Omigod, a blog about Tony Danza.
Quick summary: "Teach" is a "reality" show in which Tony Danza, the actor, goes into a Philadelphia public school to teach tenth-grade English. Trials, tribulations, tears, small defeats, small victories. In the words of Groucho Marx, there are many scenes of splendor and fierce antagonism.
Let's deconstruct, shall we?
A "celebrity" goes into an "ordinary Joe" situation (a la Nicole and Paris on "The Simple Life") in which he is forced to work hard and struggle (a la "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" and "Celebrity Apprentice") while dealing with issues of his own status/celebrity (a la "Undercover Boss," anything with Kathy Griffin, anything with Kirstie Alley) while working in a naturally challenging situation (a la "Deadliest Catch" and "Kitchen Nightmares"), all in an effort to enlighten and entertain us, to bring us a laugh and a tear.
Did I miss anything?
Again I'm being mean. Deep breath. Apologize.
First of all, it's on A&E. This used to stand for "arts and entertainment," but cable networks have gotten a little sloppy about their self-identification (TLC, once "The Learning Channel," showed "Jon & Kate Plus Eight," after all. Perhaps they abbreviated their name in shame.) I'm not sure what a reality show about Tony Danza pretending to make a career out of education has to do with either "art" or "entertainment." Perhaps the "art" is the art of self-deception, and the "entertainment" is the Schadenfreude variety.
I'm being mean, and it's easy to be mean. This show has "quick and cheap" written all over it.
But TV is always a hall of mirrors, and sometimes things aren't what they seem.
Let's be venal. What do the participants have to gain from this show?
- Danza: Face time on TV.
- A&E: A cheaply-produced program about a hot-button topic, using a (presumably) inexpensive B-minus list celebrity who's hungry for face time.
- The school: Publicity. Hopefully good publicity.
Let us now speak of Tony Danza. His publicity aside (degree in education, middleweight boxer, movie/TV actor, etc.), his great accomplishment in life has been the creation of a character named "Tony." "Tony" is a small but tough Italian-American man, ugly/attractive, who looks and sounds like a thug, but who is much more intelligent and sensitive than you give him credit for. "Tony" keeps finding himself in odd/unexpected situations in life: he's driving a cab, he's a housekeeper - but through his combination of toughness and heart, he keeps succeeding despite all odds. His last name changes, depending on the show, but "Tony" is always "Tony." He was "Tony" on "Taxi," he was "Tony" on "Who's the Boss?" (I find while browsing IMDB that he was "Tony" on something called "Hudson Street" too, as well as "The Tony Danza Show" (?!), on which he played "Tony DiMeo.")
Well, he's "Tony" again. Except now he wants to be a teacher. Evidently he wants to be a teacher the way he wanted to be a boxer, and then he wanted to be an actor. He is very sincere about all of the things he wants to be. He wants to be . . . everything.
Again I'm being mean. Deep breath. Apologize.
"Reality" TV has very little to do with capital-R Reality. Film crews. Staged situations. Have you ever noticed that the cops on "Cops" are generally extremely polite? And how the Bad Girls on "Bad Girls Club" are extremely loud and boisterous? A camera crew does wonders for getting people to act in exaggerated ways.
But sometimes, unexpectedly, "reality" TV breaks through into capital-R Reality.
"Tony" is very eager to make a good impression. He clowns for the students and staff. He talks non-stop. He thinks he's doing a good job as a teacher, and is crestfallen to find that he's broken rules, and that the students don't invariably think he's wonderful. He tries very hard to create interesting lessons and good tests, and gets mixed reviews. He cries a bit. He finds that, despite all his best efforts, he is . . . average.
He wonders if he's a good teacher. He wonders if this whole thing was a good idea.
Just the way a real brand-new teacher would.
. . .
P.S.: I told Partner this morning that I was writing about Tony Danza today. "You be careful," he said warningly. "You know he's the boss."
Enough said.
No comments:
Post a Comment