Malcolm In The Middle - General Discussion

[Door County Cherry]

Before Breaking Bad, Cranston was Hal. 

[SoMuchTV]

Talk of a movie:

https://ew.com/tv/bryan-cranston-malcolm-in-the-middle-movie-reunion-discussions-happening/
 

[PattyorSelma]

I forgot that Linwood Boomer created this show.  Little House on the Prairie is on every day and it's got some really brutal scenes and storylines. I can't believe I watched it as a kid. 

[Spartan Girl]

A reunion movie would be kind of fun.

At this point, I honestly don’t know whether Hal and Lois were good parents or bad parents. They certainly were flawed as hell: Lois went overboard with “tough love” at times and poor Dewey really was neglected, especially towards the end. Yet they had some good moments too: Lois getting back at those girls that hurt Reese, Hal’s attempts to bond with the boys even when they went hilariously wrong, Lois going all the way to Afghanistan to rescue Reese (still don’t know how she pulled that off), Lois generally honest with her kids about how the world works…I mean they all loved each other in their own messed up way.

There are so many hilarious Hal moments that I wouldn’t know how to do them justice.

[Chit Chat]

12 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

There are so many hilarious Hal moments that I wouldn’t know how to do them justice.

I try to catch the reruns when I get a chance.  As messed up as this family was, Hal was enamored with Lois.  He couldn't stand it when she said that she wasn't particularly religious and didn't believe in an afterlife.  He was devastated that he wouldn't be spending eternity with her!  She finally realized that she needed to let him believe that she changed her mind so that he could put his mind at ease.  It was a sweet moment for them.  

There were a lot of funny episodes, but the boys could really be cruel at times.  It would not be a household I'd want to grow up in!  

There was an episode that showed Hal & Lois as young parents to Francis, and Lois was actually a pushover and let him do anything he wanted to.  Hal told her she needed to be more firm with him.  Then Francis (just a little tyke), almost did something (I can't remember what it was) that would've seriously injured or killed him, and that's when Lois became so stern.  She told Francis that it was her job to protect him and keep him from harm.  That's how she ended up being so strict with all of the boys.  

12 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

At this point, I honestly don’t know whether Hal and Lois were good parents or bad parents.

Yeah, I wondered that too.  Francis and Reese were such hell-raisers, so I guess she had to go overboard in trying to keep them in line.  Malcolm and Dewey would've had a better chance at a more normal upbringing if it weren't for the other two, especially Reese.  

[Spartan Girl]

35 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

I try to catch the reruns when I get a chance.  As messed up as this family was, Hal was enamored with Lois.  He couldn't stand it when she said that she wasn't particularly religious and didn't believe in an afterlife.  He was devastated that he wouldn't be spending eternity with her!  She finally realized that she needed to let him believe that she changed her mind so that he could put his mind at ease.  It was a sweet moment for them

My favorite moment Hal and Lois moment:

 

[SusieQ]

I love this show! Hope there is a reunion movie with all the cast.

My favorite part of the whole show is how crazy Lois and Hal are about each other. Really nice to see a married couple on a sit com who love each other and stick up for each other, even though they know the other has faults.

[Spartan Girl]

I love that Francis more or less wound up exactly like Hal in the end, in a regular 9-5 office job married to Piama, who in a lot of ways was very like Lois. Although I hate how they they wrote off Otto and the ranch because that was a pretty good growth arc for him.

[stewedsquash]

On 1/17/2023 at 8:38 AM, Spartan Girl said:

There are so many hilarious Hal moments that I wouldn’t know how to do them justice.

When people (here and in real life) can't figure out why I thought Cranston was the only miscast of BB it is because of the above. I kept waiting for something hilarious to happen when watching. I didn't take him serious as a horrible person. 

[Spartan Girl]

4 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

When people (here and in real life) can't figure out why I thought Cranston was the only miscast of BB it is because of the above. I kept waiting for something hilarious to happen when watching. I didn't take him serious as a horrible person. 

I felt the same way for a long time. But Cranston proved he had the chops for drama.

 

[Chaos Theory]

In a lot of ways it was like being raised by wolves for better AND worse.  Lois and Hal were better parents than their parents but were were not particularly good parents especially to Malcolm.  That being said the family likely was instrumental in saving Stevie’s life by treating him like a normal boy and not wrapping him in bubble wrap like his parents did.     

[BlueSkies]

One of my best friends got me hooked on Breaking Bad during the pandemic.  It took till the 2nd season of that show to get Hal out of my head when watching Walter White!

 

 

While TV show turned movies sounds pretty lame in general....  for whatever reason it'd be cool to see it happen for Malcolm In The Middle.  I'll admit though back when it aired I only watched/was glued into it for the first three or so seasons.  I cant recall why but after that I just wasn't interested.  

[Chit Chat]

On 1/18/2023 at 12:01 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I love that Francis more or less wound up exactly like Hal in the end, in a regular 9-5 office job married to Piama, who in a lot of ways was very like Lois.

The scene with Francis telling his dad about his seemingly mundane workday, and Hal has that look of sad understanding, but then Francis lights up and says "and I love it" was just perfect!  He finally found his niche in life!  I thought he was happy working at the ranch too, but he liked the structure of his 9-5 day, so that was great for him. 

[Chaos Theory]

13 hours ago, BlueSkies said:

One of my best friends got me hooked on Breaking Bad during the pandemic.  It took till the 2nd season of that show to get Hal out of my head when watching Walter White!

 

 

While TV show turned movies sounds pretty lame in general....  for whatever reason it'd be cool to see it happen for Malcolm In The Middle.  I'll admit though back when it aired I only watched/was glued into it for the first three or so seasons.  I cant recall why but after that I just wasn't interested.  

The show started to get weird as the kids got older.  It’s the downside to shows focused around kids.  They grow up.  What is cute when you are 12 becomes increasing less so as you become 16.  Plus the show like many do focus in on personality traits that in retrospect aren’t that funny.    Reese was a violent moronic bully.  Malcolm was an arrogant misanthropic  know it all.  Dewey  was the forgotten youngest with an artistic soul.  Then a new baby came along because the show needed a new baby who became the devil seed but could be used for “adorable kid” scenes that the show increasingly lacked as the kids aged up

[Spartan Girl]

3 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

The show started to get weird as the kids got older.  It’s the downside to shows focused around kids.  They grow up.  What is cute when you are 12 becomes increasing less so as you become 16.  Plus the show like many do focus in on personality traits that in retrospect aren’t that funny.    Reese was a violent moronic bully.  Malcolm was an arrogant misanthropic  know it all.  Dewey  was the forgotten youngest with an artistic soul.  Then a new baby came along because the show needed a new baby who became the devil seed but could be used for “adorable kid” scenes that the show increasingly lacked as the kids aged up

Well, Reese kind of gained more depth as the show went on. He discovered a talent for cooking and had a surprisingly vulnerable side at times.

 

On 1/19/2023 at 9:59 PM, Chaos Theory said:

In a lot of ways it was like being raised by wolves for better AND worse.  Lois and Hal were better parents than their parents but were were not particularly good parents especially to Malcolm.  That being said the family likely was instrumental in saving Stevie’s life by treating him like a normal boy and not wrapping him in bubble wrap like his parents did.     

I give the show a lot of credit for writing Stevie as a three dimensional handicapped character. That was surprisingly ahead of its time. And I loved that Hal joined Abe’s group of friends as the goofy white guy.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Spartan Girl

[Spartan Girl]

One of my favorite episodes was when Hal had to leave Jamie with the boys because he needed to run to the Lucky Aide for diapers, only to realize in the check-out line that he forgot his wallet. Craig refuses to sport him, and basically kept him hostage to work off his cost. Hal meets with all the other workers, who all resent Craig for being a terrible boss—he makes them listen to show tunes instead of putting on Phil Collins like they want.

It all leads up to this:

 

[King of TV]

An underrated classic. Every season was excellent. Love the dynamic between Malcolm, Dewey, and Reese. Was a shame that Francis didn't end up making something of himself after he got fired from Otto. 

There was a slight dip when Jamie was born shortly after the halfway point of the series, but that's to be expected. Later seasons were less grounded (and a little more mean spirited). 

The finale while not much, was perfect for a show like this, and wrapped everything up nicely.