Here at The Cavalier Daily, we have adopted a policy of transparency. A few weeks ago, the good people over at Fox Broadcasting Company sent us a bag of chips, along with some salsa and a promotional DVD for its new TV series, Sons of Tucson. The DVD contained the first three episodes of the series.
On behalf of The Cavalier Daily staff, I would like to say to Fox, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for the chips and dip. They were exquisite. That being said, Sons of Tucson is less than appetizing.
The plot for the show revolves around Ron Snuffkin, a deadbeat loser who works at a sporting goods store. Snuffkin, played by Canadian actor Tyler Labine (Zack and Miri Make a Porno), lives in his car and gets through the day by having the ability to conjure up lies at a moment's notice to progress his laziness.
Ron's life changes when he meets the Gunderson kids. The three boys - Robby, Gary and Brandon - have been on their own since their father was imprisoned for a banking fraud. With their mother also out of the picture, they need someone to act as their father, or else Child Services will split them up.
The boys reach a deal with Ron. They will house him and give him a weekly allowance, while he will show up and pretend to be their dad whenever necessary.
Fox broadcasts some of the best shows on television (House, 24, Family Guy), but it has been known to green-light some true bombs (Greg the Bunny, Luis, That 80s Show). This show falls within the latter category.
Ideally, Sons of Tucson would have been like having the kids from Malcolm in the Middle paired up with Jack Black as their surrogate father. Would you watch that? Eh, maybe. This show ended up being three kids imitating Malcolm and his siblings, alongside a dude imitating Jack Black and a script with no originality or innovation.
The show in itself seems like nothing more than a hodgepodge of different ideas. It never seems as though anyone behind the scenes had an original thought while the show was undergoing development. This lack of originality shows in the final product, when we hear crickets instead of laughter.
To make matters worse, there are some major plotholes in the show. Though it is easy to imagine that the mother is gone, there are many other people who could have taken in these children. Sure, their grandparents could be dead, but wouldn't they have aunts, uncles or cousins to fall back on? What about godparents, their dad's friends or a local church? Maybe a call to their mom's side of the family would have hooked them up. But alas, that would make far too much sense.
So Fox, if you are listening, please hear me out. Don't renew this series. And on that note, don't re-hash old concepts like Malcolm in the Middle. Those kids grew up for a reason. Why not help pitch in for the Arrested Development movie? Oh, and also, do what you have to do to get Conan. He's the man. And one more thing: Please send more chips and salsa. We ran out.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
