Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
I just finished watching the pilot of TBS’s new series, Glory Daze. It’s a period piece about a group of college in freshman in 1986. Think Animal House: The Series and you’ll be in the ballpark of what the show is.
About halfway through the first episode, I was bored, couldn’t tell the main characters apart (they all look alike!), and was fighting the urge to turn it off. I was also getting frustrated with TBS for pulling the brilliant My Boys and replacing it with this drivel. Then things turned around, and I actually enjoyed about the last ten minutes. I did not set a season pass on my TiVo, but I did decide to record episode two next week.
The draw is certainly not the actors. I could list their names, but they’re all virtual unknowns, with only a few credits between them, so it wouldn’t give the perspective viewer any information. Small parts went to Tim Meadows, Cheri Oteri, and Brad Garrett. They were each funny, but had little time.
No, the draw is the bond of brotherhood. Having been in a fraternity myself (though I pledged in 2002, not 1986, when I was three), I saw glimpses of bonds that really meant something. Sure, this series’s frat in an overblown stereotype. But that might just work for it.
I guess what I’m most confused about is why this show is trying to be an hour-long drama instead of a sitcom. I can’t recommend it, but there was a glimmer of something near the end, so you never know. Glory Daze airs Tuesday night at 10pm on TBS.
