Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The New Normal: A Baby and A Wedding

I rarely ask parents how they choose the names for their babies, unless it's something really unusual, in which case the response is almost always "it's a family name." So, I now wonder how many parents have that "ah ha!" moment like Bryan and David did. I mean, two last names don't always work out (though Darlene and David's baby played that game on Roseanne), but "Sawyer Collins" is cute, albeit a little ambiguous in this day and age.

If this series goes nowhere, I won't be upset. It was a cute little season, full of funny moments, but I don't think it could ever go for seven or eight years. The scene where Jane thanks Goldie for changing her life and then tells her granddaughter to embrace her potential, not her past, definitely gives the show direction. Any bets on whether this will get renewed?

The New Normal "Finding Name-O" (S01E21): David and Bryan have issues making decisions for their wedding plans and their baby's name. This prompts Shania to ask Goldie about her name, and it seems that she and Clay chose Shania because Shania Twain was playing when they conceived. [is this the kind of thing normal people remember?] Shania then wants to change her name to Sarah, as that "fits in." [I can relate in a way. Very rarely was there another "Amy" in my class, and many times I wanted to be just another Amanda or Jessica or Katie.] Similarly, Goldie wants to drop Clay's last name and return to her maiden name. [out of nowhere?] Of course, a week later, Shania wants to go back to her given name, knowing that being unique is cool. [I kinda love that she's constantly discovering that!]

David wants to invite Bryan's mother to the wedding, but it's a struggle for Bryan, who doesn't always get along with Colleen, especially when she's siding with David on things. In all of the frustration, the couple decides to just draw the remaining decisions from a hat. Probability fails and David wins a lot of his choices, including Hootie and the Blowfish's "I Only Wanna Be with You" as the first dance song. [valets dresses as sith lords! segways?? and why was this a public thing?] They get carried away, and at Colleen's suggestion, they put the baby names in the hate and draw, and David's "Julius" is drawn over Bryan's "Thomas." [David over-celebrated!] But, Bryan throws a fit, finding the nickname "Julie" to be terrible for the son for two gay men. [yeah, I could see how that could be inviting ridicule.] Bryan admits to his mother that he wasn't going to invite her, and that he still sees her the way he did as a child - feeling that she loves her other five children more. [were none of his siblings invited, either??]

The episode ends with Clay re-proposing to Goldie at a bowling alley. [whoa. saw it coming but geez!]

The New Normal "The Big Day" (S01E22): "Our home, our day, our way" is the mantra to which Bryan and David stick for their wedding. Except, Bryan's priest can't perform the ceremony, David's mother wants him to wear his grandfather's wedding tux, and Bryan's mother wants to walk him down the aisle. [Shania's tux was interesting...] David agrees to the tux and Bryan to his mother's company, but it escalates when David's mother also wants to accompany her son down the aisle and Bryan gets scared of "winging it" and writes his own vows. Of course, we don't get that far because Goldie goes into labor. [music instead of dialogue through that entire scene was odd, I thought.]

Two weeks later, Shania is worried that she and Goldie could lose a lot if Goldie remarries Clay, so she goes to the beach alone to remind Goldie that she loves the family the way it is. [I'll never understand kids who have no fear of punishment for their actions!] The guys decide to get married right then and there, with just Goldie, Shania, Rocky, Sawyer, and Nikki present. AND, as a bonus, David's priest officiates without his collar. [awww!]
Trae Patton/NBC
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