Best TV Show of the Week

The title of Best TV Show of the Week is given to ABC’s The Middle’s “Thanksgiving II” episode which aired on August 17 at 8:00 p.m. ET.  Communication is the key in any relationship, and the Hecks are the perfect example of this idea.  Frankie was raised to express her feelings, whereas Mike was raised not to.  Frankie became upset when her mother informed her that she wasn’t going to attend her Thanksgiving dinner.  Frankie was determined to have family at the dinner.  She persuaded Mike to invite his father, Big Mike.  Frankie invited her coworker, Bob, to the dinner, and Bob planned to bring his girlfriend Lisa, a librarian.  Brick became very excited about the idea that a librarian would be at his home.  To make Frankie feel better about Grandma not coming to Thanksgiving, Sue planned to bake an apple pie from scratch with Frankie so as to make their own mother-daughter Thanksgiving tradition.

Mike arrived at Big Mike’s home and found out through the mailman that his father was in the hospital.  Mike was annoyed that his father hadn’t contacted him about his broken hip; Big Mike didn’t want to be a bother to Mike.  Mike invited his father to Thanksgiving dinner, as well as inviting him to stay at the house until he recovered from his hip injury.

Frankie asked Mike if he had spoken to his father about after-Thanksgiving living arrangements.  Mike hadn’t.  She further inquired about what Rusty, Mike’s brother, thought and found out that Rusty hadn’t been told about Big Mike’s situation.  Frankie persuaded Mike to inform Rusty.  Mike went to Rusty’s only to find a burned-out shell of a home and a camping tent.  And like Big Mike, Rusty didn’t want to bother his brother with his problems.  So Mike brought Rusty home.

Sue attempted to make an apple pie from scratch, but ended up cutting and burning herself.  Frankie pulled out a frozen apple pie from the freezer and gave it to Sue telling her that if it’s heated up at home, it’s home-made; advice given to her from her mother and now being passed down to Sue. Frankie became frustrated with Mike’s lack of initiative regarding his father’s and brother’s situations.  She convinced Mike that he must speak to them about it.  Mike explained to his dad and his brother the situation, but they both were content, and so Mike was content.

On Thanksgiving Day, Bob’s girlfriend Lisa took a liking to Brick. This made Bob compete for her attention.  Frankie made up with her mom, which prompted Rusty to reveal to Frankie that a waitress told him that if his father had told him just once that he loved him that his life would’ve turned out differently.  Frankie was touched and tried to persuade Mike to tell his father that he loved him.

While at the dinner table, Mike told his father that he loved him, but his father didn’t respond.  Frankie and the rest of the family even told each other that they loved them and that didn’t move Big Mike to express his feelings. Frankie was disappointed.  In the end, Big Mike and Rusty resolved their situations without a big to-do, but rather at the end of a Colts game…and Mike even got a hug from Rusty.

This episode deserved to be Best TV Show of the Week because it depicted the different ways families communicate, whether it’s by expressing feelings, having a simple discussion, or performing an action.  Initially, Frankie was upset at her mom for not attending Thanksgiving dinner, but they forgave each other.  Though Mike wasn’t heavily involved in Big Mike’s and Rusty’s lives, it didn’t diminish his love for them.  Sue loved her mom and wanted to make her happy by baking a pie together, but Frankie wouldn’t want her daughter to hurt herself just to do so.  One’s family is a sure way to know that one is loved, whether it’s being told or shown.  For those who can freely express themselves, more power to you.  For those who don’t, Thanksgiving is a good day to start.

Best TV Show of the Week

The Parents Television Council - www.parentstv.org