Adoption on TV

Seems like you cannot watch a TV show without adoption being written into the plot of comedies, dramas or whatever....

Two I caught just this week were an episode of Brothers and Sisters on ABC with Calista Flockhart and Sally Field (daughter and mother). If you've never seen it it gets bonus points for being ultra progressive and edgy - not just one gay brother - but also an uncle who came out of the closet in his 60's!

Calista's character is married to a handsome senator played by Rob Lowe. They have gone through infertility issues and in the current episode me "their birthmother." They must have said "our birthmother" no less than ten times! Ironically, the expectant mom - a very together DOCTOR - turned the down ans so will not be "their birthmother" after all...not that she ever was or would have been even she handed them her child to raise. Guess next episode they'll find a younger less together mom to exploit.

On the Comedy Chanel, the very bizarre Sarah Silverman Program. Sarah is -- quite simply : crazy. A few pieces missing in her puzzle. Lots of nuts in her trail mix. She is looked after by her sister but manages to get into one ridiculous mess after another.

In the most recent episode she finds herself pregnant and realizes that she is barely able to care for herself, let alone a child and decides on adoption to the great relief of her sister who says she'd like to adopt her baby. The highlight of the show was an hysterical scene in which she has her sister and boyfriend to her house with three other couples and they all state their 'case' vying for her baby. Undecided, Sarah decides the best way to chose is to have a bumper car race!

On the plus side, a favorite of mine, Boston Legal, (also ABC) did an episode about a 15-year old who wants an abortion against the wishes of her mother. She hires the firm to represent her to get an override to needing her mother's consent. In court she plead sher case that she is of sound mid and knows what she wants and it is not to be a mother at this time in ehr life. She goes into detail about how having a child now would ruin her education and thus hr life...she'd wind up on welfare, etc., etc.

Amazingly, the word adoption was mentioned just once and dropped! Truly amazing under the circumstances set up by the plot. I could have been the perfect solution!

One blogger noticed the phenomenon as well and saw it on some other shows:

What shows have you seen with adoption plots?