The new ABC sitcom The Middle is chock full of your sitcom favorites. The cast includes Patricia Heaton from Everybody Loves Raymond, Neil Flynn from Scrubs and Chris Kattan from SNL. The premise of this show reminds me a little of Malcolm in the Middle with an over stressed mom dealing with daily life. The title of the show is inspired by the area the family lives in, “the middle of nowhere.”

The family is a unique one at best. Frankie, played by Patricia Heaton, has three kids and works selling cars, which she is no good at. Her husband Mike, (Neil Flynn), works at a quarry. Her youngest son, Brick, is just not right. He eats paper, drops his pants in school, presses on the teacher’s boob for attention and his best friend is his backpack.

Their other son, Alex, runs around in boxer shorts and complains about the food in the house. Their daughter tries out for everything and never makes anything. She is the definition of a “wannabe.”

At work, Frankie is told she must sell a car by the end of the month or she is fired. Try as she may, every time she gets close, she gets a telephone call about one of her kids. Chris Kattan plays Bob, her friend at work and adds his special comic touch to the show. Frankie’s idea of family dinner is burger takeout and watching Dancing With The Stars.

Sue tries out for show choir and makes the crew. The family is so excited she actually made something, they cause a big scene and distract her in the middle of the performance, causing the entire 20 some odd people in the show choir to fall like dominoes, pulling the set down with them.

Frankie’s trying so hard to sell a car, she thinks she has a buyer when she meets a woman with three kids as well. On the test drive, the woman leaves her stranded in the middle of no where and steels the car.

I have high hopes of the is comedy. I love all of the actors and the characters are all very interesting. I was pleased to see that there is a family out there crazier than my own.