I know this may come as a bit of a shock, but American television in the late 80s tended to be something it's normally not -- daring. It became fashionable to fiddle with television formats, which resulted in "dramadies" such as "Molly Dodd" or "Twin Peaks," and "crime dramas with a twist" such as "Moonlighting" or "Cop Rock."
Amidst these ground-breaking shows there was also a "sketchcom" which would stretch the boundaries of television comedy. It was called "The Tracey Ullman Show."
On first viewing, I compared "The Tracey Ullman Show" to "Saturday Night Live," though it wasn't quite as topical or as improvisational. Tracey's show was funkier, not as broad as the old variety shows, with sets designed in true sitcom style.
Like "SNL," Tracey's show was performed before a live audience and the laughs were indeed real, as Tracey broke the sitcom format by coming out for a curtain call in the final moments of the show. Many of the musical sketches played to the audience in grand musical theatre tradition, with songs being integral in developing the narrative of the story. Most of the songs included an ingenious new twist in meaning. For example, one song referred to a proctologist as "Mr. Goldfinger" and in another skit Tracey (as Lisa Morgan) sang "Rescue Me" as a plane crashed.
Within its twenty-three minute time frame, there were usually two longer sketches or one long sketch, followed by two shorter sketches. Everything was pieced together by a short animated sequence (most notably, "The Simpsons" in the first three seasons). In short, "The Tracey Ullman Show" was unique.
So when I tuned into the first episode of her new HBO series, "Tracey Takes On...", I expected another half hour of the sketch comedy to which I'd grown accustomed. Boy, was I surprised. Instead of the homage to her old show that I had anticipated, I was left to marvel at how Tracey yet again steered the "sketchcom" in a new direction.
Why this new direction? Tracey once stated that her previous show was like making a TV pilot on a weekly basis; that it was exhausting and difficult to constantly come up with fresh material. With that in mind, she and her husband, Allan McKeown, remedied this situation by limiting the number of characters to twenty and having Tracey "take on" a different topic each week.
Interestingly enough, with this easier "one topic" approach, viewers feel as if they're getting a special each week rather than just another episode. Gone is the live audience. There are usually two longer sketches and because of HBO's commercial free policy, the time frame has been extended to thirty minutes. Instead of the animated segments used in her earlier show, the sketches are now intertwined with short "talk to the camera" documentary style monologues.
Furthermore, Tracey has taken complete liberty with the content of her show, and at times the sketches can be downright shocking. It's still Tracey doing what she does best, but with an extended freedom of expression, and "Tracey Takes On..." is controversial, something which could not be said of her earlier programme. Sure, it had Francesca, the teenage daughter of two gay male parents (a first for television), but we never saw them kiss, and none of the characters was unlikeable or lacking in any redeeming qualities.
In contrast, the pilot of "Tracey Takes On..." had Tracey playing a lesbian who runs out on the green and open-mouth kisses her lesbian lover. Since then she has created characters such as Mrs. Noh Nah Ning - a burping Asian-American donut shop owner who obnoxiously talks about vomiting up donuts in a "Confucius say..." manner. There's also an offensive, sewer-mouthed taxi driver of Middle Eastern extraction named Chic. If there is a silent rule that you cannot portray a minority in a less than positive fashion, Tracey has boldly ignored it.
One might say that she's able to pull this off with little reprehension because she avoids the "quick laugh" gimmick of a heavy caricature and instead provides us with an astute character analysis. Or maybe Tracey herself is just too damn likeable and we can accept just a little more from her than we can from other controversial comedians such as Eddie Murphy or Howard Stern. Regardless, one can't deny that as an almost twenty-year veteran, Tracey Ullman remains a cutting edge force in stretching the boundaries of what's acceptable in television comedy.
From a production value standpoint, "Tracey Takes On..." has clearly been proffered a hefty budget. No longer is she limited to stage sets or a work week that culminates with a Friday night taping where she has one chance to get it right. Now, Tracey's characters are filmed on location in their natural habitats. Probably the greatest advantage to this is the fact that her creations can now "interact" with each other and allow her to illustrate even further her versatility.
The approach of "Tracey Takes On..." looks to be one that could be sustained for many years. The viewer isn't waiting to see how many new characters Tracey will add to her roster this week or wondering how long the marathon of ideas will last. "The Tracey Ullman Show" illustrated the brilliance of this comic chameleon and the amount of material produced in its four years of existence was truly overwhelming. But happily, "Tracey Takes On..." leaves the field wide open for even further experimentation and creative challenges.
The innovations in television format into which Tracey has forayed so far leads us to wonder what we can expect from her in the new millennium. Regardless, we can rest assured of one thing: it will be damn funny.
Copyright © 1997 Andrew Mitchell
