Malcolm in the Middle 

A gifted young teen tries to survive life with his dimwitted, dysfunctional family.

Creators:

Linwood Boomer, Michael Glouberman, Gary Murphy

Stars:

Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston, Justin Berfield

Nominated for 7 Golden Globes. Another 46 wins & 107 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Bryan Cranston	...	Hal 151 episodes, 2000-2006
Justin Berfield	...	Reese 151 episodes, 2000-2006
Erik Per Sullivan	...	Dewey 151 episodes, 2000-2006
Jane Kaczmarek	...	Lois 151 episodes, 2000-2006
Christopher Masterson	...	Francis 151 episodes, 2000-2006
Frankie Muniz	...	Malcolm / ... 151 episodes, 2000-2006

Storyline

An offbeat, laugh track-lacking sitcom about a bizarrely dysfunctional family, the center of which is Malcolm, the middle of the two brothers who still live at home. His eldest (and favorite) sibling, Francis, boards at military school because his parents believe it will reform him and keep him out of trouble. Malcolm often has a hard time coping with his family life, but he has more troubles to contend with when he starts receiving special treatment at school after being diagnosed as an intellectually advanced genius.

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Plot Keywords:

dysfunctional family | school | military school | woman | husband wife relationship | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fighting in Underpants

Filming Locations:

12334 Cantura Street, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Satin City Productions,Regency Television,20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The signs in Dewey's Busey classroom read, "Put ups--not put downs", "Be polite, don't ignite", and "Words, not hands".

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Goofs

Throughout his appearances in seasons 1-3, Commandant Edwin Spangler wears decorations that absolutely make no sense. While his uniform is clearly that of an USAF general, he nonetheless wears both the Pistol Expert and Rifle Expert badges of the USMC, while also sporting the ribbons for several decorations available solely to personnel of the US Army - the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Soldier's Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Army Service Ribbon (the latter two worn in the wrong order of precedence). Also, while claiming to have never served in combat, Spangler is shown sporting several decorations solely available for combat duty - a Bronze Star ribbon (with cluster) and a Purple Heart ribbon. The South Vietnamese Parachutist Badge, Vietnam Service Medal (with three Service Stars), and RVN Campaign Medal with 1960- device also point at a long deployment in Vietnam, while the Southwest Asia Service Medal and Saudi Arabian Kuwait Liberation Medal would make him a Gulf War veteran. Neither deployment, however, is ever mentioned in the series, making his mismatched decorations likely an error of the wardrobe department.

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Quotes

opening theme song: Yes, no, maybe, I don't know, can you repeat the question? You're not the boss of me now, You're not the boss of me now, You're not the boss of me now, and you're not so big. You're not the boss of me now, You're not the boss of me now, You're not the boss of me now, and you're not so big. Life is unfair...

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Crazy Credits

For the first 3 minutes of the Episode "Living Will" (3/6/2005), the bottom of the screen pages through a long list of fourteen alleged "producers". This was the first episode to air after the Academy Awards controversy over limiting to three, the number of "producers" who could win a best film Oscar.

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Alternate Versions

An extended version of the pilot episode was released with the 'Complete First Season' DVD boxset.

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Connections

Referenced in The Paul Behragam Talk Show: "Balto 3" R&T Part 2 (2015)

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Soundtracks

Smile
Written and Performed by Hanson
Island Records

User Reviews

One of the funniest shows on television

"Malcolm in the Middle" may have lost a bit of steam recently, but some of the earlier episodes are absolutely, side-splittingly hilarious. Although Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) may be the titular character, it is really Bryan Cranston's characterization of the father figure, Hal, that makes the show so fun to watch. Cranston turns Hal into a boy at heart (as all fathers are) - only, like everything else with the show, extends it into a complete satire and goes completely wacky. This show, for lack of a better word, is crazy.

It's absurd. And it couldn't be any better. The wild antics and over-the-top gags are similar to a cartoon, and even the fast-cut editing between scenes (with the "whoosing" sound) is reminiscent of an animated program.

Like "The Simpsons," "Malcolm" manages to successfully interweave everyday family/social topics into silly plots involving all types of nonsensical stuff. Some of the physical gags are absolutely hilarious - the episode with Hal running out of the supermarket, a parody of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," is gut-busting - but at its heart this really is a tender and witty comedy that manages to be effective on more than one level.

The rest of the cast are great too. It really "feels" like a genuine family. They bicker, they complain, they whine and moan and fight - this is America today. If we were to go back fifty years in a time capsule and present this to the "I Love Lucy" crowds, they'd be shocked.