Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
There is a common complaint that is held among fans of TV and film. Over the course of each medium's history, there's a certain belief that the times are improperly reflected, often taking many years to comment on taboo issues. One cannot deny that Seth MacFarlane is trying to be that guy ever since Family Guy managed to be resurrected twice and lead him to make several shows to expand his brand, including American Dad, The Cleveland Show, and Cosmos (then again, let's not mention that last one). His abrasive style has pretty much kept Fox afloat for the past decade, even causing rifts that maybe it is more popular and funny than The Simpsons nowadays. It explains the haphazard crossover episode, and it likely explains why one of the show's less name recognized writers would get a shot to air Bordertown on Fox, thus making it one of the first new shows of 2016, and arguably among its worst.
The concept itself isn't the worst idea. Following a year where political candidates expressed strong xenophobia, the idea of making a show based around the Mexican-American border was ripe for commentary, especially if done by someone with savvy opinions. What could likely be said about how paranoid white Americans interact with their neighbors? The issue isn't so much that it's a bad idea. It's just that the idea is where everything stopped. Following in the MacFarlane model, the show (with voice acting from *shrugs* Hank Azaria) is an excuse to pit broad stereotypes aggressively at each other with intent on showing their many flaws. Never mind that this includes flame-filled farts after the protagonist (played by *shrugs* Hank Azaria) eats a spicy pepper; or that the daughter is a beauty pageant competitor who has a very hick-filled sensibility. The show is fine reveling in stereotypes on both sides, and that's about it.
Of course, this would be intentional, even in a well written show. The need to show disparaging differences is important to show that despite the small things, people are humanely similar. However, there's so much that's already unattractive beyond the broad stereotypes in the early outing. The voice acting is atrocious, with many characters having nails-on-a-chalkboard creaky voices that do little for their paper thin traits. The animation is subpar, even for a station that had questionable work for Bob's Burger's first season. As a whole, it's unappealing to look at, and it never quite manages to escape the grotesque.
Is there much else to get from Bordertown? It is strange that even for MacFarlane's stable, it feels strangely off. Sure, it is missing the cutaway gags, and the pop culture references are kept to a minimum, but even the personality of its characters feel surface level. It could just be that the accents are distracting, but most of the first episode gets by on stereotype humor that has been done before. As intentional as it is to point out its inherent racism, these are still characters meant to show how racism is bad in ways that in fact racist. The writing isn't subversive enough to make it any differently.
The first episode has its share of familiar problems. There's the negligent Mexican father who escapes to Mexico to avoid responsibility. There's the fat white protagonist fitting into a trunk ,and causing a noticeable dent in the cover, being driven across borders. There's even the abrasive language of Mexican women, using the atypical Spanglish. For an episode meant to establish its characters, it does little to paint them as more than the stereotypes. Even if the two different parties bond by the end, it is not in a satisfactory way. And besides, the performances are so poor that you'll not care anyways.
Bordertown may be the worst animated series that Fox has aired since Allen Gregory a few years back. However, that series had at least good animation to its credit and a pre-double Oscar nominee Jonah Hill in the lead role. What does this show have besides *shrugs* Hank Azaria? It could easily have been a captivating show with the right writers to point out the flaws of immigration control. Instead, it's just the familiar madcap settings, just with worse voice acting and animation. It's not highbrow enough to get past it, and that's expected from a MacFarlane alumni. Even then, you'd hope that the network's one stab at political satire would actually be more.
The concept itself isn't the worst idea. Following a year where political candidates expressed strong xenophobia, the idea of making a show based around the Mexican-American border was ripe for commentary, especially if done by someone with savvy opinions. What could likely be said about how paranoid white Americans interact with their neighbors? The issue isn't so much that it's a bad idea. It's just that the idea is where everything stopped. Following in the MacFarlane model, the show (with voice acting from *shrugs* Hank Azaria) is an excuse to pit broad stereotypes aggressively at each other with intent on showing their many flaws. Never mind that this includes flame-filled farts after the protagonist (played by *shrugs* Hank Azaria) eats a spicy pepper; or that the daughter is a beauty pageant competitor who has a very hick-filled sensibility. The show is fine reveling in stereotypes on both sides, and that's about it.
Of course, this would be intentional, even in a well written show. The need to show disparaging differences is important to show that despite the small things, people are humanely similar. However, there's so much that's already unattractive beyond the broad stereotypes in the early outing. The voice acting is atrocious, with many characters having nails-on-a-chalkboard creaky voices that do little for their paper thin traits. The animation is subpar, even for a station that had questionable work for Bob's Burger's first season. As a whole, it's unappealing to look at, and it never quite manages to escape the grotesque.
Is there much else to get from Bordertown? It is strange that even for MacFarlane's stable, it feels strangely off. Sure, it is missing the cutaway gags, and the pop culture references are kept to a minimum, but even the personality of its characters feel surface level. It could just be that the accents are distracting, but most of the first episode gets by on stereotype humor that has been done before. As intentional as it is to point out its inherent racism, these are still characters meant to show how racism is bad in ways that in fact racist. The writing isn't subversive enough to make it any differently.
The first episode has its share of familiar problems. There's the negligent Mexican father who escapes to Mexico to avoid responsibility. There's the fat white protagonist fitting into a trunk ,and causing a noticeable dent in the cover, being driven across borders. There's even the abrasive language of Mexican women, using the atypical Spanglish. For an episode meant to establish its characters, it does little to paint them as more than the stereotypes. Even if the two different parties bond by the end, it is not in a satisfactory way. And besides, the performances are so poor that you'll not care anyways.
Bordertown may be the worst animated series that Fox has aired since Allen Gregory a few years back. However, that series had at least good animation to its credit and a pre-double Oscar nominee Jonah Hill in the lead role. What does this show have besides *shrugs* Hank Azaria? It could easily have been a captivating show with the right writers to point out the flaws of immigration control. Instead, it's just the familiar madcap settings, just with worse voice acting and animation. It's not highbrow enough to get past it, and that's expected from a MacFarlane alumni. Even then, you'd hope that the network's one stab at political satire would actually be more.
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