Author Robert Scucci
| | Published 28 seconds ago

When I first heard about Disney + Malcolm in the Middle revival, I decided to go back to the original series of Hulu with a guarded interest. Although I have a passion for re-watching the sitcoms I grew up with (no one does Frasier it’s the golden age The Simpsons (more than I do), I didn’t want to look at what was happening in the Wilkerson family because I was afraid that the series would not end nearly 20 years after its seven-season run. Luckily, it only took a few episodes for the memories to come flooding back to me to the point where I was reciting lines I hadn’t heard in years if I just watched the series last week.

Malcolm in the Middle is a timeless family sitcom

Most sitcoms have one or two characters that anchor the whole show, but Malcolm in the Middle they are cut from a different cloth. From the very first episode when Malcolm Wilkerson (Frankie Muniz) discovers he has a 165 IQ and is placed in the “Krelboyne” gifted class, you’d think he’d be front and center. That is, until you meet Malcolm’s lovable but dysfunctional family.

She lives at home with Malcom and his two siblings: his younger and hot-headed brother, Reese (Justin Berfield), and his innocent but clever and gifted brother, Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan). The troubled trio also includes an older brother named Francis (Christopher Masterson) who is sent to Marlin Academy, a military school for troubled youth.

Everyone brother Malcolm in the Middle they have good intentions, but boys will be boys, so their main way of showing love is to beat each other up, abuse each other, and get into trouble with the law all the time.

Sign in Parents

Although they are different, the boys are 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 tyrant with a heart of gold, as she always takes care of her family the only way she knows how: yelling, psychological warfare, and humiliation. Even though a woman like Lois may seem unmoved in every way, she is the perfect mother Malcolm in the Middle because of his children’s unexpected destruction, which makes him more difficult to protect his family from trouble.

You might think that the difficult behavior of Francis, Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey is the result of their parents and environment (read: Lois is a bad mother), but when you learn more about their father, Hal (Bryan Cranston), it is clear that their susceptibility to poor vision may be genetic.

Hal Wilkerson Is Harder Than Walter White

Constantly in awe of Lois’s short-tempered but completely necessary temper, Hal often refers to his former son, who through the stories parallels the present-day behavior of his four sons. Working as a corporate drone, Hal is a slave to his passions and likes to gamble, smoke cigarettes, drink, walk around the house (or his front yard) on his stiff legs, and bribe his children to fall whenever they should. . he does things that will put him in the dog house with Lois.

Hal is arrogant but timid, impulsive but short-sighted enough to keep himself out of trouble, a careless spender despite living near poverty, and, in a way, the most talented roller coaster you’ve ever seen. . Breaking Bad 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 from Malcolm in the Middle if I have to measure.

Think about it… Walter White started at point A, and ended up at point B, and it took him five seasons to get there. As a big fan of the whole team Breaking Bad environment, I can’t help but think that Hal as a character goes much deeper than Walt because he is alive, breathing the highest contradiction.

Hal is a father but criminally negligent as a parent.

Hal gives life-affirming advice to his children but fails to follow it.

Hal is always the first person to try to get the boys out of trouble, but he almost always escalates things when he sees red and acts recklessly like his kids when things get tough.

Hal has a lot of confidence when you look at it from the outside, but he knows he’s hopeless without Lois shaking him and pushing him to be alone.

Technology Sweet Spot

But maybe one thing for Malcolm in the Middle which makes it a timeless list of events, what I call the “technical sweet spot.” Malcolm in the Middle It’s old enough to be breakfast-worthy, but modern enough to remain relevant without suspending too much disbelief. With cell phones and the online culture taking over our daily interactions, this series is so focused on family dynamics that it feels like something that could come out today and work well without looking like a gadget.

Francis’ phone call home from Marlin Academy may seem old hat, but this exchange just shows the audience how the homeless teenager wants to stay connected to his family even though he thought he was unfit to live under their roof. Usually, every B-story that plays out at school involves Malcolm, Reese, and Dewey’s behavior at home as they plot against Lois under the leadership of their older brother, so these calls are important, even if they happen. one side of the display looks a little dusty.

In other words, the mobile phone will not change the story in any way, so this conversation still works.

Binge Malcolm in the Middle on Hulu

The Malcolm in the Middle The reboot is expected to come out sometime this year, but as of this writing there is no release date. If you’re ready to see what Malcolm and company will do in the upcoming four-part series, then it comes with a strong desire to go back to the year 2000 and blow up the entire series instead of watching it. Friends for the 100th time.