It’s highly doubtful that this new sitcom called “Schitt’s Creek” will persuade anyone to hop on Pop.
It’s highly likely, however, that you’ve never heard
of this new network called Pop, which is the name of the cable channel formerly known as TV Guide Network. This epic rebranding took place on Jan. 14, ending the lengthy run of TVGN -- which for most
of its history (if not all of it) was one of the most mystifying TV channels to ever take up space on cable.
Most of us remember it for its scrolling TV listings, and how they would fill
the lower half of our TV screens -- and in the process, serve no useful purpose whatsoever.
Meanwhile, on the upper half, this channel would air TV shows that were impossible to watch. And
this went on for years and years. I have a vague memory of TVGN airing “Curb Your Enthusiasm” reruns, although I’m not sure about that, since all of my memories of this channel are
vague.
advertisement
advertisement
This is the channel that once had a reality series featuring the pop trio Wilson Phillips. I interviewed the three members of the group and they were very nice. Unfortunately, their
show lasted about a minute-and-a-half before it was cancelled.
Cut to the present day, and the TV Guide Network has gone from pop trios to pop culture -- hence the name “Pop.”
“At Pop, fans finally have a destination that celebrates the fun of being a fan,” says some of the copy at the bottom of Pop press releases that serves as a boilerplate description for
this TV channel. “Fans aren’t even fans anymore,” this description avers. “They’re gladiators, tributes [sic], human beings, and blockheads.”
Yes, this
cable channel considers its viewers -- at least some of them -- as blockheads. It’s possible that “blockhead” has taken on some new meaning referring to a person’s pop-culture
fanaticism, but I couldn’t find any evidence of this in a Google search that I spent almost an entire minute undertaking. I found other references, however, ranging from Lucy calling Charlie
Brown a “blockhead,” to Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Remember them?
Anyway, on this cable channel that is targeting blockheads (among others), there’s this comedy premiering
Wednesday night with the title “Schitt’s Creek,” which once upon a time would have been considered vulgar. I happen to still think it’s vulgar, especially because as a TV
columnist, I’m forced to use it in sentences.
“Schitt’s Creek” was created by comic actor Eugene Levy and his son, Dan Levy. They’re both in the show too, as
father and son. Catherine O’Hara, who goes back decades with Eugene Levy (all the way back to “SCTV”), plays the wife and mother. And there’s a grown daughter too, played by
Annie Murphy.
They are the four members of the Rose family, who were very rich until someone -- an attorney or an accountant who they trusted –- absconded with all their money. After the
government moves in to seize all of their assets, the Roses have one possession left, a piece of property the government felt was worthless -- a tiny town called Schitt’s Creek that Mr. Rose
bought in its entirety about 20 years previously.
Get it? These rich people suddenly lost all of their money, so now they’re literally up [expletive-deleted]’s creek. So
that’s the “situation” portion of this situation-comedy. The problem is, they forgot the other part -- the comedy.
In the first two episodes (of several that Pop made
available for preview), the Roses are seen moving from their palatial mansion to this town, where they take up residence in a rundown motel. They then proceed to have a series of hilarious run-ins
with an array of colorful, eccentric characters …
No, wait a minute -- they actually have run-ins with only one guy -- the town’s mayor, Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott)
–- as if there was no room in this show’s low budget to actually populate this town. As played by Elliott, this mayor is more psychotic than eccentric, and the family’s run-ins with
him are anything but hilarious. They’re just predictable and dull, and the mayor character is so repugnant that he’s just gross.
It’s entirely possible that more wacky
townsfolk get introduced in future episodes, but I have to be honest here: I only made it about halfway through Episode 2 before I bailed.
Suffice it to say, I didn’t enjoy going up
“Schitt’s Creek,” although that shouldn’t stop anyone who’s reading this from checking it out themselves.
Whether I liked this show or not, I still can’t
figure out what this sitcom has to do with Pop’s self-stated mission to serve pop-culture fanatics. Maybe this connection will be obvious to the “blockheads” (and others) being
targeted by Pop.
Or maybe I’m just a blockhead who doesn’t understand television anymore.
“Schitt’s Creek” premieres Wednesday (Feb. 11) at 10 p.m.
Eastern on Pop.