DIY VIRAL
The author Robert Scucci
| Published
When I first heard the news about Disney+ Malcolm in the middle revival, I decided to revisit the original series on Hulu with guarded enthusiasm. Although I have a desire to re-watch the sitcoms I grew up with (no one does Fraser and the golden age The Simpsons more than me), I was reluctant to tune into the events of the Wilkerson family for fear that the series would not hold up nearly 20 years after its seven-season run ended. Thankfully, it only took a few episodes for the memories to come flooding back to the point where I was quoting lines I hadn't heard in decades as if I had just watched the series last week.
Malcolm in the Middle is a timeless family situation comedy
Most sitcoms usually have one or two breakout characters that carry the entire show, but Malcolm in the middle is cut from a different cloth. From the very first episode, when Malcolm Wilkerson (Frankie Muniz) finds out he has an IQ of 165 and is placed in the gifted class at “Krelboyne,” you'd think he'd be front and center. That is, until you meet Malcolm's lovable but dysfunctional family.
Living at home with Malcolm are two of his siblings: his insane and hot-headed older brother Reese (Justin Burfield) and his innocent but subtly manic and possibly gifted younger brother Dewey (Eric Peer Sullivan). The rebel trio also have an older brother named Francis (Christopher Masterson), who was sent to Marlin Academy, a military school for troubled teenagers.
Every brother and sister Malcolm in the middle He means well, but boys will be boys, so their main way of showing affection is beating each other up, elaborate pranks on each other, and regular trouble with the law.
Enter The Parents
Despite the differences, boys Malcolm in the middle they have one common enemy and that is their mother, Lois (Jane Kaczmarek). Ruling the household with an iron fist, Lois is a tyrant with a heart of gold as she always takes care of her family in ways only she knows how: yelling, psychological warfare and humiliation. Although a woman like Lois might seem insufferable in any other context, she is the epitome of a perfect mother Malcolm in the middle because her children are unpredictably destructive, her abrasive behavior is absolutely necessary to keep the family out of trouble.
One might think that Frances, Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey's problematic behavior is a result of their upbringing and environment (read: Lois is a bad mom), but learning more about their father, Hal (Bryan Cranston), it becomes clear that their myopic impulsivity may actually be genetically inherited.
Hal Wilkerson is more complicated than Walter White
Living in constant fear of Louis's brief but absolutely necessary tantrums, Hal often refers to his bad boy past, which through stories evokes the current behavior of his four sons. Working as a corporate drone, Hal is a slave to his impulses and has a penchant for gambling, smoking cigars, drinking, walking around the house (or his yard) in his skimpy whites, and bribing his kids to fall whenever he engages in behavior. which may put him in the dog house with Lois.
Hal is arrogant but lives in fear, spontaneous but too short-sighted to avoid trouble, a reckless spender despite living on the edge of poverty, and somehow the most graceful technical roller skater you've ever seen. . Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan once described Bryan Cranston's portrayal of Walter White as “Mr. Chips turning into Scarface,” but Walter has nothing on Hal Wilkerson Malcolm in the middle if I had to weigh in.
Think about it…Walter White started at point A and ended at point B, and it took five seasons to get there. As a big fan of everything Breaking Bad Universe, I can't help but think that Hal as a character has a lot more depth than Walt because he's a living, breathing contradiction of the highest order.
As a parent, Hal is fatherly but criminally neglectful.
Hal gives his sons wise, life-affirming advice, but fails to follow it himself.
Hal is always the first to try to get the boys out of trouble, but almost always makes things worse when he sees red, and is just as free as his offspring when things get messy.
Hal is overconfident when looking at his life situation from the outside, but he's self-aware enough to know that he's absolutely hopeless without Lois comforting him and pushing him to be his best self.
The technological sweet spot
But maybe one element Malcolm in the middle what makes it a truly timeless series is its setting in what I refer to as the 'technological sweet spot'. Malcolm in the middle is a series old enough to be perfect binge-worthy nostalgia fodder, but modern enough to stay relevant without suspending too much disbelief. Before smartphones and internet culture took over our everyday interactions, the series focuses so aggressively on family dynamics that it feels like it could come out today and be just as effective without feeling dated.
Francis' payphone calls home from Marlin Academy may seem old, but these exchanges simply show the audience how a homesick young adult wants to stay in touch with his family, even though they've decided he's too unstable to live under their roof . More often than not, whatever B story plays out at the academy affects how Malcolm, Reese, and Dewey behave at home as they plot against Lois at the behest of their beloved older brother, so these phone calls are absolutely necessary, even if one aspect of the show feels a little dusty.
In other words, the mobile phone would not significantly change the narrative, so this interaction still exists.
Binge Malcolm In The Middle On Hulu
The Malcolm in the middle The reboot is slated to come out sometime this year, but it doesn't currently have a set release date. If you're ready to see what Malcolm and company will do over the course of the upcoming four-episode run, you're strongly advised to go back to 2000 and skip the entire episode instead of watching. Friends for the 100th time.
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DIY VIRAL
