TV Reviews : ‘Banks’ Translates Badly to Television

Outside, the world is a series of threatening figures. A demanding boss, an eager girlfriend, a landlord impatient with the noise of rock ‘n’ roll drum practice. Inside, the world is a rocker’s dream, a toyland, an improvised recreation center.

Such is the bifurcated world of Steven Banks, who, in his “Steven Banks Home Entertainment Center,” which premieres tonight at 9:30 on Showtime, reprises the show that has earned glowing notices both in Los Angeles and San Francisco (where this one was taped).

This is one instance, however, in which the charms of the theater do not translate into television, where Banks’ bachelor pad set looks claustrophobically cluttered.

Banks himself is a slender, sandy-haired, personable young man who somewhat resembles a young Ron Howard. There’s always something to be said for this free spirit at odds with the dreary banality of the world’s everyday demands, but there’s less to be said for the last-gasp puerility of Banks’ holdout, whose terminal silliness is a synonym for resistance. And in this, Banks is a prince among gifted amateurs.

Other air dates are June 16, 20, 25, and as yet an unannounced date in July.