I'm not a huge sitcom guy so it came as quite a surprise when I watched and enjoyed "The Middle" with Patricia Heaton ("Everyone Love Raymond" - or is it Everybody - whatever) and Neil Flynn, the janitor guy from "Scrubs." They play middle-class parents sorta-kinda living in the middle of the country. One of their children is the kid from "Frozen River" - a really talented actor named Charlie McDermott - in fact, they're all very good actors including the seemingly requisite "geeky kid."

It's perhaps not as comedically challenging or creative as "Modern Family" (another fav of mine) but it is off-beat and wacky at times and has solid, PG-13 comedy moments that can delight. I actually believe this family can exist - they seem real and their issues are as mundane as needing a new dryer or finding a job in today's horrible economy - but getting that dryer is a fun and enjoyable trip. Heaton's character is sunny and funny and bounces in and out of scenes like she's a comedy pixie sprinkling laughing dust on everything. She also narrates the eps. The father, played by Neil Flynn, is droll and sarcastic, a perfect foil for Heaton's unflagging optimism.

But at the same time, she can be hilariously wicked and vicious when someone tries to hurt her family. The younger actors do their jobs quite well and provide solidly humorous situations for the long-suffering parents who seem overwhelmed at time but never really out of control. The father, for example, imposes a punishment on the McDermott character (because they catch him macking on some girl instead of going to church or something) where he has to stay within five feet of an adult. And he's always, for some reason, in his boxer shorts. So this kid always trailing a parent, in his underwear, is just a visually funny moment added to the scenes. Really understated brilliance.

Heaton works at a used car lot with Brian Doyle-Murray and Chris Kattan (wow, where did this guy's career go after SNL?) The ep I watched had her filling a car with out-of-date Ronald Regan jelly beans as a promotional stunt so people could win prizes and then having those jelly beans melt together and fuse inside the car's interior. This is particularly devastating because the family needs all sort of financial help and Heaton's idea was to make her a used-car lot star. When she tries to open the door to the car and it sticks to the jelly beans, the look of "Oh, sh*t" on Heaton's face is priceless. Silly but funnily effective.

I loved the idea that the older female child, who is at that awkward age and is trying so hard to fit in, discovers she needs glasses and is happy about that - she's always wanted glasses, don't 'ya know? And the parents are happy too since they think that this will solve her inability to swim in a straight line and make the swim team. Nope - glasses aren't the problem - she's just a klutz - like most of us. But she does make the team - as the 34th alternative.

I also thought the shopping excursion to the local outlet store, called The Frugal Hoosier, had delightful in-store scenes with ramifications all through the episode.  Who hasn't shopped at a store, picked up something on the edge of being expired and prayed for the best when you went to eat it ?  Heaton's ginger sniffing and dumping of the mystery meat she bought there was classic - nothing said directly about it - just this talented actresses facial expressions.

Each ep ends in an upbeat fashion, as does "Modern Family," and I like that. The idea that a sudden tornado has dropped a brand new dryer on their front lawn is oddly comforting that all will work out if you just keep trying to make it work. Of course, you also can't miss the broadly-based metaphor that "God" will deliver a solution. Nothing wrong with that but perhaps the sprinkling of religious overtones might bother some.
 

The producers and Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline have solid comedy backgrounds, including writer/producers on the wonderful "Murphy Brown" series among others.

I've only seen one episode but I did put it on a season pass. It reminds me a little of something that the old MTM Productions might have tossed up. Cute, funny and charming all rolled into one.