Pop Vultures

Every summer, I bemoan the loss of all my favorite shows, and every summer, the networks throw me a few bones to keep me entertained throughout the warm months. (Yes, I know that summer is supposed to be spent outside, enjoying margaritas on patios and long walks in the sunshine, but I live in the UK. We get six days of sun all summer.) This year, we have Swingtown, Weeds, and Burn Notice, all quality programs that make the long wait till September a bit more bearable.

ABC Family is also trying to get into the action with The Middleman, a show that is earning far better reviews than it has any right to. It’s all part of the channel’s efforts to rebrand itself, an effort that had surprising success with the frat house comedy Greek. What makes Greek so successful is that, despite having the feel-good exterior with a warm creamy center necessary for a family channel, it is also well-written and surprisingly original. The show takes some of the most easily stereotyped characters in the history of TV — the party guy, the rich guy, the gay guy, the nerd — and gives them depth and layers. It’s actually an intelligent show underneath it all.

The Middleman, unfortunately, does not succeed on the same level. Based on a graphic novel, the basic premise centers around the titular heroes, who go around secretly saving humanity from various bizarre things that defy rational explanation. This is a common sci-fi trope for a reason — it’s a whole lot of fun — so I won’t say anything mean about that. Yes, I can forgive a lack of originality if it amuses me. I’m fickle that way.

In fact, overall, the show should work. It’s whimsical, but not self-consciously so. Matt Keeslar is entirely charming as the veteran hero, and Natalie Morales, playing his newly recruited assistant is…fine, I guess. Her line readings are a bit forced at times, but she sufficiently embraces her character’s geekiness for me to overlook that flaw. In the end, the program suffers by trying to be young and hip AND a family show. Every time it succeeds with the former, the latter pulls it right back down. Just as I start to enjoy the ridiculously quick-paced banter or the stylized production, up pops the “family” from the channel’s title. We’ve got a robot that looks like a cranky schoolmarm and a gorilla that thinks it’s a gangster. I’m fairly certain that I saw those when I was seven and watching The Wonderful World of Disney. It’s not fresh, and it clashes noticeably with the parts of the show worth watching.

It’s not a bad show, by any means. If I stumbled across it while flipping through channels, I’d probably watch it. It’s a pleasant enough way to kill an hour. But, since iTunes gets a pound off me every time I watch a show, I’m going to pass on this one…and keep waiting eagerly for September.

Did anyone out there watch this, or do you tend to forget that you even have a channel called ABC Family?