TBS is selling its new comedy, Glory Daze, on the 80s nostalgia. Only this is no Hot Tub Time Machine with a hodgepodge of clichés. Instead Glory Daze treats its retro style in much the same way Freaks and Geeks did: that is not to draw much attention to it at all. The show just happens to start in the Fall Semester of 1986, with the fashion and music to support that conceit. No one’s joking about leg warmers, teased hair, or which version of Michael Jackson they’re a fan of.
Actually the show feels a bit like another Apatow show, Undeclared with a heaping helping of Greek thrown in the mix. But before we continue, I want to rein in expectations that Glory Daze is as whip smart and heartbreakingly good as either of Apatow’s failed series’. The story of a group of freshmen who find each other and pledge a fraternity together has its own charms.
Glory Daze has its biggest problems in its clichéd archetypical characters. Joel (Kelly Blatz) is a normal dude we can all relate to; Eli (Matt Bush) is the virgin who tries to act cooler than he is; Brian (Hartley Sawyer) is the jock; and Jason (Drew Seeley) is the preppy conservative. The story is about a group of young kids going off into the world to find out who they are, but we start off with them established as something constrained and pigeonholed. There’s hope that Glory Daze can get away from this handicap because there are moments when the main characters are together that are charming.
Then there are the funny parts, of which there are plenty. Not gut bustingly hilarious like Louie or Community, but damn if you get through the pilot episode without laughing a few times. Especially when Tim Meadows, playing the liberal college professor, looks at Joel during an embarrassing moment in front of a full lecture hall stating, “You’re not dreaming. I am laughing at you.”
Glory Daze premieres Tuesday, November 16 at 10:00pm ET on TBS.
