# Explain "Malcolm In The Middle" To Me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012 "2005-01-27T23:46:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012/21 "2005-01-28T18:34:52Z")
I just got into this show recently… i had never really been a fan, and I find on the re-runs that I like the episodes with older children much better. One reason is that I really like Dewey… possibly because I too am a youngest child and can relate to his just taking care of himself at a young age (I was doing my own laundry and packing my own lunch for school at the tender age of 7). I think one of the things I really enjoy about the show is as others have said the characters are developed. You get to see Louis not only as a mother and controller, but also as an employee at work, a teenager (when reese finds her diary), a hero (when the store gets robbed), and on and on. And Dewey as a street performer, that was great. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012/22 "2005-01-28T18:50:46Z")
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I don’t think Malcolm in the Middle has “jumped the shark” or gone down hill at all. The show has always been ludicrous, yet still rooted in realism enough for me, at least, to relate to character’s and the stories they get involved in. I also like how the show has followed the kid’s as they’ve “matured,” as opposed to pretending as if they don’t age (ala 70’s Show). ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012/23 "2005-01-28T19:09:42Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > I believe that, whatever the case, the kids have essentially driven their parents nuts, exacerbating whatever other baggage they had. No. These parents were miserable human beings before they had kids. Hell, before they even met. They are the world’s best argument for birth control. Mandatory, in their case. But the are funny… although I haven’t really watched it in years… ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012/24 "2005-01-28T19:43:44Z")
IMO Hal and Lois are not awful people, rather they were unprepared to be parents and developed somewhat pathetic coping skills. Hal is basically a good-natured flake who avoids resposiblity and looks for moments to escape reality. Lois became a dictatorial control freak in an attempt to maintain the illusion that she has a handle on her situtaion. I was going to say that I enjoyed the show because it did not fall back on the tired “very special episode” or “message show” cliches. Then I realized that none of the comedies I have watched regularly did those types of shows either. Still, I admire the show’s creativity and its unique take on everyday situations. Adding the new baby was a bummer, the show already had plenty of characters for the writers to play around with. I assume the term “krelboyne” (sp?) was created for the show. Did they ever explain its origin in any of the early episodes? ---
**Author:** ![HoldenCaulfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@HoldenCaulfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldenCaulfield)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012/25 "2005-01-28T19:44:23Z")
I’m with Duder. I watched the first season but stopped watching it after that for no particular reason. I started watching it again last season, and I find it is one of the most consistently funny shows on television. But it’s weird, every Sunday night I think, I don’t really feel like watching it tonight, why do I even watch it? But then I laugh my ass off. Great show, still. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012/26 "2005-01-28T20:50:19Z")
> [@Murcielago](#): > > I assume the term “krelboyne” (sp?) was created for the show. Did they ever explain its origin in any of the early episodes? According to TV Tome (but I have no verification) it’s a reference to Seymour Krelborn from the movie “Little Shop of Horrors” ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012/27 "2005-01-28T21:04:48Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > According to TV Tome (but I have no verification) it’s a reference to Seymour Krelborn from the movie “Little Shop of Horrors” Ah, makes sense to me. That earns them a few points for an obscure and yet appropriate pop-culture reference. Thanks, **Odin**. ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012/28 "2005-01-28T22:03:48Z")
I grew up as the baby sister in family with two older brothers. Malcolm in the Middle sometimes hits a _little too close_ to reality. It’s hilarious! The fact that the dad is just a goofy kid when he can be is SO real. How many Dads really want to wrestle on the floor with their kids and make them say "uncle?’ And if the kid says something _similar to_ but not _exactly_ “uncle,” Dad says “now you have to say “uncle” to my butt!.” Too funny! The Mom is just a parody of the feared Mom. My mom. I was born in 1963 in suburban Los Angeles, and I feel like I could have written MitM. Just not as well. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012/29 "2005-01-29T04:10:34Z")
Remember the flashback episode showing Hal and Lois as successful, high-powered Yuppies whose personal and professional lives steadily crumbled with each new child? ---
**Author:** ![recurriman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@recurriman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/recurriman)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012/30 "2005-01-29T08:12:27Z")
I really liked the show for the first 3 seasons. After that, I hated it. Still do. It’s not funny anymore and not because i got tired of it. The humor got dumbed down, the characters became caricatures and so on. It’s a shame. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-malcolm-in-the-middle-to-me/287012.md?page=1)