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