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Malcolm in the Middle

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Malcolm in the Middle
Created byLinwood Boomer
StarringFrankie Muniz
Jane Kaczmarek
Bryan Cranston
Christopher Masterson
Justin Berfield
Erik Per Sullivan
Opening theme"Boss of Me" by
They Might Be Giants
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes151 (list of episodes)
Production
Camera setupSingle camera
Running time22 minutes (without ads)
30 minutes (with ads)
Original release
NetworkFOX
ReleaseJanuary 9, 2000 –
May 14, 2006

Malcolm in the Middle is a seven-time Emmy-winning,[1] one-time Grammy-winning[1] and seven-time Golden Globe-nominated[1] American sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons. It now can be viewed on FX Network (United States) in syndication

The show starred Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, the third-born of four, later five, children in the family, parented by Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) and Hal (Bryan Cranston). The oldest child, Francis (Christopher Masterson), was shipped off to military school, leaving his three little brothers behind: Reese (Justin Berfield), Malcolm, and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan) living at home, Malcolm being the second oldest of the three (hence the title of the show). The show's early seasons centered on Malcolm and the rigors of being an adolescent genius and his eccentric, although eerily normal, life; later seasons additionally began to explore the other members of the family and their friends in more depth.

The series was different from many others in that Malcolm broke the fourth wall and talked directly to the viewer; it was shot using a single camera; and it used neither a laugh track nor a live studio audience. Emulating the style of hour-long dramas, this half-hour show was shot on film instead of video. Another unique aspect is that the cold open of every episode is unrelated to the main story, except episodes which were the second part of a two-part series, which open with a summary of part one.

Characters

Main characters

Originally there were only 4 children (although Malcolm's oldest brother attended a military school away from home, so he was still the middle child left at home). The fifth child, a new baby, was introduced in the show's fourth season but his sex was not mentioned until Season 5. The boys are, from eldest to youngest: Francis, Reese, Malcolm, Dewey, and Jamie. In the last episode Lois discovered she was, once again, pregnant with a sixth child. Bryan Cranston (Hal), Justin Berfield (Reese) and Erik Per Sullivan (Dewey) are the only actors to appear in every episode.

Recurring characters

  • Craig Feldspar, portrayed by David Anthony Higgins, is the neurotic, though well-intentioned, co-worker of Lois at the Lucky Aide. He appears quite frequently in the show, especially during later seasons, as his character became more entwined with Lois and her family. After entrusting his house and cat ("Jelly Bean") to Dewey's care while he was away, and the resulting fire that destroyed it[citation needed], he lived with Malcolm's family for a short time until the boys schemed to get him out (and cover their own tracks). The series ended with Reese moving out of the house and becoming Craig's roommate.
  • Stevie Kenarban, played by Craig Lamar Traylor. Malcolm's best (and eventually only) friend. Stevie first met Malcolm in the pilot and were in the same accelerated class through middle school and most of high school. Stevie is a wheelchair user, has severe asthma, and only one lung, causing him to have difficulty speaking. Stevie has a sarcastic side and has also outsmarted Malcolm and Reese on numerous occasions.
  • Abraham "Abe" Kenarban, played by Gary Anthony Williams. Abe is the devoted father and husband to Stevie and Kitty (respectively). Abe enjoys spending time with Hal by playing poker with him and his other friends, Trey, Brian, Malik and Steve.
  • Kitty Kenarban, played by Merrin Dungey. Stevie's mother and Abe's wife. Kitty is generally soft spoken and doesn't normally punish her son due to his disability. Kitty disappeared from the series after the third season premiere and it is revealed that she became a porn star and deserted her family. She returned in season six, however, hoping to reform herself.
  • Caroline Miller, played by Catherine Lloyd Burns, Malcolm's teacher who is in most of the first season episodes and in the second season appears in two episodes. She was very passionate about her job, and had Malcolm's best interests at heart. She is pregnant for only two episodes, and disappears from the series after giving birth in the school parking lot.
  • Commandant Edwin Spangler, played by Daniel von Bargen. The strict and hard nosed military veteran in charge of the cadets at Marlin Academy. He suffers from dozens of injuries such as missing an eye; ironically none of these are combat-related, as he has never served in wartime. For the first two seasons and beginning of season three, Francis was Spangler's most rebellious student and often clashed with him on many occasions. Halfway through the third season, Francis's desertion from the academy caused Spangler's life to go downhill as Francis stood out as his only failure. Spangler is fired from the academy and tracks Francis to Alaska and attempts to kill him at first. Francis eventually finds Spangler a new job at a retirement home and Spangler is able to boss around the senior citizens.
  • Cadet Eric Hanson, played by Eric Nenninger. Francis's fellow cadet at the academy and best friend for the first three seasons. Eric was Francis's reluctant sidekick and normally suffered the consequences of the antics caused by Francis. He has also mentioned having two fathers on several occasions. At the start of season three, Eric turns eighteen and drops of out the academy and goes to work in an Alaskan lodge. Francis emancipates himself and follows soon after, but both of them learn that their job isn't as great as they hoped. Eventually, the lodge closes down and they must leave. Francis and Piama leave happily, but Eric is left behind to hitchhike on the highway. His fate is unknown.
  • Cynthia, played by Tania Raymonde, is a new Krelboyne girl who joins Malcolm's class in the episode "Krelboyne Girl".
  • Lavernia, played by Brenda Wehle. Francis's cruel and heartless boss at the Alaskan lodge. Lavernia rules over her workers with an iron fist and usually charges her employees instead of paying them. Eventually she closes down the lodge and fires her workers when a mining company buys out the land.
  • Lionel Herkabe, played by Chris Eigeman, Malcolm's teacher, is divorced and in debt. He is a genius like Malcolm and manipulates Malcolm for his own purposes.
  • Victor and Ida, played by Robert Loggia and Cloris Leachman respectively, are Lois's dysfunctional parents, introduced in the episode "The Grandparents". Ida is depicted as greedy, chain-smoking, manipulative, racist, and quick to take offense. The only good deed she has ever done is saving Dewey from being run over by a truck thus losing one of her legs. Not much is said about Victor, except that he left his home at a young age and that he was in "the war". Ida often refers to a hard life growing up in "The Old Country" and going through "a camp". While they speak with Slavic accents and appear to be from somewhere in Eastern Europe, their exact nationality is never specified, and may be intended to be fictional. However, one episode, which centers on a fictitious "St. Grotus Day" feast, appears to take place in a Croatian community center, with a Croatian flag and a poster of Zagreb Cathedral on the wall. Victor apparently had another, second, family, which he kept secret from Lois and Susan,[2] while later he ran off and married a good-natured Canadian woman, played by Betty White.
  • Piama Tananahaakna, played by Emy Coligado, is Francis's wife who appears for the first time in "Hal's Birthday". Although it has never been directly stated (Francis says she's "fiery" in "Hal's Birthday"), she is very much like Lois.
  • Otto Mannkusser, played by Kenneth Mars. Francis's German boss and sidekick for the fourth and fifth seasons. Otto is in charge of The Grotto, a dude ranch (named after the two in the episode "Zoo", Otto Says "She is Gretchen, I am Otto - Grotto") . Otto is married to Gretchen and has an estranged son. Otto is gullible and a bit of a pushover as he normally hires too many employees and gives them extra vacation days. However, after Francis works on the ranch for a little over two years, Otto fires him when the ATM that Francis was depositing his funds into wasn't really an ATM. In German, his last name means literally, set aside the poor grammar, "man kisser". In the German version of the show, the Mannkussers are Danes.
  • Gretchen Mannkusser, played by Meagen Fay, is the wife of Otto and the co-runner of the Grotto. She is a kind and caring woman. It was explained by Otto to Francis that his marriage to her was by deceit. Gretchen was actually the girlfriend of his best friend, although Otto loved her as well. When they were going to elope, Otto's friend asked him to have her meet him a rendezvous point, but he lied about the actual location and said he would meet her at the train station in Berlin. When his friend didn't show up, Otto came and comforted her and they married. They had a son named Rutger.
  • Jessica, played by Hayden Panettiere is a teenage girl who temporarily lived with the family in later seasons, sleeping on their couch, after her dad threw her out. She proved to be the most scheming and coniving and manipulative to all the boys. She once convinced Malcolm that Reese was gay, and vice versa.

Famous guest stars

There have been many guest stars over the past few years on Malcolm in the Middle. Guest stars on the show have included:

Episodes

Main article: List of Malcolm in the Middle episodes
Season Ep # First Airdate Last Airdate
Season 1 16 January 9, 2000 May 21, 2000
Season 2 25 November 5, 2000 May 20, 2001
Season 3 22 November 11, 2001 May 12, 2002
Season 4 22 November 3, 2002 May 18, 2003
Season 5 22 November 2, 2003 May 23, 2004
Season 6 22 November 7, 2004 May 15, 2005
Season 7 22 September 30, 2005 May 14, 2006

Mysterious surname

During the first season, the writers decided to keep the family's last name a mystery. However, a last name had already been revealed on the show. In the pilot episode, as Francis speaks to his mother on the phone, his name tag says "Wilkerson". There was also a joke in the original pilot script that was cut -- Malcolm, walking to school, is confronted by a kid who says "Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm. I was talking to my parents last night - I was listening to them talk, and what's your last name?" "Wilkerson, why?" Malcolm replied. "Oh. Who are the Pariahs?" said the kid.[3]

In the series finale ("Graduation"), Francis' employee badge falls out of his pocket and the camera close-up reveals "Nolastname" in the place where his last name would go. In the same episode when Malcolm was introduced to give the graduation speech, the speaker says Malcolm's name, but microphone feedback makes his last name inaudible.[4]

Production

Opening titles

The opening titles feature short clips from cult films or television shows, edited together with clips from the early seasons of the TV series. These include, in order of appearance:

Setting

The setting of the show has never been revealed, though their street address - 12334 Maple Blvd. - was identified in episode 418 ("Reese's Party"). The house which is used for external shots is privately owned, and is situated in Studio City, California, at 12334 Cantura Street. There are several instances where California license plates are visible, including the family vehicle in "Traffic Jam". In "Stock Car Races", when Hal and the boys are entering a race track, the billboard behind the entrance displays the place as Irwindale Speedway, a real race track in Southern California. In seasons six and seven, however, the license plates on the cars are from Oklahoma ("Hal's Christmas Gift" and "Malcolm Defends Reese").

Music

The show's theme song, "Boss of Me", was written and recorded by the alternative rock group They Might Be Giants. The song won the "Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media" award at the 2002 Grammy Awards.[1] The band also performed nearly all of the incidental music for the show in its first two seasons.

Mood setting music is sprinkled throughout the series, in replacement of the laugh track, in a way that resembles feature film more than other TV sitcoms. Some examples of this highly varied music include ABBA, Basement Jaxx, Sum 41, Kenny Rogers, Lords Of Acid, En Vogue, Phil Collins, Quiet Riot, Queen, Sublime and Citizen King whose song "Better Days" is played at the end of both the pilot episode and the series finale.

The Southern California pop-punk band, "Lit" have many of their songs featured in several episodes. Lit songs that were never released as singles were also used.

A soundtrack, Music from Malcolm in the Middle, was released on November 21, 2000.

DVD release

Only the first season of Malcolm in the Middle has been released on DVD. Season 2 was going to be released in Fall 2003 but was cancelled due to high costs of music clearances.[5]

DVD Name Release date Ep # Additional information
The Complete First Season October 29 2002 16 Extended pilot episode, A Stroke of Genius featurette, Commentary on select episodes, Gag reel, Deleted scenes, Alternate show openings, bloopers, Dewey's Day Job featurette.

Reception

Ratings

As a midseason replacement for Futurama, the show quickly gained a large viewer base, starting off with ratings of 23 million for the debut episode[6] and 26 million for the second episode.[citation needed]

Fox shuffled the show's air time repeatedly to make room for other shows, eventually giving it a free pass in its seventh and last season. After moving to Fridays at 8:30 p.m. next to The Bernie Mac Show, Malcolm in the Middle averaged fewer than 3.5 million viewers a week, making it Fox's lowest-rated show. On January 13, 2006, Fox announced that the show would be moving to 7:00 on Sundays effective January 29, 2006. On January 17, 2006, Fox announced the cancellation of the series, with the 151st and final episode airing at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT (the show's original timeslot) on May 14, 2006.

Notable Awards

Jane Kaczmarek and Cloris Leachman gained the highest honors in the cast for being nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award every year they appeared on Malcolm in the Middle. Cloris Leachman succeeded in winning 2002 and 2006.[1]

Golden Globe Awards

  • 2001
    • Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy Nominated
    • Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy - Jane Kaczmarek Nominated
    • Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy - Frankie Muniz Nominated
  • 2002
    • Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy - Jane Kaczmarek Nominated
    • Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy - Frankie Muniz Nominated
  • 2003
    • Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy - Jane Kaczmarek Nominated
    • Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Bryan Cranston Nominated

Peabody Award

  • 2001
    • Peabody Award Win

Primetime Emmy Awards

  • 2000
    • Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series - Bea Arthur as Mrs. White Nominated
    • Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series - Jane Kaczmarek as Lois Nominated
  • 2001
    • Outstanding Comedy Series Nominated
    • Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series - Robert Loggia as Grandpa Victor Nominated
    • Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series - Cloris Leachman as Ida Nominated
    • Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series - Frankie Muniz as Malcolm Nominated
    • Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series - Jane Kaczmarek as Lois Nominated
  • 2002
    • Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series - Susan Sarandon as Meg Nominated
    • Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series - Cloris Leachman as Ida Won
    • Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series - Jane Kaczmarek as Lois Nominated
    • Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series - Bryan Cranston as Hal Nominated
  • 2003
    • Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series - Cloris Leachman as Ida Nominated
    • Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series - Jane Kaczmarek as Lois Nominated
    • Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series - Bryan Cranston as Hal Nominated
  • 2004
    • Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series - Cloris Leachman as Ida Nominated
    • Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series - Jane Kaczmarek as Lois Nominated
  • 2005
    • Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series - Cloris Leachman as Ida Nominated
    • Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series - Jane Kaczmarek as Lois Nominated
  • 2006
    • Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series - Cloris Leachman as Ida Won
    • Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series - Jane Kaczmarek as Lois Nominated
    • Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series - Bryan Cranston as Hal Nominated

Screen Actors Guild Awards

  • 2000
    • Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series - Jane Kaczmarek Nominated
  • 2002
    • Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series - Jane Kaczmarek Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Awards list". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
  2. ^ http://www.tv.com/malcolm-in-the-middle/victors-other-family/episode/311670/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;104
  3. ^ [1] "Malcolm in the Middle" at IMDB
  4. ^ Malcolm In The Middle, Fox, "Graduation", May 14, 2006, Production #722, Episode #151
  5. ^ Lambert, David (2003-11-30). "Malcolm in the Middle - Season 2 (plus Other Shows) Hamstrung by Music Clearances". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2007-04-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Josef Adalian and Michael Schneider (2000-01-18). "Sitcom savior?". Variety.com. Retrieved 2007-04-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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