Malcolm in the Middle | |
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The Malcolm in the Middle intertitle. |
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Format | Situation Comedy |
Created by | Linwood Boomer |
Starring | Frankie Muniz Jane Kaczmarek Bryan Cranston Justin Berfield Christopher Masterson Erik Per Sullivan James and Lukas Rodriguez |
Opening theme | "Boss of Me" by They Might Be Giants |
Country of origin | United States |
Language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 7 |
No. of episodes | 151 (List of episodes) |
Production | |
Camera setup | Single camera |
Running time | 23 minutes |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | Fox |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV) (2000 - 2002) 720p (HDTV) (2002-2006) |
Original run | January 9, 2000 | – May 14, 2006
Status | Ended |
External links | |
Official website |
Malcolm in the Middle is an American comedy television series 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 and 151 episodes. The series received critical acclaim and won a Peabody Award, nine Emmy Awards, one Grammy and was nominated for seven Golden Globes.[1]
The series follows a family of six (later seven), and stars Frankie Muniz in the lead role of Malcolm, a more-or-less normal boy who tests at genius level; he enjoys being smart but despises having to take classes for gifted children, who are mocked by the other students as "Krelboynes", after geeky Seymour Krelborn in The Little Shop of Horrors. Jane Kaczmarek is Malcolm's overbearing, authoritarian mother, Lois, and Bryan Cranston plays his disengaged but loving father Hal. Christopher Masterson plays eldest brother Francis, a former rebel who, in earlier episodes, was in military school, but eventually marries and settles into a steady job. Justin Berfield is Malcolm's dimwitted older brother Reese, a schoolyard bully who tortures Malcolm at home even while he defends him at school. Younger brother Dewey is portrayed by Erik Per Sullivan. For the first couple of seasons, the show's focus was on Malcolm. As the series progressed, however, it began to explore all six members of the family rather equally.
The series has proven popular worldwide and has been syndicated in 57 countries. In the United States, it has been syndicated in the daytime on FX and at nighttime on Nick at Nite, as well as local stations. In the United Kingdom, it airs on Sky1 and its HD counterpart Sky1 HD, as well as Sky2 and Sky3. It has also been syndicated on Network Ten in Australia (originally airing on the Nine Network).
Contents |
The show is about a boy named Malcolm and his dysfunctional family. The show stars Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, the third of five boys, his brothers and their parents, Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) and Hal (Bryan Cranston). The oldest, Francis (Christopher Masterson), was sent away to military school, leaving at home his three younger brothers, Reese (Justin Berfield), Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan), Malcolm being the middle child still at home (hence the show's title). In season four, the character Jamie (James and Lukas Rodriguez) was added to the show as the fifth son. The show's early seasons centered on Malcolm dealing with the rigors of being an adolescent and enduring the eccentricities of his life. Later seasons gradually explored the other members of the family and their friends in more depth, including others such as Craig Feldspar, Stevie Kenarban, and Stevie's dad Abe.
The series was different from many others in that Malcolm broke the fourth wall by talking directly to the viewer, all scenes were shot using a single camera and the show employed 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 of the show is that the cold open of every episode is unrelated to the main story. Exceptions were episodes which were the conclusions of "two-parters"; each part two episode opened with a recap of its part one episode.
The surname of the family has been revealed only twice in the show. First, in the pilot episode, where Francis wears the name tag "Wilkerson" on his school uniform (it can be seen best in the scene where he is talking with his family on the phone). Also, although unaired, the name appears in a joke from the original pilot script. In that script, Malcolm was walking to school when a neighborhood kid came running up shouting, "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 other kid. The joke was eventually cut. The last name, however, was spoken in the series finale when Malcolm is being introduced for his graduation speech, but it is not heard due to feedback from the microphone. A special feature on the season 1 DVD stated also that their surname was Wilkerson. A trailer on the UK channel Sky One in Early 2006 advised you to spend time with "The Simpsons" and "The Wilkersons." Another trailer was released to advertise the last episodes of 24 and Malcolm in the Middle, calling viewers to "say goodbye to the Wilkersons." In a certain episode, at Hal's company picnic Hal is addressed as "Mr. Landon" by his new boss; however, this was just due to a misunderstanding. Another surname was used in one episode. Reese joined the Army and arrived in another country on a mission. Lois talks to an Army Lt. and calls the lost son "Reese Jetson". After that, the Lt. agreed with her, "Oh yes, Pvt. Jetson.", however in the plot of the episode it is understood that Reese was under an alias and it was in fact not his real name, this was due to his young age and the age restriction to join the army.
Season | Ep # | First Airdate | Last Airdate |
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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 |
The opening titles feature short clips from cult films or television shows, edited together with clips from the early seasons of the TV series. The original opening includes, in order of appearance:
The end of each act break is signified with the sound of a door slamming and then a cut to darkness; the same effect is sometimes used to mark the end of the episode as well. Scene changes are indicated with a quick "whoosh" sound and a fast panning motion of the camera. Whenever a character is shown dreaming or imagining something, the scene changes with an electrical "bzzzt" sound.
The setting of the show has never been revealed, though their street address – 12334 Maple Blvd. Millbrook – was identified in episode 81 ("Reese's Party"). The house which is used for external shots is privately owned, and is situated in the Studio City district of Los Angeles, California, at 12334 Cantara Street[6], and it can be seen on Google Street View.[7] Filming also took place at 20th Century Fox Studio - 10201-Pico Boulevard in the Century City district of Los Angeles; at Walter Reed Middle School in Los Angeles and in Santa Clarita, California.[8] 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"). The last episode in the first season ("Waterpark") was filmed at a waterpark called "Wild Rivers" located in Irvine, California, but in the episode the waterpark was called "Wavetown USA". Many of the "Lucky Aide" store scenes were done at a Drug Emporium that used to be at 6020 Lankershim in the North Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Production Companies Satin City,Regency Television,Fox Television Studios On Channels such as the UPN Network FX And Nick At Nite Fox Television Studios is replaced with 20th Television.
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, The Getaway People, En Vogue, Phil Collins, Quiet Riot, Queen, Titán 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.[9]
Only the first season of Malcolm in the Middle has been released on DVD. Season 2 was going to be released in autumn 2003, but was cancelled due to high costs of music clearances.[10]
DVD name | Release date | Ep # | # of Discs | Additional information |
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The Complete First Season | October 29, 2002 | 16 | 3 | 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. |
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[11] and 26 million for the second episode.[12]
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 p.m. 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. The finale was watched by 7.4 million.
Season | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Ranking | Viewers (in millions) |
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1st | January 9, 2000 | May 21, 2000 | 2000 | #18[13] | 15.2[13] |
2nd | November 5, 2000 | May 20, 2001 | 2000–2001 | #22[14] | 14.5[14] |
3rd | November 11, 2001 | May 12, 2002 | 2001–2002 | #25[15] | 13.0[15] |
4th | November 11, 2002 | May 12, 2003 | 2002–2003 | #43[16] | 10.7[16] |
5th | November 3, 2003 | May 18, 2004 | 2003–2004 | #71[17] | 8.4[17] |
6th | November 2, 2004 | May 23, 2005 | 2004–2005 | #99[18] | 5.6[18] |
7th | September 30, 2005 | May 14, 2006 | 2005–2006 | #127[19] | 3.8[19] |
In Australia, in 2001 Malcolm in the Middle premiered on Channel Nine, Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. It rated strongly, with the help from its lead in Friends, which at the time rated 2,279,000, 2,031,000 and 2,410,000 as the night's most watched show, and year's 2nd most watched TV program. Malcolm in the Middle's ratings included 1,952,000, 1,925,000, 1,712,000, 1,644,000, and sometimes rating over the 2 million mark: 2,002,000, 2,008,000.
In France, the show first aired daily at 8 p.m. in December 2001, on M6, but didn't find its public and was quickly off schedule. Then, when the show made its comeback in the summer of 2003 at noon, it had a big success. The last seasons had over 1.5 million viewers and a share sometimes over 30%. Due to the show's popularity, the network is currently still broadcasting reruns.
In the UK, in April 2001, 6 months after it was shown on Sky1 it premiered on terristrial television on BBC2 at 6:45pm on Friday's, where the first episode gained 3.3 million. With the success of the first season, season 2 was moved to prime-time the following year, at 8.30pm.
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. The show won a total of 7 Emmys during its seven year run.[1]
The show entered syndication one month before the 6th season premiered on Fox. When the show entered syndication all of the TV-14 episodes had to be changed to TV-PG since they did not meet the standards for TV-14. It is also aired in local syndication. The show was launched on Nick at Nite on July 5, 2009 at 8:00pm with an all night marathon. However, Nick at Nite uses the changed ratings in order to keep the show family friendly and remove adult content from the episodes. Sky1 (a UK channel) also has Malcolm in the Middle on everyday at 5:30 - 6:00 and 6:30 - 7:00.
Country | TV network(s) | Year/Date | Series Title in Country |
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Argentina | Fox Argentina, Canal 13, I-Sat | 2000 | |
Fiji | Fiji tv | 2000 | |
Australia | Nine Network (2001–2008), Network Ten (2009–Present), The Comedy Channel (2002-present) | 2001 | |
Belgium | 2BE (TV channel) | 2006 | |
Bhutan | STAR World | 2005 | |
Brazil | Rede Record, SBT, Fox, Band | 2004 | Malcolm |
Bulgaria | bTV, Fox Life, BTV Comedy | 2001 | Mалкълм |
Canada | YTV, Global, Télé-Québec | 2000 (Global), 2005 (YTV), 2006/2007 (Télé-Quebec) | On Télé-Québec: Malcolm |
Chile | Fox, Televisión Nacional de Chile, I-Sat | 2000 | |
Colombia | RCN Televisión | 2006 | |
Costa Rica | Repretel 11 | 2007 | |
Croatia | Nova TV, RTL Televizija | 2002 | Malcolm u sredini |
Denmark | JHM Network | 2003 | Malcolm i midten |
Dominican Republic | Telesistema Canal 11 | 2008 | |
Ecuador | Teleamazonas | 2004 | Malcolm |
Estonia | TV3, TV6 | 2006 | Imelaps Malcolm |
Faroe Islands | Sjónvarp Føroya | 2008 | |
Finland | MTV3 | 2005 | Veljemme on nero |
France | M6, Paris Première | 2001 | Malcolm |
Germany | ProSieben | 2001 | Malcolm mittendrin |
Greece | Macedonia TV, Universal Channel | 2008 | |
Honduras | Canal 5 de Televicentro | 2008 | |
Hong Kong | TVB | 2001 | 左右做人難 |
Hungary | Comedy Central | 2009 | Már megint Malcolm |
Iceland | SkjárEinn | 2006 | |
India | STAR World | 2005 | |
Indonesia | STAR World | 2005 | |
Ireland | Sky1, TV3, 3e | 2000 | |
Israel | Bip | 2002 | מלקולם באמצע |
Italy | Italia 1 | 2004 | Malcom |
Japan | Fox, Fox Life | 2000 | マルコム in the middle |
Kenya | NTV | 2005 | |
Lithuania | TV3 | 2008 | Malkolmas Vidurinysis |
Malaysia | ntv7, STAR World | 2008 | |
Mexico | Televisa, Fox | 2004, 2008 - present | Malcolm el de en medio |
Nepal | BBS-Bhutan Broadcasting Service | 2005 | |
Middle East | MBC 4, Show Comedy, Paramount Comedy | 2002 | |
Netherlands | Veronica Network, Comedy Central | 2003 | |
New Zealand | C4 the box | 2008–present. | |
Norway | TV2 | 2002 | Malcolm i midten |
Philippines | STAR World, Jack TV | 2005 | |
Poland | Polsat, Comedy Central Family | 2006 (Polsat), 2010 (Comedy Central Family) | Zwariowany Świat Malcolma |
Portugal | SIC Radical and Fox Portugal | 2009 | A Vida é Injusta (= Life is Unfair) |
Serbia | RTV BK Telecom | 2001 | |
Singapore | MediaCorp TV Channel 5 | 2007 | |
Slovenia | Kanal A | 2005 | |
South Africa | M-Net | 2005 | |
Spain | Antena 3, Fox, Cuatro | 2000 | |
Sri Lanka | MTV Television | 2008 | |
Sweden | TV6, TV3, TV4 | 2006 | Malcolm, ett geni i familjen |
Switzerland | SF zwei, TSR 2, 3+ | 2000 | Malcolm mittendrin (DE), Malcolm (FR) |
Austria | ORF1 | 2002 | |
Thailand | True Series, STAR World | 2005 | |
Turkey | CNBC-e, TNT | 2003 | |
Uganda | NTV | 2008 | |
Ukraine | Novyi Kanal | 2004 | Малкольм у центрі уваги |
United Kingdom | BBC Two, Sky1, Sky2 | 2000 | |
United States | Fox, FX, Nick at Nite | 2000 | |
Venezuela | Televen | 2002 | |
Vietnam | Vietnam Multimedia Corporation | 2005 |
Preceded by Survivor: Australian Outback 2001 |
Malcolm in the Middle Super Bowl lead-out program 2002 |
Succeeded by Alias 2003 |
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