This week’s episode of Smallville (yes, you should know by now I watch it) was heavy on the sex. But not just in the way we’ve all gotten used to on TV, but also in the talk on abstinence.
In one scene, Chloe and Lana are talking about sex. Lana admits she’s a virgin, Chloe admits she’s not. And then Chloe proceeds to quote statistics about how 2/3rds of teens under 18 that have sex regret it. It’s, by far, the most uncomfortable, forced scene I have seen on TV in a long time. The thing is, it was totally self-aware, too — Chloe said, “I know I’m going all Afterschool Special on you, but…” Afterschool Special? Does anyone in high school today even know what that refers to? The last time ABC aired an Afterschool School special was… what, 1989?
(Tangent: I so want these.)
Then, at the end of the epsiode, Chloe comes on and pimps out a teen sex awareness web site. Jeez… does Katie Couric have that much power?
Of course, Smallville‘s far from the first show to deal with sex as an “issue.” Every 80’s sitcom got serious at one point or another (think the cliche’d “A Very Special… Blossom… that the whole family should watch, together”). But, this one was the first that actually made light of the fact it was trying to be serious (and c’mon — with the hot Clark-on-Alicia action, it probably convinced more people that sex now now NOW is the answer).
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