New comedy plays off comic happenings of 'Motherhood'

    Television rarely documents the important role mothers play in society and even less common is a show that turns the trials of motherhood into something comedic. ABC's newest sitcom "In the Motherhood" tries to capitalize on the inherently comic nature of clueless mothers raising children. There are plenty of laugh-worthy moments, but the show says nothing original about the journey of motherhood.
    "Motherhood" is based on an online series of the same name produced in 2007. The new show stars Cheryl Hines, Megan Mullally and Jessica St. Clair playing three very different mothers trying to raise their children while maintaining their personal lives.
    Jane (played by Hines) is a recently divorced, working mother of a teenager and new baby. Her manny (i.e. male nanny) Horatio (Horatio Sanz) does most of the caretaking while she goes to work. Jane is often clueless as to what raising a young baby takes since she is out of the house most of the day.
    Jane's younger sister Emily (St. Clair) is exactly the opposite of Jane: a Type A, over-involved, stay-at-home mother. Their friend Rosemary (Mullally) is a former musician and stereotypical "cool mom" with a teenage son. The three get together to trade parenting tips, complain about their busy days at work and seek advice on relationships.
    The women go through a number of different shenanigans, including Jane locking herself out of the house with her newborn inside and Rosemary's idea to fake a pregnancy in order to gain the perks of being a pregnant woman. But the women's escapades are not really that funny in and of themselves; mostly, it's the acting and the writing that bring the comedy to life.
    Hines' and Mullally's one-liners are incredibly funny. St. Clair's performance, however, is only comedic when she loses the perfect woman facade and becomes a crazy lady fighting with her husband over their children. Otherwise, she's just an annoyingly optimistic housewife with nothing to do all day.
    The show's writing makes many valid points about the difficulties mothers face in today's world. Jane has to balance work, romance and her children, while Emily's idea of a perfect family and marriage is rarely ever what she claims it is. Rosemary is trying to deal with being an older woman back in the world after raising her child.
    Many women, especially those that have children, will respond to this show. The only problem is that the middle-aged woman with a job and children rarely has time to watch television, which is why there aren't that many shows on television aimed at this demographic.
    The show is not perfect by any means, especially due to the unexplicably strange qualities of the leading women. Emily's ‘Stepford wife' act is creepy, and she seems like she's going to explode any minute. Jane often comes off as a mother unfit to take care of a child since she barely interacts with her own baby. Rosemary has no real purpose for the show as the audience never witnesses her interaction with her child or job.
    Also, some of the situations the show presents don't relate to normal mothers at all. For example, Rosemary organizes a nanny protest. The writers want to show the ridiculous things mothers make their nannies do, but most middle-class mothers can't afford a nanny and have to take care of their children themselves.
    The show in general seems to hold a very low opinion of the modern-day mother. There isn't much interaction between the mothers and their children. It's very difficult to believe that being a mother is all that difficult when there is someone else taking care of the kids all the time.
    It can be funny to watch these mothers scramble around and try to run their busy lives, but it probably won't strike a chord with many people. The talent is there, but the characters and the story make it hard to believe that the show is capable of fulfilling its potential.