The New Normal

This new comedy from NBC has had an early debut with two episodes this week. Before I even knew what it was about I had heard that it was controversial and in some areas the local affiliates had refused to air the show.

What is the premise. A gay male couple seeks to adopt a baby. The show is the creation of Ryan Murphy, of Glee fame, who seems to have made it his mission to have as many gay friendly shows on television as possible.

I will be the first one to admit that I am not entirely comfortable with viewing gay couples being romantic. Well, check that, yes I am a man so let me rephrase that, I am not entirely comfortable viewing gay men being romantic. I can hear my wife calling me a pig as I write this. However it is without a doubt that it is more acceptable for women to experiment with their sexuality than it is for men. Therefore a television show with this premise is that much more difficult to sell to middle America.

The truth is though that as I hear constantly about children that are treated as distractions from their parents lives, that go hungry or are mistreated I think that the sexuality of their parents might well be on the list of things I do not care about.

Anybody who spends time with children frequently, and this goes for my Republican friends and my more plentiful Democratic friends laments the terrible parenting and lack of involvement that they see. Last night I said to my wife, in jest before my anti government friends go crazy, that perhaps no one should be able to have kids without going through the process that those folks who adopt, gay or straight. If one goes through this it seems likely that they will be fully invested parents. God knows something that is going on now is not working in too many cases. I have a good friend who if I won the lottery I would give the money to run a boys home for neglected kids and if my wife could she would adopt two or three kids a year from her school.

So to me the premise of the show is soon forgotten. It is actually a plot that makes sense. A California gay couple, A Doctor and his more girly partner, place an ad for a surrogate mother and after rejecting countless applicants meet a Midwestern girl who is sweet as can be and seeks the large sum for the job to give her and her daughter a start in their new life.

As a comic foil Ellen Barkin plays a Grandmother who utters, frankly, some terrible gay slurs, as she tries to convince her granddaughter not to go thru with her plan.

The show wears it's heart on it's sleeve, is sweet in general, and shows that gay couples have the same insecurities about having a child as I did.

So if they are not showing this in Utah that is ok. For me however if the show succeeds or fails it is because it is funny or it is not. The sexuality of the characters is not a decider for me. That in itself is progress I think.