TV Eye

Nikki Blonsky stars in Huge.

A couple of amazing things occurred in TV land last week. No, I'm not talking about the Emmy nominations (yawn). Well, there was reason to cheer when I saw that Friday Night Lights finally got some love from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. That, and some local folks in behind-the-scenes jobs also got nods. Congrats to all! But no, two other things turned my head last week. First was Stephen Colbert's pledge (I take his on-air handshake as his word) on The Colbert Report on July 8 to work as a farm laborer and report on it some time after his show returns from its two-week sabbatical. The second was the premiere of Huge on ABC Family.

Let's start with Colbert. I admit, it took me a while to take a shine to him, but now I adore him more than I can say. I was flabbergasted when he had United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodríguez on as a guest, talking about the Take Our Jobs campaign (www.ufw.org), which offers any unemployed U.S. citizen the opportunity to take a farm laborer job – the jobs a certain faction of the populace believes that "illegals" are stealing from out-of-work citizens. According to Rodríguez, only three have signed up. The goal of the campaign is to prove, once and for all, that these are the jobs that no U.S. citizen would take. Farm labor is freaking hard work, in unpleasant conditions, requiring an expertise that many of us happily working away in air-conditioned comfort have no desire to learn.

It will be interesting to see how Colbert approaches his outing. From his respectful treatment of Rodríguez, it's clear Colbert has some knowledge of and compassion for the longtime work of the UFW and its efforts to create humane working conditions for farmworkers. I know Colbert is in the comedy business, but the plight and demonization of farm laborers is a raw subject for those of us who have either worked the fields or are only one generation removed from having done so. Still, I am hopeful that Colbert's field trip will do more good than harm. Can't wait to see.

The second thing that floored me was the premiere of Huge. Nikki Blonsky (2007's Hairspray) stars as a teenager sent to a fat camp. In the opening scene, the camera scans the incoming campers, all in swim suits, assembled for the weigh-in. Portly, plump, dimpled, roly-poly, squat: I had to stop the DVR and replay it to make sure I'd just seen what I'd seen. Yes, there they were – fat kids, lots of them, in all their glory. As if that weren't enough, Blonsky's Will (short for Willamena) is unhappy to be there, and she wants everyone to know it. She calls herself a feminist. (Hello?! When was the last time you heard a young person claim that word without a caveat?) Will has a captive audience in shy Becca (Raven Goodwin), telling her she's not buying into the ideal of beauty, she loves her body the way it is, and she's not going to lose weight. When no-nonsense camp counselor Dr. Rand (Gina Torres) informs Will that she must strip down to her swim suit for her weigh-in, Will refuses, but when pressured, she does a slow, in-your-face striptease. It's provocative not just for its sensuality but for the fact that Will (and, presumably, Blonsky) does seem to be okay with her body – a body that most of us have been told to cover up, alter, and most importantly, be ashamed of. I'm not saying that being fat is good for you. But I do believe there is a lot of power in embracing all the representations of the female figure instead of expecting all women to aspire to a one-size-fits-all ideal. Now, that is provocative! Can't wait to see how this series progresses.

Huge airs Mondays at 8pm on ABC Family. To see Stephen Colbert's interview of Arturo Rodríguez, go to the show archives at www.colbertnation.com.

As always, stay tuned.