The Pros and Cons of NBC’s Incendiary “The Slap” – Ed Martin

The lively conversations that are likely to swirl around NBCamp8217s melodramatic miniseries amp8220The Slapamp8221 which debuts tonight may eventually prove to be more than the program merits But right now they are easy to understand I donamp8217t think there has been as powerful or provocative a moment of scripted television during this very young year as the one in amp8220The Slapamp8221 with which anyone who owns a television computer or mobile device must by now be familiar amp8211 a freaked out father played by Zachary Quinto rushing to the aid of his imperiled child sustaining a shocking and painful blow to the shin and reacting in the madness of the moment by smacking a dangerously out of control bratamp8220The Slapamp8221 may be overwrought at times and its characters may not be very relatable educated artsy upwardly mobile city dwellers most of whom seem to come from a relatively tiny subset of humanity that is not at all cared about outside of New York But there is no getting around the fact that watching a grown man smack a young boy for whatever reason can get anyone worked up in a matter of seconds As the ramifications that must assuredly follow that action continue to unfold I am certain the opinions and tempers of viewers and critics alike will flare with some regularityI have only watched the first episode of amp8220The Slapamp8221 in part because I wanted to write about it from the perspective most people will have by 9 pm ET tonight or in the days to come That is they will only have the first hour to think about and react to and it will be their response to that hour that determines whether or not they continue with the program Frankly I canamp8217t recommend that anyone commit to this show because I wasnamp8217t all that impressed with it Take away that cataclysmic incident referred to in the title which most of us have already seen and there isnamp8217t very much else going on thatamp8217s of any real interest The only characters who are even remotely interesting amp8211 Peter Sarsgaardamp8217s Hector the birthday boy with the blues at whose party all hell breaks loose Melissa Georgeamp8217s Rosie the mollycoddling mother of the undisciplined little boy with the vicious mean streak and Quintoamp8217s Harry the slapper amp8211 arenamp8217t very likeable Everyone else on the canvas is easily dismissed Already I donamp8217t care what happens to any of themI wish it were better amp8211 indeed I hope it improves and quickly amp8211 for a number of reasons At the top of that list is NBCamp8217s admirable decision to create a topical miniseries as a standalone television event After years of listening to broadcast executives tell us why minis of any kind no longer made economic sense it seems that Netflix and other streaming services where such things thrive have shaken some sense into them Iamp8217m all for a limited onetime eight or ten or twelve week commitment provided my time investment yields satisfying dividendsIt is also great to see a network put together a drama that does not revolve around crimestoppers doctors lawyers supernatural beings or superheroes Real people are fascinating too Any writer worth his or her chops ought to be able to prove that over a period of time NBCamp8217s amp8220Parenthoodamp8221 was outstanding in that regard as was Alan Ballamp8217s unforgettable HBO series amp8220Six Feet Underamp8221 to name just two examplesOne doesnamp8217t want to discourage future productions of this kind amp8211 but jeepers what a disappointment tonightamp8217s episode turns out to be distancing the viewer from whatever emotional impact the actions of the characters is supposed to have made and doing little to generate ongoing viewer engagement I couldnamp8217t help but wish while watching the show that it had been set somewhere outside of New York City or any other major urban center where people are so caught up in maintaining appearances and doing what the media tells them they should do I can imagine an incendiary incident like the big slap leading to a much more explosive from the gut series of confrontations in a suburban backyard than we get in the pilotA word about the allimportant slap in question and its positioning in the promos for this show It is not as if Harry simply walks up to a kid and beats on him As introduced in the pilot the errant child is a rotten little monster in every sense of the word and has been allowed to run wild by parents who clearly do little to effectively discipline him even when he is destroying other peopleamp8217s property or threatening other children Was he born bad We donamp8217t know Regardless the poor kid doesnamp8217t seem to stand a chance Harryamp8217s actions it can be argued actually save other children from possible grievous injury Also part of Harryamp8217s shocking response comes after being attacked by the kid in a way that had to hurtBut again itamp8217s not as easy as that Harry doesnamp8217t simply slap the brat amp8211 he hauls off and belts him in a way that must have left the kid seeing stars The child isnamp8217t injured but a less punishing blow somewhere other than the kid39s face might have positioned Harry as less of a monster himself even to those who believe in minimal discipline regardless of the severity of a childamp8217s actions I think anyone in Harryamp8217s position would have been excused for roughly pushing the brat away especially after that vicious kick though Iamp8217m sure dedicated enablers would go berserk over any response other than a amp8220time outamp8221The point is most of the first hour of amp8220The Slapamp8221 is kind of sleepy and uninteresting while everything about the big moment that everyone will tune in to see amp8211 that punishing blow amp8211 feels extremely overdone and hyperdramatic I suspect there is a truly insightful story smothered somewhere in the middle There is no telling yet if subsequent episodes of amp8220The Slapamp8221 will level off and offer anything of everyday value The actual execution may be flawed but the intent is admirable from every perspectiveEd Martin is the Editor of Planet Ed and MediaBizBloggers and the television and video critic for MyersBizNet Follow him on Twitter at PlanetEdCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates at MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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The Pros and Cons of NBC’s Incendiary “The Slap” – Ed Martin

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