Characters on Teachers

The noble calling of teachers is turned into a travesty though NBC's new sitcom | Gene Edward Veith

The characters on Teachers (Tuesdays, 9:30 p.m., NBC) are pretty much like other young, single, good-looking sitcom characters who work at coffee shops, fashion magazines, and other cool jobs. They hit on each other, throw off wisecracks, and talk about sex.

These are teachers, though. And yet they are hardly ever in the classroom. Unlike, say, Welcome Back, Kotter, this school-based comedy mostly takes place in the teacher's lounge. The few students are portrayed as bored and misbehaving, which is apparently supposed to be funny.

Their teachers drink beer in the classroom, flirt in front of students in the cafeteria, and make fun of the principal. The substitute teacher wears low-cut tops and tries to seduce the English teacher, who is the central character.