Objective Criticism
Love Monkey. This is the title for the new CBS drama that premiered in the States last month; hopefully by now you’ve both recognized how awkward the title is and determined that it is no longer funny or pleasantly quirky. That said, what we here is yet another show in the new Big Tent Revival of actual quality sweeping American Broadcast Television. Prior to this show’s existence, the only current entertainment shows deserving your valuable time were Scrubs, The Office, Arrested Development, ER, and the Family Guy/American Dad combo. I’ll throw in My Name is Earl for valiant effort at achieving entertainment. Not all of these are appointment –viewing worthy. However, most of them are great in part because they consistently use music creatively as they trounce over the competition, i.e. all the crap that the rest of America watches.
Which brings us back to Love Monkey, which is a sort of a culmination of the movement making music more central in broadcast sitcoms and dramas. The premise revolves around Tom Farrell, played by Tom Cavanaugh (who was previously on the now-defunct Ed on NBC, which I never saw), as an A&R rep for a Sony Music type record behemoth. Our dear Tom is a typical well-meaning NYC single man approaching middle age. Oh and forget the whole “working for the Man” thing; he has just been fired for his idealism and now works for an indie label. And he’s a music snob. So... he’s got that going for him.
While regrouping his life, Tom is surrounded by a host of mostly one-dimensional friends and family. His close buddies include Jake, an in-the-closet retired baseball player turned sportscaster; Shooter, an heir to Dad’s corporation and a player-and-a-half with the ladies; and Mike, played by the one and only Jason Priestly, who has settled down with Tom’s sister, Karen, who is expecting their first spawn. Also featured prominently is Bran -- whose name demonstrates that she was an accident and her parents hate her -- who is Tom’s female best friend forever. It is exceedingly obvious that Tom and Bran have a repressed love for each other which may be realized in the series finale if the show makes it six or seven years.
There you have it. Not a very inspiring cast of characters; and so far they have not been given much to do. Also, they don’t worship Tom for the mid-level music snob that he is (e.g. Tom gives The Essential Bob Dylan to his sister as a shower gift; to achieve “Ultimate Music Snob,” he should have given her Biograph.)
However, the real potential of the show shines through the storylines occurring in Tom’s A&R work. Newly hired by a label that cares about the music, man, Tom is free to develop visionary artists without constantly worrying about getting them as high up on the Billboard Top 200 as possible. Still, problems inevitably arise. For instance, needing a headliner for a “Music for the Children” charity concert and CD, Tom is forced to bargain with the boss who fired him in order to secure the rights to the latest Britney Spears-like sensation. Tom battles with his convictions that the major-label act that he is borrowing from is devoid of any talent, all the while knowing that compromise is necessary for his new label to break even and the charity to get some cash. While not ground breaking, it is fun watching Tom navigate through the treacherous backwaters of the music industry.
Sadly, the show apparently has little motivation to apply Tom’s musical knowledge through to its soundtrack. His new pet project is Wayne, a Midwestern kid with an acoustic guitar who sounds like John Mayer. Apparently Wayne is played by a real life independent artist; but that fact alone doesn't make this character a genius worthy of Tom’s never ending praise. Background tunes include hipster friendly tracks by the likes of the Killers and other nondescript filler. Bonus points for the <b>Starship</b> guilty pleasure, “We Built This City (on Rock and Roll).”
With two episodes already aired of a total of eight in this trial run, Love Monkey has shown glimpses of what it can become. Hopefully the show focuses more on (non-Wayne) music industry plots and less on generic relationship pap. If Love Monkey can, it will have a better chance of attracting the great number of viewers seeking shows that contain no cadavers, thereby securing a second season order from the big TV executives hoping to make bank on our hero, Tom “I don’t care about profits” Farrell.
Josh Winger
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From time to time Josh will examine the musical relevance of various mediums, including Movies, TV, Internet, print and more...