Monday, September 10, 2012

NBC's "The New Normal: Trying To Redefine The Culture

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NBC's "The New Normal" was scheduled to debut tomorrow night, but has been moved up to tonight.

Don't watch it. Here's why.

This show is one more attempt by the entertainment industry to redefine the culture and redefine that which is natural and normal. When called out on their blatant attempt, they have said what they always say, "We are not tying to redefine the culture, we are 'reflecting' the culture."

I have reviewed the pilot.

Here's the essence of it:


Goldie Clemons is a struggling single mom who wants the best for herself and her daughter. Dave and Bryan, two homosexuals, want to have a child. They offer Goldie $35,000 to rent her uterus and use her as a surrogate mother.

The storyline is built around supposedly disenfranchised people, for whom the viewer will be empathetic.

You can fill in the blanks.

The creators of this show are the creators of GLEE.

In one scene, Dave and Bryan are sitting on a park bench, watching other families---all non-traditional, play in the park. Their conversation is built around this statement: "abnormal is the new normal." In the 1-minute scene, they mention Mariah Carey and Barrack Obama as having been raised in a non-traditional family and how well they have done.

This is that approximate 1-minute clip.

I don't like this show for the obvious reason, its message, and NBC's blatant attempt to redefine what is normal and natural.

Secondly, in my opinion, the show is not well written, at least not the first one. I know the creator created GLEE and it has fairly high ratings, but this is boring and contrived and doesn't have a music component. The producers seem to be so fixated on their message, they skip the quality of characters. Dave and Bryan sitting on the park bench is cheesey and precontrived. The characters are packaged in my opinion.

Personally, I don't think it will succeed. I certainly hope not.

A few reasons why I think it will fail.
  • A majority of people in American won't buy the message. And it's all about the message.
  • Some organizations will likely launch a boycott because of the blatant message.
  • It isn't well written and those who are ambivalent about the message won't remember to watch it.
  • At some point, NBC will abandon the "mission" of the show and drop it because of poor ratings---and money.

I highly recommend you not watch it and not let your kids watch it.

Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Prayerful. Be Active. Be Blessed.