The New Normal

BenPanced · Sep 12, 2012

I just tried watching the pilot episode of The New Normal, NBC's latest sitcom in an attempt to throw me a bone and prove just how progressive and forward-thinking they really are.

:Headbang:

Nutshell: a fabulously wealthy gay couple wants to have a baby so they hire a surrogate. Surrogate originally ran away from Ohio to get away from her battleaxe mother, who followed her to California. Anyway. One half of the gay couple is "a guy", likes football, drinks beer. The other half is high-strung, soft-spoken, bit of a lisp, loves SHOP-PING!

Ugh. Haven't we evolved enough? Yeah, you can tell me all you want that effeminate gay men exist in real life and how dare I and blah blah blah but is that all writers have to show on TV? I mean, Jesus, the US version of Queer As Folk had its own issues on how gay men were portrayed but they at least tried to show a bit more of a range in personality types.

Celia Cyanide · Sep 12, 2012

seriously, isn't Ryan Murphy gay? I thought he was, but I never would have guessed it by watching any of his shows. The way they portray gay characters is sometimes obnoxious.

Jehhillenberg · Sep 12, 2012

Yeah, you're not lying.

Kurt (Glee)
Chad (American Horror Story)
Bryan (The New Normal)

but it makes for entertainment

Celia Cyanide · Sep 12, 2012

I was also thinking of Ava on Nip/Tuck.

JohnnyGottaKeyboard · Sep 13, 2012

Celia Cyanide said:
seriously, isn't Ryan Murphy gay?

Yes, but he's also faaabulous!

Seriously, though, I didn't hate it as much as Ben seems to have. I did comment to my fellow audience members: "Once again, a gay couple that makes no sense together." (Altho, must admit, the flashback to them meeting was very cute.)

Also, NBC must love this show. It's been on every night the last three nights.

K. Taylor · Sep 13, 2012

They're doing heavy promo on all their new shows, airing them a ton. It's not exclusive.

Battleaxe is actually the grandmother, not mother. Mother ran out on surrogate when she was 8 and grandmother raised her.

The pilot was funny, but the stereotypes were over the top. It'll ease that in later eps or probably die a quick death.

Stiger05 · Sep 13, 2012

I'll be honest, I hoping for something to replace the void Will and Grace left years ago. This isn't it.

Mildly funny, over the top caricatures of real people. I don't think I'll be adding this to my list of regular shows. There's too much else I'd rather see.

BenPanced · Sep 13, 2012

Celia Cyanide said:
I was also thinking of Ava on Nip/Tuck.

Oh, God. That storyline was a steaming pile, too. I'm not a fan of Nip/Tuck but for some odd reason, I watched most of her episodes and was pretty much repulsed. There seemed to be this odd, off-balance view on that show about sexuality and gender, in general.

Timmy V. · Sep 13, 2012

BenPanced said:
I just tried watching the pilot episode of The New Normal, NBC's latest sitcom in an attempt to throw me a bone and prove just how progressive and forward-thinking they really are.

Nutshell: a fabulously wealthy gay couple wants to have a baby so they hire a surrogate. Surrogate originally ran away from Ohio to get away from her battleaxe mother, who followed her to California. Anyway. One half of the gay couple is "a guy", likes football, drinks beer. The other half is high-strung, soft-spoken, bit of a lisp, loves SHOP-PING!

Ugh. Haven't we evolved enough? Yeah, you can tell me all you want that effeminate gay men exist in real life and how dare I and blah blah blah but is that all writers have to show on TV? I mean, Jesus, the US version of Queer As Folk had its own issues on how gay men were portrayed but they at least tried to show a bit more of a range in personality types.

BRAVO BENPANCED I didn't watch it but based on your description I'd been throwing much loved cupcakes at my tv I was so disgusted at the lazy character creation of that. please. give me a break.

I didn't read any of the comments yet but BRAVO.

and in my circles I most often see fem with fem and butch with butch anyway. but hey. Have a great day.

Celia Cyanide · Sep 13, 2012

BenPanced said:
Oh, God. That storyline was a steaming pile, too. I'm not a fan of Nip/Tuck but for some odd reason, I watched most of her episodes and was pretty much repulsed. There seemed to be this odd, off-balance view on that show about sexuality and gender, in general.

I agree, and it only got worse as the show went on. In the beginning they had a pretty good transgender character, on all of 2 episodes, but after the first season it went downhill.

Spoilers alert (even though this all went down after the show jumped Jaws):

Ava was born Avery, a gay man who had a sex change, not because he was actually transgender, but because he wanted to get with a straight dude. When that didn't work out, he (I hesitate to use "she" because he never claimed to be transgendered) adopts a boy and starts having sex with him when he turns twelve. Then he dumps the son and goes after the underage Matt.

It was like every negative, disgusting, and even non-existent gay stereotype combined into one utterly unlikeable character.

BenPanced · Sep 13, 2012

Timmy V. said:
BRAVO BENPANCED I didn't watch it but based on your description I'd been throwing much loved cupcakes at my tv I was so disgusted at the lazy character creation of that. please. give me a break.

I didn't read any of the comments yet but BRAVO.

and in my circles I most often see fem with fem and butch with butch anyway. but hey. Have a great day.

I'm glad to have saved the baked goods. If you have to watch, however, use pillows or balls of yarn. Never baked goods and certainly never rocks.

Celia Cyanide said:
I agree, and it only got worse as the show went on. In the beginning they had a pretty good transgender character, on all of 2 episodes, but after the first season it went downhill.

Spoilers alert (even though this all went down after the show jumped Jaws):

Ava was born Avery, a gay man who had a sex change, not because he was actually transgender, but because he wanted to get with a straight dude. When that didn't work out, he (I hesitate to use "she" because he never claimed to be transgendered) adopts a boy and starts having sex with him when he turns twelve. Then he dumps the son and goes after the underage Matt.

It was like every negative, disgusting, and even non-existent gay stereotype combined into one utterly unlikeable character.

And worst of all: he goes off with Matt in the final episode because Matt thinks Ava will be a good mother to his daughter.

Stiger05 · Sep 14, 2012

BenPanced said:
I'm glad to have saved the baked goods. If you have to watch, however, use pillows or balls of yarn. Never baked goods and certainly never rocks.

And worst of all: he goes off with Matt in the final episode because Matt thinks Ava will be a good mother to his daughter.

What?!? Wow. I quit watching after they moved to California. Up until the story lines were pretty out there, but interesting enough. The Ava story always disturbed me though.

Then they went west and it just slid down hill extremely fast. The whole Matt and blonde chick (it's been so long I can't remember her name now) having a baby and joining Scientology, and smoking meth (or was it crack?) and porn and on and on and on, it got old fast. Can't believe they brought Ava back.

I don't think I made the connection until now that Ryan Murphy Nip/Tuck = Ryan Murphy Glee.

Manuel Royal · Sep 14, 2012

Timmy V. said:
and in my circles I most often see fem with fem and butch with butch anyway. but hey. Have a great day.

I guess the idea is that a mainstream hetero audience will be more comfortable with a couple that seems to have clear separation of masculine and feminine characteristics. (Though an exception might be Stacy Keach and John Amos on Two and a Half Men.)

Well, it's progress to have so many gay characters on tv at all, I guess. Not too long ago, gay people just didn't exist in the world of sitcoms.

(But seriously -- don't waste cupcakes.)

A. M. Howard · Oct 18, 2012

Manuel Royal said:
I guess the idea is that a mainstream hetero audience will be more comfortable with a couple that seems to have clear separation of masculine and feminine characteristics. (Though an exception might be Stacy Keach and John Amos on Two and a Half Men.)

Well, it's progress to have so many gay characters on tv at all, I guess. Not too long ago, gay people just didn't exist in the world of sitcoms.

[\QUOTE]

I totally agree. Although, to be fair, I do know a few gay couples who act like the ones portrayed on TNN.

The New Normal

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