Saved By The Twist

A tv drama about two girls who discover they were Switched At Birth takes on an even more thoughtful edge when it turns out one of the girls is deaf.

Firstly, I know nothing about deaf culture, so I should probably apologise in advance for any unintentional blunders. But that's one of the strengths of the show. It forces the audience to recognise their own ignorance, while igniting curiosity about a minority group that doesn't usually receive a lot of attention on television.

The ten debut episodes of S.A.B gives viewers some interesting perspectives, in relation to the deaf community, to mull over. (These have been drawn from my memory of the show, so apologies for any inaccuracies or misinterpretations).

Half a dozen points that stuck in my mind:

1. There are members of the deaf community who refuse to be labeled as disabled and would not take the opportunity to have their hearing (even partially) restored, as they don't consider themselves broken or deficient in any sense.

2. There are pockets of the deaf community who disapprove of deaf/hearing relationships because of the perceived inherent communication difficulties.

3. Some deaf people choose to vocalise words while signing. Others specifically choose not to, and have no interest in creating sounds from their vocal chords for the benefit of hearing people.

4. There are different levels and types of deafness.

5. Deaf culture includes deaf people who prefer to primarily socialise/work with other deaf people.

6. Even if a deaf person is a proficient lip reader, they can get lost in a group scenario because hearing people often forget to face them when talking, or people talk over each other, making it hard for them to clearly follow verbal banter in the room.

Just watching people sign constantly is also riveting. The idea that a language can be made up of hand motions is fascinating.

During an episode of Switched At Birth, two of the deaf characters, Daphne and Emmett, argue about their feelings for each other solely using sign language.

The scene was so impacting. Their conversation made me feel strange, as if I was somehow lacking. Without the words across the bottom of the screen, I would have no way of understanding what these people were saying.

The realisation was quite isolating. In summary, I felt kind of lost.

I guess it gave me an inkling of an idea how a deaf person who doesn't lip read might feel, watching two people speaking without being able to decipher any of the words. If it wasn't for the subtitling, that would be me during this scene. I would be completely out of the loop. Overall, it was an unsettling experience.

Of course, quality-wise, it's not all smooth sailing for this program. Even its saving graces can't atone for the predictable storylines and stilted dialogue.

In the first few episodes, the show struggles because it tries so hard to accentuate the socio-demographic differences between the two families. Unfortunately, this leads to the characters coming across as borderline caricatures. Recovered alcoholic Latino single mother. Rich white nuclear couple with stay at home mother and spoilt children.

I felt the situation's complex and interesting enough without having to succumb to these kind of blunt storytelling ploys. Trying for their own Great Divide is unnecessary, and completely lacking in subtlety.

Actresses Constance Marie and Lea Thompson suffer the most because American television continues to have a problem portraying the modern mother onscreen. Both of these women are interesting and intelligent actresses who are full of life, yet their characters are so limited. It's not surprising their performances are hampered by the subpar writing on offer.

It's a common affliction in scripted family shows that gets really aggravating after a while. Married women are prone to heavy stereotyping. A stay at home mum often comes across as slightly moronic, only saved now and again by throw-away lines of supposed motherly wisdom. Single mothers have to say some variation of "I'm a battler, but I made it through, my kids come first" at least five times per episode. (Well, that's what it feels like!).

I think these two characters could be far better written, since the entire situation revolves around something that happened to them sixteen years ago. What's going on in their heads at this point would be phenomenal in its complexity.

Luckily, as the season unfolds, the writing becomes less starched. Peripheral characters prove more interesting. The parental figures display behaviour that hints at more complex character motivations.

My guess would be the next lot of episodes will offer some interesting insight into the father, while continuing to explore the whole dichotomy of nature versus nurture (ie biological parent versus parent who raised you).

One of the best scenes in the whole series takes place at the beginning of episode nine, when one of the girl's has a dream about what her life would be like if the switch had never taken place.

Weirdly, it never occurs to me that not only would the characters have grown up in totally different environments, they would have actually had each other's names?? And that instead of Daphne being deaf, it would have been Bay who lost her hearing (while being called by the other's name, of course).

The whole concept of being switched at birth suddenly becomes more real, and a whole lot more overwhelming.

The show is helped along in the early days by Blair Redford's guest appearance. Aside from the eye candy factor, he has a strong onscreen presence. He lifted 90210, and is currently appearing in The Lying Game. (Although I actually remember him from Passions back in the day!).

Katie LeClerc and Vanessa Marano both put in solid performances as the two teens forced to readjust. If Marano looks familiar, it's probably because you're a Gilmore Girls fan. (She played Luke's daughter April).

Finally, I'm just a sucker for a good romance that suggests a dash of star crossed lovers... here's to Emmett and Bay x