Not SPEECHLESS About This One

Article first published as SPEECHLESS Review on Seat42F.

SPEECHLESS is a new sitcom on ABC that you may have heard of. As the previews make very clear, this is your typical family sitcom with a mom, dad, three kids, and one outside cast member to mix things up. As you may not have heard, there’s something about the show that makes it not quite your typical family sitcom, and yet, the very way in which this something is handled is what makes it so typical.

The family unit is made up of an overbearing mother, Maya (Minnie Driver, About a Boy, Good Will Hunting), a calm and supportive father, Jimmy (John Ross Bowie, The Big Bang Theory), a competitive daughter, Dylan (Kyla Kenedy, The Walking Dead), and a nerdy son, Ray (Mason Cook, Legends). Sounds normal enough, right?

Where things veer off a little bit is with the other son, JJ (Micah Fowler, Labor Day), who happens to have severe cerebral palsy. We’re talking a condition so bad that the poor kid can’t talk, having to use a laser pointer on a headset to point to the words on a card that he wants to say, on his way towards Stephen Hawking territory. I can’t recall the last time we’ve seen someone like JJ on a broadcast network sitcom.

What’s remarkable and laudable about SPEECHLESS is how little a deal it makes of JJ. Yes, JJ is a driving plot point, the family having to move schools frequently in order to find the best situation for him. And Ray’s first arc is all about feeling overlooked by Maya, who spends so much of her energy doing what is best for JJ. But this is by no means the only thing going on in SPEECHLESS.

The best part is how JJ himself is handled. He bullies Ray a little bit. Jimmy cracks jokes at JJ’s expense. Basically, he’s a part of the family, and no one in this clan treats him any differently on a regular basis. Sure, Maya might go out and fight harder for him, but in their dynamic, JJ is just like Ray and Dylan.

This should not be a revelation; shows have been trying to include more diversity for years. From Parenthood’s Max, who had Asperger’s (though the actor does not), to Glee’s Becky, who had Down Syndrome (which the actress does have), it’s not a completely brand-new thing to see this sort of character on television. And yet, it still feels fresh because so few regular series take the time to include a player with such challenging disabilities who contributes to the story in such a pedestrian way. This is a very good thing.

If JJ was all SPEECHLESS had going for it, I’d dismiss JJ as a gimmick, as sad as that would be. Thankfully, that is not the case. It’s a strongly written, well-acted comedy. Driver and Bowie are absolutely terrific, as they always are, but especially so in this particular setting. Cook, Fowler, and Kenedy are great, too, certainly able to keep up with the adults. Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911!) rounds out the cast as Kenneth, the custodian-turned-aide for JJ, who easily integrates into the group from the first moment we, and the characters, meet him.

I’m sure the team behind SPEECHLESS doesn’t want to be known as “that family comedy with the cerebral palsy kid,” or at least I hope they don’t. They won’t be able to help that for awhile, and it’s impossible to write up an initial review without dwelling on it. But given the steady quality and amusing laughs, nudging it towards the top of the typical family sitcom heap (of which there are a few too many on right now), hopefully it’ll soon be talked about as “one of the better family sitcoms” period. It deserves that, and I love that I can say that about it. This would be a very different review if I could not.

As Joss Whedon said when asked why he writes so many strong female characters, “because you ask that question,” SPEECHLESS helps us along the path to answering a question about why you include an actor with a disability in the ensemble with “because you ask that question.” The more comfortable viewers can get with a wide variety of people on their screens, the better for it we all are.

SPEECHLESS premieres Wednesday at 8:30/7:30c on ABC.

"What Happened" on THE WALKING DEAD?

Article first published as THE WALKING DEAD Review Season 5 Episode 9 What Happened and What's Going On on Seat42F.

Fans of AMC’s THE WALKING DEAD eagerly anticipated last night’s mid-season premiere, wondering “What Happened and What’s Going On.” We get an answer to the strange title of the episode, some time after the events of last season. The group goes to Richmond, Virginia, where Noah’s (Tyler James William) mother and brothers were last known to be. But there’s been a cost to this journey, to this life, and there’s a fatal price for looking for hope in this place.

With Eugene (Josh McDermitt) now a known liar, the group lacks direction. Noah provides a little bit of it with a pipe dream, tales of a place protected by walls. It’s better than any other idea offered, so it’s understandable they would give it a shot. This, despite the fact that several of the characters don’t bother to buy into the hope at all. They are too jaded, have been disappointed too many times. They don’t see an attractive path left open to them.

Michonne (Danai Gurira) is not one of those. Listening to Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) debate if killing Dawn even matters, she reaches a breaking point. Of course taking a life matters. Of course one must try to hold onto their humanity. The guys may not agree in “What Happened and What’s Going On,” but at least Rick has the good sense enough to listen to Michonne’s concerns. Maybe he’s past caring, but he recognizes the wisdom in trying to do so.

Michonne is now the de-facto moral compass, which is a precarious position to be in. Those who have shouldered the mantle in the past tend to have a limited lifespan. I desperately hope Michonne’s days aren’t numbered, but I felt the same about Hershel and about THE WALKING DEAD’s most recent victim, and have been disappointed both times. Disappointed not because their stories aren’t fantastic; they are. Disappointed because I mourn for and miss those players. True, there’s no impending demise for her if the show echoes the comics, but ask Andrea, who is still alive in the paper version, how believing the TV adaptation will follow the books works out.

As THE WALKING DEAD returns this week, it’s Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) who tries to hold on. He offers to stay with Noah as Rick, Glenn, and Michonne hunt for supplies. And in Noah’s house, Tyreese is taken in by the photos of Noah’s brothers, innocents. It makes Tyreese remember his own family, his own father, and it saddens him.

Unfortunately, THE WALKING DEAD is cruel to those who take the time for such sappy reminiscing. Tyreese is bitten while distracted, and despite everyone’s best efforts to save him, it’s too late. Another moral compass gone, passing the torch to Michonne.

Tyreese is a beloved and fascinating character, and his death in “What Happened and What’s Going On” is worthy of him and of Coleman, who brings him to life so brilliantly. We see flashes of Tyreese’s past over the last few seasons. We see mementos of happier times. It’s almost a victory lap, a life flashing before one’s eyes, reminding Tyreese of what’s important.

As he lies bleeding, he’s visited by the ghost of many a departed friend and foe, including Bob (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.), Beth (Emily Kinney), Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino), Mika (Kyla Kenedy), Martin (Chris Coy), and The Governor (David Morrissey). Some of them are there to comfort him and usher him out of this life. Others are there to accuse him of wrongdoing and make him take stock of his situation. In the end, though, the comfort wins out, and while Tyreese fights if for awhile, we eventually see him go away peacefully, surrounded by those who care.

Not every death on THE WALKING DEAD is this pretty, but if there’s a soul that deserves this type of demise, it’s Tyreese. Out of the action, his passing is unexpected, but it also makes sense, given the type of guy he is. If it didn’t happen here, it would have happened soon enough anyway. Having all of those actors return makes it that much sweeter, lending importance to the passing, and delighting viewers who miss them. Yes, even The Governor is missed, if for Morrissey’s performance alone.

“What Happened and What’s Going On” is a way-stop on the way to D.C., the place where an ounce of hope might still remain. Still, it’s an important one. The Walking Dead skips over 500 miles of the journey, but I’m glad it chooses now to take a brief respite and deliver a compelling narrative.

Next week, they will go the last 100 miles and find something new. If the next stage is anything like the comic books, the show is about to change dramatically, and this hour serves as a fine transition between two distinct halves of a major series, starting to close the book on what the characters have been dealing with thus far.

THE WALKING DEAD airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

THE WALKING DEAD Pauses to Mourn at "The Grove"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

Last night’s episode of THE WALKING DEAD, “The Grove,” is a rough one to watch. It is an entry that illustrates the very real moral struggles in this new world. It also poses a tough dilemma for two of our main characters, who contemplate doing something that is unquestionably bad, but also clearly necessary. If you haven’t seen the hour yet, grab a box of tissues, hunker down, then return to this review when you’re done.

Like other episodes this half-season, “The Grove” features only one surviving group from the prison as they continue their journey towards Terminus. While searching for water, Carol (Melissa McBride) and Mika (Kyla Kenedy) come across an abandoned house in a pecan grove, an ideal setting to rest. They need a pause as Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) is fighting off infection and fever from his arm wound, which Carol treats. And, for a time, all three consider building a life here, rather than continuing on, until events make it impossible for them to stay with the memories of what transpires.

This isn’t the first time some of the characters on THE WALKING DEAD are tempted by relative, temporary safety, rather than feeling it’s necessary to push on and find everyone else. Is this because they don’t trust strangers after what The Governor did to them? Do they think all their friends are dead? Or are they just exhausted from traveling? Or maybe it’s because they’re just trying to recapture the appearance of normalcy, as Tyreese and Mika seem to do, relaxing in a real living room.

But as any viewers know, these reprieves are destined to be short-lived. This time, the threat that propels them forwards comes from inside their little group, rather than outside. That’s because there’s a fourth member of this company I haven’t mentioned yet – Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino).

Fans already assume that Lizzie is the one who fed the walkers rats at the prison, as well as dissected the rodent down in the tombs. We see her callously stabbing bunnies a few weeks ago. She has all the makings of a psychopath.

But Lizzie’s situation is more precarious than that. She may be hard-hearted against animals, but she loves walkers. She thinks the human being they were is still present inside of them, and with a little effort, they can overcome their people-eating impulses. She decides to prove her theory, which she definitely whole-heartedly believes, to the adults by turning her sweet sister Mika into a walker, stabbing her to death, but not in the brain.

If I hadn’t read the comics in which a pair of twin boys have a similar, less developed story, I wouldn’t have seen this coming, even after Lizzie’s “I know what I have to do,” coming on the heels of her feeling guilty for killing walkers in self-defense. Television shies away from child violence, especially against those so young, and “The Grove” does dance around the issue, declining to show much. Still, the fact that the writers go here is a bold move for any network.

It’s sad because we know Lizzie is just trying to be good and help others. Carol and Tyreese are faced with a real conundrum because they and baby Judith are not safe around Lizzie, but can anyone bring themselves to kill a misguided child? It’s not like Lizzie’s behavior screams evil, even if her deeds do. She’s begging them to love her, and Carol, at least, does. In the modern world, Lizzie could go to a psychiatric hospital and seek help. But here, there is no such luxury in THE WALKING DEAD.

And so Carol puts Lizzie down. She has to. I don’t think Tyreese, gentle giant that he is, could have done it, but he doesn’t object or try to stop Carol. He understands they are in a terrible position, having talked it through, and something must be done. It isn’t easy for Carol, either, as we see, but as she has in the past, Carol does what she has to for the good of the group.

This opens the door to resolve the whole Karen situation, which hangs over Tyreese and Carol throughout “The Grove” and before. Carol was banished for murdering Karen and another guy to stop the spread of a virus, but Tyreese loved Karen and doesn’t yet know Carol is responsible. Charred walkers, presumably coming from the fire that Beth and Daryl set two weeks ago, reawaken Karen’s memory, as she was burned, and Tyreese struggles with nightmares. As he confides these feelings to Carol, the only other adult present, viewers can see how hard it is for Carol not to confess.

Carol is a good person at heart. She only hurts others when it’s necessary. If she told Tyreese the truth early in this episode, though, Tyreese would not have been able to handle it. Only after Tyreese sees how hard it is for Carol to kill Lizzie is he able to understand and forgive Carol when she finally gets her secret off her chest. It’s the timing of the revelation, more than anything, that allows the two to stay together.

One has to wonder if Carol wants to die when she tells Tyreese the truth. Taking out Lizzie, whom Carol saw as a surrogate daughter, does a number on the woman, who can’t even kill a deer in the aftermath. Plus, the parallels between Mika and Carol’s own daughter, Sophia, are strong, so that’s another blow against Carol. As she hands Tyreese a gun and awaits his reaction, she might actually think she deserves to die, and might crave it just a little bit.

But Tyreese is better than that. As Lizzie told him, misguided as she was at the time, killing isn’t always necessary. In this instance, Tyreese needs Carol to get him and Judith safely to Terminus. And I do think he respects her for doing what he couldn’t in regards to Lizzie. He’ll be wary around Carol for here on out, but their bond isn’t completely broken.

One has to respect the amount of foreshadowing and through-lines in this hour. When our heroes first get to the grove, they see three graves, one with baby booties. This may trick some in the audience into thinking Judith will die along with two others, which is only narrowly avoided. There’s also a lot of repetition of lines such as “it’ll all work out” and being a good person isn’t enough, often meaning something else in subsequent deliveries. These make for a very cohesive, strongly written episode, raising the overall quality considerably.

I can’t end this without comment on the first scene shown being set mid-episode, as this is a trope I’ve frequently complained about in other reviews lately. Yet, somehow, it didn’t bother me here. It may be because it wasn’t initially obvious that’s what the scene was. It may be because it was artistically done, not merely included to smack the audience in the face with a hook. Whatever the reason, THE WALKING DEAD, unlike most series, made it work.

“The Grove” is an excellent, emotional episode. The two young girls do all right, not the strongest performances, but not bad for someone of their age. Coleman is terrific, and McBride is really something to watch, her feelings definitely communicated well to viewers as the character struggles with herself and this awful existence. This will be a memorable installment, a stand out in a consistently fantastic string of episodes, largely because of the acting abilities of McBride and Coleman.

THE WALKING DEAD airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

"Infected" By THE WALKING DEAD

Article first published as THE WALKING DEAD Recap Season 4 Episode 2 Infected on Seat42F.


The people who make AMC’s THE WALKING DEAD have promised an intense fall run. This week’s episode, only the second in this batch, lives up to that promise. “Infected” finds a disease spreading through the prison, resulting in a high body count. This also makes Rick (Andrew Lincoln) re-evaluate his new peaceful lifestyle.

As season four begins, Rick has stepped away from a leadership role and put away his gun, making his son, Carl (Chandler Riggs) do the same. This makes sense for his character, having sacrificed and lost a lot. He sees his son Carl going down a dark, violent path, and doesn’t want that for his family. Rick leads by example, putting his job as a father ahead of his commitment to the group.

Daryl (Norman Reedus) tells Rick he deserves the break, and leaves the door open for his return to power. Carl, too, thinks Rick can take the top spot back any time he wants it, but doesn’t begrudge his father the decision, and obeys as a good son would. I do think this development has been beneficial for Rick and Carl, even if it is only temporary, as we’ve seen Carl soften again.

“Infected” forces Rick to shift back, though. Suddenly, there are walker attacks within the walls of the prison. He may be able to ignore what’s going on outside of the gate, playing the farmer, but he can’t turn his back on something happening right here. He has to protect himself and Carl, and that means not being the pacifist any longer. This is why Rick and Carl rearm at the end of the hour, and why we see Rick step back into an active part in the larger group.

Carol (Melissa McBride) faces the same thing in deciding whether to teach the children at the prison how to defend themselves. She does so without informing their parents, which will surely be polarizing when they find out. Yet, she has a good point, that she’s worried the parents will not agree to the instruction, and when anyone can be attacked at any time, regardless of age, even the young children must be able to wield a knife.

“Infection” illustrates exactly why Carol is in the right, as Patrick (Vincent Martella) eats and turns much of Cellblock D over night (they must be really heavy sleepers, huh?). About a third of the prison group dies in this outbreak, and children and adults are equally vulnerable.

One of the victims is the father of Mika (Kyla Kenedy) and Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino). Carol at first offers to end their dad for them, but when one volunteers, Carol is disappointed when she won’t go through with it, calling the girl weak. This is more controversial than the knife lessons themselves, especially as Carol will now be acting mother to the sisters.

On one hand, it makes one squirm to see Carol coming down hard on a little girl who can’t bring herself to stick a knife in her beloved father’s head. This is something no child should ever have to do, and even though we see Carl shoot his mom last season, and it’s not something just anyone could do, and Carl is messed up by the event. On the other hand, Carol is right, hesitating could mean the different between life and death. If Carol wasn’t there to finish the task, the girls could be dead.

This is the world in which THE WALKING DEAD takes place. It’s a whole new kind of morality, with values shifting to be realistic to the times. Children do not get the luxury of being kids, forced to emotionally grow up very fast, whether they are ready to or not. This will produce some psychopaths, like Carl was on the way to becoming before Rick pulled him back, and some tough heroes, who are prepared to do what’s necessary to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, like Rick is. The line between hero and psycho is disturbingly thin, and being a parent is harder than ever.

Is this why THE WALKING DEAD scores the huge viewership it does? Because, even though it makes us uncomfortable at times, it also shows us something no other series is willing to? It’s a gritty reality in a terrible world, pushing humans into situations many alive today will thankfully never experience. It’s gripping storytelling at its best.

The question is, what will the effects of the “Infection” be? With people dying left and right, and a zombie horde pushing down the fences (thanks in part to someone feeding them rats), there is danger on all sides. Not to mention, the Governor is still lurking out there somewhere. The prison seems like a stable, secure place last week, but this episode reveals it is just a fragile as any other environment. It may soon be time to move on.

Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) will probably be ready to leave the cells behind. His love, Karen (Melissa Ponzio), is one of those that falls ill, and then is burned. We don’t see whether she is a walker before being turned to ash, but one assumes so. If not, this could open the door to even more questions about how far one should go to pre-emptively protect the population. Also, I suspect Tyreese’s sister may be to blame, which could definitely strain the sibling bond.

Lastly, Michonne (Danai Gurira) gets nervous around baby Judith, not wanting to touch her, and wincing at her cries. THE WALKING DEAD isn’t big about showing flashbacks, so we may never know for sure the total reason why Michonne wants to avoid infants, especially as she gets along fine with older children like Carl. Yet, I like that the series lets us make our own assumptions, rather than spelling everything out. It may just be enough to know that there’s something there, and to watch her become less damaged.

“Infection” is a scary, intense episode, with some very questionable moments, which is good thing. When a show gives you intelligent plots and characters, who are layered with actions that may be disagreeable, but make sense, it provides plenty of fodder to debate afterward. It’s the modern-day equivalent of a water-cooler show, made to the highest storytelling specifications.

THE WALKING DEAD airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.