CinePals Calls My Wife and Kids Puberty Storyline Some of the Show's Best Writing

I said it flat out during this watch: My Wife and Kids is officially my favorite comedy that has been on television, and I am not even through the first season yet. Watching episodes 9, 10, and 11 back to back only reinforced that for me.

Episode 9 centers on Claire's first crush on a boy named Roger and, in parallel, Junior dealing with an injury from overdoing a certain private activity, which sends the family to the doctor. What stood out to me was not the jokes around it but the doctor's office scene between Jay and Junior. I appreciated how the show handled it in not making it feel gross or shameful. Jay tells him his body is going through changes, it is not weird, he just has to pump the brakes a little. As I put it, "puberty hits like a truck," and I think showing a parent stay kind and supportive through that, rather than shutting a kid down, is a really good depiction of helping kids through it.

Uncle Kenny's Girlfriend Tiara Sparks a Conversation About Spontaneity in Marriage

Episode 10 brought in Michael's brother Kenny and his new girlfriend Tiara for dinner, which kicks off a subplot about Jay wanting more spontaneity from Michael. I wondered out loud whether the actor playing Kenny might actually be one of Damon Wayans' real brothers. Beyond the jokes, I think the show does a really great job of healthily addressing actual marital and family issues, in this case the way a relationship can get routine once kids enter the picture. My own read on it was that spontaneity is good, but there is something to be said for being spontaneous within the structures of your schedule rather than just picking a day and forcing it.

Michael's Midlife Crisis After a Friend's Death Takes an Unexpected Hairpiece Turn

Episode 11 has Michael reeling after his accountant friend Tom dies suddenly, which sends him into a midlife crisis involving a hairpiece named Freddy, a motorcycle, and plans to sell his business. I compared the structure to an early season of Fresh Prince, where storylines start on one thing and veer off in a totally left field direction, and this episode felt like that, moving from grief to a full blown hairpiece obsession. I also flagged a similar setup in an episode of Frasier where a friend's death pushes a character into proving his own health, and I was curious if Michael would go that same route, but instead it manifested differently and I thought that turn was clever.

I also could not help pointing out the irony of Michael complaining he is never home, since the show constantly shows him around the house while Jay is the one working. His talk of selling the business and buying an RV reminded me of my father in law, who left a traveling engineering job for fish processing plants to buy a fishing boat so his family could travel with him, and now they RV around the country and travel abroad between fishing seasons. I admitted there is a part of me that thinks maybe I should get an RV too, though I would rather finish the show first.