October 16, 2007

TV: Life Is Wild (CW, Sunday 8/7)

Daktari for the 21st century, with a hint of The Brady Bunch thrown in for good measure.

Dad's got two kids, and none of them are coping well with the death of Mom three years ago. Teen Daughter has become an uptight, hyper-competent, prematurely adult prig; Tween Son is shy and troubled. New Mom's got two kids of her own, equally troubled. Teen Son is well on the road to a life spent in prison (like his dad); Adorable Moppet Daughter is -- well, she's adorable, and as of the pilot, that is her sole personality trait.

How to get this collection of dysfunctional folk to meld into a family? Why, take them all off to South Africa for a year, natch, to live on the family lodge where Dead Mom grew up. Of course, when they get there, they find the place a rundown mess, and Grandpa has no interest in doing any of the work to fix it up, 'cause that would take time away from his drinking.

It's all very bland and uninvolving, and remarkably unattractive to look at; the South African wilderness is a bleached and dusty bore, and even the teen actors are (by CW standards) dull and plain. I suppose if you're desperate for something that the kids can watch on Sunday night without being too badly traumatized, this will do, but that's the nicest thing I can say about it.

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