The Michael J. Fox Show has proven time and time again that it is a solid comedy that won't fail to brighten any day. Seriously. Even the story I don't care about (oldest dropout son) is amusing, especially in this episode when he decides that having an intern would make him more legit. Of course, he doesn't anticipate applicants who are more qualified than he is.

The meat of this story, however, is once again between Mike and his daughter, Eve, whom he tricks into spending time with him by getting her an internship at the station. Eve is reluctant at first but quickly finds her place with Mike's nemesis, Anne Heche. Of course, Eve is a typical high school girl, so recognizing a Mean Girl on sight is one of her gifts. Her decision to use her dad and Anne Heche's rivalry to her advantage makes me appreciate Eve in a way I never anticipated.

I actually think Eve might grow into a really cool person. If she wasn't a fictional character, that is.

The MJF Show consistently delivers hilarious and sympathetic family comedy. Seriously, this show is brilliant. I don't have any complaints, with the possible exception of Oldest Son. Sometimes I just want to slap him.

Another solid showing for The Michael J. Fox Show. I think we can safely call this the best new sitcom this Fall. I'm willing to challenge Mary and Cat to that. They are free to defend themselves, but you and I both know who comes out on top.

Ultimately it comes down to the moments like Mike trying to staple his hand and asking for help 'cause Parkinson's.

No, his wife's weird Ghost-inspired fixation with pottery is better.

Oh, no, no, no. Anne Heche. Is it just me, or is Anne Heche the absolute best at being a complete nightmare? It's true! She can bring it when she has to. And swallowing her pain for 7 minutes in order to build up her B.S. newswoman image is being a complete nightmare.

Watching her interaction with Mike is going to be interesting, especially as it may tempt him back into the anchor's chair, putting additional stress on the family dynamic. The dinner debacle at the beginning of this week's episode is enough to prove that the adjustment to Mike working in the limited capacity he is has already been harder than anyone thought.

I'm excited to see what other family dynamics get tackled in The MJF Show. Thursday can't come soon enough.

Aaaaaaaaaaand The Michael J. Fox Show continues to charm the pants off of me. The show continues to be a delightful mix of real family moments and comedic set up and payoffs. This week was an introspective study in what I like to call Accidentally Bad Parenting.

It starts with the youngest. A few offhand words from his dad teach him the key to women. "You're right. I'm wrong. I'm sorry." Throughout the episode, he wreaks havoc, absolving himself of punishment with those 6 words . . . until he tries it on Annie. She just rolls her eyes and affectionately tells Mike that those words don't actually work; she just lets him think they do. Of course, she can't really hold it against him considering the disaster they both perpetrated when they tried to get Eve, who recently discovered her artistic side, to stop taking nude pictures.

The problem is a common one among parents (or so I hear). Your teenager suddenly thinks you're cool and wants to spend time with you. It's hard to be the disciplinarian in the face of such warmth. Both Mike and Annie continue to back down from their shared mission in order to keep their daughter smiling. Do you know how hard it is to get a teenager to smile? To quote Mike Henry, "At first we thought it was drugs. But it turns out she can feel."

How do you tell the mythological happy teenager that they can't take pictures of naked men? As it turns out, you don't; you just make it worse until you use every stereotypical answer in the Parenting for Dummies handbook until your child runs away in frustration.

While I think The MJF Show missed an opportunity to explore why progressive parents would have an issue with their daughter taking nude photos (there are numerous reasons worth exploring), I do respect the show runners for not overburdening a sitcom format with PSAs (I'm looking to you, season 4 of Community). Instead, the focus of the episode focused on when parents (or adults, if you care about the oldest brother's relationship drama, which I don't) accidentally make bad situations worse.

The best part (and this is a rare concept for network TV) is that Mike and Annie didn't turn on each other and blame each other for doing the wrong thing, or judge the other to see who screwed up more. Instead, they were a team through it all, even breaking into the community center to lift the soon-to-be-displayed photo of a naked Annie.

Parents as a team. It's my favorite part of this show and a theme I wish more sitcoms embraced.

The family is gathered around their rarely used dining room table, a thoughtful gesture for their father, who has just decided to return to his career after taking a hiatus to deal with his Parkinson's diagnosis. Breakfast is spread out, and as he looks at his family, Mike Henry is happy with his life. His daughter's voice over punctuates the strength of her dad, fighting against for what he loves. He reaches for the spoon and tries to dish up a pile of scrambled eggs for his wife, lovingly at his side. His face scrunches with effort and his wife's smile fades to impatience as his arm shakes. She grabs his hand, guides the eggs to her plate, and says, "Can you not have a personal triumph right now? We are starving!"

I laughed my head off. I mean, the show had my laughing already. A crazy aunt? Check. A pretentious wannabe Mark Zuckerberg son? Check. A youngest who embraces the "honey badger don't care" attitude? Check. An intelligent daughter who has no qualms about exploiting her father's illness to get an easy grade? Check.

Seriously, what's not to love? Through it all, Michael J. Fox finds a way to present Parkinson's without the Sarah Mclachlan music and slow motion. He presents it how it is: a real life illness that you learn to live with through your own attitude and the support of your family. The best part is that The Michael J. Fox Show ultimately isn't even about that. It's about how a man--how everyone--is defined by the sum of their parts, not their most distinguishable one.

A great example is in the second episode of the back-to-back premiere. Eve, the overly politically correct daughter--is on a mission to befriend The Lesbian Girl at her school. Why? Because Eve is known for having a diverse group of friends who don't judge. When she discovers that her friend straight (by catching her making out with Eve's brother), Eve is disappointed that her friend would deceive her like that (she didn't, by the way. Eve just assumed) and storms off. It requires the brother in question to remind Eve that people are unique and interesting in their own right, not because of the labels given to them.

It's my favorite part of the show. This theme is addressed again and again in the two premiere episodes, and it never feels trite or cliched. Mike Henry develops a crush on a sexy neighbor because she makes him feel attractive and more than the Parkinson's news anchor. Crazy aunt Leigh pretends to have a son because she feels everyone stops listening to her the second they hear the word "single."

Interest rate: Great scott!!!

Using sitcoms as a social platform to discuss contemporary issues isn't anything new. Will & Grace, M*A*S*H, The Cosby Show, and even Friends embodied the voice of social issues facing their audience as they aired. The Michael J. Fox Show promises to step up and do the same by taking the same approach: not becoming defined by the issues.

The Michael J. Fox Show is the sitcom demanding the most of its prospective audience: it's almost asking you to ignore the hook. The stories and situations highlighted in the preview mostly have more to do with a man driving his family crazy and trying to settle back into a professional world than a man coming to grips with his diagnosis.

Michael J. Fox is a fantastic actor, yes, but beyond that, it's the approach of the show that I'm most excited for. After semi-retiring from acting in 2000 because of the severity of his illness, Fox became an advocate for Parkinson's research. He speaks openly about his condition and what can be done to help pursue a cure.

More interesting, however, has been Fox's willingness to come back to the screen and use his illness as a storytelling tool. Those of you who watch The Good Wife know exactly what I'm talking about. Fox repeatedly guest stars as opposing council diagnosed with tardive dyskinesia, a movement disorder characterized by symptoms similar to Parkinson's. Not only is Fox comfortable portraying a character so close to home, his character constantly exploits his illness in court to gain sympathy and manipulate the jury.

Rather than using this character to make a statement about neurological disorders, Fox uses this character to not make a statement. The lack of heavy-handed commentary forces the audience to consider his character as just that: a character. It's revolutionary in a time when every show on TV is coddling and sucking up to its audience, toeing the politically correct line. Knowing Fox's treatment of neurological illness on The Good Wife, I can barely contain my excitement for The MJF Show.