Mia Famiglia

This is a good enough episode, uncle Mel is the highlight. I wish he'd had more time on the show. The episode is overall good but when they're speaking Italian it's pretty crindgy.. Especially Robert. When he speaks Italian its almost like he's trying to play an Italian actor or auditioning for another part. Other than that tho it's a solid episode.

I've watched tv for over five decades and I don't believe I've ever seen a mistaken identity plotline done this creatively. A long lost, oldest relative of the Barones is located in Italy and arrives unannounced to visit in the U. S. Tia Sarina's warm and cheerful Old World presence transforms all the Barones from their usual state of bickering to loving and joyful, speaking and singing Italian together. Even though most of the Italian isn't translated into English subtitles, the writers have made it easy to get the gist of what's being said. Of course, because the Barones can't stay happy for long, they find out Tia Sarina isn't who they thought she was. I found this to be a delightful and fun episode, with plenty of humor. The actress who plays Tia Sarina was wonderful, has a long list of movie and tv credits, and was in her 90s when she made this episode.