GRChereck

YAY for Jimmy's old punk band! :D I hope we get to see them again; but if not, I just think it's cool that they're the ones who ended up helping the DiMeos get their house back (since Martin turned out to be not as well-to-do as Maya had thought). His plot with his new friend, Rowan, was cute too; oh, and that picture of young Jimmy was actually John Ross Bowie playing with his old band, Egghead: MySpace photos Audio clip: "Neighborhood Palm Reader" The JJ/Kenneth plot was so sweet... I had wondered how they would address the fact that Kenneth won't be able to work as JJ's aide once the boy graduates; they may not know yet what their next moves will be, but JJ has some reassurance now that they'll still be friends. :) Why am I not surprised that Ray would be the one to spill the beans to Martin about his family needing money for a house? xD What I did find a tad surprising, though -- particularly in light of s.2's Thanksgiving episode, in which he was willing to do anything to impress his mom's pretentious mother (even have his then-girlfriend pose as his sister) while Dylan couldn't be bothered to learn about soccer for the occasion -- was that he would have so much trouble connecting with Maya's other relatives while Dylan was able to win them over with little-to-no effort (primarily through her strong resemblance to a deceased, beloved family member who was photographed with a tiger).

Showbiz Junkies: Cedric interview (includes interesting bit in which he describes how the "reading JJ's board" scenes are filmed) FanFest: 5 "hashtag-worthy" moments from the s.3 premiere :D Semi-OT, but I hope this lady's show gets picked up: Pacific Standard: Can a Disabled Palestinian American Launch the Next Big Sitcom? How comedian Maysoon Zayid is planning to reshape television

Yup. :) (Speaking of which, I wonder where Pepper stayed if they didn't take him on the trip -- either I missed something, or that might be addressed next week...) So I would think whatever they would've paid for rent and utilities in that month, they got to save while they stayed at Kenneth's.

Stray observations: -- So it picks up the very next morning after s.2 ended, and the family stays with Kenneth for a month; by then, the DiMeo house is back on the market. I was under the impression that Eddie (from 2x17, "Action") just wanted the place to tear it down and totally rebuild rather than simply remodel what's already there, but I suppose anything could've happened during that month (like maybe he felt guilty after seeing the family sleeping on the lawn but the landlord wouldn't let him give the place back to them because they DID violate their lease, he and/or his wife changed their minds about all the stuff they wanted built, or he had a falling-out with his Norwegian builders...?) -- The family's possessions on the lawn being mistaken for a yard sale was cute; Jimmy explaining the eviction situation to the neighbor but then selling him a lamp for three bucks anyway was hilarious. -- Nobody believes Ray has a friend he can stay with (though to be fair, he did sound like he was making up a name -- Tom Thompson?). xD -- Now we know where Maya gets her stubborn / willful / abrasive personality (her "crazy," as she puts it); she may have grown up a spoiled child from a privileged (if fractured) family, but being a mother has certainly given her a positive, constructive outlet for her rage and encouraged her to put others ahead of herself. -- Jimmy's parents are in a retirement village; where, and when will get to meet them? :) -- Speaking of Jimmy, his pairings with JJ on this show are rare enough as it is; and as much as I loved their plots in "Training Day" (2x4) and "Sled Hockey" (1x9), how refreshing that the two Jimmys get a plot that doesn't revolve around Sr. struggling to balance encouraging Jr. in all things and being realistic about the boy's limitations without tipping too far into either overprotecting or patronizing. If anything, I was reminded more of Jimmy's pairing with Dylan in the s.1 finale (especially his outburst after his "plan B" for vacation fun fell through). -- Hey, Kenneth and Dylan have something else to bond over besides sports and trash-talk! :D The Royal Family seems kind of a random obsession, but I think it's neat getting to see different facets of these characters. (Also, I found it a little odd that Dylan, who has her father's don't-care-what-others-think philosophy down to a T, would suddenly become so concerned about keeping one of her interests secret. A sign of her softening, perhaps?) -- Ray pretending to be things he's not, especially to impress members of the opposite sex, is a well this show has returned to more times than I care to count; but we do get a couple interesting twists this time, such as his take on California-dude stereotypes and how he finally gets a taste of being seen as "exotic" by others. -- The Martin-yelling-at-the-kids fake-out was great, as was the reveal that his and Frances' wedding video (featuring Maya's drunken antics) ended up on a show called "Britain's Most Embarrassing Weddings." -- Not only did Maya not tell her father she was coming ahead of time, she doesn't tell him why she came to see him -- for a loan -- until after he innocently asks her to tell him about her house. Uh-oh...

New York Post: How Minnie Driver helped snare comedy legend John Cleese for her ABC sitcom THR: 'Speechless' creator on finding heart and humor for the working class -- Q&A with Silveri about some things to expect this season Awards Daily: John Ross Bowie Talks Season 3 of ‘Speechless,’ the Need for More Working-Class Families on TV StarryMag: Catching up with JRB :) ABC press release: October is Spooktacular -- Halloween programming (including re-airings of "It's the Great Pumpkin" and "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown" on 10/26) Two pieces from TV Insider: Sneak peek at s.3's Halloween episode (5 photos) Ask Matt: Moving 'Speechless,' and more (Roush weighs in on Friday night network competition) Promo -- found this last night:

Articles ahead of Friday's s.3 premiere: Philadelphia Inquirer: How a gamble paid off for an ABC sitcom (includes comments from Silveri, JRB and Micah) Entertainment Weekly: John Cleese goes full grumpy old man (exclusive premiere clip)

Former ABC Sitcom Stars Help “Speechless” and “Fresh Off the Boat” Relaunch TGIF https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2018/09/24/abc-relaunches-tgif-speechless-fresh-off-the-boat/ (Nice to see Larry and Balki a part of this -- Perfect Strangers was one of my first favorite shows as a kid. :D ) EDIT: TV Line has an exclusive first look at the promo: https://tvline.com/2018/09/27/fresh-off-the-boat-speechless-tgif-video-abc/ *** Press releases / promo pix from the first two eps of the season: "L-O-N--London (Part One)" (3x1) (a Jimmy/JJ plot right off the bat? aww...) :) "L-O-N--London (Part Two)" (3x2) UPDATE: "I-N--Into The W-O--Woods" (3x3) (press release) -- since both this show and FOTB are apparently showing their Halloween eps on the 19th, I'm guessing they'll be taking off the 26th...? :\ Fortunately, looking at the guest stars, it appears that "wheelchair badass / future JJ" Lee will be putting in his first appearance since 1x20! (Also, nice to see a Kenneth/Jimmy pairing already!) :D

While Silveri (or as TV Tropes would say, "Word of God") has said that the show was meant to be more about the story of a particular family than "disability writ large," I do find it a little odd that we haven't gotten to know any other disabled character beyond a couple episodes (particularly Taylor's brother in s.2). I hope that with Maya backing off JJ a bit more this season (to "join the working world," and supposedly also spend more time with her two younger children), JJ might go a bit farther out into the world, interact more with other disabled individuals and possibly find a friend or mentor who can become a semi-regular recurring character. *** Check out the new poster for s.3: :)

"Shipping" was one of my faves of s.2 -- through the rest of the season after that episode, I was a little disappointed that they didn't really do any more with the new students and their aides. :\ *** From Saturday night: :) More about Disability Rights Legal Center: https://drlcenter.org/

I got that issue, too -- that does sound like a good storyline for her this season. :D I also got Entertainment Weekly's Fall TV Preview, which had this to say: * Ooh, I wonder if Maya could end up working in theater or on the fringes of the music industry somehow... (Also, I hope a more musical season might involve a return engagement from Kenneth's dad and/or Jimmy reuniting with his "old punk band"!) ** This is wrong -- though it's possible whoever wrote the blurb was simply paraphrasing Minnie, and she either misremembered or was misheard. Maya (and Jimmy) first sang in s.1's mid-season premiere (1x11, "R-O--Road T-R--Trip"): "Get your wheelchair van a-runnin'..." *** Aww! :) More about PACER and its National Bullying Prevention Center: http://www.pacer.org/about/ http://www.pacer.org/bullying/

More casting news for the s.3 premiere: https://tvline.com/2018/09/07/speechless-season-3-cast-ben-savage-abc-tgif-revival/ Boy Meets World star Ben Savage is set to play "a real estate agent who crosses paths with Maya, Jimmy and the rest of the DiMeo family as the future of their home hangs in the balance." :) *** Micah and Cedric were presenters at the Creative Arts Emmys this past Saturday (the ceremony airs Sept. 15 on FX): (10 clips/pix)

Programming note -- upcoming reruns: * - 'Speechless' is one of 12 outstanding honorees for Hollywood Health & Society's "Sentinel Awards" this year, particularly for this episode (I would assume more for JJ's online-dating plot than for Maya's jury-duty antics)... Full list of finalists (press release PDF) More about HH&S: https://hollywoodhealthandsociety.org/ *** TV GUIDE: How 'Speechless' Smashes Disability Stereotypes (includes comments from Silveri) https://www.tvguide.com/news/speechless-behind-the-scenes-disabilty/ :)

Micah Instagrammed a bunch of pix and a couple clips: According to Cedric, it's supposed to be a "nice lil promotion & cross-over that will be airing 9/28" -- a week ahead of the s.3 premiere. (Speaking of promotion, that s.3 ad clip I posted last week did air during last night's rerun of "N-E--New Y--Year's E--Eve.") :)

First promo of s.3! :D No new footage, basically just a "s.2 highlights" thing -- it appears to focus mostly on the first half (save for a couple clips from 2x12, with the '70s-themed fundraiser): (Whether ABC will actually air it is another matter -- as I recall, there was an ad made to promote the March 14 double episode ... and it only aired like once, during the March 7 ep. :p )

Associated Press: Cleese leaves co-stars 'Speechless' -- Scott Silveri and JRB talk about working with one of their comedy heroes :) *** Programming note -- upcoming reruns: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/speechless/listings/

From yesterday's ABC event at the Summer 2018 TCA Press Tour: Mason, Kyla, Micah, John & Cedric on the white-carpet (according to JRB, Minnie was still in London) FB video: Cedric & John test their knowledge of classic TGIF shows (8:36) :D

Yeah, if that really was the plan, then that's why I think we may have dodged a bullet there. :p As dark as the show sometimes got (especially by broadcast-network comedy standards), I could understand killing off one or two newcomers at a time (or sending one or two people off on their own) but wiping out a whole community would've been too much... *** Cancelled Sci Fi pays its respects, and points out a downside to the early cancellation: http://www.cancelledscifi.com/2018/08/02/cancelled-too-soon-the-last-man-on-earth/

ABC at Comic-Con (JRB and Cedric can be seen at 0:51 and 1:37): *** Also, a pic and a clip from the first day of shooting s.3! (Looks like a scene with JJ and Jimmy...) :)

Vulture: What Would've Happened if LMOE Got Another Season http://www.vulture.com/2018/07/who-were-the-people-at-the-end-of-the-last-man-on-earth.html (Um, curious as I may be about who the celebrity cameos would've been, I'm kinda glad we didn't get to see this scenario play out. xD )

According to the official ABC "lead sheet" for s.3, she's at least going to try to have him help her out: https://www.disneyabcpress.com/abc/shows/speechless/press-releases/ As for the rest of it, more Maya/Dylan pairings would certainly be welcome and I love her bond with Ray, though I wonder where that will leave Jimmy -- hopefully more plots with JJ and/or Kenneth? :) (Also, I just noticed a goof in the THR piece I linked -- I'm guessing they meant filming starts Monday, July 30, since August 30 is a Thursday... :p )

First casting news of the new season: John Cleese as Maya's dad! :) https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/speechless-heads-london-john-cleese-tow-1129945 I would've thought this is the sort of thing they would save for the s.3 finale, unless they're planning to reserve that for JJ's graduation or whatever... (I suppose it makes sense that, with s.2 having left the family in kind of a desperate situation, Maya and/or Jimmy would turn to their parents for any sort of help.)

Oof. :\ Still, not as long a wait as for the Tuesday lineup (Oct. 16); plus, in a neat bit of timing, it'll be the day before this year's World CP Day. :)

Micah and his mother Tammy Fowler recently gave a speech at Brick High School (in Brick, NJ) to students of BASE Camp: http://shorenewsnetwork.com/news/ocean-county-schools/fowler/ https://www.jerseyshoreonline.com/brick/speechless-star-gives-inspirational-talk-to-students/ :) *** Also, ABC did a li'l promotion for the new TGIF lineup at San Diego Comic-Con yesterday, as they had an autograph-signing with John and Cedric, Forrest Wheeler (middle brother Emery) of FOTB, and 'Child Support' host Fred Savage:

An interesting perspective on the series: "Lessons Learned from 'Last Man on Earth'" http://www.cjnews.com/culture/entertainment/importance-of-community-after-apocalypse And catching up with Forte: http://www.thesuburban.com/arts_and_entertainment/entertainment/more-than-macgruber/article_a42169ff-8425-587f-8051-04f58bb5bc98.html Also, I got the s.2 MOD DVD set for my birthday today! :D (I hope it works -- I got the first two seasons of 'Speechless' in the same format, as well...)