“I know why we are doing all this [shopping for new clothes]. It’s because your Mom feels sorry for me.”
“No, it’s because my Mom wants to screw your Dad.”
“Doesn’t your Mom screw your Dad?”
“No!”
This was the dialog between two teenage girls in the Pilot episode of Suburgatory, the latest trashy televison production from the ABC Network. The show revolves around the life of a young girl, Tessa (Jane Levy), who has moved from the big city to the burbs. Why? Because her father George (Jeremy Sisto) is a single dad who finds a box of condoms — not hers, of course — in her bedroom, and decides that the city is no place for a single father to raise a daughter. So, the two of them move to the suburbs. Right. That makes sense.
From there the stereotypes begin, starting with the mom next door who is “overly” friendly to the new father in town. This despite the fact that the mom, portrayed as a dumb blond who has had more than her fair share of plastic surgery, is married with family. That leads to the dialog presented here between the two girls in the dressing room of a local department store.
With scripts like this, there is little doubt “the family hour” — also known as prime time television — is a misnomer.
You know when a show’s title is mocking a religious term that there isn’t going to be much hope for it, at least from a moral perspective. Being responsible has never been high on the list of television executives, as guys like Chuck Lorre of “Two and a Half Men” fame have illustrated time and time again.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, “purgatory” is a Roman Catholic term for “1. an intermediate state where the souls of those who have died in grace must atone for their sins. before attaining heaven. 2. a place or state of temporary punishment or suffering.”
Regardless of your religious beliefs, it is exactly this type of show that should offend most Americans, whether or not you are a parent.
With titles such as “Suburgatory,” $#*! my Dad Says,” “The Playboy Club,” and “I Hate My Teenage Daughter,” Network television is no longer even trying to hide their agenda. It’s right there in the open for anyone with eyes, ears, and an ounce of common sense.
WATCHDOG DAD
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