Chris Gomez
Malcolm in the Middle is undoubtedly, one of the greatest of it's genre. Everything about the show is very intelligent and well-done. Each member of the family has a relatable personality, and a fitting role in the show. The writing style of the episodes, right down to the very editing of shots and camera angles is very intriguing and good at keeping the viewers glued to their screens, and the situations that the characters are put in have great potential, which is always fully reached. No matter which demographic you belong to, Malcolm in the Middle is a show that you will enjoy on any level between occasional viewer to die-hard superfan.The choice of personalities for each character is brilliant. Alone, every individual member of the family can strongly hold up an entire scene on their own and together, a combination of every two characters makes for a unique interaction and a hilarious duo for their own plot for an episode. Our title character, Malcolm is a relatable and likable main character alone, as well as the voice of reason to Reese's stupidity, The guy who Dewey looks up to, the guy who looks up to Francis, the sworn enemy of Lois, and a loving friend of Hal.The jokes are always spot-on and over the course of an episode, at least one will hit hard and get a genuine laugh. The comedy varies from observational comedy, to slapstick, to dark comedy, to gross-out, to awkward comedy, to satire and never uses too much of one type at a time.The stories of the episodes are always intriguing and aren't afraid to go too far with making it too unrealistic, dark, nonsensical etc. because they can handle making it go to those extremes in a well-written way. They always do something new and the way the plots play out are never expected and can't be compared to the plot of an episode from a different show or movie. The plot dynamic of the episodes usually consist of the serious main story, and a comic relief B plot. Malcolm is usually the center of the main story and the side plot is either Francis getting caught up in his antics at his current job, or Hal being thrown into a huge situation, that he just had no idea how to handle. The stories always work and we get just enough of both stories at a time, as well as wrapping them up nicely and uniquely.The overarching stories of the show, for the most part, are pretty mediocre. Francis' many jobs over the series starts off really well, but could be played out better, with the main flaw being that his entire role in the show vanishes by Season 6. Episodes with Cynthia Sanders, who was supposed to be a major character, are inconsistently scattered about and widely spread apart, with the plot traveling very quickly every time she appears. However, the lack of characters like this are usually for fiscal reasons as opposed to writing and they still manage to make the plot lines impactful enough to be remembered and loved, so the stories are really nothing to sneeze over and fall neatly under "average" on the scale of good and bad.The show also has a handful of satirical episodes, tackling topics such as religion, censorship of literature and artwork, birth control, feminism, modern day racism, politics etc. and makes it subtle enough to be an episode alone. It doesn't blatantly make fun of those who disagree with it, and it does a swell job at not being offensive, even if you disagree with the point the episode proves.The careers of some famous actors were launched by this series, including Bryan Cranston and Frankie Muniz, who play Hal and Malcolm, respectively and their actors have won many awards and acclaim for their performances in certain episodes, usually for their performance, their comedic routine, or their way of handling their role in the episode. Lots of familiar faces also make appearances in the cast of side characters, including Jason Alexander, Robert Loggia, and Bea Arthur and although they only make guest appearances, they go down in Malcolm in the Middle history for being such memorable one-time characters.Malcolm in the Middle belongs in the hall of fame, for it well-deserved awards and critical acclaim and even if you're only going to watch one episode, the show deserves to be checked out.
colm-hearne365
When I first heard of Malcolm in the Middle, I wasn't interested in watching it. But when I finally gave it a chance I was practically hooked on it. It's too bad that the show's ratings declined as the seasons went on and even though some episodes/seasons are better than others but it was still a very popular sitcom in its day . In fact, it was probably as popular as The Simpsons or Futurama. My favourite season of the show is probably the second season because it has a lot of memorable and funny episodes like The Grandparents and Casino and Bowling (which is considered by most to be the best episode of the show). But I have to admit the show does have its annoying characters like Malcolm or Lois. I know its weird to say the main character is annoying but Malcolm a lot of the time is a whiny know-it-all and nobody likes a whiner or a know-it-all. And Lois is such a loudmouth and control freak sometimes I just want to punch her in the face. But aside from that, the funny characters are great, especially Hal and Reese and sometimes even Dewey and some of the supporting cast. But my favourite is Hal because he's a dim-wit and a screw-up and often gets himself into trouble. But other characters like Francis and Jamie seem pretty unnecessary and I think the show should just focus on Hal, Lois, Reese, Malcolm and Dewey.
Alyssa McClain
This show may require one to have an acquired taste or certain type of humor, but it is absolutely hilarious. Amazing how a show can be entertaining to preteens and adults alike. One of my favorite episodes would probably be when Francis deemed himself as an alcoholic and invited Lois to his AA meeting and everyone was afraid of her b/c Francis made her out to be a monster. In the end, it turns out he's not even an alcoholic. He exhibits every symptom except for the abuse of alcohol. Then Piama goes 'How was I supposed to know he wasn't an alcoholic, he seems messed up to me!' Priceless show I will always come back to. Definitely give brownie points to people I meet that love this show also.
