Great speech. But none of the characters are actually dumb. Brash and lazy--not dumb. However, they have dumb moments, perhaps meant to remind us that they're supposed to be dumb and to get sitcom laughs.
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Well put. One of the things I liked most about the recent "Road Trip" episode was how it showed that, as flaky and spontaneous as Maya can be about most things (and the rest of the family, other than the uptight Ray*, tend to follow her lead with little or no question), she's extremely organized about the things that matter to her most, especially regarding the kids' health.
* Speaking of which, I've noticed a similar pattern in how Ray is treated by his dad... While Jimmy sometimes makes little jokes at his son's expense, it's like he still instinctively knows whether the kid is really hurtin' (such as feeling neglected and unheard by his mom in the pilot, grappling with an unrequited crush in "Halloween," scared about going into surgery in "Road Trip," etc.) or just freaking out over seemingly nothing (like making a big deal of the trash-collecting and the accidentally stolen furniture in "Bonfire," or the "practice runs" in "Ray-cation") -- so he responds to each situation the best way he knows how.
"I know I'm not normal -- but I'm trying to change!" ~ Muriel's Wedding