Two Takes on Teen Pregnancy: ‘Mom’ vs. ‘Welcome to the Family’
What the heck is so entertaining about
teenagers having children outside of marriage? Where is the comic value in
seeing kids raised in less than ideal environments? Yet it’s something of a
trend.
But if we’re going to have TV plots revolve around teen pregnancy, there’s a right way (“Welcome to the Family”) and a wrong way, (“Mom.”) In “Mom,” three generations of pregnant teens are the dysfunctional norm, while “Welcome to the Family” (WTTF) takes a more classy approach.
In WTTF) the pregnancy of the young girl Molly was condemned by both families who seem fairly traditional in nature. Even though the teens’ overly excited reaction to the fact that they made a child was a bit off putting, the treatment of the situation including looking towards marriage, starting a family, and maybe even a hidden lesson on not having premarital sex makes me think that this show will be unlike many others.
Oh, and it has the fantastic dad duo. Mike O’Malley, also cast in the controversial show “Glee,” and Ricardo Chavira steal the show! Because of a prior incident, they intensely dislike one another, and now they find fact that their kids are with child. It brings an outstanding quality to this show, making it seem more about family conflict than pregnancy. I’m excited to see play out.
Again, if we must have shows that revolve around teen pregnancy, this more PG version is preferable to the shrugging seediness of “Mom.” A topic that used to be so rejected in society now seems to creep its ugly head into more and more of our TV entertainment.
