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