For reasons I do not fully understand, I sat down and watched The Secret Life of the American Teenager last night. Maybe it has something to do with the amazing draw of HDTV that I simply have to watch everything available; maybe I have a sickness, maybe my wife decided that she just had to see it. Almost needless to say, I have formulated an opinion or two about the show, and they're none too good.

First off, I'm convinced that the word "American" is used in the title to denote the fact that ABC Family hasn't simply bought old episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation or even the original Degrassi Junior High (which are, of course, Canadian). Watching the show it certainly felt like I stepped right into the world of Degrassi, which we used to watch in school during recess if it was raining outside. It seems as though school, or the television industry's view of it, has changed very little from then to now. And, I tend to think that's the case. Teen pregnancy, while upsetting, is not new. And, for all the hoopla surrounding ABC Family airing a show about it, everything that occurred last night was rather mundane.

Though there was speculation that ABC Family was eschewing its family-based roots with the show, they most certainly did not. Not only did a little advisory precede the show, at the end of it parents and teens were encouraged to talk and learn more about the issues involved.

Some quarters of our society almost certainly feel that such a show should never air on a network denoted as a "family" one. That's a ridiculous notion. Not discussing teen pregnancy does not make the problem go away. If you stick your head in the sand, not only will your problems still be there, but you may have messed up a pretty good hairdo as well.