‘GCB’ PILOT REVIEW: 1, 01 (2012)

Last night, I did something unusual. I actually watched the pilot of a new show… on television. (This isn’t a series that has promise of using discretion.) Touted as a copycat of Desperate Housewives (ummm… yeah, like I said, not promising) as well as having the creator of HBO’s former (crass) Sex and the City sitting in an executive producer chair, this is one show that does not have a lot of things going for it. gcb pilot review

GCB Pilot Review

After her husband’s ponzi-like scheme goes south and Bill dies in a car wreck (with his mistress in tow, no less), Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb) has no life. Leaving her hometown after high school with her then high-school sweetheart, Amanda has very few options left. Seeing her only option as moving back to the affluent Dallas-area, Amanda packs up her two teenage kids, moves back in with her mother (Annie Potts) whom she hasn’t spoken to in years. Before they’ve been back even a week, Amanda starts receiving gifts from an anonymous admirer and her mother tries to negatively impact her kids.

Needless to say, Amanda needs to find a job – fast! Living in her mother’s house means that certain rules must be followed one of which is going to church, something Amanda is not in a frame of mind to easily accept.

It’s at those Sunday services where Amanda again sees her high school peers. This includes the resident “mean girl” from high school. There is Sharon (Jennifer Aspen) who is now a binge eater and is a wreck over her husband still crushing on Amanda. Then there’s Cricket (Miriam Shor), the woman Amanda stole Bill from. Carlene (Kristin Chenoweth) wasn’t an attractive young girl but she has since had “work” done and is married to a highly successful oil man (David James Elliott). Finally there is the still-single Heather (Marisol Nichols). A real estate agent, Heather is the only one who was “friends” with Amanda in high school. Little does Amanda know that just facing these women again is the least of her problems.

I won’t lie – I laugh a lot during these sixty minutes. It seems like the show has some good writing despite being made up of mainly novice writer’s. Having said that, I don’t think the laughs will be enough to sustain this series where critics (whose reviews seem mixed at best) and ratings (7.6 million, the second in the timeslot) are concerned. It’s very important to make those of us who are Christians aware that this series does not honor God’s Word. It pokes fun at it and is full of characters who laughingly quote scripture but live the complete opposite of what they “preach.” Fortunately, its main protagonist, Amanda claims no religion and in fact says that she has raised her kids to be “free,” to believe in whatever they are most passionate about.

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‘GCB’ PILOT REVIEW: 1, 01 (2012) #TVarchives Share on X

For the most part, the “pilot” episode is relatively tame. There aren’t a lot of back-stabbing antics. I’m really excited to see two of its cast members in something again; Kristin Chenoweth is adorable and having watched the entire 10-season run of JAG, I’m curious David is in something drastically different. So far, he seems “comfortable” in this role. I laughed so hard at casting directors pairing him and the short-statured Chenoweth together. gcb pilot review

Some of you probably did see the endless promo spots for this. If not then you may have read about the controversy of its name. The novel uses profanity in the title which, I’m sad to say seems more appropriate than not. The studio cut that and changes it to Good Christian Belles in the hopes of impressing a wider audience, before finally cutting it to simple initials GCB. The show has a kind of You Again vibe (mean girls vs Amada). But the thing is, this really comes down to the blatant disregard of Christianity. I don’t see Christianity as something to mock but I also recognize that GCB is not going to change anyone’s beliefs. Sure, it’s “funny,” and I may even watch the first season but sadly the premise and material is always PC. My expectation of this is that it won’t get better… only worse.

Content: there’s a barrage of sexual innuendos including references to sexual acts and one brief scene where a husband asks his wife if she wants to “do it” on the desk [we see them on top the desk before the scene cuts away]. A teen girl is dressed suggestively by her grandma [something which her mother disapproves of]; elsewhere there are countless immodest clothes and a woman takes a job at a Hooter-like restaurant. Women are concerned that Amanda will steal their husbands [she is not interested in relationships]. We learn that one character is homosexual. Sh*t and da*n is basically the extent of profanity. The show is TV-PG/14, episode depending.

Photos: ABC