Written by Robert Scucci | Published
When I first heard the news of Disney + Malcolm in the Middle revival, I decided to revisit the original Hulu series with guarded enthusiasm. Although I have a desire to watch more of the sitcoms I grew up with (no one does Frasier and the golden age The Simpsons more than me), I was reluctant to listen to what happened to the Wilkerson family because I was afraid that the series would not continue for almost 20 years after it concluded its seven-season run. Fortunately, it only took a few episodes for the memories to come rushing back to me until I was quoting lines I haven't heard in decades as if I just watched the series last week.
Malcolm in the Middle is the Ultimate Family Sitcom
Most sitcoms tend to have one or two standout characters who carry the entire show, but Malcolm in the Middle it is cut from a different cloth. From the first episode when Malcolm Wilkerson (Frankie Muniz) finds out he has a 165 IQ and is placed in the gifted “Krelboyne” class, you'd think he'd be front and center. That is, until you meet Malcolm's lovable yet dysfunctional family.
He lives at home with Malcom's two siblings: his confused and hot-headed older brother, Reese (Justin Berfield), and his innocent yet cunning and possibly gifted younger brother, Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan). The troubled trio also have an older brother named Francis (Christopher Masterson) who was sent to Marlin Academy, a military school for troubled youth.
Each child entered Malcolm in the Middle you have good intentions, but boys will be boys, so their main way of showing love is to hit each other, play pranks on each other, and get into trouble with the law every now and then.
Enter Parents
Despite their differences, they are the same Malcolm in the Middle they have one common enemy, and that is their mother, Lois (Jane Kaczmarek). Ruling the house with an iron fist, Lois is a dictator with a heart of gold, as she always looks out for her family the only way she knows how: screaming, psychological warfare, and humiliation. Although a woman like Lois might seem unbearable in any other context, she is the perfect mother Malcolm in the Middle because of the way his children are unpredictably destructive, making his brutality absolutely necessary to keep his family out of trouble.
You might think that Francis, Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey's problematic behavior is a product of their upbringing and environment (read: Lois is a bad mother), but when you learn more about their father, Hal (Bryan Cranston), it becomes clear. that their tendency to be short-sighted may be inherited.
Hal Wilkerson Is More Complicated Than Walter White
Living in constant fear of Lois's brief but completely necessary outbursts of anger, Hal often refers to his bad boy, which in the stories parallels the present-day behavior of his four sons. Working as a corporate drone, Hal is a slave to his desires and has a habit of gambling, smoking, drinking, walking around the house (or his front yard) in his tight clothes, and bribing his children to win whenever he is around. he engages in behavior that could land him in the dog house with Lois.
Hal is arrogant but lives in fear, spontaneous but short-sighted enough to keep himself out of trouble, spendthrift despite living at the risk of poverty, and, somehow, the best professional roller skater you've ever seen. . A Bad Break creator Vince Gilligan once described Bryan Cranston's portrayal of Walter White as “Mr. Chips turns into Scarface,” but Walter has nothing on Hal Wilkerson appearing Malcolm in the Middle if I have to measure.
Think about it … Walter White started at point A, and ended at point B, and it took five seasons to get there. As a huge fan of the entire world of Breaking Bad, I can't help but think that Hal as a character has more depth than Walt because he's a living, breathing human being who's on a much higher level.
Hal is a father but he is criminally negligent as a parent.
Hal gives wise, life-affirming advice to his sons but fails to follow it himself.
Hal is always the first person to try to get the boys out of trouble, but he almost always makes things worse when he sees red and consistently acts like his offspring when things go wrong.
Hal is incredibly confident from the outside, but he's self-aware enough to know that he's hopeless without Lois pulling him inside and pushing him to be his best self.
The Sweet Place of Technology
But maybe one part of Malcolm in the Middle making it a truly timeless series in the time it takes place in, which I refer to as the “technological sweet spot.” Malcolm in the Middle a series old enough to be binge-worthy nostalgia fodder, but modern enough to remain relevant without suspending too much disbelief. As smartphones and internet culture take over our daily interactions, the series is so focused on family dynamics that it feels like something that could come out today and work the same way without it seeming too old.
Francis' phone calls home from Marlin Academy may seem old hat, but these conversations simply show the audience how a homesick teenager wants to stay connected to his family even though they've decided he's too volatile to live under their roof. Usually, any B-story played at the academy affects the behavior of Malcolm, Reese, and Dewey at home as they plot against Lois with guidance from their beloved older brother, so these calls are definitely needed, even if one aspect of the show seems a little dusty.
In other words, mobile won't change the narrative in any significant way, so this connection still stands.
Binge on Malcolm in the Middle on Hulu
I Malcolm in the Middle the reboot is slated to come out sometime this year, but as of this writing has no set release date. If you're ready to see what Malcolm and company will be up to during the four-episode run, it comes with a strong recommendation to go back to the year 2000 and blast through the entire series instead of watching. Friends for the 100th time.
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