Hi Meltingpot Readers,
Even though my life is overwhelmingly overwhelming, work, writing, baby, boys, house, home, repeat, I somehow still manage to watch a wee bit of TV now and then. Okay, I admit it. Babygirl and I have a nightly routine which involves me watching TV for half an hour, while she nurses and falls asleep in my arms. It’s a win-win situation for both of us. She eats, I relax and we both get happy.
So, while all summer long during the era of reruns and super bad reality TV, I watched a butt load of PBS documentaries. ( FYI, I now know more than I ever wanted to about Papua New Guinea.) But now the new fall season of network TV shows is being unveiled and I admit that I’ve fallen under the spell of NBC’s, The New Normal. (BTW, I don’t have cable.) I can’t say I’m a true fan because I’ve only seen three episodes, but I am cautiously optimistic that the show may be able to hold my attention. In case you have no idea what the New Normal is all about, I’ll give a brief summary. It’s about two rich, White, gay men –who may or may not be married — who decide to have a baby. They find a surrogate to carry their baby who happens to be a 24-year-old, single mom from Ohio who was raised by her crazy, racist, conservative grandmother, aka, Nana. Nana, channeling Archie Bunker, is hysterically played by Ellen Barkin.
Last night’s episode was pretty good. Nana challenged the gay couple on their liberal politics and love for Obama, asking them why they didn’t have any Black friends. Today’s political issues were seriously addressed and there was even a hot Black guy making a guest appearance who was, *gasp* a Romney-supporting Republican. I’m not saying the episode was groundbreaking, but it was pretty ballsy for sitcom territory. They dared to go beyond gay jokes and baby humor. I was impressed. Of course, it would be nice if the show’s producers/casting people could take a hint from their own episode and find some more colored people to round out their regular cast, but there’s still time for that. In the meantime, Nene Lekes plays a supporting role, but I think they could do better. I’m just saying.
So, dear readers, anybody out there a fan of the New Normal? Why or why not? Do you find the show horrible or hilarious? I’d love to hear your opinion.
I’m listening.
Peace!
Comments
3 responses to “The New Normal: I’m Kinda Hooked”
Too true. 🙂
OK, I saw last night’s episode, and I’m torn. Now that you mention the Archie Bunker reference, Nana makes more sense. At first I was like whoah, they’re going hard on the discriminatory jokes. My first thought, maybe because I’m a conspiracy theorist of sorts, was that the media is trying to normalize racial/sexual orientation slurs and jokes, and that’s never good. But maybe I’m reading too much into it. I’ll keep watching.
Olivia,
I felt bad laughing at Nana’s outbursts at first too. But she’s so ridiculously over the top, I couldn’t help it. And you know what the say about laughter and medicine.