The catchy theme song we all loved to sing along with while getting excited for the latest episode is gone, replaced by clever logos and an imaginative script. Too imaginative, to say the least. Remember when Nancy Botwin is now officially a horrible person. One of the fascinations of this show was watching her balance that thin line between Suburbia and the Grasslands while juggling single parenthood. She was imperfect; a poor decision maker for sure, but at least she tried to bridge the gap between her growing(ly distant) sons. Her character has now officially all but given up any effort at all at maternal humanity. She goes through so many men that I’ve lost count and didn’t have time to form any sort of attachment with any of those characters except Conrad, who despite all those seasons of subtle romantic build-up, all but disappears from this latest season. Even Guillermo nosedived into awful. And when did Doug become a grouchy demanding irritant? Wasn’t he everyone’s favorite member of Agrestic? By the way, whatever happened to Agrestic? Oh yeah. Up in flames like everything else in the series. Agrestic played such a central role in the series it was a character unto itself. No more. The Botwins now live by the seaside in Ren-Mar where they engage in plenty of acts that are anything but comical. Celia’s character was initially written to be the next-door-neighbor, mother, and wife from hell (and the friend you should never double cross). Over the seasons, her character has melted into sheer terror. There is NOTHING funny about locking your ex-husband in a closet and abusing him. I’m pretty darn liberal when it comes to my sense of humor, but a lot of what is being pawned off as comedy is atrocious and completely amoral beyond belief, even for a TV show. I’m actually insulted that some of this is intended to be funny and frankly, disturbed by the implications. I guess the only realistic aspect of this show is that Shane and Silas would find their way into the drug underworld relatively early in life given their upbringing.
This is certainly NOT the season I’d ever want to watch. The entire thing was blanketed in a darkness so thick and storylines so unpleasant I dare not purchase the season and will gladly forget it ever happened if Season Five can resurrect any shred of credibility to its twisted fate. What was once ground-breaking comedy is more mangled than Celia's pillbox. Again, not funny. Part of what makes a great comedy last is material that actually accomplishes strong laughs and develops characters we can all relate to and love in spite of their flaws. I can't fathom any liking for any of these people this season. After all that viewing, it appears the show is indeed made of ticky-tacky and like everything else on TV, looks just the same.
