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| Schooled |
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.
The honor of TV shows having their own spin-offs is a time honored tradition in this point, and it was especially true in the 1980's. It makes sense then that ABC juggernaut The Goldbergs would get in on the action by producing a show that featured their prominent supporting cast in their own series, Schooled. The gist is that Lainey (A.J. Michalka) returns to her high school as a teacher? Why exactly? It's because she is desperate for work, needing something to fill the void of a career that has stalled out. Considering her course in life as a musician, her naive belief that she can make it as a choir teacher is enough to set the plot into gear as the cast is reintroduced in this new confine. You have Mr. Glascott (Tim Meadows) and Mr. Mellor (Bryan Callen) who serve as the "adult" voices of wisdom for Lainey's transition. And, if the spin-off didn't seem obvious enough, there's a cameo by Lainey's mother and prime star of The Goldbergs making a winking joke that she'll be there every week if Lainey doesn't get the job.
So, it's a strong arm deal. A teacher who doesn't really have much skills or training got the job because of favors. It's not a terrible way for stories to go, and in fact works to give the milquetoast approach a little bit of flavor. The Goldbergs existed in a realm of 80's nostalgia and sentimentalism that appealed to a certain market. It makes sense that instead of refabricating this, Schooled moves the plot up a few years to "1990-something" when it was cool to wear Nirvana shirts and Michael Jordan reinvented just how long the basketball shorts could be. They're simple jokes meant to emphasize how wacky the 90's were, and it mostly works at establishing a tone in a way that doesn't feel entirely forced. After all, Mellor is a basketball coach so his shift from the old guard and a new approach gives something to his character. The Nirvana shirt reflects a shift away from the neon sheen of 80's pop. For as on the nose as they may be, slang and all, it all adds up to something a tad richer than novelty tassels.
With that said, the show succeeds maybe solely because of the existing chemistry between the entire main cast. Lainey's ability to have a sense of confidence before diving into an insecurity with her newfound power produces some comic gold, even as the intimidation to please Glascott exists in that familiar teenager/principal way. She may still be one dimensional for the show, but by the end of the first episode there is a strong sense of what Schooled is. It's not a rebellious comedy about causing anarchy - though it is crucial to the premiere's plot. It's more about learning differences from every character. For Mellor, it's the shift in how basketball is played. For Glascott, it's trusting Lainey. And for Lainey, it's all about learning to trust others and become a productive teacher. It's not a revelatory plot by any stretch and the jokes are never hilarious, but the show has enough of a heart going in that there's room for it to build into something greater.
Was this spin-off necessary? It's a question that every show, even the best (Frasier, The Simpsons) has to ask itself, and there's a good chance that Schooled will just be a retread at some point, choosing to do episode-long parodies of iconic movies. For all we know, season five will have a Titanic homage because that was popular. But for now, it feels like it's enough about the characters that it's not an embarrassment. Sure, the transition from The Goldbergs (which logically aired before this) into Schooled is the familiar clunky form of baton passing, but the rest tends to side on conventional warmth. It's not trying to (yet) be The Goldbergs set in the 90's. It's about something else entirely, and that may be enough to make it stand out on ABC, a channel which is currently inundated with almost a dozen shows based around different kinds of the same wacky family.
It does seem likely that Schooled will never be as revered as The Goldbergs, if just because of how much fonder audiences are for 80's culture. Then again, it's also that the cast is generally stronger and is more ingrained in the characters. Schooled has room to grow and possibly compete with them at some point, but there's not enough to make the endeavor seem more than quaint. It's a show that doesn't reinvent the wheel, but gives Michalka plenty of room to grow as a comedic lead. There's plenty to like in the series so far and the writers clearly have put some thought into the depths of characters, at least on a basic sitcom level. It's not great, but as one of the first major new shows of 2019, it's actually pretty promising and effective. It doesn't fall victim to the cynical gimmick it could've, and that may be enough for now.
So, it's a strong arm deal. A teacher who doesn't really have much skills or training got the job because of favors. It's not a terrible way for stories to go, and in fact works to give the milquetoast approach a little bit of flavor. The Goldbergs existed in a realm of 80's nostalgia and sentimentalism that appealed to a certain market. It makes sense that instead of refabricating this, Schooled moves the plot up a few years to "1990-something" when it was cool to wear Nirvana shirts and Michael Jordan reinvented just how long the basketball shorts could be. They're simple jokes meant to emphasize how wacky the 90's were, and it mostly works at establishing a tone in a way that doesn't feel entirely forced. After all, Mellor is a basketball coach so his shift from the old guard and a new approach gives something to his character. The Nirvana shirt reflects a shift away from the neon sheen of 80's pop. For as on the nose as they may be, slang and all, it all adds up to something a tad richer than novelty tassels.
With that said, the show succeeds maybe solely because of the existing chemistry between the entire main cast. Lainey's ability to have a sense of confidence before diving into an insecurity with her newfound power produces some comic gold, even as the intimidation to please Glascott exists in that familiar teenager/principal way. She may still be one dimensional for the show, but by the end of the first episode there is a strong sense of what Schooled is. It's not a rebellious comedy about causing anarchy - though it is crucial to the premiere's plot. It's more about learning differences from every character. For Mellor, it's the shift in how basketball is played. For Glascott, it's trusting Lainey. And for Lainey, it's all about learning to trust others and become a productive teacher. It's not a revelatory plot by any stretch and the jokes are never hilarious, but the show has enough of a heart going in that there's room for it to build into something greater.
Was this spin-off necessary? It's a question that every show, even the best (Frasier, The Simpsons) has to ask itself, and there's a good chance that Schooled will just be a retread at some point, choosing to do episode-long parodies of iconic movies. For all we know, season five will have a Titanic homage because that was popular. But for now, it feels like it's enough about the characters that it's not an embarrassment. Sure, the transition from The Goldbergs (which logically aired before this) into Schooled is the familiar clunky form of baton passing, but the rest tends to side on conventional warmth. It's not trying to (yet) be The Goldbergs set in the 90's. It's about something else entirely, and that may be enough to make it stand out on ABC, a channel which is currently inundated with almost a dozen shows based around different kinds of the same wacky family.
It does seem likely that Schooled will never be as revered as The Goldbergs, if just because of how much fonder audiences are for 80's culture. Then again, it's also that the cast is generally stronger and is more ingrained in the characters. Schooled has room to grow and possibly compete with them at some point, but there's not enough to make the endeavor seem more than quaint. It's a show that doesn't reinvent the wheel, but gives Michalka plenty of room to grow as a comedic lead. There's plenty to like in the series so far and the writers clearly have put some thought into the depths of characters, at least on a basic sitcom level. It's not great, but as one of the first major new shows of 2019, it's actually pretty promising and effective. It doesn't fall victim to the cynical gimmick it could've, and that may be enough for now.
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