Tonight’s series premiere of Traffic Light (FOX) reminded me a lot of my relationship with my husband.
Like Mike (David Denman), he would totally camp out in his car to watch Iron Man in 15-minute segments (actually, he’d rather play World of Warcraft, but probably couldn’t get an internet connection a block away). I, like, Lisa (Liza Lapira), occasionally pass him our new baby and literally run away just to get 30 minutes to myself. I’ve secretly fantasized about him doing some tiny thing wrong so I can use bath time as a way to get repaid. And both of us would require the guarantee of an open bar in order to even think about attending a work-related fundraiser.
The new show, which focuses on three male friends who met at the University of Illinois, contains a lot of familiar aspects of the process of developing and solidifying a relationship — or, in some cases, avoiding one altogether.
Watching Adam (Nelson Franklin) and Callie (Aya Cash) move in together reminded me of when my husband and I did the same, and how in the process we, too, tossed out the futon. (I, however, did not flash him in the moving truck.) The “we can’t just keep paying our friends in pizza and beer to help us move” discussion was part of what transitioned us from “yellow light” territory into the “red light” zone. It was a sign that the relationship was maturing, and so were we.
Ethan (Kris Marshall), a British bachelor whose life is a “green light” — uncommitted and open for anything — is yet another “single guy” prototype. He is kind of amusing, especially when he describes his “vibe” to his friends (“Which has to be: ‘I am not trying to sleep with you; I’ve already got a lot planned for the day, but I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to acknowledge the beauty of your breasts'”). His bulldog, Carl, is a cute addition to the cast.
Unfortunately, the pilot just wasn’t that funny. Except for a few scenes — such as the ones in which Adam gets pulled over by a snarky cop while the guys chime in on speaker — the show’s humor in no way stops traffic. (Sorry, I had to go there.) I guess it’s not necessary to laugh out loud at a pilot, but I’ve done it before watching the first episode of shows like Modern Family and How I Met Your Mother.
However, it is touching, especially when we find out that “Ben’s thing” was actually a memorial and dedication. I seriously teared up a little when I saw the engraved stone, which is sort of embarrassing. I thought that Adam’s speech tied in everything nicely — the meaning of the show’s title, and also what Ben meant to all of them.
So, I’m kind of hopeful for the next few episodes. What did you think of the premiere? Will you watch again?
Clacked by Rachel Blum-Jose 
on Feb 08, 2011 @ 22:00 EST5EDT
My wife and I watched this and Mr. Sunshine in the same evening. Neither of us laughed once at Traffic Light, only a couple of grins. Both of us found Mr. Sunshine to be surprisingly funny, especially for a pilot. I suppose it’s needless to say we won’t be watching any more Traffic Light, but we may have found a new favorite in Perry’s new show. Time will tell.
*POST AUTHOR*
You know what? I kind of agree. My husband preferred Traffic Light … but what does he know? ;) I felt that Mr. Sunshine was a little more up my alley, and I love the cast. I think one of the main reasons Traffic Light left a bad taste in my mouth was because I kind of dislike Nelson Franklin’s humor. I’ll be watching both for now.
I felt like Traffic Light was championing the disrespect in relationships — by the end it become a bit more than that and I’m honestly not usually sensitive to these things. But all 3 men showed complete disrespect for their women at some point in the episode, whether it be lying, hiding the truth, etc. It rubbed me the wrong way and I usually like irreverence, so it was something else.
Oh, and the funniest part was the traffic cop — she was hilarious!
I shouldn’t say I won’t be watching Traffic Light because I’m giving it a few more episodes before I throw in the towel. It took us a good half-dozen episodes before we started really liking Community and now it’s our hands-down favorite comedy.
You know Debbie, you’re right about the disrespect shown towards the women, too. Not only is it a slap in the fact to women, but it paints men as being jerks. I’ve been known to be a jerk once or twice (a day), but if a married man is so immature that he can’t have a conversation with his buddies while his wife is listening in, that’s not the best of relationships. Sure, we all want privacy at times, but the gag was that he’d immediately cancel the call because his wife was in the car and that wasn’t at all funny to me.
Like many people have said, the very end did catch me a little by surprise. It was surprisingly touching to find out what that special day really was, but it was more surprising that these men who acted barely more mature than the Three Stooges for 99% of the episode were suddenly so respectful. That seemed out of character for all of them.
I’ll take a drugged-up Allison Janney throwing a small child at axe-wielding clowns over that any day.
I didn’t think it was too funny, but I liked watching it.
Gotta say nothing will beat Raising Hope though, that show is just too funny and cute (: