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| http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/the-new-normal/photo-gallery |
The New Normal is a new sitcom, on NBC at 9:30 P. M. on
Tuesday. I picked this show because it is a different concept of combining an Archie Bunker-like character, a racist and
homophobic real estate broker grandmother, Jane, played by Ellen Barkin, with a
cast, consisting of a gay couple, their surrogate with her child and a myriad of extra characters both gay and straight of different nationalities.
Bryan, a television producer, and David, an OB GYN, an affluent gay couple, want to have a child and hire Goldie, Jane’s daughter for the job. Goldie is a free spirit, who is just getting a divorce from a cheating spouse, and has decided to move from Ohio to Los Angeles.
When Goldie finds herself short of funds, no
prospects for a job, or the education to get ahead, she decides have a child
for the guys, which would pay a whopping $35,000, which she will use to go back
to school.
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The pregnancy test for Goldie and the guys, Yes, it's a baby!
Shania, Goldie's twelve year old precocious daughter, thinks Goldie should carry the child. Shania is a very nerdy but beautiful girl, wearing odd clothes combinations with an even stranger choice of glasses, but she has impressed the guys with her intelligence and personality so much in the first
episode that they want a child just like her.
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Unfortunately, Jane, Goldie's mother, has followed them to California and so
the fun begins. People may think like Jane but are afraid to say them as she does. You have to respect her audacity and willingness to express herself, while abhorring what she says.
Nene Leakes, a beautiful black actress, plays, Rocky, the assistant to David, who is continually taking the backlash from Jane with the great panache of a seasoned and gorgeous thespian.
“Gaydar” is an episode in which two guys, Mark Consuelos, star of All My Children, the new love interest of Rocky, and John Stamos, of General Hospital and Full House fame, the new love interest of Jane, the cougar grandmother, are accused of being gay by Shania, who feels that she can now tell who is gay.
And so the fun begins again. Check out this episode below.
When first watching the reviews for this show, I did not think it
would have a chance, but I, finally, watched the show and found the concept
original, spicy, and different enough to hopefully change the mind of some of
the bigoted, small-minded people of this world, who feel they have the right
to say what is acceptable for an adult in America to do, while defending their rights to do what they want.
Per
LORI RACKL TV Critic/lrackl@suntimes.com, “the show, from “Glee” creator
Ryan Murphy, gets extra points for having been banned by an NBC affiliate in
Utah and boycotted by the group One Million Moms.”
Advertisements shown on this episode, “Gaydar,” are 2013 GMC
Terrain SLE-1, Mucinex, Abilify, Capital One Venture Card, Burger King, the
movie, “Beautiful Creatures”, Finish Dishwashing Liquid, Toyota Avalon, Sleep
Number, Comcast Xfinity, Best Buy, the movie “Escape from Planet Earth”, and
Pantene.
The advertisements show that there is an audience for this show
but because of the diverse list, I cannot see a clear and concise
demography. However, it is heartening to
see this many top of the line companies supporting such a diverse and
controversial program.
One review of the show, by Todd Vanderwerff, From AVclub.Com, claims that " By aiming to be both a heartwarming family comedy and an envelope-pushing satire, the show succeeds at neither, and it ends up sending all sorts of messages it would never dream of sending, wholly unintentionally.
My family watches the show religiously, have a
great laugh, and really enjoy the interactions of the actors. It has been a long time since Archie Bunker but our society is still dealing with issues displayed on this show. I have seen these same prejudices in my church and other communities here in the Northwest, who are not in favor of any rights that are different from their own.
The following 7 quotes were in the pilot of The New Normal from
Ellen Barkin, showing her prejudicial views, during the first 30 minute episode.
”Look at
them strutting down the road in broad daylight, proud as peacocks.” – Nana
referring to a lesbian couple.
“I happen to
love the gays, I could never get my hair to look that good without them…and now
with the PDA. They have some nerve.” – Nana referrring to her
great-granddaughter Shania
(Bebe Wood) calling her a
bigot.
”Those are
ugly men.” – Nana referring to a lesbian couple
“Did I ever tell
you I set my troops records for cookie sales, in spite of that Mindy Goldfarb,
she’s tried to Jew down my customers.” – Nana talking to Shania.
”You,
Hello Kitty Out” – Nana speaking to an Asian woman.
”You people are
so darn good with computers, thanks for helping to build the railroad” – Nana
speaking to the same Asian woman.
“I feel like I
just ate a black and gay stew right before I feel asleep, this is a nightmare.”
– Nana referring to the entire surrogacy situation."
I am a fan on Facebook and discuss the show with friends and family all the
time. My family has turned some of their
friends on to the show and we always DVR the show so that we can all watch it.
I do not think the show will last a lot of years but it is a great
beginning of a topic that is in the news and can help desensitize the audience. Other nations are so much more advanced than America in protecting and recognizing the rights of the individual to determine their own path in life. And so I state that there is a place for "The New Normal" on television in America to hopefully help middle America see what a rich culture they are missing in their lives by excluding different views on life and lifestyles.
I have included a site for Steven Colbert on Gay Marriage and rights, which has the same agenda as the show.
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/423359/january-30-2013/coming-out-benefits---gay-rights.. Steven Colbert on Gay Rights
I had not seen or read Les Miserables, which means “The Miserable, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims.” Regretting this action is stating the obvious. Growing up black in the South before The Civil Rights Act, I did not want to see a movie called Les Miserables since this is the way I saw my life.
