# Some Things I Don't Understand About Malcolm in the Middle **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2000, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358 "2000-11-30T13:38:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/1 "2000-11-30T13:38:56Z")
Obligatory Praise: this is one of the funniest three or four shows on TV! Now, on to the questions… 1. Malcolm, Reese, and a handful of others refer to the kids in Malcolm’s gifted class as _Kreybournes_ (sp?). I think I speak for a lot of viewers when I say… WTF??? 2. What is the family’s last name (or has it even been revealed?)? 3. What is the Mom’s name? 4. Where do they live? 5. Their yard looks _terrible_! At first I thought it was a gag by the writers as a way of saying: _Hey, these people are so low-class, look at how bad they keep their yard! Har har har!_ But then I thought, ya know, their house seems to be in a nice-enough neighborhood. Surely they aren’t too poor to own a lawn mower. And what with neighborhood covenants and all, their neighbors would probably have sued them out of the neighborhood by now if they kept their yard like that. But then I thought, maybe they live in Southern California, where keeping a yard is pretty tricky, what with the lack or rain and tight water restrictions and all. But then I thought, whoa! You’re taking this way too seriously. But now I’m rambling… So what gives? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/2 "2000-11-30T14:01:30Z")
1. I think that the term is Krellbourns. I am not sure why. It does seem fitting though. 2. The yard I do know! First, not every neighborhood has a covenant. I have never lived in one that did. Maybe they aren’t as common everywhere. Second, there was one show where they cut down the big tree in their front yard. The neighbors came over to complain and the family acted like monkeys until they left. I think that would explain alot. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/3 "2000-11-30T14:09:26Z")
Mom’s name is Lois. I’m sure the last name has been mentioned, just can’t think of it right off hand. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/4 "2000-11-30T14:12:41Z")
> [@](#): > > others refer to the kids in Malcolm’s gifted class as Kreybournes (sp?). I’m not positive, but I think it may refer to their teacher’s last name. > [@](#): > > 1. What is the family’s last name (or has it even been revealed?)? > 2. What is the Mom’s name? > 3. Where do they live? I know for sure that #2 and #4 have never been answered (said so in TV Guide, so I’m not just relying on my memory for that one). As for the Mom’s name, it seems like it _must_ have been mentioned a time or two, but I’ll be damned if I can remember it, so I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/5 "2000-11-30T14:13:06Z")
> [@](#): > > At first I thought it was a gag by the writers as a way of saying: \*Hey, these people are so low-class, look at how bad they keep their yard! Har har har! \* Yes, that’s the joke. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/6 "2000-11-30T14:13:57Z")
Lois, yeah! That’s it. Thanks wring. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/7 "2000-11-30T14:17:45Z")
“Krelboyne,” the name of the class of gifted students to which Malcolm belongs, is taken from the name of the nerdy hero of Little Shop of Horrors. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/8 "2000-11-30T14:19:46Z")
The gifted class’s teachers name is Krell. So the students are disparagingly referred to as “Krellboys” and “Krellgirls” too I imagine. I really enjoyed the story where they all went to the water park, leaving Dewey with the baby sitter, played by Bea Authur. ---
**Author:** ![Alzarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@Alzarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alzarian)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/9 "2000-11-30T14:56:05Z")
Nitpicky, but it’s kinda bothered me how the show is called Malcolm in the Middle when Malcolm is one of two kids in the “middle”. Though I guess Reese in the middle doesn’t sound as good. Then it dawned on me… The mother will have the obligatory pregnancy/baby storyline, thus cementing Malcolm firmly in the middle of 5 kids. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/10 "2000-11-30T15:14:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alzarian \* > \*\*Nitpicky, but it’s kinda bothered me how the show is called Malcolm in the Middle when Malcolm is one of two kids in the “middle”. Though I guess Reese in the middle doesn’t sound as good. > > Then it dawned on me… > > The mother will have the obligatory pregnancy/baby storyline, thus cementing Malcolm firmly in the middle of 5 kids. > \*\* Malcolm _is_ in the middle. Reese is the oldest, then Malcolm, then Dewey. What about Francis, you ask? Well, he’s just kind-of out there as a device for subplots and only tangenitally interacts with the rest of the family. So Malcolm is in the middle of the three boys who are always at home. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/11 "2000-11-30T15:19:36Z")
…and I forgot to add: > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by AWB_ > **"Krelboyne," the name of the class of gifted students to which Malcolm belongs, is taken from the name of the > nerdy hero of Little Shop of Horrors.** OK, that is such an obscure, Dennis Millerian reference that I don’t think a dim bulb like Reese would ever pick up on it. Hell, I don’t think students at a public junior high school would ever get it, either. I need to find the names of the writers of that show and compose a strongly-worded letter… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/12 "2000-11-30T15:31:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alzarian \* > \*\*Nitpicky, but it’s kinda bothered me how the show is called Malcolm in the Middle when Malcolm is one of two kids in the “middle”. Though I guess Reese in the middle doesn’t sound as good. > > Then it dawned on me… > > The mother will have the obligatory pregnancy/baby storyline, thus cementing Malcolm firmly in the middle of 5 kids. > \*\* This always bugged me too. I think you’re right about the baby thing. On Seventh Heaven, originally there were five kids and two parents = 7. Then when the Mom gets pregnant, it’s with twins so that total kids = 7. Yikes–can’t wait to see pregnancy send Lois completely over the edge. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/13 "2000-11-30T18:14:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rastahomie \* > \*\* > Malcolm _is_ in the middle. Reese is the oldest, then Malcolm, then Dewey. What about Francis, you ask? Well, he’s just kind-of out there as a device for subplots and only tangenitally interacts with the rest of the family. So Malcolm is in the middle of the three boys who are always at home. \*\* Speaking of Francis, I think he deserves his own spin-off. I’ve only seen _Malcolm in the Middle_ a few times, but each time I found the Francis subplots to be entertaining and enjoyable while I was left pretty cold by the rest of the show. ---
**Author:** ![JosephFinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JosephFinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JosephFinn)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/14 "2000-11-30T18:24:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lamia \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by rastahomie \* > > \*\* > > Malcolm _is_ in the middle. Reese is the oldest, then Malcolm, then Dewey. What about Francis, you ask? Well, he’s just kind-of out there as a device for subplots and only tangenitally interacts with the rest of the family. So Malcolm is in the middle of the three boys who are always at home. \*\* > > Speaking of Francis, I think he deserves his own spin-off. I’ve only seen _Malcolm in the Middle_ a few times, but each time I found the Francis subplots to be entertaining and enjoyable while I was left pretty cold by the rest of the show. > \*\* Interestingly, the actor who plays Francis has an older brother, Daniel Masterson, who plays Hyde on “That 70’s Show.” Personally, I’m ticked that Francis’ buddy at the military academy is gone this year. He had one of the best visual jokes of last year in an episode where everybody was going on a survival weekend and bragging about how little stuff they were taking with them (“I’m taking two crackers, a compass and a knife!” “Dude, you’re hardcore.”). He trumps them all by walking in wearing a knife over his shoulder. And nothing else, except for full body camoflauge paint. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/15 "2000-11-30T18:33:35Z")
I don’t think the show will make the Lois character go through a pregnancy again, but I believe that the first season’s episodes were shot when Jayne Kaczmarek, who plays Lois, was pregnant. If you’ve noticed this year, there are more long shots of her. Unlike long shots of Jane Leeves on “Frazier”. ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/16 "2000-11-30T18:43:21Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by JosephFinn \* > Personally, I’m ticked that Francis’ buddy at the military academy is gone this year._\* Perhaps the producers actually think they “recast” that part, though (if that’s true) it makes me wonder how stupid they think their viewers are. “Well, we’ll get another young black guy, who looks completely different, and give him an utterly different, less interesting personality. They’ll never notice.” The first couple of times I saw the new guy I thought he was just another character, but he’s popped up enough now that it’s clear that he’s Francis’s new roommate (or the functional equivalent in the plot, anyway). My wife and I theorized that the old roommate made Francis look bad in comparison (since F. was always getting saved by the roomie), and that the new, wimpy guy lets F. be the hero of his segments. What _was_ the old roommate’s name, anyway? He was a great character. I’d watch a show about him and Francis, any day. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/17 "2000-11-30T18:50:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lamia \* > \*\*each time I found the Francis subplots to be entertaining and enjoyable while I was left pretty cold by the rest of the show. > \*\* It’s usually OK, not great, but the classic was beating up the clowns in slo-mo to the tune of “You Decorated My Life”. Sit-com TV doesn’t get much better than that 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Melpomene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/0ea827/32.png) [@Melpomene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melpomene)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/18 "2000-11-30T20:38:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gigi \* > \*\*Sit-com TV doesn’t get much better than that 😃 \*\* No, it doesn’t. 🙂 I missed last night’s episode where Reese acts like the little boy from The Shining. Was it any good? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/19 "2000-11-30T21:03:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Melpomene \* > \*\* > I missed last night’s episode where Reese acts like the little boy from The Shining. Was it any good? Anyone? \*\* I saw it, and personally thought it was hilarious. Then again, this is one of my favorite shows. Come to think of it, it is the _only_ sitcom I watch. My other favorite shows are dramas or PBS/History Channel related programming. ---
**Author:** ![Anake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/97f17d/32.png) [@Anake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anake)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358/20 "2000-11-30T21:27:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neutron star \* > \*\*Lois, yeah! That’s it. Thanks wring. \*\* I remember the episode where the father and Lois go to a wedding and Lois hates her husband’s family because they call her “the Lois-common denominator.” What’s the husbands name? I forgot. From, [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-things-i-dont-understand-about-malcolm-in-the-middle/43358.md?page=2)