arriver’s cry
49 Food for thought?
52 Airport near OAK
53 Outwit, as a tail
54 Taker of ppm 
measurements
55 Dorm room, 
perhaps
57 Bad picnic omen
58 Result of a yank 
prank?
63 B.S. part: Abbr.
64 Oven setting
65 Put an end to
66 Rocky 
outcropping
67 AAA and NRA
68 Bar shelf lineup

DOWN
1 Half-__: coffee 
choice
2 Nine-time NHL 
All-Star
3 Aran Islands 
country: Abbr.
4 Prone to prying

5 Many an IRS 
e-file user
6 1492 landing site, 
now
7 Gathering of 
spies
8 Show instability
9 Hasselblad 
product
10 5-Down’s concern
11 “Chillax!”
12 Act to excess
14 Hula Hoop 
manufacturer
18 Sound system 
component
22 Rendered 
immobile
23 Student 
advocacy gp.
24 Ruckus
25 Shake things up
27 Key of 
Beethoven’s 
Second Piano 
Concerto
28 Horseshoe holder
30 Merchant of 
10,000 Maniacs
34 Kingston Trio 
hit with the lyric 
“Fight the fare 
increase!”

35 Letter 
enhancement
38 Go __ smoke
39 End that may be 
untimely
40 End-of-week 
exclamation
44 Midori on the ice
45 Bouncy ride, to 
say the least
46 Arab bigwigs
48 Bit of 
tomfoolery

49 Rollicking good 
time
50 Prom night 
coifs
51 Dickens bad 
guy
56 River in western 
Belgium
58 Org. for pugilists
59 They, in Tours
60 “Suppose ... “
61 Play for a fool
62 Some MIT grads

The envelope handed to me 

at will-call bore the inscription 
“ROBERT 
MANSUETTI, 

PHOTO,” 
much 
to 
my 

excitement. Walking through the 
blunt Michigan cold to the back of 
the line which wrapped around 
Royal Oak Music Theatre, I tore 
open the flap to be greeted by a 
bona fide physical concert ticket 
(an increasing rarity in the world 
of Ticketmaster) and a red and 
white photo pass channeling the 
same design of a “Hello my name 
is” tag.

Here to see Kali Uchis for her 

penultimate stop on the “In Your 
Dreams” tour, it was only my 
fourth concert ever. I flirted with 
thoughts of how I could wield 
the new power that my title of 
press photographer grants me 
as I tromped down the steps of 
the tiered venue. The closest I 
came to anything resembling 
photography last Sunday night 
was a few customary iPhone 
videos 
and 
Instagram 
story 

updates — meager means of 
capturing the magic of the main 
event.

Opener 
Gabriel 
Garzón-

Montano came out with an 
eerie, stuttering gait, which I 
initially thought was part of his 
persona. I felt bad when the tall 
person in front of me ducked to 
the right and I realized he was 
using a cane. He overstayed his 
welcome just a tad as he sang 
and strummed through a grab-
bag of his greatest hits to an 
unacquainted audience, the only 
of which I recognized was “6 8” 
due to its sampling in a Drake 

song. At the end of his set, he tore 
his tank top off, threw it into the 
puzzled faces on the floor and 
sauntered off stage left.

The 
live 
musicians 
soon 

filed in and the opening notes 
of “Dead To Me” were heard 
shortly after. With the lights off, 

crowd on their toes and breezy 
guitar riffs in the air, the sudden 
appearance of Kali’s silhouette 
was immediately arresting, the 
fans entirely captivated as she 
strutted out from behind the 
curtain into many a fierce pose.

“I don’t know what you’ve 

been told,” she sang in unison 
with hundreds of voices: some 
rough, some smooth, some flat 
and some sharp, but all dead 
set on joining her on a mystical 
medley through her stellar studio 
debut 
Isolation 
interspersed 

with the best of her Por Vida EP. 
Easily danceable tracks like “Just 
a Stranger,” “Feel Like A Fool” 

and “After the Storm” kept the 
energy vivacious, allowing for 
slower, more sober reflections in 
“Killer” and “Flight 22.”

We were with her all the 

way, some more enthralled than 
others but all gleefully swept into 
the pull of typhoon Kali Uchis. 
While revealing herself to be 
a secret introvert in her short 
monologues (she prefixed a heart-
wrenching rendition of “Loner” 
with “I’m the type of person who 
doesn’t like to talk to people”), 
Uchis 
made 
herself 
known, 

staying in constant motion the 
entire show, swaying, twirling 
and sashaying in a lustrous red 
outfit reminiscent of the one she 
sports on the Isolation cover.

Nowhere was her mesmerizing 

presence felt more than when 
Kali transitioned to a cover of “I 
Feel Love,” convincing me that 
her sophomore effort should be 
an eclectic modern take on disco. 
For the few concerts I’ve been to, 
there’s been a stellar track record 
with covers — Lorde doing 
Frank Ocean’s “Solo,” Kesha 
doing Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” 
— and Uchis channeling Donna 
Summer in the best way possible 
was no exception.

Even though the live band 

didn’t particularly do the sublime 
production of Isolation justice 
(the losses of Tame Impala’s 
Kevin Parker and Gorillaz’s 
Damon Albarn were particularly 
felt on “Tomorrow” and “In 
Your 
Dreams,” 
respectively), 

they were still impressive in 
their own right and Kali did 
more than enough to spellbind 
us for a little over an hour. With 
lithe movements and high notes 
abound, Kali Uchis put it all out 
there on that stage, leaving us 
simply bewitched.

Kali Uchis leaves it all on 
stage at Royal Oak show

ROBERT MANSUETTI

Daily Arts Writer

“The Kids Are 

Alright”

Series Premiere

ABC

Tuesdays at 8:30 

p.m.

CONCERT REVIEW

INTERSCOPE RECORDS

There is something about 

a live concert that is superior 
to the canned feel of any other 
form of music. Unlike recorded 
music, a live performance can 
never be repeated in the same 
way. This feeling is exemplified 
by the performances from 
the University’s orchestras. 
The University is home to 
one of the top conducting 
programs 
in 
the 
United 

States 
and 
the 
conductors 

and orchestras hold true to 
this 
title. 
Each 
University 

Orchestra 
performance 
is 

unique and special in its own 
fashion, presenting beautiful 
music from one of the greatest 
University orchestras in the 
country.

The experience of watching 

the 
University 
orchestras 

perform is unlike any other, 
given that they include fellow 
students who are also some 
of the nation’s best orchestral 
musicians.

This coming Sun. at Hill 

Auditorium, 
the 
University 

Philharmonia, in conjunction 
with 
three-fifths 
of 
the 

University 
Symphony 

Orchestra, 
will 
present 

their 41st annual Halloween 
Concert.

The University Orchestras’s 

Halloween Concert is unique 
to 
other 
performances 
in 

that in addition to orchestral 
music, the group performs 
skits and dances, and they 
give out candy during classical 
pieces. Additionally, the entire 

orchestra and its conductors 
perform in full costume. The 
audience 
is 
encouraged 
to 

attend in costume as well.

The 
Halloween 
Concert 

is 
a 
University 
Orchestra 

tradition, 
having 
been 

initiated by conductor Gustav 
Meyer in 1977. Each iteration 
has a secondary theme. This 

year, the theme is “Michigan 
Sports,” as the University’s 
football 
team 
is 
doing 

immensely well. The theme 
will be present in some of the 
chosen costumes as well as the 
pieces selected to be played.

Historically, the Halloween 

Concert has been a medium 
used to connect students to 
the music and to one another. 
Given that the concert is 
set for the afternoon of Oct. 
28, it serves as the perfect 
opportunity to kick off the 
Halloween celebration.

“(The Halloween Concert) 

not only connects musicians 
with 
the 
audience, 
but 

different parts of the audience 
with each other — students 
and community,” conductor 

Kenneth Kiesler said in an 
interview with The Daily about 
the function of the concert’s 
tradition.

Tal Benatar will conduct 

the National Anthem, Daniel 
Brotman 
will 
conduct 

“Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 
Movement 2,” Regulo Stabilito 
will conduct de Falla’s “Finale 
from 3 Cornered Hat Suite,” 
Charlotte Politi will conduct 
“La Valse” by Ravel, Nathan 
Bieber will conduct “March to 
the Scaffold” from “Symphonie 
Fantastique” 
by 
Berlioz, 

Rotem Weinberg will conduct 
“Intermezzo” from the opera 
“Manon Lescaut,” Elias Miller 
will conduct “Dance of the 
Seven Veils” from Richard 
Strauss’s opera “Salome” and 
Chelsea Gallo will conduct 
“Finale” from Dvorak’s “New 
World Symphony.”

To follow the theme of 

“Michigan 
Sports,” 
Jerry 

Bilik’s piece “Variations on 
Hail to the Victors” will return 
to Hill Auditorium after its 
success during the University 
Symphony 
Orchestra’s 

opening 
performance. 
The 

orchestra 
will 
end 
with 

the 
traditional 
Halloween 

Concert encore of the theme 
from 
“Ghostbusters.” 
The 

conductors will all be dancing 
on stage, in costume along 
with the rest of the orchestra.

“We 
chose 
this 
music 

because 
it’s 
exciting, 

colorful, thrilling, dramatic, 
entertaining music,” Kiesler 
explained. “(It’s) great music, 
music that we love to do and 
love to play and that we know 
the audience will really enjoy.”

ZACHARY WAARALA

Daily Arts Writer

CONCERT PREVIEW
University Orchestras join
forces for Halloween show

“University 
Orchestras 
Halloween 
Concert”

Oct. 28 

4:30 p.m.

Hill Auditorium

$8-12

TV REVIEW

ABC

ABC’s ‘Kids’ is just alright

ALLY OWENS
Daily Arts Writer

We were with 
her all the way, 

some more 

enthralled than 

others but all 
gleefully swept 
into the pull of 
typhoon Kali 

Uchis

6 — Friday, October 26, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

