The Middle

Before people realized the eldest was a $cio.....

But also Reese, once her grew.

That show scared me. I don't like the mom (Patricia whats her name) because she is mean and a republican, but the kids were scary. I'm not trying to be mean but I just didn't get it. Only watched it a handful of times by mistake.

R2, why were the kids scary?

The Dewey kid never grew up.

Is Dewey a fucking dwarf? Or a vampire?? Cyborg???

[...]

[quote] “How in the fuck did this show last nine seasons?”

Patricia Heaton’s snappy delivery? Nope. Charlie McDermot’s swagger, happy trail, and perpetual near-nudity, that’s how.

Atticus Shaffer is well known for packing one of the hugest cocks in the biz.

There’s “Malcolm In The Middle”, which was funny.

And then “The Middle”, which I couldn’t watch more than once because I hate Heston that much.

I kind of liked this show for maybe the first two seasons.

[...]

[...]

Janitor is great! The glass bones kid is weird. The daughter is ugly and awkward but i went to school with girls like her. The older son is boring and the mum has nag face left over from Everybody loves Raymond.

r1, r4, r5, and r12 have reading comprehension issues.

[...]

How weird. Am I one of the few people who actually likes "The Middle"

I thought the show did a good job of portraying .an average Mid-American family. They had money problems, they had kid problems. Nothing in that show was ever handled like it was an "issue" e.g. the youngest son's weird tics, quirks etc., the daughter's first "boyfriend" (I forget the character's name) who we all know is gay, the parents know he's gay (and have no issues with it). When he finally comes out, it's done very matter-of-factly without any drama or fuss.

It took me a while to warm up to the show, but I really did enjoy it.

[...]

R16 I loved the show too. The early seasons are the best. Once the kids hit college, it was not as good but I still enjoyed it.

It's a very funny show. It's on HBO Max and I watch an episode before going to sleep. Very normal.

Great show.

R18 I have to agree. The college years weren't quite as entertaining. Good, nonetheless.

R19, YES! That's the scene. That actually had me tear up more than some of those over the top types of coming out moments!

I think Sue was such a positive role model to young kids (especially girls), she failed at almost everything, but she always remained optimistic and positive and never gave up.

Some of the Reverend Tim Tam moments got on my nerves, but I have to take the show in it's entirety and not just nitpick on minutia.

Darren was a hot hunk of man. Too bad he disappeared after Season 5, I think.

R21 She was also an inspiration because for a plain girl, she had lots of hot guys who wanted her

R3, they all look autistic or special in some way. I don't know why that scares me but it does.

R3, I can't explain it. The autistic-nes or something just not right about them. I didn't get it.

i marathoned on The Middle awhile back. I loved it but it probably wont age well. It was clever and witty. All the hate for Heaton is silly.

I'm so surprised by the hate for this show; it's one of my favorites.

The characters are funny *and* believable, the situations they deal with are funny *and* realistic, and it's got such a sweet heart, too. Plus the set design was perfect, with little touches likes mismatched kitchen chairs and a terminally broken dishwasher... I grew up like that and you hardly ever see it done right on TV.

R26 100% agree. I loved that one episode didn't feature a broken dishwasher and *poof* the next episode it was forgotten. It remained a running gag for a few episodes before they replaced it.

Like you, I think many people grew up that way: solidly middle-class, money struggles, bratty kid(s) but at the end of the day everyone laughed and survived. I'm surprised this didn't make it to the Rolling Stones list of 100 best sitcoms.

Loved the kids. I always wondered what would it take for Sue to become Carrie, you know, Carrie at the prom soaked in blood.

The characters are neither funny nor believable. That is one of he reasons I think it is so awful. The girl is borderline retarded. What fifteen year old has no clue what a French kiss is?? Her optimism is over the fucking top, to the point of her coming off as slow. The house is not just middle class, but straight up tacky. That youngest boy is like a white Webster....why does he not grow? They all act kind of sloppy. It is a sad stereotype of how people in Hollywood think middle Americans act.

R29, that's it. I wasn't sure if the kids were supposed to be slow or autistic or if they were supposed to be normal. I wasn't sure what I was watching.

They toted that oldest son out shirtless and in his boxers every episode, which may or may not have helped the longevity. He had a hot slim body, treasure trail, hairy legs, woof. It’s also realistic that a dopey, lazy teenager would walk around his house in boxers, the grossness of that character was real for that type of family.

The coming out scene with Brad (love that character) when everyone knows, even Sue at that point, was so sweet and poignant. There are a lot of great memorable side characters throughout the series. I think it’s a good show for a sitcom compared to dreck like Modern Family— whose characters don’t have “real people problems” and are not self-aware to the fact.

Sure, nothing is more hilarious than a regular family doing regular stuff on TV. A laugh riot!

If I had been the showrunner I would have Sue's boyfriend turn out to be straight after all and the oldest son's two best friends come out as a couple. Twist!

If I had been the show-runner I would have replaced the oldest boy with a hot bodied little slut. At least make the show more tolerable.

Shit TV, to the core.

No idea why Americans - and people on DL - pine for these brain-rot sitcoms. Broadcast networks have been shit for decades.

Then don't watch them, r35, ya judgmental buffoon.

my favorite scene from The Middle and Sean Donohue was a hot piece of ass

What did the Hecks do with their money because by the last episode they mentioned they never fixed most of their house when it got broken

Do Midwestern families really eat fast food every evening and eat their food from paper plates bc they're too lazy to put their plates in the dishwasher? WTF? Also their house was disgusting.

^^^ I think Frankie was just lazy and couldn't cook

R39 exactly. These people act more like poor trailer trash than a middle class family. I grew up in very middle class home in central California. There was nothing but farmland all around us. Nobody I knew acted like these people. I am not saying slobs like this family don’t exist. I just think this is a misrepresentation of what middle Americans are actually like.

nobody in that neighborhood would've tolerated how bad Rita Glosner (Brooke Shields) house was either

Whenever they showed Axel in his underwear it was always boxers but you could see the actor wore briefs in other scenes as you could see the band when his shirt would lift up.

R41, California is not Middle America. Other states are a few years to a decade behind California, even the rural parts. I know because I grew up in one. The show reminds me of my neighbors from then.

I bet they were always cash-strapped bc they spent all their money on take out, fast food and junk food. In reality, the parents and kids would all be overweight and seriously ill with that diet.

It took me a while to warm to it because I hated Heaton and Everybody Loves Raymond, but I grew to love it. Brooke Shields as the unhinged white trash neighbor was hilarious.

The daughter is mentally retarded. The way she acts and dresses is anything but “normal”.

Why is their house such a mess? The laundry is always piled up, the dishes are filling the sink, they have a lawn chair in the dinning room....this is beyond insulting to the mid-class.

I wish they had let the Sue spinoff go forward, if only for more Brad.

what's weird is Beau Wirick (Sean) married Daniela Bobadilla (Lexie) in real life

I heard the kid who played "Brick" grew up to be Michael Henry.

I also loved this show. It depicts people who try to be middle class but are struggling to cope with the social and financial demands of raising 3 children in modern society. I thought the parents lived lives of quiet desperation and tried to make the best of it. There are plenty of kids who just "don't fit in", trying hard to be one of the crowd. I thought it was a very funny and realistic show.

R52 hat tip to Henry David Thoreau. Also, I agree with you.

R29 Shaffer has type four osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition involving a defect in type 1 collagen, which causes fragile bones and short stature; he is 4' 8" (142 cm) tall and now 22 years old. Glass bones don't grow so well.

I have no idea. But even with as cheesy and uplifting as it is, I've always liked the song

It took me about 9 years to realize that The Middle was not just a rebranding of Malcom minus the Malcolm. It felt like the same family and everything. And let’s leave Jimmy out of this; he’s all right.

How dare people like a show that wasn't set in New York or LA?

I love the posts on here saying it isn't realistic as if it were a documentary and not a friggin' sit-com.

Their house is so filthy. The kitchen, the fridge, the carpet, the boy's bedroom, the bathroom - all look dirty as hell. I would be embarrassed to invite people to this place. It's nice to show people living in a normal working class home and not a LA McMansion that mysteriously cleans itself, but why is this place so dirty? Even the Conner's home was clean compared to this shithole. I could even smell Axl's farts and unwashed pits through the screen.

In spite of the presence of Patty Heaton, I loved this show (more than Game of Thrones or Walking Dead.). Patty's presence made it that much more entertaining when they'd deal with social issues in a nonchalant way and you knew that Patty was choking on her vitriol in order to salvage her paycheck..

Of course they’re poor and filthy. How much does a janitor make? I forgot what the mom does, nurse? Prostatetute teacher?.

Did Charlie ever do full nudity?

Not full but just his dick accidentally popping out of his boxers. So partial, I guess.

I've never been a regular viewer of the show, but whenever I come across it, I find myself finishing the episode. The writing is decent, but the cast is exceptional (that vile Patricia Heaton is okay, but her costars really shine). I have no idea if the show ever jumped the shark. I just have found it enjoyable. That is all.

I liked the show, it seemed even more real than Roseanne, which grew to feel more surreal and like how Hollywood imagined poor people to be rather than they are, as the series went on. They were just normal people. Their house and lifestyle reminded me so much of my Aunt and Uncle's, who also had three kids.

They aren’t “poor”. The are supposed to be a middle-class working family. They disgusting state of the house and how stupid and low-class they make these people act is revolting. Always eating fast food, never cleaning their house, the kids seem unintelligent, the parents are schmucks....it is pretty insulting to salt of the Earth folks who built this country.

R66 yes not poor, but they depicted the lower middle class that was/is in a perilous situation.

It was a cynical, or comical, view of a financially struggling Middle American family. The average American family is closer to being poor than middle class.

R61 [quote]Of course they’re poor and filthy. How much does a janitor make? I forgot what the mom does, nurse? Prostatetute teacher?

You're mixing up your sitcoms. The dad played a "janitor" on Scrubs. The mother worked at a car dealership (unsuccessfully) and then worked in a dentist's office.

Also, Oh, dear!

The dad -- who was the janitor on Scrubs -- was the only watchable member of the cast.

Michael "Mike" Heck, Jr. (born April 1963) is Frankie Heck's husband, and the father of Axl, Sue, and Brick Heck. He is the manager of a quarry in Orson, Indiana, where he resides, and is known for his straight-forward, practical attitude, as well as his tendency to be a social recluse.

Frances "Frankie" Heck (née Spence) is the wife of Mike Heck and mother of Axl, Sue, and Brick Heck. She was formerly a car salesperson at Ehlert Motors, but now works as a dental hygienist.

R14 is correct about those replies.

In response to the original question, there will always be a place on network television for formulaic, non-controversial, white-bread, family situation comedies. There will always be an audience for middle-of-the-road, inoffensive, non-inclusive comedies about working middle class white Catholic families dealing with daily life, silly mix-ups, and high school kids. It's just the suburban location that changes.

There will always be two or three of these each television season.

The mom is seen doing housework at times, but it’s more the idea that she can never get on top of it due to other demands/exhaustion from work and lazy kids/husband who won’t help in that area.

r72 There was never any indication they were Catholic.

Their house is cleaner than mine.

The various actors they had playing their parents/relatives were fun: John Cullum, Jerry Van Dyke, Marsha Mason, Norm MacDonald, Frances Bay.

I really liked the show, despite the presence of Heaton. Brooke Shields was hilarious as the white trash neighbor.

R74 in fact it was clear they weren’t Rev. Tim Tom was not a priest.

I forgot Molly Shannon as Frankie's sister.

I also keep my quilt in my oven.

Charlie was cute but they wanted his character to be a sports jock who went to college on a football scholarship. Seriously? He's like five foot seven, and never in a million years could be considered athletic.

The best player on my HS football team was built just like him and went to college on a football scholarship.

I always assumed that Axl got protected by his Bffs on the field and that's why he scored. I think without them he'd be dead getting tackled by a much bigger guy.

This is why people watched.

Axl - nudist

My sisters family liked this show and it would be on often when I was over there. I found it fine. Not hilarious but some fun moments. I found the daughter endearing and the actress who plays her is actually kind of pretty in recent pictures.

is the actor who plays Tim Tom (Paul Hipp) gay IRL?

[quote]Which is exactly why that Fox show was not fucking funny. It’s a stupid person’s idea of how intelligent people behave.

Not sure what series you are referring to, 'The Middle’ wasn’t on Fox, IIRC, it was on ABC. 'Malcom in the Middle' was on FOX.

The father played a janitor on two series? The Middle and Scrubs?

he wasn't a janitor on The Middle, he was a supervisor of a quarry

Why is the older brother always in his underwear? Btw weht to him?

The episode where Sue lost her yearbook was fantastic. She was graduating thinking no one liked her. You see her yearbook being passed up to her in the graduation audience and everyone had signed it, praising her individuality.

R28 - Sue had her "Carrie" moment (Sue-style) in the first episode.

This year has truly been the year of Sue.

How would The Middle have handled this pandemic? They'd all be hating each other stuck in that house 24/7. Love that show.

I loved this show, although I only got into it in the final few seasons. I keep meaning to go back to watch the earlier seasons.

I fondly remember the Abercrombie & Fitch employee Sue was infatuated with. So hot.

R69 Opps! I called him Janitor in this thread cos he will always be that to me from Scrubs. I guess someone picked that up as fact.

Watching Sue's graduation scene, for some strange reason, sent me off to watch Muriel's Wedding.

Sue was the best part of the show - the perennial loser refusing to capitulate to failure.

R99 Thank you so much for posting that, I'd never seen it.

Sue and Brad.

Brad.

Sue just enjoyed Brad. He was a wonderful friend to her. They had so much in common and were such cock-eyed optimists. (Brad probably got to eye more cock than Sue, though.)

I love how so many sitcoms portray blue collar workers as being 'poor', most blue collar workers, especially in NYC, make very good money. These workers have steady lifer union jobs which pay quite well, they sure aren't making minimum wage.

A retired neighbor receives her late MTA worker husband's $6000 a month pension! She also receives Social Security and her own pension. She's doing better than most people who work.

Psssst R104, not everything on television takes place in NYC.

It’s not wicked enough for me.

Any nudes/cock slips of Charlie McDermott? Always had the slightest tinge of big dick energy. Grower than a shower.

[quote] Psssst [R104], not everything on television takes place in NYC.

It's not about NYC, dear. Most union jobs across the US pay quite well. I know a few millionaire plumbers and electricians.

Why do you think all those US auto workers had major meltdowns when their lifer jobs were off-shored to foreign countries?!! Instead of blaming the greedy US CEOs who off-shored their jobs, they blamed the 'foreigners' who took 'their' jobs. What ridiculous misplaced anger.

R108 Few blue-collar workers have union jobs anymore. Only 7.1 million people in the private sector are members of a union. Also, there is a difference between plumbers and electricians and the majority of blue-collar people. Plumbers and electricians have very specific and specialized skills, that they usually receive some sort of education to develop. I would place such people half way between blue collar and white collar. Most blue collar workers are low/no skilled workers.

Also, the father on The Middle was a supervisor, so he was management.

Man I was just watching an episode of The Middle from 2009 and they actually had a line in there for Axel where he says, "Pool's Queer."

Seemed like 19, or 90 years.

It was probably because of Axel walking around in his boxers.

Nice little tuft of hair on his chest enjoy trail, I was hoping for a dick slip that one past the editors. No luck

R101, that was sweet

R102,’that was fucking hilarious.

Some of you folks seriously need to unclench. It’s a sitcom, not a documentary Two parents working full-time with three kids equals chaotic house. Some of you are so offended. I doubt the people you’re angry on behalf of would give a shit.

The actor who played Axl was in M. Night Shyamalan’s movie The Village.

Suburgatory was much better. Hot Jeremy Listo.

'Fess up -- how many of you were "Brad"?

^^Jeremy Sisto

R110, Patty told him to use that line.

She had an unfailing knack for comedy gold.

In her demographic.

I saw the actor who played Axl in an interview and he said he’d come in on shoot day and see a rack full of everyone’s costumes and all they had for him was a pair of underwear.

I’m a jaded gay and must admit that I lived this stupid little show. Sue-Sue Heck, mostly naked Axl, the fact they were so broke they couldn’t afford college for their kids or a Jew dishwasher etc. It was a working class family similar to how I was raised. Of course DL queens would cunt on it, but I choked up at the end, and I’ve never had any relationship to any television show where I was that connected to it. It was pure innocent escapism for me and I miss it.

Woops, that’s a “NEW dishwasher”! I have no idea what a “Jew dishwasher” is, maybe one that can stretch a dollar and bitches about the weather all the time? >;-). *rim shot*

I see the "Few blue-collar workers have union jobs anymore" troll has also graced this thread with his obnoxious presence!

Go away!

R120 I miss it too but it was running it's course. Already too many hot guys who want to be with Sue to be believable.

The good looking guy who played Darren is a mortgage broker in Ohio. I just looked it up.

There was nothing as an alternative to watch. And we all hoped Patti Heaton would be killed in some episode. Or that they would leave her at the fair and drive off. She was a horrible mother

R121 it probably uses recycled water to wash the dishes, kind of like in those eco-friendly car washes 😄

It and a great cast with Bryan Cranston going on the be an A-list actor and strong kid actors like Frankie.

[quote] It and a great cast with Bryan Cranston going on the be an A-list actor and strong kid actors like Frankie.

Wrong show.

Fun fact: The original pilot for The Middle starred Ricki Lake as the mother.

The young son was the only survivor of the original pilot. I wonder if when Patty Heaton got on his nerves, he’d say things like, “Ricki would have gotten a laugh on that line.”

Yum, Axl. It’s definitely true to character of many average American teen guys from my childhood, but I wonder which pervy producer green lit the countless scenes of Axl in just boxers.

This annoyed me, in season 2 the can't drive over a bridge to the mall because Brick doesn't like bridges, but in season 1 they drove to Chicago. They had to cross more than one bride to get from Southern Indiana to Chicago.

Axl in his underwear showing off thighs and pits, OP.

Are teenage girls really that naive? Having never been one, I am not sure, but it seems very odd especially compared to teenage boys.

Great show. Love it. Only thing that gets to me is the mom wig. I guess Heaton didn't want to deal with more time in the make up chair so she insisted on using that ass ugly wig. It was not a good look and made her look even older. The acting is excellent, but the wig has most of the attention.

The Middle is just great TV. It'll outlive Modern Family in normal America.

The show was a simple teasure

The show was simply Axl’s treasure trail.

The actor who plays the father, Neil Flynn, gave off gay vibes.

R138. I agree. He’s 60 and never married. Do t mean to sound like that but always wondered. Good looking guy

R138 He always had a nice bulge in his jeans when he sat down.