Hi, I’m Mike TV

Television for the week of February 12th.

Battleground

**1/2 (out of ****)

Battleground is the wave of the future, at least that’s what Hulu wants us to think. It’s their first try in making scripted programming, and very likely the response to Netflix diving into creating original entertainment. This is the start of the internet network wars, and I’m sure interesting things will come of it.

Artist's depiction of the Internet Wars

If you’re going to be trying something new, and you can mess with the format, why keep it status quo? Battleground’s pilot clocks in at a regular 22 minutes, and is paced like a regular television show. With the fetters of TV programming thrown off, why not mess with the format just because you fucking can? Show the world that internet shows have their own set of rules, and that is that there are no rules. Make it like 27 minutes, or even 34. No one owns your time now!

No one except for Him.

As annoyed as I was by the adherence to tired rules, Battleground did end up surprising me. It’s shot like the new wave of sitcoms are, documentary style intercut with talking heads that will bring the onslaught of tired Office comparisons. When all of the early sitcoms looked like the Honeymooners, do you think people wasted their time comparing them? No, they saved that up for when the Flintstones came out a few years later. And they were right. I don’t know if you guys realize this, but Flintstones is a straights up animated Honeymooners. Think about it. Blows your mind a little, don’t it? Stop talking about how “insert show here” is just like the Office because it’s a mockumentary. Modern Family has proven you can take the format and have a completely different style of show. Let’s all agree to drop it shall we?

But it's shot just like Family Ties! SHUT UP

What should be talked about, and is a bolder move than I expected given the tried and trued (tryed and true? Triad and Trudy? Wait, stop. The Triad and Trudy is the new show I’m gonna pitch to Hulu about a group of 3 magicians who wind up having to take care of a precocious 6 year old girl named Trudy, who constantly gets in the way of their spell-casting. It’s gonna be huge.) Where was I? Right, blah blah blah Battleground is taking well worn steps, EXCEPT that for a 22 minute long show, it’s not that funny. And not in an Outsourced/Last Man Standing/I Hate My Teenage Daughter kind of way. It seems to be exactly as not funny as it wants to be. JD Walsh and Marc Webb (the two behind this project) looked at each other, and decided they wanted to make West Wing meets Parks and Rec, with the scale tipped far more in the West Wing direction.

Oh the wacky antics they got into...

The show follows the campaign of a dark horse candidate running for a Senate seat in Wisconsin. She’s third by far, and her campaign crew is comprised of newbies, wastes of space, and a dream team trio who fight through the bullshit around them while self-assuredly quipping it up. Tak Davis is the leader, and he’s young, clever and knows the perfect thing to do in all situations. He’s also sort of a smarmy dick with a heart of gold. The ladies are gonna love him. Ben Warner is the newest volunteer, and we follow the campaign mostly through his bright, shy, nerdy eyes. He looks like an American, uglier Harry Potter and is so socially awkward it’s grating.

He's the one on the right. Ginny would never love him.

Tak immediately takes Ben under his wing, because he knew Ben’s older sister or something. It’s safe to assume they boned in the past, and she was good for him. Possibly the only girl who could get under the tough, political, smarmy exterior and saw the vulnerable good Tak hides from the world. I may be reading too much into this episode, but I’ll bet money I’m right. Also, I’ve remembered my love for the word smarmy. Words with Friends better accept that shit. Tak plays both his campaign team and the opposition like a chess game, and the dude is Bobby Fisher. The senator isn’t in the episode much, but it shows she’s putty in his hands and it makes sense given the cool confidence he has at all times- even when characters disagree with him, they go along with his plans. I want to see his come upance to to show his humanity a little.

Tak in the first episode.

 The acting in general was decent, everyone hit their roles well, with only a little bit of over-the-top moments that will hopefully be kinked out. The show paced itself well, only letting us get to know the majority of the characters on the surface level, fully aware that they have an entire season for us to get to know the intricate connections and motivations everyone has. So often in pilots, shows try to shove it all down our throats immediately like a fire hose of exposition, and it was refreshing getting the information at a slower pace, so we actually have time to learn and care about the characters. Another interesting thing the show is doing is actually treating it like a documentary. The characters are aware of the cameras at times (though ignorant of them at others, at this point I’m aware the camera in mockumentaries are acknowledged only when convenient),but what sets it apart is the talking head portions are reflective. When the characters are talking to us, they’re obviously older, wiser, and the campaign is done. The result isn’t shown, because why give that away, but there unexpected turns that are hinted at that make the earlier portions filled with subtext. We know Ben is going to gain confidence, and apparently a lady friend through his time there, and that everyone learns lessons or whatever. That may sound mocking, but it’s a great take on the format that has taken to using talking heads just for extra laughs. The rough points of the episode seem to be the norm of a new show trying to figure itself out, and it has the potential to be the dramaedy that fills the hole Studio 60 left in me.

WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!

Even if you’re not super into politics, the character dynamics will hook you in. Just don’t expect to laugh your balls (or lady balls) off, and accept that the dialogue will try to be Sorkin-esque at times. I’m looking forward to watching the story unfold, and even more looking forward to what the internet tv networks are going to do next.-MG