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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 155 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." 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 the other members of the family, eventually the six cast members becoming an ensemble cast. The series is popular worldwide and is syndicated in 57 countries. In the United States, it is currently syndicated in the daytime on FX and at nightime on Nick at Nite. In Britain, it airs in high definition on Sky1 and BBC Two.
[edit] PremiseThe show is about a boy named Malcolm and his dysfunctional family. The show stars Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, the third of four 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 in the later seasons) 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. 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. [edit] SurnameThe 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. On Bryan Cranston's official website, Cranston says the crew regularly joked amongst themselves that last name is actually "Nolastname." In fact, just before Malcolm gives his graduation speech, Francis drops his employee ID on the ground and it clearly shows his full name as "Francis Nolastname." [edit] CharactersSee also: List of characters in Malcolm in the Middle and List of guest stars on Malcolm in the Middle [edit] The Family
[edit] EpisodesMain article: List of Malcolm in the Middle episodes
[edit] Production[edit] Opening titlesThe opening titles feature short clips from cult films or television shows, edited together with clips from the early seasons of the TV series. The Opening Title has changed in the 2 episode - Season 1 (Red Dress)in the DVD Show and changes back to the original in the episode 3 - Season 1 (Home Alone 4). The Original Open Title includes, in order of appearance:
[edit] Act BreaksThe 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. [edit] SettingThe 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 Cantura 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." Also in the episode "Waterpark," the slide they are at when Malcolm pushes Lois is called the Abyss (they enter the Abyss, yet they come out of a ride called the Bombay Blasters). The Liquidator is actually up the stairs behind them. In the episode "Monkey" when Reese gets an honor from the police, the hat he is seen wearing has the letters MPD on it, suggesting the name of the city begins with the letter "M" and in episode 107 Reese Joins the Army (2)Hal says that he is from the Millbrook bomb squad when he is trying to hide a backpack and his identity. The baseball and softball episodes were filmed in a city park in the Sherman Oaks district of Los Angeles, California. During the first year of the show, Francis reveals that the military academy is in Alabama and is 300 miles from home. [edit] MusicThe 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] [edit] Main crew
[edit] DVD ReleaseOnly 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]
[edit] Reception[edit] RatingsAs 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[clarification needed] 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.
In Australia, in 2002 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 %. Nowadays, the channel is still programming reruns of the show because of its good performances. [edit] Awards and nominationsJane 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] [edit] SyndicationThe show entered syndication one month after the season finale on Fox. The show was launched on Nick at Nite on July 5, 2009 at 8:00pm with an all night marathon. However, Nick at Nite changed the TV-14 ratings to TV-PG removing adult content from episodes. Sky1(a UK channel) also has Malcolm in the Middle is on everyday at 5:30 - 6:00 and 6:30 - 7:00. The show will begin airing on TEENick in November 2009. [edit] International broadcasts[edit] References
[edit] External links
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