Okay, so I was skeptical. The thought in my mind was: “How far could a television show go centered around an act? A slap, no less!” Let me tell you, it was worth watching the second week around.

For those that haven’t tuned in to see NBC’s new primetime show, The Slap, which airs Thursday’s at 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific: it’s a show about (in a nutshell) a group of individuals, some related, some not, who gather around for Hector’s (played by Peter Sarsgaard) birthday barbecue thrown by his wife Aisha (played by Thandie Newton). His cousin Harry (played by Zachary Quinto) attends the party with his wife and son, and is joined by friends of Hector and Aisha, Rosie and Gary, Melissa George and Thomas Sadoski, and their spoiled-rotten son, Hugo.

As much as I wanted to believe this entire show was going to be centered around the “slap”, it wasn’t. The pilot aired last Thursday, February 12th, and the viewers were introduced to Hector, an assistant deputy-commissioner who, quite frankly in my opinion, is living a dissatisfied life. He spends a lot of time listening to Jazz music and ogling his children’s teenage babysitter who happens to work alongside his wife, Aisha. It was quite clear that he did not like the idea of having a birthday bash thrown for him, partially due to the fact he didn’t get the promotion he was expecting.

Throughout the first episode, we take a closer look at Hector’s life, his crush on the babysitter, and how “normal” his life in Brooklyn is.

Come the day of the party– we meet Harry, who’s more like that strong, Alpha-male character who reminded me of a  family member who likes to flex his muscles and his wallet, except without the muscles. Although Zachary is looking really fit in this show! Go, Zach! Viewers meet his devoted wife and his less-domineering son.

I was excited to see Uma Thurman on television and I had to do a double take because I didn’t recognize her at first! This reminded me of the whole commotion made when Renee Zellweger resurfaced— but not so severe, honestly! We are just so used to seeing the Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill Uma. She is still as beautiful as we remember. In this show, however, she plays Hector’s sister and television executive producer, Anouk.

So, let’s get to the slap.

I’m not one to promote violence in any form, but the situation that led to the “slap” itself is quite controversial and have many people on the fence and not sure of which side to take. The question remains, of course: Is it ever okay to hit another man’s child?

My immediate answer is: No. Why would you even consider laying a hand on another man’s child? But the circumstances of the incident were that your child was in danger from the child in question. Not only that, but the child kicks your shin which causes you to react without thinking. Mind you, the child’s parents were intoxicated or were not doing anything to fix or stop the situation prior to the major incident.

Either way, there’s no excuse for violence of any kind, right?

In this past episode, we get to follow the story of Harry’s (Quinto) point of view. He is the man who slapped the child and now he is facing charges of assault. Sucks to be him.

What I really enjoyed watching was the approach Quinto takes with this character. I myself am not used to watching this very strong, dominant, and almost unforgiving role ever played by him prior to this show. I love it! You get to take a better look at his soft edges and weak points as well as the “Yup, he is a douche” characteristics.

So far, two episodes in and I thoroughly enjoy this show. If you haven’t given it a chance, take some time this weekend to watch it for yourself. It’s not the conventional show you expect it to be and it isn’t entirely focused on the slapping of a child. In fact, the “slapping” kind of “slaps” other things into perspective. It’s not so much the slapping, but the repercussions of other decisions that could’ve been made that afternoon prior to the slap that cause consequences that happen after the “slap”. It’s all very simple, I promise.

For more information on NBC’s The Slap, visit their official site here. Also, don’t forget to visit

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