[Ohio-talk] New NBC Sit-Com About Blind Divorced Father--Thursday, February 23rd

[mzavoli at roadrunner.com]

Hello Friends,

This item appeared on the New-York News listserv, and I thought you might like to know about this new NBC sit-com involving a blind divorced father, his pre-teenage son and other cast of characters.  Again, the media portrays blindness negatively as an embarrassment and denial, along with the idea that getting a guide dog without first being trained in orientation and mobility is all right.  Cheryl Echevaria posted this message.  Read on for more:

Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 09:32:18 -0500 
From: cheryl echevarria <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com> 
To: "new-york-news at nfbnet.org" <new-york-news at nfbnet.org> 
Subject: [New-york-news] New NBC Sitcom to hit February 23rd about 
	Blind	Divorced Father 
Message-ID: <BLU169-W100CCB8C6C6DF30529C044A1BC0 at phx.gbl> 
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" 
 
 Good morning all: 

I am not sure if anyone heard this announcement on NBC. There is a new Sitcom coming February 23rd, 2014 after the Olympics called "Growing Up Fisher". I found this information from a good friend of mine Sherri Brun from NFB of FL on Facebook. 
So, I googled the information to see what it is all about. 

Many of you, who will read the below information, might find yourself angered as I was with how the Media once again portrays us. If this is based on a true story. Please read my thoughts below the synopsis 

The show synopsis is about a pre-teen son going through his parents divorce and his father who is blind, has to now deal with blindness, since he has been hiding it for years to everyone. 
This is one of the reviews from the media: 

"Being credited as "inspired by a true story" doesn't make this tale feel any more plausible. Here's the setup:
 Mel Fisher, a blind lawyer who managed to hide his affliction from his colleagues for years decides to separate from his wife, who is rediscovering her adolescence in a weird sort of mid-life crisis. The story is told by Mel's young son ,Harry, absolutely worships the ground his father walks on, to the point where he burns with jealousy when Mel gets a guide dog after he finally admits to the world that he's blind. 
Most of the jokes derive from Mel's stubborn insistence that blindness can't prevent him from doing anything he sets his mind to. So, the peril of a blind man chopping down a tree and driving a car is the kind of comedy currency Growing Up Fisher is trading in. 
It's a little more satisfying when Mel uses legal-fu to throw down with insensitive law breakers but it also feels kind of dirty to cheer for these verbal smack downs, since he's essentially using his handicap and specialized knowledge base to bully people, even if he's technically in the right. 
The show is at its (meager) best when it sticks to the relationship between father and son; unstable matriarch, Joyce is as poorly sketched as they come. How sluggish do one's creative juices have to be to have a character get braces as an expression of recaptured youth? 
If that's an example of the "truth" to this story, then a little fiction would go a long way. A couple of talented actors are brought along on the desultory ride. J.K. Simmons plays the indomitable lawyer and Parker Posey was saddled with the thankless wife role for this pilot but has since been replaced by Jenna Elfman. Her brand of doltishness should be a better fit for the tone of this lackadaisical series." 

Okay, here are my thoughts on the show: 
If it even last past the past the 1st show I will be surprised.How does anyone not know this guy is blind, he is supposed to be totally blind, I am surmising because they don't say other wise, but that is for us to find out.Many people I know and have heard from especially Mark Riccobono's speech at the NFB of NY State Convention this past October. That many blind people try and hide it because they fear the reality. But for people not to know this guy is blind.They focus on getting a guide dog, now I am a guide dog user, and those that are guide dog users will probably take offense to this, I am sorry about that. A guide dog should be considered yes, but Orientation and Mobility training should be the 1st option, I witness many people who have not had this training prior to getting a dog, who do not know where there are going, etc. Why don't they show him learning to use a cane, why are these shows not showing canesWhy are these actors not blind themselves, we have great actors, singers, dancers, etc that are blind 
I just think we should all watch the show and find out more 

Cheryl Echevarria 
 
Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY StateOffering the Best in 
Meaningful Travel Experiences for Everyone!Cheryl Echevarria, 
Ownerwww.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations at echevarriatravel.com 

Another example of media ridiculousness:
Do any of you remember "Mr. Sunshine?"  This was another sitcom sometime in the 80s, about a blind psychology professor who tried to hide his blindness by having his students do his research for him and accompany him around.  He used no cane or dog.  I give the media credit for one thing:  In this sitcom, Mr. Sunshine knew Braille.
I know this because he had a transcriber Braille some chapters from a textbook for him to read.

Milena