After teenage Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) is tested and revealed to have an IQ of 165, he is transferred to the school’s gifted class. From there we meet his family: domineering but loving mother Lois, well-meaning but childlike father Hal, dim bully older brother Reese, adorable younger brother Dewey and oldest brother Francis, who was sent away to military school, leaving Malcolm as the middle child. Through sixteen 22-minute episodes we come to know the family through arguments, secrets, lies, truths, work, school and home as they go about their chaotic lives in a slightly surreal world.
When Malcolm In The Middle first aired in 2000, one of the most distinctive things about it was its lack of a laugh track. The humour in most comedies and family shows of the 90s came from setup/punchline dialogue noticeable for its deliberate structure and with pauses in action and speech for the artificial amusement. The humour of Malcolm In The Middle is considerably more subtle, much of it coming from the situations themselves rather than any specific reactions to them. A memorable example being in the very first episode when Hal is standing naked in the kitchen, strategically covered by the newspaper he’s reading, as Lois shaves off his body hair while the boys eat their breakfast. Although the nature of the family’s lives is a little surreal and unlikely, it remains just the right side of probable to prevent it from slipping in to live-action cartoon slapstick.
Additionally, much of the humour is visual, with details dropped into scenes without attention being drawn to them, such as the microcosmic wasteland of the family’s front garden contrasting with the immaculate lawns of their neighbours on either side, both of which are also adorned with For Sale signs. It being a family show, there is little in the way of inappropriate humour, although the odd dirty joke does slip through in ways that adults will find amusing yet will pass right over the heads of younger children.
As the central character, Malcolm needs to be both sympathetic and engaging, and despite only being about 14, Frankie Muniz manages to achieve both. Malcolm resents the special treatment fostered upon him due to his intelligence, reasoning (correctly) that it will result in merciless mockery for being one of the “Krelboynes (a neat reference to Little Shop of Horrors). His frequent asides to the camera often provide commentary on his thoughts of the current situation or the occasional sarcastic remark to someone else’s actions.
However, his intellect is only one facet of his character, and one that more often than not remains secondary to the chaos he and Reese sow with their antics that stem from little more than just being teenage boys. As the more domineering parent, Lois is frequently left to scream in frustration at them and devise increasingly esoteric punishments in the futile hope of getting them to behave. Hal takes a more laid back attitude to parenting, but is shown to better understand the boys’ motivations for what they do. The lovable but naive Dewey frequently gets sucked in to the boys’ schemes, but his innocent honesty often ends up getting them into even more trouble. Frances’ family interaction is for the most part on the end of a phone line, usually when Malcolm calls him for advice, but his hellraising past is revealed in dialogue and flashbacks.
Although this first series is a little focused on Malcolm to the occasional detriment to the rest of his family, it’s a minor niggle that does little to get in the way of the stories or prevent the show from being a well balanced ensemble.
Overall Verdict: A fantastic family show for all ages in which everyone will discover someone or something to relate to.
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Reviewer: Andrew Marshall