The Top TV Stereotypes of the Week: Overbearing Mother-in-Law, Where Art Thou?

Sleazy lawyers and drunk teenage girls topped the TV Stereotype bracket last week. But this week, overbearing mothers, whipped boyfriends and snarky homophobes conquered all. Do you know which shows employed these oversimplified characters to horrific -- and in one case, brilliant -- effect? Proceed below to find out. Remember, this week's winners take home one helpful-but-opinionated mother-in-law -- that is -- until your spouse finally puts down his/her foot.

1. The Overbearing Mother-In-Law (Desperate Housewives)

If you haven't seen Desperate Housewives since season 1, this all you need to know about present-day Wisteria Lane: Susan (Teri Hatcher) is earning some extra cash as a sexy Internet maid who vacuums in front of a webcam in tight corsets for salivating overweight men at home. Gaby (Eva Longoria) has finally admitted to having a nose job. Bree (Marcia Cross), now a cougar, is exhausted from having nonstop sex with her tattooed boy toy played by Brian Austin Green. And the least exotic storyline this week, per usual, went to Lynette (Felicity Huffman), who hired her mother-in-law Alison (Lois Smith) to help take care of her baby.

Although Lynette had hoped for just a little relief in the household, she is soon disappointed to realize that her mother-in-law is out-mothering her in her own household. Alison dotes on her son, making him breakfast to order, refilling his coffee without prompt and keeping the laundry spotless and starched. She does the same for Lynette's bratty children, rendering them completely helpless. And then when it comes to simple decisions, Alison has the gall to disagree with Lynette.

Of course this leads to the tired "I can't deal with this much of your mother" argument, hands waving in the air to demonstrate frustration.

"But you said you love my mother," exclaimed Tom cluelessly.

Apparently Tom has never seen a single episode of Everybody Loves Raymond or any other sitcom about middle-class married couples with a nebby parent-in-law, otherwise he would have known better.

2. The Whipped Boyfriend (Rules of Engagement)

Oh, Timmy, you bonus Rules of Engagement character added during the third season as a counterpart to David Spade's character (so that he would no longer be the wise-cracking fifth wheel), you will never learn. In this week's episode "Baked," Timmy tries desperately to be "one of the guys" but cannot because he is helplessly in love with an annoying girl named Alison. And if we know anything about sitcom love, it is that it transforms male characters into cowering pansies.

Timmy kisses the extra cream cheese from the top of Alison's lip. He fills her in on the entire conversation he had with his guy friends earlier that night. And then when Alison asks him to make a quiche for dinner, Timmy hastily agrees, to the disgust of his nearby male friends. (I can only assume that the scene in which Timmy holds his girlfriend's purse while she runs to the ladies room is still on the cutting room floor.)

After the final commercial break, to prove that Timmy had overcome his stereotypical "whipped boyfriend" ways, writers scripted a little exchange in which a female friend talks to him at the neighborhood restaurant. When she finally leaves, Timmy leans into his friends and cracks, "Looks like someone had an extra helping of b*tch this morning." Laughter aplenty. Stereotypical misogyny conquers all.

3. The Homophobe (The Colbert Report)

As part of his week-long run-up to this weekend's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, Stephen Colbert (in character as the small-minded, right-wing Comedy Central host) faced his fears in a segment last night called Fear for All. Colbert sat opposite the Editor-in-Chief of Out Magazine (as well as a Mexican and a Muslim, who Stephen Colbert was similarly scared of), and said, "First of all, thank you for coming. And stop it. I see what you're doing. And it's not like I don't feel it too. But it's not going to work."

Later, Colbert used his fear panel to talk about how he is especially scared of "secret gays" and secret gay doctors. Check out the full segment below.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

Good work, Colbert Report. Keep those chins up and those hackneyed usages of stereotypes down, Desperate Housewives and Rules of Engagement.