What was on TV? Sun, Jan 30, 2005

20 years ago, the Board of Supervisors in Alameda County voted 4-0 to outlaw discrimination based on gender identity in government jobs, services, and facilities. (We all deserve some good news, even if it's two decades old). Let's see what was on TV.

7:00 King of the Hill on Fox

9x05 "Dale to the Chief"

Available on Hulu

Well, this was an interesting watch. Hank's new driver's license arrives, and his sex is listed as...female! Bobby and Peg think it's no big deal, but Hank wants his documents to be correct. So it's off to the DMV (or "DPS"). But thanks to homeland security measures, Hank has to jump through a whole bunch of hoops and even visit a doctor to change his license.

I would not call this a trans-inclusive piece of writing, there's some pretty ugly rhetoric at that doctor's visit. But it is a sharp satire that speaks to our current moment of gender essentialist clownery. At one point, he wonders why the government is interested in the contents of his underpants. And boy does he ever have a point. I wish that his supposed comrades in the Republican party would listen to what he has to say.

Hank's difficulty changing his driver's license is meant to make a point about useless bureaucracy. But making these documents so hard to change sends a message to trans people everywhere, and all efforts to make these documents impossible to change send a message too.

7:30 Malcolm in the Middle on Fox

6x09 "Malcolm's Car"

Available on Hulu

Malcolm buying a crappy car with the money he made betting on the ponies was fun. But I really want is the prequel episode about Reese pretending to be a suburban floozy on AIM, catfishing a neighbor, and blackmailing him into making the bets for Malcolm.

8:00 American Dreams on NBC

3x13 "Starting Over" (record Arrested Development on Fox)

Perhaps my favorite scene of American Dreams so far involved all of patriatch Jack Pryor's Black friends storming the city council to make sure he'd honor his promises. I was worried that the show had totally forgotten that plotline, so I was glad to see it return here. I was less happy that it tied in with a ridiculous storyline involving gambling and bribes. It allows the audience to distance themselves from the tensions and conflicts depicted. Most well-meaning White politicians and people neglect Black interests when the going gets tough. But sad Veteran sons and bribes usually aren't involved.

The teenage side of the episode is much stronger, especially since it's the prom! Roxane's storyline in which she tricks her boyfriend into shaving his beard but then learns she should just be honest with him is very sweet. But heroine Meg's story is even better.

At first, it's just a breakup episode: she's sad that Milo Ventimiglia skipped town and now she has to go to prom with her brother. But now that Milo is gone, the show can zero in her her relationships with the other men in her life. First, she and her brother have a terrible fight about her anti-war activities. He disapproves, and sees them as frivolous rebellion. She stands her ground, but she doesn't win the fight. It's unsatisfying, sad, and very realistic.

Then she goes to meet her friend Sam and see some music. And they dance, and she gets a whiff of that romance she always imagined feeling on prom night. But there's a catch: Sam is Black. She's gone to protests. Her Dad kept his promises to the Black community who voted for him at the end of the day. But it was a close thing. How will he feel if his daughter dates a Black man? This development promises to put real pressure on everyone as the show reaches its conclusion. I'm thrilled.

9:00 Carnivale on HBO

2x03 "Ingram, TX"

Available on Max

Last week, I talked about how Carnivale was ahead of its time. In form, content, and style, it resembles a 2010s show more than a 2000s show.

But it's more than that. Carnivale is about a proto-Evangelical preacher who is explicitly concerned with bringing back the apocalypse. It takes place in a world where the worst has already happened (World War I) and horrible things keep happening (the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl), and we're about to let the worst happen again (World War II). It is deeply skeptical of mass media (villain Justin becomes dangerous when he gets a radio show) and of technological progress (the opening moments of season 2 imply that our heroes' mission is to stop the atomic bomb). Perhaps the 2000s weren't ready for these ideas and themes. But boy do they resonate at the dawn of a second Trump term.

10:00 Arrested Development (recorded)

2x09 "Burning Love"

Available on Netflix

I love bachelor auctions. They're "problematic," but they're also just plain old cringe and hoary. But they're prime territory for the revelation of buried feelings, for future awkward and hilarious dates, and for general chaos and embarassment. So it's fun to see Arrested do a bachelor auction, and to see Lucille pay her sons to bid on her. That almost makes up for the way this episode wastes Christine Taylor. Almost.

What Else Was On

The CBS movie of the week was the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation The Magic of Ordinary Days, an arranged marriage tale starring Keri Russell and Skeet Ulrich. Over 12 million people watched!!

TiVo Status

The Masterpiece Theater miniseries He Knew He Was Right and The Lost Prince, and one episode of Monk. 9 hours total.