Malcolm in the Middle is great. Hard to believe Hal morphed into Walter White.

I really didn't like the show. The mom got really shrill and annoying as the show went on. And the humor became predictably odd over time. The only thing I really liked about the show was Bryan Cranston who did go on to bigger and better things.

I like to watch the reruns with the idea that the father IS Walter White. A good editor could have fun with it.

And pretty sure the oldest son was fresh catch for the Bryan Singer crowd. Again, editing would be spectacular.

[Quote] The mom got really shrill and annoying as the show went on.

Only seen a few episodes but I agree. Although I'd probably be the same way if I had kids like that.

[Quote] And pretty sure the oldest son was fresh catch for the Bryan Singer crowd.

Depressing if true 😔

R3, the comedy and the mom's shrillness become more grating as the episodes go on.

The funniest show in the history of TV, if you ask me. I grew up with it and I'm surprised how much I still enjoy it, but when I was a kid I mostly focused on the boys' storylines and their pranks, while these days I mostly identify with the parents and their never ending struggle to make ends meet.

The show was never particularly bad but I think there was a drop in quality after Lois got pregnant and had a baby. And that whole thing with Lois travelling to her sister to "get some rest" and disappearing for several episodes was just weird. I later read that Jane Kaczmarek wanted a bigger paycheck and when they wouldn't give her one she cited mysterious headaches for cutting down on her working hours. The headaches disappeared the moment the producers gave her a raise and she returned to working on the show full time.

It’s a good show, but it is NOT better than Roseanne.

The fact that it's a single-camera show alone makes it better than Roseanne.

After the conclusion of Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston and Jane K did a great send-up of the classic Bob Newhart/Susan Pleshette 'waking from a dream' finale. I'll try and find it to post.

Quality is awful, but you get the drift...

Justin and his boyfriend.

It's such a witty, fast-paced show, but I sometimes found it a bit stressful to watch just because it's so chaotic (I know, I know, the chaos is the whole point). Craig is one of the best characters, as is Lois's horrendous mother. Stevie's dad, Abie, also comes into his own in the later seasons.

Justin is hot.

Series creator Linwood Boomer played Mary’s blind husband on Little House on the Prairie

[quote] And pretty sure the oldest son was fresh catch for the Bryan Singer crowd

Pretty sure he's just a Scientologist, his brother is that rapist who played Hyde in That 70s show. The real mystery is whatever happened to Erik Per Sullivan/Dewey.

Justin Berfield is a breeder. He married a fish not long ago.

"Justin Berfield is a breeder. He married a fish not long ago."

Wrong.

Is Justin Berfield gay? Not all stars are willing to tell journalists about their romantic relationships. Justin Berfield is among those who prefer to leave their private lives "behind the scenes". The man's personal life remains a mystery to everyone. From time to time, rumours about his connections with some actresses or singers appear, but the actor never confirms them. We can say for sure that he has never been legally married. Since he has never been seen in female company, fans often create stories on the internet about Justin Berfield boyfriend or Justin Berfield gay, but this has not been confirmed.

Love this show. I was around the same age as the Malcolm when it came out, and it still makes me laugh to this day.

Wrong, r19.

It’s a very intelligent and astute sitcom that is ageing like fine wine, and not just because it’s shot on film with a healthy Fox-at-the-turn-of-the-Millennium budget.

That is in part, I believe, because the #THEMES it confronts are enormous by the standards of the genre. Think of the disturbing push-pull that Francis and his drill sergeant enact, or the violent playground anarchy that erupts when apex-bully Reese temporarily becomes a pacifist, or Malcolm’s horror when his sadistic teacher Herkabe gaslights him into agreeing to psychologically humiliate his own brother (“are you really that shallow and petty?” “You have NO idea...”), or little Dewey having a catechism with his youth pastor and concluding - after playing fire with an anthill - that any God there is must be indiscriminately vengeful because humans made in God’s image are too.

It was a show that didn’t flinch from the potential in us all for cruelty, selfishness, and outright heartless nastiness even toward those we love or care for, but also reminds that these traits are understandable given the state of the society and world with which we contend.

At times all of the funny, colourful and relatable protagonists seem unlikeable and hypocritical self-serving people in some way. Lois is emotionally-violent and borderline-abusive to her family; Hal is spineless, and too childlike to act as an effective father; Francis is manipulative, and underhanded; Reese is bloodthirsty and gross, at times a danger to those around him; Malcolm has a superiority complex and is depressive (see the new dream mattress episode for the perfect allegory on that), Dewey has remarkably low-affect etc. The character writing pushed the envelope, but stayed believable.

The chemistry the main cast had as a family also plays an enormous part. In my mind, they really seem like they could all be relatives who suffered living under the same roof for decades. They caught the spirit of lower-middle-class family living more accurately than any other show ever.

Plus the different dynamics between the brothers sold the whole show, like how the boys all look up to Francis in awe but also slightly fear and despise him, and Reese & Malcolm frequently compete but become a kind of two-man power trip/couple, and Malcolm & Dewey share a quiet reluctant affection via shared trauma.

In later seasons, the show leant heavily on jokes that suggested Reese was a cluelessly-repressed gay, and I could easily see that being true. It’s been written about a lot as a theory since the show went off the air. The lesbian best-friend he made in the army was the biggest tell.

IMO there’s a less-obvious possibility that Malcolm could be bisexual or late-in-life gay, as well. You have to look for it, but there are a small handful of hints and episodes that suggest the idea. Because of his enormous intellect and how well-read he is, as well as how fast he had to mature, it’s realistic to assume that Malcolm would encounter internal questioning fairly early; because of his personality, it’s reasonable to assume he’d needlessly torture himself over it.

During the episode where Reese cooks the entire Thanksgiving meal from scratch (the Monkfish episode), there is one sad scene when underage Malcolm stumbles to the dinnertable, miserably drunk, to explode into a rant in front of his family about about how lonely and misunderstood he is. As he goes on with his self-pitying spiel, he says he wonders whether he’s “probably gay” as he didn’t take advantage of a girl when she was passed or drunk, then caps it off by vomiting all over the food. There was a lot to unpack there.

Dewey

It was funny but the parents were the only funny parts. The three stupid kids and their stupid antics got tiresome real quick.

I realize it was a show about the kids but that’s why I could never like it that much. Who cares how and why a bunch of dumb boys are tearing up their house and neighborhood.

Wow. I really do not like kids.

[quote]The real mystery is whatever happened to Erik Per Sullivan/Dewey.

R14 His Wikipedia entry claims that he is a 'former' actor. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Mt. St Charles Academy as a child and teenager and then attended University of Southern California.

Unfortunately, Muriel won't let me paste the link but there is a Facebook entry that advances the rumor that he abandoned acting as the result of ANOTHER rumor - that he had an unrequited crush on Frankie Munoz while filming Malcolm. How old could these kids have been? Every little kid has a same sex crush at some point in their childhood so I don't think that would be something to be ashamed of but who knows? With his educational background, I would guess he simply found a more creative outlet for himself.

One of the best scenes ever was when the oldest brother had to take care of his awful grandmother (Chloris leachman) after her leg was amputated. They HATED each other. Every single thing he says or does she refutes obnoxiously. The mom says “cmon there must be one thing you two have in common— boy bands! — I’m sure you both hate the hell outta them!”

Chloris,with cigarette hanging out of her mouth, says “give em a break .... they’re just making a living”.

Perfect comedic timing.

^ Cloris always delivered her lines as Ida perfectly. I love the moment when Lois tells her that the DNA test shows her dad wasn't her real father, and she pauses - then bursts out, "I was eighty percent sure you were his!"

Almost all of the scenes with Cloris Leachman were gold. The episode where she has Malcolm and Reese perform a series of challenges to see which one is more of a man is LOL funny.

This is what Hal (Bryan Cranston) and Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) from Malcolm look like now in 2019

I would have sucked Francis off in a jiffy.

R23 looking back I could see that. Frankie & Erik didn’t have many episodes or scenes interacting closely together without the others, but when they did the energy was very different to the rest of the cast dynamics. Frankie seemed quite careful with Erik, somehow; though perhaps that was just the effect of Erik being the youngest.

And you’re right. Kids & teens are often mixed up about their feelings, and that’s nothing abnormal and worth chucking a career or a friendship over. I imagine and indeed hope that something else led Erik to quit, be it simply an change innocuous change of heart and new interest in something else, or something he had to do to heal from now fucked-up goings-on.

Frankie himself gave up acting early (against the advice of Cranston) to be a musician, then a race-car driver, and now to run a Hipster oil/vinegars store with his female partner. Justin Berfield didn’t do much more acting post-MITM either, going straight into work experience behind-the-camera on production, and then segueing into work outside entertainment as an exec for Virgin. Of the actors who played the brothers, Chris Masterson was the only one who continued much further in the business, and even then he didn’t achieve any great success and was cancelled in short order for being a clam from a weird family and creepy about it.

They had me at Krelboynes.

Bea.

Loved that show. I had two favorite episodes, both from Season 2: Halloween Approximately and Dinner Out.

Frankie sustained brain damage in his early twenties and has no memory of his Malcolm days. Bryan Cranston said that he visits him occasionally to try to prod his memories but with little success.

Another great character was Craig (David Anthony Higgins) who was Lois's boss. His unrequited love was both pitiful and hilarious.

R33 that’s very poignant. I didn’t know Frankie still had a relationship with Bryan at all. It’s hard to know whether it’s better or worse that they have a long-lasting relationship still, but it’s based on something Frankie can’t remember.

Another standout character was Daniel Van Bargen who played Commandant Spangler at Francis's military academy.

He attempted suicide in 2012. He was living with diabetes, already had one leg amputated, and was due to have toes amputated on the other foot. He died in 2015 of 'unspecified long illness" at age 64.

I remember him as Sheriff Cooley in O Brother Where Art Thou, Sheriff Grady in Super Troopers, lots of other character parts in TV and movies.

Older Reese gets bitchier more than a bully, and almost becomes like a Datalounger by his senior year.

“Hey, Plagiariser! Hey, Pukes-After-She-Eats! Hey, Dad-Has-A-Breakdown-Because-Mom-Went-Lesbian!’

When I was a kid I had a crush on the guy who played Eric. He was so hot, in a goofy sort of way. It's a shame his character disappeared after the Alaskan season.

Another character I loved who disappeared early on in the series was Francis' slacker pal Richie. His"intervention" scene was hilarious:

Eric was the one with the two gay dads, right? (Haven't watched the show in 15+ years.)

How did Lois even get the privacy to shave her fanny with all those boys running around and ONE BATHROOM!

"And has any other show broken the fourth wall like this one? "

Yes. 'The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis' featured Dobie (and only Dobie) speaking to the audience. Co-stars included Frank Faylen (Ernie in 'It's a Wonderful Life), Bob Denver (Gilligan), Warren Beatty, Tuesday Weld and Sheila James Kuehl, famous lesbian.

[quote]When I was a kid I had a crush on the guy who played Eric. He was so hot, in a goofy sort of way. It's a shame his character disappeared after the Alaskan season.

R138 I'm just watching the season where Eric and Francis are working in Alaska and thought the same thing. That guy is HOT. Great face, what a jawline...

This was the first series I can remember that showed everyone around a dinner table instead of that camera angle where four people would be stuffed on three sides to keep the fourth side open for the camera. Small thing, I know, but it stuck me immediately when they all sat around the table like normal people.

Haven’t seen it since it aired but some episodes stay with me - the one where the Krelboyne friends relentlessly use their superior intellects to egg the brothers in payback; the one where the family fights clowns; the one where Malcom’s class talks about Moby Dick, and best of all - the one where Malcolm’s friends act out Tennessee Williams with cats.

The iconic L.A. house where the exterior shots of Malcolm's home were filmed was totally redone a while ago. The owners probably had enough of the fans (like the frau in the pic below) taking selfies on their lawn. Here's before:

And the after. I hate the lifeless new facade. Frankie Muniz also wrote how shocked he was when he drove past the house one day and saw the new building.

R47 ah-ha! So he *does* remember some things.

Wonder if Frankie’s memory is very gradually returning, so slowly as to almost be unnoticeable? Or if he remembers more than he lets on, but wants to leave MITM in the past so keeps up the convenient charade...

Frankie seems a nice guy, regardless. Almost too nice and normal and relatable, considering how long he was the star of a long-running sitcom and how young he started.

R39 the actor who played Richie plays Terrence in the rebooted PERRY MASON.

He also played Gerry in GRACE & FRANKIE, and Mitch in THE BIG BANG THEORY.

[quote] the one where Malcolm’s friends act out Tennessee Williams with cats.

That is a fantastic episode - ‘Old Mrs. Old’ from Season Two. The STREETCAR performance was funny, but honestly the Malcolm/Krelboynes plot was the weaker one of the episode. Their reaction to getting caught joyriding always gets me, though (Dabney: “we should just drive off a cliff like Thelma & Louise’!!!” Lloyd: “WHY is everything a group suicide with you?”)

It’s the same episode where Richie gets mysteriously special treatment from Spangler when he is shipped off to Francis’ military school, and where Dewey takes Lois’ purse to school in lieu of a backpack much to Reese’s chagrin. The argument between Reese & Dewey is top-notch writing, Hal’s reaction to learning of Dewey’s affinity for a purse is heartwarming (he says, “maybe [Dewey] will blaze a trail for the rest of us”), and the eventual payoff to the bit is well-earned.

I feel like a monster and a masochist saying it (especially being an erstwhile Krelboyne myself), but Reese’s bullying and torturing was my favourite element of the show, strangely attractive to watch. For an intellectually-challenged psycho, Reese was written as remarkably creative when it came to hurting or humiliating others.

As far as I know, there isn’t another other family-friendly comedy that permits an antagonist to go to such awful lengths. On my last rewatch of MITM, I counted dozens of occasions on which Reese suggests mutilation or something equally disturbing by way of revenge, or crosses a line when it comes to basic common decency. He’s a powerful standout character for that.

Maybe there is something cathartic about watching someone with absolutely no filter or limit on their anger and aggression.

REESE: Do you think it’s right to totally change who you are, and turn your back on everything you believe in, just to impress a hot guy?

HAL: (beat) Burt Reynolds-hot? Or Sting-hot?

In later seasons, writers allowed Reese to show some humanity like his partnering with all the old ladies at Lois' dance class (although he did make a wad of cash doing it!) and also when he discovered his talent for cooking and baking.

The dance class episode was one of the best - juxtaposing scenes between Lois imagining herself as a graceful dancer with the reality when she views the 'hidden camera' version of the classes. It was soul crushing but the ending was saved when Hal views the hidden camera film and sees Lois as a ballroom goddess.

Patricia Heaton BEAT Jane Kazcmarek not once, but TWICE for the Emmy

R54 Ugh.

[quote]ah-ha! So he *does* remember some things.

What if, he saw the house after his accident?

I can’t believe nobody mentioned Bea Arthur’s guest appearance!!!

This was the first show I could see my family in. Even the inside of the house looked a little bit like ours. I remember one episode where Lois lost her job so they are eating Mac and cheese every night, and we had totally been there. Malcom goes to school and starts ranting about how unfair it is that he has to grow up poor and how easy everyone else has it, so the kids at the school do a canned food drive behind his back. Malcom is horrified and Lois accepts it no problem, haha

DL villainess Susan Sarandon also guest starred in a two part episode, but she was painfully unfunny.

Emma Stone (before she was famous) had a small role in one episode too.

R57 meet R31

R59 That Susan Sarandon episode (or maybe it was two-parter?) included Stephen Root, one of my faves in everything from Office Space to most of the Coen Bros films.

Very funny.

Of course that's the only reason to watch it.

The show nabbed me right from the start, when Hal was remarking about how good the older canned olives were that he was eating and his wife screamed, "Those are peaches!!!!" And then the sight of an ambulance taking off with the siren blaring.

Love the Reese joining a dog pack storyline. Such a stupid hot dreamboat.

“Here’s your damn strike!”

Loved this episode.

I also loved the episode where Hal and Lois couldn’t afford to buy the kids Christmas presents. Hal is really upset about this, so he tells the kids he’s going to take them to a surprise vacation. Of course he has no destination in mind because he can’t afford to go anywhere, so they just drive and drive as the kids get more hyped. Eventually they find out Malcom has a secret credit card, so Hal feigns outrage, confiscates it, and uses it to book some rooms at a ski lodge

I loved this show. Funny and quite relatable. I loved how it didn't have a laugh track either and trusted the intelligence of the audience. Frankie, Chris and Justin were cute as hell. I had a crush on Reese. Bryan was a handsome father too. Malcolm despite being the main character was not really likable, he was a whiny and bratty but he was also still a horny and insecure teenager with raging hormones despite his high IQ. So it's quite realistic.

Lois was annoying and controlling but realistic for a mother in her situation. She and Hal had way too many kids that they couldn't handle and her reactions were pretty priceless. The main issue I had with Lois was her trying to control Malcolm's future and telling him he had to work hard through college instead of taking a job that would pay well. And that hard work would make him empathize with the poor when he becomes President. LOL Malcolm was a scientist not a politician and he was an adult at the time, so she had no right to control his future. Malcolm would a be crappy President as he's too self-absorbed.

There was a great episode where Lois imagines she has three girls instead of three boys. Her fantasy includes Hal has a 400 pushover for anything the girls want. By the end of the episode, you learn they are all bitches and Lois is much better off with her reality. OH, and it also includes Francis in a dress...

"I can’t believe nobody mentioned Bea Arthur’s guest appearance!!!"

I can't believe you didn't see R31.

R68 the female actresses they got for the brothers were great Rule 63 dopplegängers.

R64 the dog-pack storyline would have been a shark-jump in any other show, but Reese was so antisocial and feral it made perfect sense.

R67 apparently many here had a weird shameful crush on Reese. I remember his name came up a few times in a DL thread from a few years ago that was called something like ‘attractive fictional bullies’.

Company Picnic had great cameos including Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw in the the side-story of Francis's hockey team in Alaska. Howie was gorgeous!

I really can't believe this show is 20 years old. I'm 27, so I was in the demographic for it and I remember the series finale too along with That's 70s Show. I loved this show along with The Bernie Mac Show, Scrubs and Even Stevens. I feel they all kinda proved to me that sitcoms don't need laugh tracks to make you laugh. Frankie Muniz was also a big teen idol for a bit with Agent Cody Banks and his guest appearance on Lizzie McGuire and voicing Chester in Fairly OddParents. I always thought Justin Berfield was cute, I was surprised to find out he was in another sitcom called Unhappily Ever After (a Married with Children clone) which I found on YouTube in VHS quality and binged a lot of episodes since I love that type of dirty and un-PC humor.

Malcolm is also a fun time capsule for the early 2000s. Reese's frosted tips, the lack of smartphones but internet and dial-up still existing, the pop punk/alternative rock/ska/rap rock soundtrack, there was even an official CD soundtrack. I imagine the music may be what's keeping it from a full DVD release.

The Middle is funnier and more realistic.

R74 You mean that show starring the republicunt Patty Heaton?! No thanks...

That's how Midwest America thinks R75. That show has some Roseanne producers that give it real heft.

Remember Cameron Monaghan as Chad?

Malcolm in the Middle probably inspired Complete Savages, Still Standing, Grounded for Life, The War at Home, I Hate My Teenaged Daughter and Quintuplets. Sitcoms with incompetent and resentful parents with cruel/selfish children.

Married with Children, Roseanne and Unhappily Ever After were still airing in the era of wholesome family shows and were outliers.

[quote]The Middle is funnier and more realistic.

Frankie Muniz should've done a cameo as Malcolm on "The Middle."

[quote] And has any other show broken the fourth wall like this one?

Life with Elizabeth

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

My World... & Welcome to It

Moonlighting

House of Cards

Fleabag

[quote] I can’t believe nobody mentioned Bea Arthur’s guest appearance!!!

The [italic]OP[/italic] mentioned it, you idiot.

Malcolm wasn't the first to break the 4th wall.

Fresh Prince, Clarissa Explains It All and Saved by the Bell did all the time.

It’s Garry Shandling’s Show also broke the fourth wall.

R78 I forgot about COMPLETE SAVAGES.

Erik Von Detten was so hot as the idiot jock in that. That must have been one of the only reasons people watched it.

Eric Nenninger, the actor who plays Eric, has a beautiful family.

Speaking of Erik von Detten; the first sitcom in which he played a lead, ABC’s forgotten disappointment ODD MAN OUT, had a similar premise to MALCOLM.

In it, Erik’s teenaged character is set apart from his big dysfunctional family, but because of his gender and his sensitivity to others (yeah, I know, work with me here) rather than his intellect and prospects. The rest of the family in ODD MAN OUT are all shrieking aggressive harpies who push Erik around and basically cause him consternation 24 hours a day.

The humour is also similar to that of MALCOLM, sharp and dark with a cynical view of middle-class suburban family relationships. Sadly it relies overmuch on verbal sarcasm and witty retorts, sacrificing depth and observations of character and situations to shoehorn them in to dialogue stretched thin.

Nevertheless, it’s a fun watch, and does act (as R73 points out) like a charming time capsule to 1999 - one episode is literally centred around sneaking out to go to a Filter concert. Watch for WHET Trevor Fehrman (who played Elias in CLERKS II) as the best friend of Erik’s character, he’s a riot.

R63 I think about that moment all the time! I liked the show more or less as a kid but for some reason that scene is the only thing I remember.

Reece gets de-pantsed at the pool

R84 Complete Savages was pretty funny. It probably didn't find an audience because it was airing on ABC's TGIF block and the racy anti-family humor didn't fit. Maybe would have fared better on Fox or The WB. I thought most of the cast was really good-looking including Shaun Sipos as Jack, the father played by Keith Carradine and the firefighter uncle. Nice to see a single father premise too, not very common.

R86 I had a thing for EVD since So Weird and The Princess Diaries. I was later surprised he did two other sitcoms neither did well. He doesn't have much range besides playing pretty airheaded blond guys with surfer accents. So Weird wasn't the same without him, Blake Lively's brother wasn't as entertaining a foil to Jack and Fi.

That said, Odd Man Out would have worked better if he was just focused on Erik and Trevor Fehrman's friendship and wacky antics. The mother, aunt and sisters were not entertaining at all. Cute male friendships would have made it work better like in Boy Meets World and that short-lived Teen Angel.

Trevor Fehrman was also in a teen movie called Cheats with Matthew Lawrence and the play best friends who conspire to cheat on exams. Trevor and Matt's friendship is very homoerotic in this film and they kinda act like a couple. Trevor seems to have quit acting but I wonder if Kevin Smith ever manages to make Clerks III would he reprise his role as Elias

Von Detten's biography on IMDb is a funny read, because it was obviously penned by the man himself:

[quote] Possessing leading man good looks and undeniable charm, Erik von Detten has proven himself to be an actor of unquestionable talent. Having amassed an impressive resume of feature film and television credits running the gamut from comedy to drama, the young actor has had a lively career.

What the fuck was wrong with that black kid in the wheelchair?

I wonder if fangirls hated Hilary for getting to kiss Aaron Carter and going on a date with Frankie Muniz in Lizzie McGuire.

Frankie appears in this Express Yourself segment preaching tolerance. Ironic seeing Melissa Joan Hart who is a Republican and Whoopi who always plays apologetics for her conservative friends.

[quote] Odd Man Out would have worked better if he was just focused on Erik and Trevor Fehrman's friendship and wacky antics. The mother, aunt and sisters were not entertaining at all. Cute male friendships would have made it work better like in Boy Meets World and that short-lived Teen Angel.

J’adore this idea, and would totally have repeat-watched and bought it on DVD (back when we still did that). Fehrman & von Detten did have sparks flying between them, and seemed like they were acting on a different show to the rest of the cast sometimes. Meanwhile, the females on ODD MAN OUT were written in such a shallow insulting way; there’s a way to make women antagonistic and realistic as people without turning them into valkyrie.

TEEN ANGEL was excellent, one of the most underrated teencoms of all time imo. The writers were some of the originals who worked on THE SIMPSONS back when it was fresh and cutting-edge, and it shows. Mike Damus is a fantastic comedy actor and he should have worked so much more, and his chemistry with suspect Mormon Corbin Allred is very homoerotic. Jordan Brower is so beautiful, and has played a couple of memorable gay roles in the past. Plus you had Maureen McCormick herself! Nothing better.

Fun fact: Frankie Muniz is good friends with Zac Hanson from Hanson. They are always liking and commenting on each other's IG and Twitter.

R95 teen actors used to do a ton of that PSA shit in the 90s-00s.

Hard to forget this creepy anti-gun message for schools that Muniz did in 2002.

Agent Cody Banks was the peak of Frankie's film career. Hilary peaked with Cinderella Story.

Frankie and Amanda Bynes had great chemistry in Big Fat Liar. Both great comedic actors

Amanda Bynes is pretty tall. She towers over Frankie Muniz and Zac Efron. Here's Frankie and Amanda's guest spot on MadTV.

R93 wasn’t Steview just an unfortunate paraplegic, with terrible asthma and worse luck?

You might find this scene of Reese threatening him therapeutic...

R10 Bynes got to work with all the cute problematic former-twinks.

She really was one of the few famous hyper-talented comedic actresses of her generation.

Zac and Amanda being cute

Amanda with Channing. I wonder she got him bed

There was a short-lived sitcom called Tucker that had a similar filming style and dark sense of humor to Malcolm in the Middle. Katey Sagal played the control freak aunt who strongly resembles Lois in her mannerisms. Alison Lohman plays the love interest for 14-year-old Tucker who is in the same grade despite the actress being in her 20s and Seth Green plays himself as her boyfriend despite Seth (and his fictional version) also being in his 20s. Tucker is smart and sarcastic and finds ways to get around the rules. While Tucker's cousin is big, dumb and very eccentric with a love of wrestling. It also lacked a laugh track. It didn't last long but it was a fun show that is easily found on YouTube.

[quote] There was a great episode where Lois imagines she has three girls instead of three boys. Her fantasy includes Hal has a 400 pushover for anything the girls want. By the end of the episode, you learn they are all bitches and Lois is much better off with her reality.

I agree that was great but when I saw it I thought when the girls turned into bitches instead of sweet, the roles should have been played by the boys in drag.

Bernard, Dewey's hamster in the ball was in five episodes, the original episode when Dewey sent Bernard away in the ball.

Bernard was seen again in the episode Poker. While Dewey was filming Reese dancing with his mom. Outside the window, Bernard's food filled ball was seen in the background, rolling across the street.

In the episode Reese Drives, after Reese was arrested and his face was pressed against the ground, Bernard was again, seen rolling past him.

Bernard was seen in the background again in Hal's Birthday, rolling among the sidewalk, at the end of the scene where Hal and Francis were in the car.

Bernard's final appearance was in the episode Monkey, where he had apparently made it all the way to Alaska. He was seen rolling past Eric, just after being abandoned by Francis and Piama. This was the last that was ever seen of Bernard.

Frankie goes to the career burial ground.

God. Gods bless the guy, he seems sweet and decent and deserving of nice things, but shirtless salsa Frankie Muniz was not something the world needed.

R108 Thank you for the comments on Bernard. I missed all of them, how did that get past me?

R111 I think all of the shots of Bernard rolling around in the ball came at the very end of the episode, pretty easy to miss.

R108 I love running jokes like Bernard. The show Superstore was loaded with them. They're funny as one-offs but even funnier when you realize they keep popping up.

R91 CHEATS is undeservedly forgotten.

“I’ll take YOU right now, Handsome!”

That krelboyne kid whose domineering mom used to brush his hair killed me.

R108’s photo reminds me. The foliage was always dry and brown on that show. I guess it was intentional?

R116 They never took care of the lawn. In long shots, or when the kids were playing in the street, you could see that every other front lawn in the neighborhood was lush and well-tended. That was one of the reasons they were always shunned by the neighbors!

[quote] That krelboyne kid whose domineering mom used to brush his hair killed me.

I think it was the other way around, that he brushed her hair. And the mom was played by the one and only Miss Beth Grant, of course. She wasn't in enough episodes, if you ask me.

Justin has a baby. I dont know if he has a partner or not though but he looks like a cute father.

R119 ironic he had a little girl🤣

R119 His hair looks strange in that pic. It almost looks like a hair piece to me. And what's up with those sideburns?!

I think Justin is balding and trying to hide it lol. Frankie is balding too

It must really fuck with your mind, when the world sees you as an eternal kid or teenager, but the mirror shows you age.

Frankie got casted as 11-year-old Malcolm on Malcom in the Middle because he looked so young and was tiny for his age. He was actually 13 when they filmed the first season. Luckily, Frankie remained short and youthful looking. They finished the show and had the graduation episode when he was 20. Justin Berfield is actually younger than Frankie but was taller with a deeper voice, so they casted him as the big brother.

Frankie today still looks adolescent but he's balding which is a jarring juxtaposition

Justin Berfield is the Chief Creative Officer of Virgin Produced the film and television development, packaging and production arm of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

[quote]It must really fuck with your mind, when the world sees you as an eternal kid or teenager, but the mirror shows you age.

R123 I'm thinking of Macaulay Culkin who just turned 40 and expressed the same thought! He tweeted his fans:

“Hey guys, wanna feel old? I’m 40. You’re welcome"

Check out the creepy hand on Mrs. Richard Branson. It does NOT match her wrinkless botoxed face.

R127 ???

R127 is referring to the picture at R125. Try to keep up.

First how did Justin get such a prestigious job? Did he study or train to be a COO?

Secondly is that him in the checked shirt at R125? If so, he mings!

Love [italic]Breaking Bad[/italic], HATED Malcolm.

Seriously, Frankie Muniz had one facial expression and SpongeBob SquarePants did it better.

Justin was loaded from working from Unhappily Ever After for 5 years and then on Malcolm for 6 years. He had two successful sitcoms as a child actor. So he actually didn't have to work but he probably loves having a career. It's much more respectable than sitting around doing nothing.

There was no point in adding a laugh track since the jokes wouldn’t be funny with or without one.

So he just walked into this cushy job for Branson?

Shows like Malcolm in the Middle, Scrubs and The Adventures of Pete & Pete aren't written for a punchline or witty one-liners. So a laugh track would not have been necessary. They basically are filmed like actual comedic short films rather the traditional sitcom which is a stage performance in front of an audience. MASH, Brady Bunch and Partridge Family all looked awkward with the laugh tracks tacked on.

They should have a laughter on Little House on The Prairie

Just on the episodes with Jason Bateman and Shannen Doherty.

[quote] Secondly is that him in the checked shirt at [R125]? If so, he mings!

Yes that is Justin in the checkered shirt, it looks just like him, just older. The photo is from his Instagram.

In early 2006, it was reported that Justin Berfield bought the house that was made famous in the hit reality series “Newlyweds” which starred Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey and aired on MTV. The house, located in Calabasas, California, was reportedly priced at $3.75 million.

Blue plus yellow...Blellow

What's a gay version of frau called, because it seems to me that Berfield has turned into one.

[quote]What's a gay version of frau called

Datalounger

R132's post reminds me of some trivia. Justin is the only American actor to ever appear in at least 100 episodes of two sitcoms before he turned 18.

[quote]So he just walked into this cushy job for Branson?

Walked. Knees. Back. Doesn't matter?

One of the best episodes of the whole series is 'Pearl Harbor', where Hayden Panettiere's babysitter/neighbour character tricks Malcolm & Reese into thinking the other is closeted. Beat by beat it's almost perfectly executed, plus the plot twist is totally fresh for the genre,

Reese seemed legitimately oblivious about the obvious gay slant to his sexuality in this one, but at the same time fairly accepting of the idea of his brother being gay. It was a nice moment of character growth.

[quote] (after watching 12 porn tapes in one sitting, then handing one to Malcolm) "Check out what they're doing in that movie, and then tell me you're not gay."

[quote] "No-one calls ME 'gay' and gets away with it!" *instantly grabs Malcolm and sucks a hickey into his neck*

R135 The Adventures of Pete & Pete! Thank you for the memory. That show was back in the day when Nickelodeon was fresh. I loved it and remember the cameos (Michael Stipe, Iggy, etc) Great show. It deserves its own DVD set.

R146 Mike Maronna & Danny Tamberelli are stand-up guys and so charming, as well as such a hilarious duo. They have a joint podcast that has no business being as good as it is, and they also still sometimes do special shows and appearances in conjunction with Nickelodeon.

I rank them the highest of all sitcom/dramedy sibling-actor pairs, ahead of my other favourites Drake & Josh.

R146 Thank you! Would you consider starting a thread - with links to the podcast? Pete&Pete was a great show.

There's a Pete & Pete thread

R90 on paper, it's still hard to comprehend the abject failure of a sitcom starring NIGHT COURT's Christine, GREYS' Arizona, ALL MY CHILDREN's Anita, POWER RANGERS' Psycho Pink, and Brandon Routh in a recurring guest role. The cast was fantastic, as were the scripts. Yet ABC wouldn't pick it up until it was pitched for the sixth time, and then they stuck it in weird timeslots and didn't promote it.

[quote] had a thing for EVD since So Weird and The Princess Diaries. I was later surprised he did two other sitcoms; neither did well. He doesn't have much range besides playing pretty airheaded blond guys with surfer accents.

Range and talent doesn't have much to do with success. Case in point: despite Fehrman's ability he somehow has a worse resume than von Detten. Blame that in part on his appearance in Nathan Lane's turkey ENCORE! ENCORE!, the Dowager Empress of Horrible Sitcoms, in which Fehrman played the mild-mannered exasperated wisecracking teenaged nephew of Lane's effete divo.

Love that we're talking about anything and anyone other than MiTM and Bryan Cranston on this thread lmaoooo

I agree. We at DL tend to go off topic. I enjoyed the memories of MITM and any tea about it but if this thread jolted memories of other shows, so be it. I'd rather hear more about the show itself, favorite episodes, or any of the cast,

Is is true Frankie used to fight hotly with Jane on-set all the time? And that Chris used to try and talk the younger boys into accepting Scientology?

R153 I don't know about Frankie and Jane fighting but Chris evangelizing Scientology sounds about right for that religion. His brother Danny probably got Laura Prepon into it.

Does this stream on any service? I'm watching on a cable channel that shows four episodes every afternoon. I'd rather binge. Plus, I've never seen the pilot!

R155 try Dailymotion. It's also on 4 Music in the UK

My favorite Hal moment!

Most of the cast except Erik reunited for a 20th Anniversary script reading on Zoom. For some reason, no one has a video recording of it.

I was just watching the Burning Man Festival episode, which I have seen before and just now noticed Reese in the Diaper Brigade shot, which is a line of men wearing diapers skipping through the festival with one hand stuck between their legs, holding hands with the guy behind them and the other hand doing the same with the guy in front of them, all the while singing dupe dee doo, dupe dee doo, dupe dee doo.

I laughed my ass off.

R139 I loved Hal being perceived as some kind of 'performance artist' for being so protective of the RV. He was applauded every time he burst into one of his property owner rants.

Craig Feldspar is one of the best minor characters in sitcom history.

R159 Cranston once said in an interview that, by the final seasons, the writers and directors were playing a game of ‘What Will Bryan Do?’ that constantly upped the ante of ridiculous shit for the Hal character to get into.

They were basically doing the same to Justin, in retrospect. Playing Reese, he had to do some of the most crazy and embarrassing stuff on the show.

Doing a rewatch now. Some of my favorite minutes

- Dewey and Hal are trying to get rid of a spider in the bathroom. They get it on a magazine and it starts trying to crawl up Hal’s arm. Naturally, he freaks and goes to throw it outside. Opening the door, he throws it on Lois who is returning home with groceries. Lois screams and Dewey locks and shuts the doors. “Go! She can only ground me. Get your keys and go!”

- Reese has a pen pal from China and things aren’t going well: “I just asked him to apologize for what they did in Pearl Harbor!”

- Lois is upset because the family has forget her birthday. Hal and the kids throw together a last minute cake for Lois at the batting cages she’s hiding out at. The clown with them calls Lois a “wide ride” and Hal and the kids beat the crap out of him and the other clowns who join in. Lois looks at them with happy tears and a smile. Her family is alright after all. Emmy worthy!

R163 The episode of Lois's birthday (wide ride) is one of my favorites also. Hal and all her boys being beaten up defending her honor is priceless!

I loved Reese and Malcom’s dance to ABBA! That whole episode was genius

R163/R164 another classic moment of Lois realising she has raised her kids well (and that they do care about her well-being deep down): the scene where Reese accidentally-on-purpose motivates Lois to keep at her fitness training, by automatically using the reverse psychology she always uses on him.

“That’s fine, I’ve had my fun.”

“No, I’m really saying ‘quit’!”

The last season got a little awkward, because the brotherly relationships disintegrated somewhat.

And there is a bizarrely high number of incest jokes in the last dozen episodes, that just come out of nowhere.

Now watching the episode where Grandma Ida (Cloris Leachman) is engaged to a rich Chinese man and drugged everyone into believing she's a good person; Malcolm gets his tongue pierced, develops an infection and a lisp; a Mystery Dinner Theatre troupe 'entertains' the dinner crowd at Otto's dude ranch and drives away the guests.

I forgot how great the writers were at weaving multiple storylines into one show.