The New Normal

The harsh critical reception of this program is uncountable, really, because for so many people the ideas promoted are abominable or simply foreign. I think it's marvelous.

It's hard to think of any other shows that make me say "aw" and laugh too much all in the same thirty minutes. The message of 'The New Normal' is genuine and sweet, and the characters are plenty without feeling excessive and mucky.

The gay couple here is actually a typical couple when stripped of the homosexual title. One man is exuberant and ridiculous while being sweet underneath; the other is laid-back and realistic. The surrogate, Goldie, is someone who is relatable for a lot of people because her dreams completely got away from her but never died. The grandmother is doctrinaire and her great- granddaughter considers her a bigot, but her statements and viewpoints do have an origin.

I must say that I have recommended this show to multiple people and will do so again. I do hope that it is given a chance for a full season and a few more.

I was skeptical when when I read reviews and saw ads for "The New Normal", because I felt that in most shows gay guys are very flamboyant and "heeeeeyyyyy"- like, which is not necessarily bad, however a lot of these characters don't have any depth, no feelings and only seem to be there to have a gay person in the show, who is basically just acting funny, and doesn't seem to have any real problems.

But "The New Normal" is very funny, has a good and very clever storyline, dealing with real and current issues in a funny way, like this year's election, gay marriage, racism, intolerance, interracial dating, same sex parents, and a lot of fringe groups and topics.

The main characters are interacting so believably sweet and honest with each other, that at some points you forget seeing two men. You see a couple having issues, like everyone else.

The grandmother is hilarious! Someone said, she is acting like she is from the 1860s and the worst character. I strongly disagree, I think she is representing the opinion of a very conservative woman, YES these kind of people are out there, please don't act surprised, because you know I am right. IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH DON'T WATCH IT! Is she over the top? Of course! Are the other characters over the top and sometimes stereotypical? Most definitely. That's why it is so funny.

"The New Normal" is an honest, funny, over the top sitcom that addresses very serious issues while taking itself not too serious all the time, and I believe everyone should watch it.

the only problem is to define it. because it could be perceived as provocative, bizarre, pure gay story. in fact, it is a lovely comedy. maybe an old fashion one. because the use of irony, bitter humor, perfect actors for roles who are reflections of entire universe of relations, family problems, expectations and problems, all around a child, all around a new perspective about family. so, a cute series. and the opportunity to discover new performances from Ellen Barkin. or Justin Bartha.

I did enjoy the show and, like Sean Saves the World and Partners, both of which I also found to be as good or better than shows that were renewed for another year, The New Normal may have been axed for reasons other than just their ratings.

That said, unlike the other two shows I mentioned, The New Normal seemed a lot less focused. In the highly successful Modern Family, the show manages to shift focus between the several family components while keeping a common thread for each episode, and they do it well. Not as successful with TNN

In The New Normal, that common thread was often too tenuous if it existed at all. I enjoyed the main gay couple and their interpersonal as well as more general gay-related issues, both those issues used for humor and those that were emotionally painful.

I usually enjoyed the Ellen Barkin character and, although I generally lean way to the left politically, I found some of her well-delivered rants to be fair criticism of some dearly held beliefs or behaviors of those who consider themselves Liberal. There were a few times when her rants, especially in the earlier shows, may have crossed the line into what sounded too much like very real, not at all humorous, bigotry.

Obviously the show was heading in the direction of two gay men becoming dads and all the joy & trauma of parenthood, both typical and unique to same-sex couples. So the surrogate mom was a practical necessity, but the character & the actress who played Goldie, in my opinion, were rather bland and added little to the show's appeal. Actually I thought her estranged husband, Clay, although somewhat marginalized in the plot development, added more to the show's appeal than she did.

But the killer for me ... in the negative sense of the term ... was the little girl, Shania. Maybe in some After School Special format or main stream family show, she would have been considered cute and precocious, but I'm guessing the primary audience for a gay themed show like this does not include grade school children or Middle Americans resting after a hard day at the factory or plowing the fields.

The kids on Modern Family fit in beautifully with the pace of the show and would appeal to those who might be expected to watch such a show. Shania was just an annoying waste of show time. Maybe I'm projecting my feelings onto more people than is warranted, but when the Shania character appeared to be more than incidental to an episode, I definitely started jabbing the fast-forward button or went on to the next episode altogether. Watching her prepare for and perform in a grade school assembly was a little too Sesame Street for me and the sort of thing that is a leading cause of glazed-eye syndrome.

I think with a little effort and redirection, the show could have been saved rather than axed. Hope the two main characters can make a comeback in something better aimed at its target audience.

Goldie Clemmons (Georgia King) leaves her small Ohio town and cheating baby daddy Clay (Jayson Blair) to start a new life in LA with daughter Shania (Bebe Wood). She becomes a surrogate for gay couple Bryan Collins (Andrew Rannells) and David Sawyer (Justin Bartha) who takes in the single mom. Goldie's anti-gay grandmother Jane (Ellen Barkin) follows her to cause havoc in the new family. Rocky Rhoades (NeNe Leakes) is Bryan's assistant.

With the success of Modern Family, Ryan Murphy's attempt to make a gay-centric network sitcom is an obvious move. All the elements are assembled here with the gays taking the lead. It boils down to personal preference whether one likes these characters. Goldie is fine if a little bland. Daughter Shania is a little too wacky without another kid to balance her. David is the 'straight man' while Bryan is the traditional flamboyant gay. There is love in the relationship although I'm not in love with them. Ellen Barkin overpowers the cast. NeNe Leakes kinda annoys me. Overall, this collection of actors and characters stress me out rather than make me laugh. That makes it hard to watch sometimes. It's not a show for me.