IMHO: "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (1.16): "Chocolate Cake" with rainbow sprinkles

I have to admit that this show has flown completely under my radar. The only thing I knew is that it starred Molly "What about prom?!" Ringwald and it was created by the woman who did the unbearable 7th Heaven. Neither of those facts inspired me to tune in.

But I was pleasantly surprised. The show is very frank about teen sexuality (in fact, for a while I was sure it was some kind of Degrassi spin-off), and the cast is ... learning on the job.

It revolves around the Juergens family, and boy, let me tell you — if you look up "dysfunctional" in the dictionary, you'll see the name Juergens. (Ed.: COUGH!)

Fifteen-year-old daughter Amy is knocked up, and has decided to give the baby up for adoption. Last night's episode centered on her decision, and some candidates to adopt the baby, two of which stood out from the rest ...

One of the prospective couples was Donovan (Alex Boling) and Leon (Larry Sullivan). Donovan works with Amy's dad George (Mark Derwin), who's something of an odd duck.

He comes off borderline clueless, like a live-action Homer Simpson. When the men invite him over for dinner, he looks around and says "you queens live like kings!" but you never get the feeling there's any malice in what he says.

After the guys drop hint after hint that they're looking to start a family, they finally come right out and ask "do you think Amy would ever consider letting us adopt the baby?" The look on George's face is priceless, and pure Juergens.

The kicker, and the best part of the show, is when George returns home and enthusiastically tells Amy about the plan. If she lets Donovan and Leon adopt her baby, they'll still be able to be a part of the child's life, and it'll be raised in a stable, loving home. Amy is startled when her dad mentions "two guys", but when she hears it's Donovan and Leon, she hopefully asks, "really?"

The only thing they have left to do is convince the baby's daddy (a hot mess named Ricky) that it's a good idea. They also have to deal with Amy's mother (played by Molly). Apparently, she won't go along with any idea unless she came up with it herself, so they have to convince her that having Donovan and Leon adopt the baby is somehow her idea.

All in all, it was better than I thought it would be. The gay couple were presented as not only a viable choice to be parents, but the ideal choice. And with Donovan and Leon scheduled to stick around for a few more episodes, I'm interested to see where they take this.