GUEST SPOT: T'HIBBS ON "LOVE MONKEY"

Every so often I showcase a post by friends who have a certain Toobworldian take on various TV shows. And fellow Iddiot Tim Hibbs focused on the cliches that keep the TV Universe apart from the Trueniverse.

Here's what he had to say....

I watched the debut of “Love Monkey” on CBS last night and, as expected, its depiction of the music industry was distorted and simplistic, to say the least. My morbid curiosity will keep me watching, if only to fact-check, but I doubt it will last much longer than one season. However, I was amused to see that the show perpetuates the key television stereotypes of life in New York:

*All you need to do to hail a cab is hold your hand up and one will instantly appear.

*You always travel by cab- no need to take the subway ever.

*Traveling from one part of town to another only takes about two minutes (in your lightning fast cab!).

*All bars are well-lit and contain tons of friendly, attractive people that are totally approachable. Said bars always have a key table or counter space available for you to walk in and take over, no reservations required.

*No matter how small your income, you are able to afford a very large apartment in Manhattan.

*No matter how small your income, you can still afford a wardrobe of $200 jeans and $1000 boots (must be all those sample sales that you travel to by cab).

*Everyone in NY has an iPod.

Complaints aside, they did get some things right, particularly the scenes shot in the Chelsea Hotel and CBGB’s. Series lead Tom Cavanaugh basically reprises his “Ed” character here, right down to the wardrobe and speech tics. Hopefully, he’ll stretch a little as the series continues.

Tim

P.S. The John Mayer clone “Wayne” featured in the episode is actually singer-songwriter Teddy Geiger. Rather than being an “indie guy” like Wayne, Teddy actually records for Columbia/Sony BMG. His debut album “Underage Thinking” is due for release on 3/21. Prior to this, Teddy was a finalist for the Keith Partridge role on “In Search of the Partridge Family” and was the opening act for Hilary Duff’s last tour. If that ain’t indie cred, I don’t know what is.