i’d been meaning to take a look at this show, “men of a certain age,” for some time. i’m not a great fan of ray romano or scott bakula, but i thought that maybe a show about men my age would be at least interesting. maybe i’d get to empathize with guys dealing with some of the same issues me and my friends are dealing with. maybe, even though this is TV, i might learn something, might even come away with some insights. at the very least, i thought, maybe i’d find something to think about.
wrong.
“men of a certain age” is just a soap opera about three men – one is the owner of a car dealership teetering on the brink of collapse, the other two men are divorced and seem to be mostly concerned with girlfriends and ex-wives. granted, i’ve only seen three episodes from this current season, so maybe there has been more to it, and maybe if i stick with it, some substance will eventually develop. maybe it’s me, and the fact that i can’t identify with any of these issues. sure, the guys all talk about their problems, such as they are, but to not any great depth.
i’m not sure what i was hoping for. maybe one of the men would be dealing with a major health issue – there is a character who may or may not have been more involved than he is currently, who is essentially dying of prostate cancer. the ray romano character is the only one who is paying him any attention, and seems reluctant to do so. he seems very squeamish, like he doesn’t want to talk about it. not that prostate cancer is a topic we’re all excited to chat up, but if one of my friends was so obviously desperately ill, i think i’d spend a little more time with him, and not expend quite so much energy worrying about my golf game. but no heart conditions, no diabetes, no bad backs, no loss of sexual function, aging parents, not even hair loss.
i have long been frustrated and disappointed with the fact that, aside from artie on the teeny-bopper show “glee,” who is in a wheelchair, i can’t think of a single disabled character on television, or in the movies. there was a BBC show, “the book group,” that had a paraplegic character. i was pleased that the show didn’t shy away from dealing with some of the issues he faced. (getting himself up a flight of stairs, hosting the book group but realizing in panic that he only had the one chair) but it only ran for two seasons. that’s it.
the actor who plays artie is not actually disabled, and as far as i can tell, the actor who plays the paraplegic on “the book group” isn’t either. neither was raymond burr. i’m not an actor (though i’ve been told i act like an idiot sometimes) but i’d be happy to step up and offer my services as a disabled man on the stage or the screen.
the guys on “men of a certain age” are just turning 50, so maybe there are still to come some of the typical health issues that face men of that certain age. so far, aside from not being quite as good at softball or golf as they once were, i have not seen anything terribly serious facing any of these men. but then, TV rarely imitates real life.
and for some reason i find that very disappointing.
one life: livin' the dream 