SwingTown Episode 5: "Go Your Own Way" - discussion

[JustAskJulie]

Susan defies Bruce to attend a free-speech fundraiser for the legal defense of a star of the controversial movie

That description came from my tivo... according to CBS, the controversial movie is "Deep Throat".

[sweet_tna]

Hmm . . . That would be interesting. I wonder what Trina and Janet will have to say about this . . .

=)

[fordman460]

I cant wait till thursday.

[JustAskJulie]

Originally Posted by sweet_tna

Hmm . . . That would be interesting. I wonder what Trina and Janet will have to say about this . . .

=)

I have a feeling Trina will probably be there with her (while Tom is off flying around the globe).

[sexcupid]

Ok...so I just finished watching this episode on the DVR.

I am still getting major laughs out of Janet (particuarly in the last episode at the lake..but she still amuses me at the end of this episode as well)...and I like the way the characters keep evolving and getting a bit deeper.

Now...anyone care to speculate with where that Logan boy is going with the not quite veiled threat against the teacher?

[awesomecplmn]

I really like this show. Tonight's episode was great....again. I'm a little bored with the daughter/teacher storyline.....but maybe if they have some hot sex soon it will be okay. I just love Janet. She is really opening up and I think it will be great if her and Roger just start having hot, steamy sex together and deviate from their EOW schedule. I will be very happy with them not swinging for a while, but just getting hot in their own bedroom. Maybe Janet will want to roleplay and have Roger be Harry Reems. LOL

[D_and_K]

This episode is a tale of awakenings; Susan realizing she can have a life when Bruce isn't around and Janet rediscovering sex can be pleasurable.

Maybe this is spoilerish, but we've seen the episode, right?

Uhhhh, Tom, what exactly happened in Tokyo? You wouldn't be turning into a cheat, would you?

Confirmed: Trina has the best clothes. We sort of knew that, but Episode Five clinches it.

Neat how Janet could sympathize with Harry Reems's legal difficulties without endorsing "Deep Throat". That's a thought that was unimaginable just a month ago.

Laurie Miller... let me get out the crystal ball... I'm sorry, I can't predict her future, the *Teen Pregnancy* sign keeps flashing in big neon letters about eight feet tall. This sublot has to work hard to redeem itself.
Yo! Teach! Get a girl your own age! This is the 70's, sensitive men are *in* now!!! At least pretend to have a girlfriend to throw Laurie off the pursuit!

The show is in real time, one episode is one week. I'm noticing "Swingtown" looks like it was made in 1976, especially notice the blocky typestyle ending credits ( this is apparent if you watch the Net version ). TV shows that had ensemble casts were just getting started ( the ABC show "Family" premiered in March 1976 ) as were shows where the episodes took place in sequence ( at the time most shows were mix and match so they could be shown in syndication without regard to order ).

This is a crossroads episode, the things that happen this week will set other events in motion. Events that Roger is gonna love and Bruce is gonna hate. I see the roles of Happy Husband and Depressed Husband changing...

[Menage_a_Trois]

Originally Posted by D_and_K

Uhhhh, Tom, what exactly happened in Tokyo? You wouldn't be turning into a cheat, would you?

Confirmed: Trina has the best clothes. We sort of knew that, but Episode Five clinches it.

Neat how Janet could sympathize with Harry Reems's legal difficulties without endorsing "Deep Throat". That's a thought that was unimaginable just a month ago.

This is a crossroads episode, the things that happen this week will set other events in motion. Events that Roger is gonna love and Bruce is gonna hate. I see the roles of Happy Husband and Depressed Husband changing...

We are with you here on this......you know Tom was up to something ....just what it was we'll have to wait to find out..........

We've grown found of both Tom and Trina and would have to say they are our favorites on the show.......I am again this week amazed with Trina and that there is in fact alot of depth and character to this woman .

We agree complete with the Roger and Bruce switching role positions a bit.......It's really keep us looking forward to Thursday nights!

[Nudesailing]

this episode showed all the people evolving and growing as people and finding their own way.
dont like the teacher student situation but it is too early to see where it is going.

really like when Bruce was telling Roger that the morning after the first swap he and Susan felt closer than ever since honeymoon and now she was changing.......

[HedoBuckeyes]

Concerning the student and teacher story line. I remember in the mid to late 70's this was happening more than people knew. It only came out in the open after graduation when the student became of age and the criminal aspect was erased. Will CBS push the envelope further in that regard?

[Alura]

Will Laurie go to Susan and say, "Mom, I need the pill?"

Mr. Alura

[JustAskJulie]

Originally Posted by sexcupid

Now...anyone care to speculate with where that Logan boy is going with the not quite veiled threat against the teacher?

I'm hoping the last scene with him walking out is the end of him. But, like others the whole Lorrie & the Teacher storyline is by far my least favorite part of the show. I actually enjoy the subplot with BJ & Samantha much better as it explores a lot more issues. I thought the last scene with him giving her a 10 was extremely sweet.

I do get a kick out of Janet and I was happy to see that she is starting to open up a bit. I think that now that Susan opened up to her a bit regarding the whole Deep Throat thing, we might see her start to question some things as well. As Roger said, she idolizes Susan, so I think if she sees that Susan thinks something is ok, it's more likely to be ok for her to at least think about it. Someone had mentioned regarding last week's episode that obviously Roger didn't want to swing or he would have brought it up to his wife. I don't agree with that. How many men do we see on here each week that WANT to swing but can't figure out how to talk to their wives about it. Here we have a guy who can't even really talk to his wife about the fact that he'd like sex more than EOW. I think it was a huge step for him to ask her if any part of her liked the movie.

I am really liking Trina more and more. I think her character has developed a lot. I'm really hoping that it doesn't turn out as some have suggested that Tom is cheating while away. I'm hoping that it just turned into a party in his room and nothing more. Finding out that Trina & Tom started their relationship with her as the "other woman" really bothers me a bit (I posted about that in another thread), and I can definately understand her insecurities as they are ones I've seen over and over again with couples who started in a similar fashion.

I'm hoping that Bruce can come to terms with the idea of Susan "having all these new ideas" as he put it. God forbid a woman have a thought of her own. I think he's been used to leading her and the family and her playing follow the leader. When he opened the door to being open and honest and exploring new things, I think it opened her up overall... I think he thought it would just continue along the same path they had been on. This is another issue we see come up very often. Often one partner wants to swing and they find out that once they open that door, it opens a lot more doors that they weren't necessarily ready to open yet.

[Menage_a_Trois]

Originally Posted by JustAskJulie

I am really liking Trina more and more. I think her character has developed a lot. I'm really hoping that it doesn't turn out as some have suggested that Tom is cheating while away. I'm hoping that it just turned into a party in his room and nothing more. Finding out that Trina & Tom started their relationship with her as the "other woman" really bothers me a bit (I posted about that in another thread), and I can definately understand her insecurities as they are ones I've seen over and over again with couples who started in a similar fashion.

You know my Tom brought up a good point about the situation with Tom & Trina and that was her suggestion to go down and join their guest and him really kissing his wife passionately and saying no I want to spend some alone time with my wife and while we swingers my take that for granted for those who are vanilla and watching this that is a very important fact for them to see. That we swingers do put our relationships primary no matter what!

Julie as for your concern over Trina having been the other woman, well it does tend to make them a more "real" couple in alot of ways, at least to me. It's part of really life. I've had ALOT of vanilla friends who ended up with the "other person" so for me it doesn't overly concern me and actually I see adding yet another layer to Tom and Trina who are proving to be very multi-dimensional characters.

Originally Posted by JustAskJulie

Here we have a guy who can't even really talk to his wife about the fact that he'd like sex more than EOW. I think it was a huge step for him to ask her if any part of her liked the movie.

I think you are completely right here..............it's great to see both Roger and Janet "loosening" up to all of this a bit.

Originally Posted by JustAskJulie

I'm hoping that Bruce can come to terms with the idea of Susan "having all these new ideas" as he put it. God forbid a woman have a thought of her own. I think he's been used to leading her and the family and her playing follow the leader. When he opened the door to being open and honest and exploring new things, I think it opened her up overall... I think he thought it would just continue along the same path they had been on. This is another issue we see come up very often. Often one partner wants to swing and they find out that once they open that door, it opens a lot more doors that they weren't necessarily ready to open yet.

I especially liked the scene with Susan and Trina and Trina telling Susan she was going to have to help Bruce through this change...........reinforcing that the relationship was the most important thing and sometimes it isn't equal and we do struggle. But that it's worth working at during the growning pains of change.

[socolais]

I've been getting mixed signals from Roger's character. At first, I saw lustful fantasies about Susan then later what I interpreted as a lack of interest. With additional information, I'm beginning to think he's just a pussy-whipped milquetoast and Janet wears the pants in that family. What I thought was his lack of interest may have been his acknowledgement of the reality of his situation - Janet would never consent. Getting it only twice a month has got to change the way a man thinks about sex.

The previews for next week's episode reinforce my theory about Roger. He didn't even tell Janet he had been fired.

Janet is changing her outlook and this is Roger's opportunity to stand up like a man. When will Janet get her first vibrator and will she need to redeem her S&H Green Stamps to get it???

[good times]

Originally Posted by HedoBuckeyes

Concerning the student and teacher story line. I remember in the mid to late 70's this was happening more than people knew. It only came out in the open after graduation when the student became of age and the criminal aspect was erased. Will CBS push the envelope further in that regard?

I think this was pretty common back then too. In fact, about two weeks after my graduation in 1977, my gym teacher (who was also the football coach) married one of my classmates who was a cheer leader.