Pilot 

Malcolm has been labeled a boy genius and is moved, much to his chagrin, into the Krelboyne class, which is a class full of nerds and geniuses like himself.

Director:

Todd Holland

Writers:

Linwood Boomer (created by), Linwood Boomer

Stars:

Jane Kaczmarek, Bryan Cranston, Christopher Masterson

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Jane Kaczmarek	...	Lois
Bryan Cranston	...	Hal
Christopher Masterson	...	Francis (as Christopher Kennedy Masterson)
Justin Berfield	...	Reese
Erik Per Sullivan	...	Dewey
Catherine Lloyd Burns	...	Caroline Miller
Frankie Muniz	...	Malcolm
Merrin Dungey	...	Malcolm's Teacher
Craig Lamar Traylor	...	Stevie Kenarban
Vincent Berry	...	Dave Spath
Martin Spanjers	...	Richard
Landry Allbright	...	Julie
Dylan Kasch	...	Crony #1
Austin Stout	...	Spath's Victim

Storyline

Schoolboy Malcolm Wilkerson presents his pitiful family: father Hal and bossy mother Lois, both blatant nudists, plus their litter of boys. Malcolm, the middle son, presents the eldest, Francis, as his hero, but he's really an incorrigible rebel, who had to be sent to military school. Younger brothers Reese, Dewey and Jamie are mean and play the fools, so by contrast Malcolm is a genius surrounded and domineered by zombie-relatives. School isn't much better: bully Dave Spath's bunch of ruffians look down on the scrawny smart 'wise-guy', for whom pleasing the teacher means unpopularity with his 'peers'. His only 'friend' is a fellow geek in a wheelchair. It may all change when a teacher discovers he qualifies for an honor class, but does that mean the family's first social advancement as mother hopes or total social disaster as Malcolm fears?

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Plot Keywords:

teacher | wheelchair | slow motion scene | answering the door topless | intelligence quotient test | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The episode won 2 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.

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Goofs

In the last scene of the episode, after zooming out to show the trashcan, there appears to be a crew member visible on the right of the screen.

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Quotes

Francis: Dad, I know what you're going to say, and believe me, I totally agree with you. There is no excuse for what I did. It was idiotic, immature, totally reckless, and I'm really sorry. I'm just hoping against hope that you will give me another chance, which I admit I don't deserve. If you could just find it in your heart to forgive me, I know I could earn your trust back.
Malcolm: It's not like it was even our car!

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Alternate Versions

The DVD version of this episode is 2 minutes longer than the TV airing. Some scenes are slight different: in the hair trimming scene Lois is singing to "It's your Thing, do what you want to do" in the TV version but she is singing to "I believe in Miracles" in the DVD version. Eraserhead, one of Malcolm's new classmates, appears only in the DVD version.

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Connections

References Avengers: United They Stand (1999)

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Soundtracks

Better Days (And The Bottom Drops Out)
(uncredited)
Written by Dave Cooley and Matt Sims
Performed by Citizen King

User Reviews

Classic 90s sitcom with love in every stitch

Everyone with a soft-spot for 90s television needs to sit through even the first season of Malcolm in the Middle. It's the most sincere sitcom-family you'll ever see, and every character has a place in your own family. I remember growing up feeling like Malcolm all the time, and now watching it again, I have way more in common with Francis the ne'er-do-well. What makes this show amazing are the exceptionally well-casted characters, the fun writing and crazy plot situations, and how perfectly relatable every bit of it is. You feel like you're sitting in on your average, crazy week in the lives of this outrageous, yet realistic middle class family, while they grow and learn the same way I did growing up: making mistakes. All the while there's sharp, hilarious dialogue that feels honest coming from the last great golden-age of sitcoms. If you're reading reviews just watch the show, you'll know in the first ten minutes if it's for you.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 2000 (USA)

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Satin City Productions, New Regency Productions, Fox Television Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1