ONE SEASON WONDERS: Relativity

On Wednesday, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at Relativity!

RELATIVITY

September 24, 1996 - April 14, 1997
17 episodes
ABC

Starring: Kimberly Williams, David Conrad, Jane Adams, Cliff DeYoung, Lisa Edelstein, Adam Goldberg, Devon Gummersall, Robert Katims, Poppy Montgomery, Ricard Schiff, Mary Ellen Trainor

Created by: Jason Katims

Plot: Twentysomethings Isabel Lukens (Williams) and Leo Roth (Conrad) are both from Los Angeles but meet by chance in Italy and instantly fall for each other. Once they get back to Los Angeles, they have to deal with Isabel's long time boyfriend, Everett (Randall Batinkoff) as well as their families and friends.

Brief Pilot Review:

Jason Katims knew what he was doing even before Friday Night Lights and Parenthood. This is a fully realized pilot that felt a lot different than many of the other 90s-era drama pilots. It was a high production quality and the performances and writing were strong. Of course it dabbled into melodrama quite a bit, that was to be expected, but it was ultimately a very intriguing story with a pilot that laid the groundwork for a strong series. The pilot did a really nice job of serving the two main leads and the rest of the cast within the episode. They devoted nearly 15 minutes just to the two main characters and that led us to believe there really was something there. Most shows would not give that much time to the background of two characters falling in love before getting to the crux of the series but it really aided the rest of the episode.

Once the characters returned to Los Angeles after their romance in Italy, the show did a great job of introducing the rest of the characters in relation to the main character. At first it seemed like they were going to make Everett, the existing boyfriend, a complete dunce. But then they gave him more layers and sweetness to help us understand why Isabel was conflicted. My only complaint is that the series didn't really introduce any other major plots or character dynamics except for their relation to the two main characters and the main plot aside from one slightly clunky plot involving Leo's family. But I'm sure they were going to get there eventually. This is one of the few One Season Wonders posts I've done where I've genuinely wanted to watch more episodes and maybe I will sometime.

What Went Wrong:

In the 1990s, shows from Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz were often critically acclaimed but ratings challenged. They had an Emmy-winning four year run for Thirtysomething but the show struggled to get a lot of viewers. Then in 1994, they had the very acclaimed My So-Called Life that went down as one of TV's all time great one and dones. On My So-Called Life, Zwick and Herskovitz were executive producers while the series was created by Winnie Holzman. For Relativity, they continued to produce while the series was actually created by a young writer by the name of Jason Katims. Katims was very new to the scene but made an impression by writing a couple of episodes of My So-Called Life. At the time though, it was Zwick and Herskovitz who were the better known names so Relativity was known as one of their shows.

Like their other shows, Relativity premiered to solid reviews and weak ratings. Most critics noted this show seemed to fit right between the teen-centered So-Called Life and the 30s-centered Thirtysomething. However, Relativity wasn't quite as acclaimed as their other shows with reviews generally positive but not glowing. Variety criticized the lack of chemistry between the two lead characters while Entertainment Weekly said it "keeps your heart engaged even when your mind is warning you not to get sucked in." Relativity struggled in a Saturday timeslot as it was catering to a crowd that was most likely out and about on Saturdays at 10pm. It limped through the fall before being pulled in January. It resurfaced in April on Mondays at 8pm with some "save our show" campaigns underway but it was not to be. Like My So-Called Life, it was one and done. But unlike Life, it hasn't really lived on in the public consciousness. However, Katims found much more success in the years to come with even better heart-tuggers Friday Night Lights and Parenthood.

Tomorrow: A recap of Happy Days including my favorite and least favorite episodes!

Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at Love and Marriage!