Emily: Hi, I’m Emily Ladau.
Kyle: And I’m Kyle Khachadurian.
E: And you’re listening to another episode of The Accessible Stall.
K: What are we going to talk about today, Emily?
E: We’re going to talk about Speechless.
K: What’s Speechless?
E: Okay, we can’t even take ourselves seriously. Speechless is a new show on ABC and chances are now by the time this podcast goes up, it will have had
it television premier.
K: Yes. It is premiering this Wednesday, which is I think the 21st or something. I don’t know.
E: Yeah, September 21st, and Kyle and I are pretty excited about it.
K: Yeah, it’s really cool.
E: The pretty solid half hour of television. And we wanted to talk about it because it’s already generating quite a bit of buzz within the disability
community, but I would say that this may be an opportunity to catch the attention of mainstream media.
K: Yeah, it’s a pretty big deal that it’s even just on basic cable, because I can’t think of two shows in recent memory where disability was either
somewhere in the show or a main feature in the show. Those two examples being Breaking Bad and The Game of Thrones, and they’re great and you should all watch them, but they’re on cable. So, if you don’t have cable you can’t see them, but you can watch Speechless because it’s on ABC.
E: Also I think is going to be made widely available online afterwards too.
K: I think so.
E: Definitely financially accessible to the mainstream in a lot more ways than some of the other shows that include disability currently are or have been.
But I think the most important thing that I want to start off with talking about is, how there’s a common thread in Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and the show Speechless, which is that all of the characters who are the disabled ones, all actually have a disability.
I think that’s a source of contention among a lot of people, because on the one hand, there’s a large contingency of disability activists who believe that people with disabilities should be playing people with disabilities on television, in movies. I’m of that camp, but then there are also people who believe that if you’re doing a good enough job portraying disability, then hey, at least it’s disability representation, right?
K: I’m in that camp.
E: That’s exactly why I brought that up, because Kyle and I differ in that area,
and I see both sides, but I don’t agree with you.
K: I mean, I think disabled actors and actresses should be given disabled roles too. I just don’t think it’s the end of the world when it doesn’t happen and
the other actor does a good job. It has to be both. You can’t be a one or the other because then it is a problem.
E: But so, what is doing a good job?
K: If you fooled me, it’s happened before.
E: I would say an instance of that happening was margarita with a straw- K: That’s a good one.
E: Which again, not at all something mainstream that I imagined a lot of people don’t even know what we’re talking about, but it’s a movie where the main
character has cerebral palsy. She actually does not have it in real life, but the way that she portrays it, even I was like, “Whoa”, but at the same time I found that a little bit bothersome, because those mannerisms are something that someone with a disability actually already has ownership of and could portray on screen without having to fake it. Granted, acting is faking in general, so it’s kind of a complicated thing, but I don’t know man.
K: That’s exactly why I believe what I do.
E: But we’re not really here and talk about that. Both: No. We’re here to talk about Speechless.
K: Speechless features a disabled character who has the disability that he’s portraying, and that is a bit of a rarity unfortunately, but that’s why the
show is a big deal.
E: Aside from that, because honestly I think with this show, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. I don’t think it’s perfect. I’m imagining that as the show goes
on, they’re going to be things that I find a little bit awkward about it or uncomfortable or maybe didn’t quite hit the mark, but I would say for the pilot episode, even if it was a little bit over the top and had a couple of moments that I cringed a little bit, I think it did its job.
K: You see, I think the cringe in the pilot was absolutely intentional and over the top on purpose to draw attention to the absurdity of how some able
bodied people treat some people with disabilities. And I think that that was, I hope it was done on purpose and if it wasn’t, it was the happiest accident that they could have stumbled upon, because it was very true to life.
E: I absolutely think it was done on purpose, like when Micah rolls into the … That’s not his name in the show, is it?
K: That’s his real name.
E: What’s his name on the show? K: JJ is his name on the show.
E: JJ, okay. Micah Fowler has a disability. He plays JJ, and I think that’s really cool. Anyway, so when JJ rolls into his new classroom, the teacher yells at all
of the kids to get up and give him a standing ovation, and then someone hands him a poster that says JJ for president. It’s just this over the top moment where I hope, I really hope that people who are watching, who have no experience with disability understand how satirical that’s meant to be of likely their own behavior. I really hope that this show induces self- reflection in people. I mean, I imagine it’s just going to be an amusing half hour of television for a lot of people if the show takes off, but I also hope that people are actually a little bit self-reflective of how they treat disabled people.
K: So, right now the only episode that is available to watch is The Pilot, which hasn’t even aired on television yet, and we’ll include a link to it in the
description, but long story short, JJ and his family moved to a new neighborhood, because the school that they’re coming from wasn’t accessible enough to the mother’s liking, and so they go to another one. There’s a running joke in the show, at least it’s implied from the first episode that this has happened multiple times and this is the latest venture in that. And that’s what the show is. It’s about how the world and JJ interact with one another. And my favorite moment in the show other than the one that Emily just mentioned was-
E: Do we introduce spoiler alert?
K: Do we? Yeah, sure. Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t seen The Pilot, but I feel like anyone listening to us probably already has, but yes, just in case
here, here be spoilers. My favorite part was at the end when the same teacher who gave JJ his standing ovation, did it again and then made a snide remark to himself about how progressive his school was. And that to me was very important, because it showed that the character playing the principal didn’t learn a damn thing. Like Emily said before, I’m afraid that might go over some viewers’ heads, but it was a pretty important move and I really liked it. The first episode at least was very well polished and yeah, it was very well done. I look forward to seeing where it goes.
E: I really hope that that becomes the thing with the principal, and that somewhere in there you see moments of him actually becoming
enlightened.
K: Yeah. I hope that this is the start of a character arc where he does become the person he thinks he is.
E: Yeah, I mean, I have a couple of favorite moments. First and foremost being every time JJ gives the middle finger, because that’s just fantastic. First of all,
because it’s very indicative or it mirrors the relationship that I have with my parents. Not that I go around giving them the middle finger, but I have that relationship wherein we’re all very blunt with each other, because we navigated the world as disabled people and as father and husband of disabled person, and so, we get it. We just know that we’re going to have ridiculous encounters with people, and then we can make our snotty remarks or whatever when they’re gone. I mean, it’s true, like I’m not going to lie. I don’t take everything with a grain of salt. So, JJ’s middle finger was really representative of that family dynamic for me. But then my favorite moment was when his mom plays the game, human or garbage.
K: Right. Minnie driver plays driver diver, whatever. Driver
E: Driver.
K: Minnie driver plays the over the top, over protective parent advocate that is entirely perfect so far. I mean there’s nothing, in my opinion, wrong with
that character. It is just over the top enough to be funny and so accurate to my own life and the lives of many people with disabilities that I know where your parents at that age anyway, easier advocate. And yeah, go on, tell the story, you tell, you talk better than I do.
E: Basically, JJ starts at his new school and he has to go up a ramp. I feel like we’re just ruining this whole episode apology youth, but we love
deconstructing things. JJ has to go up a ramp, but of course it’s the ramp in the back that the janitor uses to roll garbage in and out of the school building. This is super representative of real life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone in the freight elevator next to a literal pile of garbage to get where I need to go, or a ramp in the back of a building just around the corner, five blocks away through the kitchen. I mean, separate entrances are real.
So, JJ’s mom gets super pissed about that and then not only did she yell at the principal, but she demonstrates her point by playing the human or garbage game, like there’s no comparison. I mean, it’s hilarious though. It’s absolutely so funny. I would say yeah, that’s by far my favorite moment. I feel like the whole show is kind of my favorite moment.
K: It’s weird to be this optimistic for a show that’s only had one episode, but if it continues on this trajectory, I mean it’s going to be good.
E: I don’t know. Actually one thing kind of got to me. K: What’s that?
E: Two things.
K: Okay.
E: I changed my mind immediately. The first thing being how JJ does end up running for president, because I feel like that’s sort of buying into this
ridiculous notion that everyone has about him, even though I think he’s just doing it to be funny.
K: I think, see that’s what I took that as, especially because in the context of the episode, he did it to draw the attention away from his brother.
E: Right, but I don’t think anyone else is really going to get that. I’d rather, I hope they do. You know what, maybe I need to be more optimistic about
non-disabled people with more experience.
K: Actually. No, actually to your point though, that is my only, I’m not going to say worry, but that’s my only concern about the show, is that a lot of what’s
important is either, a, only going to be funny to us, because we’re disabled and know it and because it’s true to life, or that the things in the show that are important for the able bodied masses, air quotes to learn is going to go right over their heads. I’m if nothing else, but curious to see how that’s going to go.
E: Oh, me too, and very much related to that, the other thing, not that bothered me.
K: Oh, sorry. You said it, I apologize. You said you’ve got two things.
E: That’s fine. No, because I feel like what you said was sort of echoing what I said regarding my concerns, but then the other thing is, and this again goes
back to my concern, that stuff is going to go over people’s heads. The woman who is hired to speak for JJ, the cardinal rule of being a … do you call it a voice for someone?
K: I don’t know I always thought-
E: I apologize. I don’t know the technical [00:14:10 inaudible]
K: No, I don’t know what either. I’ve always said interpreter, but if that’s wrong, you feel free to tell us, seriously we don’t know.
E: Yes please, we would like to know. But regardless of the fact that I don’t know the proper terminology, I do know that the cardinal rule and the same
goes for a sign language interpreter. You don’t speak for other person, you repeat exactly what they’re saying. That’s something that I would say is common knowledge to people who have certain disabilities, but I just worry that in their effort to make it humorous that that particular point is going to be very lost on people, especially because when the character at the end who was originally the janitor becomes the person who acts as JJ’s voice, he’s cool and everything, but he also totally ad libs for JJ, which is like funny.
K: With permission though, but the time is happening in the episode, it was expressly, like they actually made it a point to make that very explicit.
E: But do you think that people will still get the message that it is the disabled person talking.
K: I do, I will say that you do need in this particular instance, and in this particular instance only to be a little bit more optimistic, and only because
when you’re speaking a foreign language and you have an interpreter, which I mean, it’s analogous to this. It’s common knowledge to say exactly what’s being said, and not to paraphrase. I think that isn’t going to go over any as many people’s heads you think, even if it’s not a foreign language, it’s just the fact that they’re using another way to communicate.
E: Actually, you make a point now that I think about it because I’m imagining, and I can’t think of a specific example, but all the movies and TV shows that
do a bit where … Oh, perfect one, My big fat Greek wedding. So, in My big fat Greek wedding, Ian who is not Greek but it’s marrying into a Greek family is told what to say, and he’s told what it means in Greek, but he’s being lied to. He says something and it turns out to be completely the wrong thing. I guess it’s sort of analogous to that like, where miscommunication is used for humor or language differences are used for humor, or when someone’s interpreting for someone in a movie and the person is saying in one language, “I hate this person and they’re terrible, they suck.” And then the interpreter goes, “Oh, they really like you”.
K: Well, they made that joke actually. They did that exact joke in the episode. But I think your point is it’s important to realize for the viewers that it is in
fact the joke and that’s not exactly how you should behave if you are in the situation, where if you’re in that situation, real life where you’re faced with somebody who’s using a speech interpreter or whatever the proper wording for that is.
E: I mean that’s going to be my biggest concern throughout, but also I’m coming at this from my activist lens. I mean, should I just be relaxing and
looking at this as entertainment?
K: A little bit, I think, but I also think … That’s a very good question. Yes. I would say yes, but I think that if you’re going to wear your quote unquote
activist hat that it’s important that the show does all it can to make things as correct as possible, and right now with one episode they’ve done that. But like you keep mentioning like it’s only been one so far and see where it goes. I think that if you’re going to wear your activist’s hat, it’s also important to recognize the fact that it’s a miracle this show even got green light in and put on TV in the first place.
E: Well, that’s a big thing, right, because representation of disability is so limited. I mean another show that I think tried to do this in many ways, in a
longer form because it was an hour long show instead of a sitcom was
Switched at Birth.
K: I’ve never watched it, but apparently it’s a popular in our world.
E: Yeah, really good. I mean popular among a lot of people I know who have no connection whatsoever with disability. I think I appreciated Switched at
Birth, because it was like a soap opera with educational moments. I kind of want this to be a comedy with educational moments. I hope it doesn’t turn into like trying to be overly educational about disability etiquette, if you want to call it that, to the point where it loses the audience who needs to understand these things the most.
K: I agree with you, because I would find that even as a disabled person, entirely boring if that’s all it became.
E: You don’t want anything to be preachy. Any representation of disability in the media, or as can be said for any representation of disability in the media,
you walk a fine line or wheel a fine line, or.
K: I don’t think you do either. I think you tow them.
E: Yes, sure. You toe the line or finger the line. Oh God, I’m going to stop talking now. No, I’m willing to continue talking now. So-
K: Jesus Christ, take a side.
E: Anyway, I think that there is a fine line between being preachy and using
humor as an educational tool,
K: Do you? I think that line is, I don’t know if there’s a line, but I don’t know if it’s like got to be careful not to cross it, because I think humor is a great way
to convey educational things in a way that makes it accessible to more than the people who need to not hear it.
K: Do you? I think that line is, I don’t know if there’s a line, but I don’t know if it’s like we’re going to be careful not to cross it, because I think humor is a
great way to convey educational things in a way that makes it accessible to more than the people who need to not hear it.
E: That’s what I’m saying. It just didn’t come out quite right. There is a fine line between being preachy and being educational while using humor….
K: I see.
E: …sowhen you’re using humor, but it’s so lost, because it becomes preachy then I imagine that can be problematic, but I don’t really get that vibe from
this show. But again, it’s hard with one episode, but I think the reason that we wanted to talk about it with only one episode out is, because this is by far one of the most hyped up disability in media releases. I mean it’s on the fall television lineup, prime time.
K: On a regular…, it’s on network TV, it’s on cable.
E: I mean it didn’t really get much more readily available than that. K: On the spotlight than this.
E: Yeah.
K: Even so another part of the reason we wanted to do this episode so bad with only one episode is, because it actually did a much better job than. I
mean, I don’t know about you, but it did a much better job than I was expecting. I wasn’t expecting anything. I was just happy that there was a kid with CP on the show, period. When all I knew about the show was that it was a thing that existed and that somebody with CP would be a major role in it, I was like, “Oh, that’s nice”, I didn’t even care what the show was about, but now that I see that they do disability in a way that’s positive and funny, which is something that never happens, I’m excited.
E: I have seen a couple of people who weren’t really feeling it. K: Yeah, me too.
E: I think that’s okay.
K: Well, you don’t have to like everything.
E: Sure, exactly. I think it’s okay, but my caveat is, I hope that we as a community, however divided and fragmented we might be in our opinions, can at least agree to try to keep up with watching the show. So that we can
kind of address issues as they come up and talk about them and help keep that dialogue going.
K: Or praise them when they do something right, because really-
E: Right, because criticism happens far too often and when criticism is well deserved, criticize away, but I think highlighting the positives is also going to
be very helpful and encouraging hopefully to other media makers. I hope other media makers are paying attention to this.
K: Yeah, as much as we are.
E: I hope that this will go well beyond the disability community bubble. I mean, so right now, I live in my little disability bubble on social media a lot of the
time, and so of course most people I know have already watched the show, because we all couldn’t wait, because we’re all a buzz and a flutter about this.
I hope it garners the same kind of excitement from just your average television watcher. At the same time, I hope it opens up a dialogue and then people who wouldn’t normally think about disability might also think critically about disability, and maybe even engage with disabled people in those conversations.
K: You’re describing a pipe dream, but one that isn’t really a pipe dream, because television as a medium tends to be like what sticks with you more
than most things. A television is in your home, it’s not like a movie where you go out to see it. The characters on TV, if they were late well enough to you as the viewer may as always be part of your family. That’s why sitcoms like Friends and the Fresh Prince in the 90’s and stuff like that did so well is because. “Oh yeah, you, these are”-
E: How about Seinfeld?
K: Seinfeld right. Seinfeld, that little indeed unknown thing that no one ever watched in their life. I don’t know why I picked the Fresh Prince of Bel Air
and Friends over Seinfeld. That was-
E: Everybody loves Raymond. I mean, come on.
K: Yeah,
E: You had better options there, dude.
K: It’s true.
E: But also none of those had disability representation, so if nothing else, this is the show of progress here.
K: Well, if we’re talking about shows and progress, this is our, The Jeffersons. E: Is that fair to say?
K: I think so.
E: You really think so?
K: I think so.
E: One-episode in.
K: I think. No. Well, no, no, no. I think you misunderstood me. Just clarify. Just in case, I don’t know if you misunderstood me, so let me just clarify.
E: No, I understood you, but I’ll say that is a bold statement.
K: I think. Well, no, because what I meant was, maybe, let me just maybe I want to make sure on the same page. I think that it existing as a show that
prominently features disability does for us, what The Jeffersons did. Was there something before The Jeffersons? I don’t know, that’s the earliest one I can remember.
E: I wish I could like phone a friend right now, because my dad is so up on his television.
K: But it’s funny, because this is a stupid little bit of television trivia, but The Jeffersons was a spin-off of all in the family which was famous at the time
for it extremely racially humor. So the fact that that show at the time featured a well off African American family was a big deal. I think that the fact that … Again, there might’ve been something earlier or first and there have been things better like The Cosby Show and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air since, but I’m trying to think of genuine firsts and I think Speechless is the…
E: There was Ironside .
K: But my point is this is a big deal. This is probably, I think the first major television show on network TV, Prime Time no less that even puts the light
on disability, let alone the spotlight and makes it the focal point of the show. That’s why I think it’s a big deal. I hope it does a good job.
E: Yeah, I mean, to say that it is our version of The Jeffersons, I mean…
K: I hope it will become that, that’s better.
E: …I hope that we will reach a point where it is not revolutionary to see disabled people in mainstream media on a regular basis, but the sad reality
is that we’ve not reached that point even from a racial standpoint yet. K: That’s true.
E: So we’re still living in a world where the media cannot even get it right with racial representation, let alone disability representation, let alone sexual
orientation representation identity.
K: That’s what I’m saying. Our bar is so low.
E: That’s not even counting intersectionality here. I’m writing them up for a reason, because if we can’t even do one part of your identity, right, like, can
we even cross over to intersectionality? I don’t know.
K: I mean now you really are describing a pipe dream, one that everyone should strive to, of course. But my only point was it was cool that it exists, It is cool that they did it right. At least for the first episode, and I am optimistic
instead of plain old cautiously optimistic for the future episodes, because cautiously optimistic I was when that was not English, but I was cautiously optimistic for…
E: Okay Yonna.
K: …I was that way before it premiered and now that I’ve seen the pilot, I’m like, okay, this at least has its mind in the right place. This show at least has
its wheels turning all in the same direction.
E: So I see this as being a point of progress, but I worry about issues of intersectionality. I worry if it’s going to try to tackle anything other than
straight up disability. I think it might have a little bit.
K: See, it’s interesting. I personally would rather just do disability, right, and leave everything else alone. Then try to be that progressive show on TV this
year and do everything half baked.
E: That’s true. That’s totally fair, because sometimes I think she was trying to take on too much on rare occasions.
K: Well, I mean, when you think about the shows that did their landmark things for their respective groups of people, they tended to be shows that focused
on one thing. See Will and Grace, The Cosby Show, what have you. But I hope that one day we can, in like 20, 30 years, look back on it and be like, “Hey, remember Speechless, that was a big deal, ?” You know?
E: Yeah. I hope that it ends up being something for the history books. For that matter, I wish disability was for the history books to begin with because
[00:30:05 Crosstalk]
K: Wow, that’s a whole new episode.
E: Part of me worried as we’re talking about this, that we’re optimistic about in this particular show, but on the whole we kind of sound like downers, but I
feel like there’s good reason to for that.
K: I think the reason that this sort of has a melancholy, happy vibe to it is that the reason we’re happy is, because we’re so used to being disappointed.
E: That’s so true, that’s exactly what it is.
K: No, like Emily said, I don’t think either of us mean to sound like we’re constantly disappointed because I’m not, I mean that’s her job, but I’m
kidding.
E: I’m not constantly disappointed.
K: I know, but I hear you, and I think that … but that shouldn’t detract from the amount of optimistic that we are either.
E: It’s like I’m always wishing that we could do better and be better, and try harder, and maybe suck a little less in a lot of things. But, and I mean the
collective, we like the universe, but at the same time cautious optimism is a really nice thing, but I can hear it in the way that we’ve been talking, that we are indeed very cautious in our cautious optimism, because like you said, we’re kind of set up for disappointment like all the time with media representations.
It’s to the point where I’m not even surprised anymore when I see some overly inspirational or, overly pitiful portrayal of disability. I’m just not surprised anymore, so it’s almost like I’m adjusting to this strange new world where maybe we might be making a little headway.
K: Maybe.
E: Maybe, I hope. I’m hopeful.
K: We’ll see in two weeks.
E: When did that on every two weeks?
K: No, it’s not every week, but this week is the pilot and we’ve already seen it.
E: That was such a tease though. I mean probably a smart marketing strategy to get a little like…
K: It was the only way I would’ve ever seen it.
E: …buzz going, but yeah, I’m sitting here waiting, hoping…
K: Why isn’t there more?
E: …yeah. I’m the type of person, and this has nothing to do with anything, but I love binge watching stuff.
K: Yeah.
E: But this is the kind of show where I want to be like on top of it, watching it when it’s on, so that the next day I’m immediately ready to jump into the
conversation about it. K: I agree.
E: But I also don’t want it to go back to you like my little disability bevel, having our little conversations about disability. I don’t mean to downplay those, but
the reality is that I’ve been trying for a long time to break out of that particular…
K: That’s all that I want… E: …sense
K: …too. That’s why we do this, like this is what we hope for too.
E: Yeah. So anytime there’s something out there that maybe gives us an opportunity to do that, we’re like, yeah.
K: Yeah.
E: I’m the whole, I’m excited about this and I again saying that in a measured tone, because I don’t want to go off the rails with my enthusiasm, but I was
genuinely laughing as were my parents at the pilot.
K: So was I and so are mine. It also does a lot of cool little things that TV doesn’t do that is, just little tiny things like they give up the way that JJ gives
the finger earlier. Like, okay, yes that was a disability joke, because he doesn’t have the dexterity to do it the way that most people do it, but it also got around the sensors, so that was cool.
E: I was thinking about that-
K: They got the … love interest thing with the other child out of the way in the first episode. That was cool. It was just little tiny things that this TV show
isn’t doing the way that other TV shows do them. That is also cool in relation to the way that it’s representing disability.
E: Well, yeah, that’s the other thing. I was glad to see other story lines. I hope they develop a couple of story lines with his sister as well, and I appreciated
the conversation that JJ’s mom had with his brother, about how maybe he feels neglected sometimes, but you have a lot of the intention is on JJ. So I appreciated that they weren’t tackling real issues and not making the whole focus. Like let’s make this a story about JJ, but acting like a real sitcom where there are other people who also have story lines.
K: I’m glad you brought that up, because that’s something that my sister I know has been faced with and she’s, we’re similar in age and brought up the same
way and my parents really never did treat me that much differently except when they had to and even being treated normally 99 percent of the time left a toll on her. The fact that they even tried to tackle let alone in a tasteful way that made sense was impressive in its own right.
E: I thought it was important to bring that up, but also that’s not something I relate to because I’m an only child, and it was a very conscious decision for
me to be an only child. K: That’s right.
E: I don’t really have that understanding. My parents, when they found out that my mom passed on her disability to me, they were like no more kids
and not because it was the world’s most horrible thing that she passed on the disability. Although at the time it kind of was, but anyway…
K: Emily?
E: What?
K: You smell that?
E: What?
K: Smells like a future episode to me. E: Hey.
K: No, keep continue though.
E: …I knew my spidey sense was kicking in. I felt that as I was talking about it. Long story short there, it was like an emotional thing when they found out
that I was going to have a disability, but as reality set in and after I was born, the real thing was like having a kid with a disability, especially when one of the parents had the disability is a lot of work. It was like a conscious decision not to have another child, and I honestly do think that if I had a brother or sister they probably would have been neglected.
K: Well yeah, maybe.
E: But I don’t know, I just don’t know.
K: Anyway, do you have final takeaways is, except to watch this amazing, awesome show that is probably okayish maybe in the … No, we like it, but-
E: That’s cautious optimism I have ever heard of.
K: We like it.
E: You know this gets the accessible stall seal of approval.
K: I’m doing a stamping motion. You guys can’t see. It looks like I’m doing something much more naughty, but I…
E: We are in fact giving in our stamp of approval, our seal of approval. Kyle and Emily rate this show right now.
K: Two wheelchairs attitude.
E: Two, but you don’t use a wheelchair.
K: One wheelchair out of one.
E: One wheelchair and a pair of legs.
K: That takeaway is, it’s cool. Put more disability on TV more often, man, Yeah. E: My final takeaway is we really need to come up with a rating system.
K: I don’t see what’s wrong with a wheelchair and a pair of legs, tell you the truth. Fact, I think that’s the greatest rating system since Siskel and Ebert
two thumbs up.
E: I mean they are body parts.
K: We just aged ourselves by the way.
E: Goodness. We’re not that old.
K: We’re old enough to remember Siskel and Ebert sitcoms. They’re both dead.
E: boy. , Rest in peace.
K: Anyway, as this existential crisis comes in and eats our souls alive tonight, we’re going to wish you a farewell. Unless did you…
E: I didn’t give a final takeaway.
K: no, you have to. That’s the rules.
E: It’s the rules. Thumbs the rules. My final takeaway is obviously, like Kyle said, watch the show, but more than that, watch it a little bit critically and
with an open mind at the same time.
K: If you’re able bodied, like try to learn from it because to me it’s pretty cool and it’s very accessible to you.
E: Also put more disabled people on TV and in movies, we’re kind of cool and funny.
K: Well we’re, I don’t know about the rest of these people work.
E: I know we’re pretty great. You know what? Yes, we are awesome.
K: Put us on TV.
E: Yeah, so with that empowering thought, does anyone know an agent? Just kidding.
K: I’m not.
E: No, I’m not either. Okay. As per usual, we don’t know how to end an
episode, but we’re going to end it here. K: Good night.
E: Thanks for listening. Bye.