IMHO "10 Things I Hate About You" 1.5 "Don't Give Up"

How did a family sitcom get us three wet, shirtless hunks in 30 minutes?

Last week we introduced you to this under-the-radar ABC Family gem and gushed at how deftly they had handled the beginnings of a "Gay Best Friend" plot line. We tuned in this week to see how (and if) they would resolve that storyline. We came away impressed but perplexed: How can a show trot out so many clichéd gay pop culture tropes, and still get an up arrow?

Exhibit 1: Mandella says “she’s Marcie to Kat’s Peppermint Patty.”

(Kudos to the viewers that pointed this one out before they referenced it directly.)

Exhibit 2: Michael and Cameron plan the “Wolverine for Hugh Jackman” moment for Cameron to show he’s not gay.

Would you take advice about appearing straight from someone dressed like Michael?

Exhibit 3: Joey (the dumb, pretty jock) gives a speech about wanting to prove straight men can be supermodels, and gay men don’t have to have six pack abs.

OK, so neither of these guys is gay, but surprisingly neither is freaked by being considered gay.

I think the show can get away with cliched gay stereotypes because every time it throws one your face, it manages to mock the existence of that stereotype.

For instance, it's the Peppermint Patty character that does car repair:

Remember, the original Peppermint Patty was just athletic.

Also, the friend giving advice to Cameron on how to prove his straightness is obviously pining for him, but nobody brings it up:

There's no discomfort to Michael imagining Cam shirtless and wet.

And here, the hot guy gets handed a girl’s shirt to wear home and doesn’t blink:

He works the neckline and the color.

There are a lot of shows targeted at adults on television that can’t handle this sort of subject matter without laughing at the gay kid, or the perceived gay kid. In contrast, 10 Things I Hate About You is never anything but affirming to Cameron, who was mistakenly percieved as coming out last week (even if he isn’t actually gay).

So far too, the show hasn't outed Michael. He is obviously in love with Cameron, but hasn’t had a true coming out moment of his own. Maybe that's something we can look forward to in a future episode.

Kat doesn’t let the Marcie/Peppermint Patty comparison phase her, and has made a various gender identity/gender role/sexuality positive statements in the past.

The show manages all of this without sounding like a PSA, and the one-liners flow smoothly and with a lot of creativity. One good episode might have been luck, stretching it to two and beyond shows a considerable amount of skill, creativity and determination by the writers and the cast.

We’ll be watching to see if they can manage a third next week, because they still haven’t resolved Cameron’s "everyone thinks I'm gay"dilemma.

Oh, and that endless parade of beefcake isn’t hurting...

It appears to be in the male supporting actors' contract that they remove shirts weekly.

So, have we convinced you to watch yet?