Swingtown: Janet Gets Authentic And Laurie Has An Oral Exam

By Elaine B
Oddly, what struck me the hardest was the ads that aired during this episode of Swingtown. Great songs of the Sixties (and I know them all). One for a Perry Mason DVD. Perry Mason? What’s next, Viagra and nursing home insurance, local funeral parlors? Sometimes, it’s bad enough reliving the stupidity of my youth without being reminded of how loooong ago that was and how really ugly all that scalp and facial hair was. Better to try to sell us Corvettes and BMWs, the best of Saturday Night Live (with a clip on the Bass-o-Matic) or George Carlin DVDs, and a whole lot of image and self-improvement stuff because, frankly, anyone who watches Swingtown is not likely to have loved Perry Mason, even when they were 12. These ads indicate that you may be watching Swingtown on Fridays, if it renews, because that “old” demographic is home to watch.

But enough on the ads. This was an awesome – or dare I say “groovy” – episode, the best since the first one. Near the end of last week’s show, Susan commented to Bruce on the changes in their marriage, “It’s not about us, it’s about me.” This week, the same could be said for all the women. First off, Susan shows a whole lot of backbone in standing up to Bruce, who wants to use her to suck up (indirectly) to his boss. Not that Susan’s stint on the Ladies Hospital Auxiliary will have any effect on Bruce’s standing – one gets a feeling that boss hubby and wife Rita don’t have long chats about who is helping with her fundraising. Susan eventually relents, then takes Janet along with her, leading to some huge changes for her friend. Bruce keeps after her to join the auxiliary and she finally does, but I am guessing it is on her terms.

Janet discovers that being in the same room with so many wealthy women gives her a sense of power. She rescues Rita’s jacket, stained with what looks like ice tea or wine, with a few packets of Sweet-n-Low. S-n-L is a recommended way to remove oily stains, but here it worked (it’s TV after all) and Janet scored a whole lot of points with Rita and even more with viewers who were astonished she would speak up at all. Later, she convinced Roger that he should have some words with the boss about a raise since he is their top salesman. He does, opening the door for the boss to cite the recession and hand him his walking papers.

(Note on that messy economy of 1976: The unemployment rate was 8.6% and a lot of people were probably whining because they were caught up in the era’s “mental recession.” The interest rates for home buyers was around 8% or more, but homes were inexpensive and available at 5% down, wages were rising quickly due to inflation, and the oil embargo had not yet hit so people could at least take long road trips and try to forget their woes. Unemployed at that time, I recall getting a whopping 46 weeks of government checks so I am thinking that Roger will be, as he quickly realized, way better off without a soul-sucking insurance sales job.)

When Roger comes home from an awful day at the office, Janet meets him looking really really hot! What a dress, what a hairdo! Roger doesn’t have the heart to tell her that he is now unemployed. Instead, he puts on the tux she rented and goes to the fundraiser. Janet plunks down $100 for a couple of meals at the country club. Later Roger goes to Susan, explains he is unemployed, and has to ask for his check back. At the end of the episode Janet still doesn’t know how much her life has changed but I think she is going to be up to it.

Trina is at the airport sending Tom off (and anyone who has ever had to go through O’Hare knows what a sacrifice she is making by going anywhere near that hellmouth) and they are playing a mental pick-up game when he draws her attention to a guy who turns out to be her high school sweetheart. Luke is handsome, suave, loaded. Tom feels, well, just about like a guy with a really hot wife who is about to fly halfway around the world and leave her in the company of her ex-lover is expected to feel. Trina, in keeping with their lifestyle, is very upfront about inviting Luke over to reminisce. There they go over old pictures and drink too much. Luke is still there in the morning when Tom comes home, but given that this is Trina it is doubtful they were doing anything behind Tom’s back. Better to wait and do it openly with Tom’s tummy against your back and your lips locked on your ex’s – that’s what an open marriage is all about – giving us the first sizzling love scene since the opening episode, and the first time we see Tom feeling really unsure of himself.

Laurie is suffering through the final few days of longing in teacher Doug’s class when he announces that the final will be an oral exam in which students are expected to apply what they have learned to their own lives. She can’t do the second half of the assignment, later telling Doug it’s because he’s all she thinks of and how could she say that in front of everyone? But school’s out, I’m not your teacher anymore, he reminds her and kisses her. I like. Even though some people say Laurie is annoying, I think she’s charming, smart and mature, and he’s a way better choice for her than pothead Logan.

Bruce has his own problems working with a bunch of jerks who are trying to “bang” the new female trader Melinda. They have a pool and tell Bruce that he has the best odds. When he tells this to Susan, she berates him for not telling Melinda what is up, so he does. Melinda then gives him a lesson in women’s lib, revealing that she has a deal with one of the guys to lie and say it was him so they can split the pot (smart cookie!) but that Bruce is a good guy for telling her.

This last is a leadup to next week’s episode where Melinda propositions Bruce. Meanwhile, as expected, Tom can’t handle the three days away from Trina and strays. How they handle this, will be interesting, particularly Bruce. This was not an era when men were used to openly predatory women, and I recall conversations with guys about whether they had to say yes or risk insulting the woman. Things were still that uneven in those days.

BJ is heading off to camp. Sam is nowhere to be seen. They had their moments in the spotlight and now they are nowhere to be seen. I hope they are alright.

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