How swinging is CBS's new summer series Swingtown? It's not swinging in the Sinatra-Rat Pack-ring-a-ding-ding way. No, this Swingtown is set in an era ten years later, specifically July 4, 1976, the bicentennial. But Swingtown, which premieres on Thursday at 10 PM ET, is not a nostalgic, optimistic wallow. However, It does evoke a time when America was undergoing a lot of change as the college kids from the late sixties were moving into the seven-year-itch of marriage, raising children, exploring boundaries.

Swingtown reminded me of Knots Landing meets Boogie Nights with a dollop of The Stepford Wives thrown in there, too (maybe it was those scenes in the supermarket). Superficially, there are elements of Swingtown, in particular the attention to detail in the production design and music, that are as spot on for 1976 as Mad Men was for 1960. When you see that pop-top can of Tab, you can't help but go back in time.


Ultimately, though, what makes Swingtown potentially controversial is the sexual mores and social conventions with which it gropes. Three couples are the centerpiece of the stories. Bruce and Susan Miller are moving from their modest suburban home to a bigger, better place down the road. They're leaving behind their best friends, Janet and Roger Thompson, once their peers. However, now the Millers are moving on up -- like The Jeffersons, only it's not a deluxe apartment in the sky. It's a mini-mansion in Winnetka. Bruce's big new Cadillac convertible (I think it was an El Dorado) is symbolic of their upwardly mobile direction. And as they drive away, waving goodbye to Janet and Roger, they're literally moving on.

With their fancy new digs, the Millers also gain a gorgeous set of neighbors, Tom and Trina Decker. Bruce and Susan attend a July 4th pool party at the Decker's house, unaware that they are prey to Tom and Trina's experimental lifestyle. They swing. They have an open marriage. They want to reel Bruce and Susan into their intimate circle. Before you know it, Susan's being offered a Qualuude -- to take the edge off -- like it's an Altoid. Meanwhile, Tom is passing a doobie to Bruce. This is all a prelude to an invitation to Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice scene. When Janet and Roger come to the party, they are the proverbial fish out of water. Janet searches for the powder room and instead discovers the orgy room.

Swingtown is about how these three couples deal with the times that were a-changing. While there are questions about morality and what is acceptable behavior -- wife-swapping, sleeping with multiple partners while still professing love for only your spouse, taking drugs without conscience -- Swingtown is also about the couples' families, their kids. The canvas is much more than the sexual shenanigans. If creator Mike Kelly's show is to take off, it'll be on the strength of Bruce and Susan, Roger and Janet, Tom and Trina, more than the glimpses of writhing bodies in the Decker's basement.

For me, Swingtown's pilot delivered an interesting premise and I'm inclined to tune in again. The acting is very good, although for me, Molly Parker's Susan is not perfect casting. She seems a little low on voltage, but maybe she'll get more energized as the character evolves.

It's amazing to look back at that era knowing what we know now about where we've come. Is Swingtown's 1976 as much a turning point in American culture as Mad Men's 1960 was? Probably not. And if you were around in 1976 -- I was -- you're aware that the situations in which were thrust were not typical. Every neighborhood gathering wasn't about key parties and nude Twister. Not everyone was snorting coke and popping Ludes. In this way, Swingtown is not a universal as a show like The Wonder Years. But The Wonder Years never took the chances that Swingtown might.

So, bottom line, Swingtown has potential and promise. I'm intrigued and I think you will be, too.

One last thought: it's interesting to note that this show is on CBS. It's not the usual hour drama the Tiffany network presents. If you're expecting Swingtown to mesh with Ghost Whisperer or any of the procedural programs in the CBS wheelhouse, forget it. For that reason, unless Swingtown takes off this summer, I can't see CBS renewing it for a long run. So, if you have reservations about giving your time and attention to a show that may not last, think twice before getting hooked. But as an interesting summer series, this works.