Sunday, July 18, 2004

another new show, another late night
Tonight was the premier of a new television series, The Days. Never in my life have I seen a more drama-filled hour of TV that didn't occur in an emergency room. Even dear, departed Dawson's Creek wasn't so full of thoroughly insane drama. It was great.

Super-Generalized Synopsis:
Dad quits job, Mom has backache that turns out to be pregnancy, youngest son has a crush on a girl & has panic attacks about it during school, oldest daughter is "perfect" with straight A's and is the star of the high school soccer team who also happens to be pregnant, middle child is the rebellious one and picks a fight with sister's sleezeball boyfriend.

The Highlights:
Middle son attempting to fight sleeze-o boyfriend, youngest son hopping on a bus to go across town to give the girl some flowers, oldest daughter dumping loser boyfriend when he fails to give an adequate answer to "Is there more to me than a homecoming tiara and soccer shoes?" (and after he offered to take her to a clinic to get the pregnancy "taken care of")

Best Quote:
Middle son to younger brother about his crush: "Maybe you have to stop being a bunny & step up to the plate." This quote was far funnier in context, but was the statement that ultimately lead to the younger brother getting on a bus to take the girl some flowers

In Summary:
Worth watching, can't wait to see how the pregnancies play out. It's going to make Mondays REALLY REALLY horrid, though. The show airs at 10pm on ABC.

Moral Commentary:
Will the daughter keep her baby? Most likely. I have yet to see a television series where a major character with a supportive family actually has an abortion or gives the child up for adoption. I'm leaning heavily toward her keeping the baby mostly for the fact that the mother is also pregnant so there's a strong support system.
For as much as the media makes such a big deal about a woman's right to "choose", I have yet to encounter a television series that has played out a storyline where a major character has an abortion. I'm glad for that, but I really wonder why. The TV producers will show you just about anything else on television, but nobody seems to want to talk about abortion. Perhaps it's because they'd have to play it out accurately and they know that the truth hurts.

Help from Readers:
Lately, I haven't been watching as much television as I used to. If anyone out there actually reads my blog, do you happen to know if perhaps I've missed a show that had an abortion storyline that actually ended in abortion? Thanks!

# posted by Amy : 11:23:19 PM