Malcolm in the Middle (season 1)

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

I was really pumped when this show arrived on Disney + because I thought it would be a fun nostalgia trip for a Saturday or two while we were cleaning the house or something. But no! This show is incredible and I regret thinking it only had nostalgia value.

I thought this show was funny when I watched as a kid, but now I think it's funny for totally different reasons. Lois is by far the funniest character here, and almost everything funny about this show depends on her existing in some capacity. It kinda made me think about how moms in most sitcoms are the most boring characters, and how disappointing that is because mom jokes have so much potential. Anyways, the antics between her and the boys are hilarious every episode, how she rules the house with psychological warfare to try to keep her insane children in check.

The other characters are all great too. There really wasn't a bad episode, and many episodes that had us dying. I love how right they get the lower middle class experience, and how perfectly they capture a household of rowdy boys. This is basically a documentary of the Ben and Helen Friesen household so I know from firsthand observation.

They also get all the little things right. The set pieces are somehow intricately detailed (the ever-messy house is just something you don't see in sitcoms) and I don't know how the writers are SO good at remembering what it was like to be an 11 year old boy. Every small thing just brings you right back to that time in life. Plus, and most importantly, they got a slappin' theme song that we didn't skip once.

So yeah, I highly recommend, and not just as a show to remind you of simpler times. This show is hilarious, and it only takes by the end of episode 2 for this show to understand it's identity.