‘Showcase’ is more smart than funny
An affectionate yet wildly uneven parody of pop culture’s past, “Sherman’s Showcase” (10 p.m., IFC, TV-MA), debuts tonight. Presented as a kind of infomercial for a vast DVD collection, “Showcase” recalls the four-decade career of Sherman McDaniel (Bashir Salahuddin), the host of a black musical showcase very much modeled on “Solid Gold” and “Soul Train.” The DVD retrospective is in turn hosted by John Legend, playing a very vain version of himself.
Look for plenty of ’70s hair, clothes and musical knockoffs. Its appreciation of black popular culture stretches back more than a century when the “documentary” material profiles Sherman’s father, a radio sound effects expert who revolutionized the sound of tap dancing with his mouth, but couldn’t dance a lick.
“Showcase” also recalls the manic sketch comedy of the “Laugh-In” era and furiously throws a variety of gags at the wall. Not all of them stick. A recurring gag about Tiffany Haddish eating soup remains mystifyingly unamusing.
Anyone who has watched or streamed old “Soul Train” episodes on YouTube can appreciate the effort to celebrate that series. Sadly “Showcase” fails to capture several key elements from the old Don Cornelius show, most notably the youth, confidence, originality and exuberance of the dancers. Like the “Band Stand” that it copied, “Soul Train” was a showcase for kids still in high school, while “Sherman’s Showcase” is shot through with the adult cynicism of repackaged nostalgia. In keeping with the spirit of the show, I’m reminded of the old Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell duet “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing.”
› Apparently, the best way to present a romantic comedy is to remake an old one. Just last week, Hallmark began airing something called “Rome in Love,” about a young actress cast in a remake of “Roman Holiday.” The art of rom-com recycling is hardly new. “Sleepless in Seattle” was a love letter to “An Affair to Remember,” itself a remake of an older movie.
So we can’t groan too loudly when we hear “Four Weddings and a Funeral” has been remade, streaming today on Hulu. But we can quibble that this Mindy Kaling-produced effort has been reimagined as a series. The addictive nature of rom-coms comes from the fact that they have a beginning, a middle and an end. The best romantic comedies wrap up in 90 minutes. TV shows want to go on and on. That’s why it was called “The Philadelphia Story,” not “The Never-Ending Story.”
› Speaking of stories and endings, “Jane the Virgin” (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG) airs its final episode. A recap (8 p.m.) of the acclaimed series sets up the series finale.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› “Songland” (9 p.m., NBC, repeat, TV-PG) participants strive to score the next “Fast & Furious” sequel.
› Cameras capture “First Responders Live” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› “NOVA: The Planets” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-G, check local listings) profiles Jupiter.
Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin .tvguy@gmail.com.