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Yes! Speechless is amazing! The entire DiMeo family already has my love. From the crazy mom, Maya, to the scary aggressive younger sister, Dylan. This new hit show (I say hit because I think it will be) delivers a hilarious family comedy on a great but somewhat touchy subject.

Mother knows best. At least she thinks she does. Maya DiMeo is an excitable, tour-de-force mother who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. She pulled out all the stops in her attempt to find her eldest son, J.J., who has a condition that leaves him with limited mobility and communication challenges, a lack of “voice.” In so doing she has uprooted her family to numerous schools in a small time span. In this case, she has moved her family to the worst house in the best school district.

In true middle child fashion, Ray DiMeo is not sure his mother is making the best choice for “everyone.” Ray is constantly being teased by J.J. and Dylan. The only one who seems to understand him is his dad, Jimmy DiMeo. The bond between Ray and Jimmy is instantly recognizable. Jimmy is definitely the understanding one, who can reason with everyone in the family. He is absolutely loyal to his family. While Maya is busy telling principals off, he is there by her side agreeing yet not interfering. Maya understands her husband’s level-headedness in the midst of situations, which is why I love the interaction between her and Jimmy while he is taking a shower. He tells her like it is and she loves him for it.

Ray is the one having the most trouble this episode even if the central character is J.J. Ray is moving to a new crappy house and a new school. When those seem to go okay, Ray is then put in the middle of a battle between the school and his mother. While he wants to go to the school’s carnival, his mother says he can’t because they disrespected her and J.J. Middle child syndrome kicks in and Ray is convinced that his mother doesn’t care about him and he sneaks out. At the fair, he gets into more trouble when the boyfriend of the girl he wants to stay in town for, catches him with lips pursed for a kiss.

Family drama is just the tip of the iceberg. A good chunk of the hilarious acts that come about this first episode are from the new school all the kids have just transferred to. The principal starts things off with her announcement of the changed mascot to promote their “inclusion” practices. The Viking has been changed to a Sea Slug that has both male and female parts. Awesome! Then Maya points out that there is no ramp in the front, but there is an “alternative access ramp” in the back for her son to go through. Through a game cleverly titled “trash or person”, the principal is in no shape to deal with Maya and her antics. This will clearly be a win for Maya if they stay at this school.

At the school, we are also introduced to Kenneth. The token black staff member who will have none of Maya’s talk. They butt heads in the beginning. Kenneth refers to her as “Blind Side” and lets her know he knows all about her craziness. They clearly are destined to have an interesting friendship, especially now that Kenneth is the new voice aid for J.J. Hilarious moments to come I am sure.

This episode was an overall success. The audience was introduced to the main characters, the issues, and the comical drama. I look forward to next week. You should too! Wednesdays on ABC at 8:30pm.

Catalina Combs is an aspiring film critic from California. She loves reading, writing, film, baking, music, drawing, traveling, Disney, and playing soccer. Her life usually revolves around all of these and her family. The oldest of six, Catalina tries to set a good example for her siblings. She graduated from Santa Clara University in 2010 with a BA in English Creative Writing and is pursuing an MA in Film. I also blog on WordPress and contribute to the websiteExaminer.com. Twitter- @tiggercraze | Facebook- Cat Combs | Instagram: @tiggercraze

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