TV show: The Middle

Cafe Society
#1

Am I the only one here who loves this sitcom? It’s like Roseanne but sweeter. (And I loved Roseanne.)

The season finale was on the other night, and it’s a goofy sitcom and it made me cry.

I keep trying to get my mother to give it a try and she asked, “What does the name mean?”

“Middle America. Middle class…just stuck in the middle of everything”*
I’ve also read that originally it was also supposed to be partly the idea of the Middle generation (you have kids to take care of AND elders to take care of). I’m thinking it might also be the story of being the middle kid. **
*Stuck in the middle with youuuuuu

**I’m the older sister, with one younger sister so Sue Sue Heck’s story isn’t mine, but I do love her so MUCH

#2

This show is great! The actors who play the kids are really good, and some of the tertiary actors are good - like Jerry Van Dyke and his brother played by Dick Van Dyke! :slight_smile:

#3

Sue is definitely the sweetest thing. How anyone can be so relentlessly optimistic in the face of everybody seeming to crap in her face is pretty cool. She’s like a modern Job. The graduation show was great, it was so nice to see that the other kids actually knew who she was and said all those nice things about her in her yearbook. So where the hell were they all the while she went to school?

Axle is basically a dick. His girlfriend is smokin’ hot and I think he’s unworthy of her.

Brick is the poster boy for being weird. One wonders what an adult Brick will be. Serial Killer? Rocket scientist?

It’s one of my favorite shows and I’m glad to see it renewed for next year, though I think that might be enough. It’s nice to see a tv house that is cluttered and has things go wrong that you can’t afford to fix. It may be a bit exaggerated, but still much closer to reality than the 1950s and 1960s tv homes.

#4

I’m a fan. Most of the time it’s slightly-better-than-average sitcom stuff. But then it gets wildly hysterically funny.

Last season there was a bit of dialog that I kept re-winding and re-playing because it made me laugh so loud. The Heck’s are in a fabulous penthouse suite at Disneyland, and are frantically packing and leaving. Axel (elder son) says:

“What do we have to go home to? Scratchy toilet paper and dog shampoo? I say we barricade the doors, live large for 2 weeks and go out in a hail of gunfire.”

#5

I like too how they keep the broken house stuff going. Like the ripped-and-replaced wallpaper that remains in the dining room, and the sink being broken for like 4 episodes. And the kids feeling really affected by eating dinner from lawn chairs.

#6

I like the show, but it isn’t groundbreaking. It’s a “classic” sitcom - almost a throwback in this day and age.

But Sue is totally unlikeable; not funny, just annoying. She screeches all the time. She reminds me of Muffy Tepperman in Square Pegs - EVryTHING is OVER enNUNCIaTED.

#7

It isn’t high art. It isn’t particularly challenging. It isn’t really making any huge statement.

It is, however, consistently funny and makes you feel good about yourself. For that it is definitely one of the better sitcoms on TV right now.

#8

I enjoy the show. It’s actually “realistic poor” for me, maybe.

I can’t decide which kid I’d rather have, if I had to choose. Probably Axel. Yeah, he’s a selfish dick, but Brick is just plain weird and Sue would constantly break my heart, despite her optimism.

#9

I love The Middle. I love Sue. It definitely reminds me of Roseanne. Like Roseanne they totally come off as a real family and not a pristine Brady Bunch perfect sitcom family. The house feels lived in and the characters feel real.

#10

I started watching when all I had was broadcast TV and it was on before Modern Family, (which I’ve kind of lost interest in). The Middle has grown on me. I didn’t care for it at first but as time has gone by I like it much more than I did at first. If Brick got run over by a bus I think the show would be improved.
Axel is such a dick that he’s fun.
Sue is pretty funny too, I really liked the episode where her dad was trying to punish her for going to an R rated movie and she insisted on more punishment.

#11

I started watching the show a while back, then stopped because I thought it was boring. Then I started watching again, just to see Brick. He’s the only real interesting person on the show, and kinda reminds me of myself at that age (yeah, I was weird too).

And Neil Flynn (Mike Heck) is way hotter than he’s given credit for.

The only question I have is: Doesn’t anyone on that show ever age? They all look exactly the same as they did in the pilot. Brick’s voice has dropped a little; that’s all.

#12

Don’t get me wrong, I liked Roseanne (well, until it completely went off the rails anyway), but sweeter than Roseanne? A bowl of lemons is sweeter than Roseanne.

bowloflemons

#13

Yes! I love pretending that he actually used to be a janitor in a hospital before he moved to Indiana and started a family, too.

Axel and Sue were 19 and 18 respectively when they started the show. It *is *pretty weird that at least Axel and Brick didn’t do more changing…

#14

I totally identify with both Sue and Frankie, and my husband is a lot like Mike in his straightforward, honest approach, so there’s a lot of “yep” going on here when we watch.

The only thing I don’t like is Brick, but he was a kid when he was hired, and the actor is likeable enough. It’s just that he’s not a great actor and the character hasn’t been allowed to change much. I can’t imagine if both older kids moved out what the show would be like. Frankie is tired and cranky, but she is extra impatient with Brick.

Also, thanks to a recent period of unemployment, I think I saw every episode over a 6 month stretch (it was on all the time and the only thing in daytime I could tolerate) and was really impressed by the show’s continuity.
We notice all the time when TV families get a dog, or a new car, or new neighbors, who are critical in 1 or 2 episodes, but then those new things disappear forever. On The Middle, the dog storylines- Colin Firth and Aunt Ginny’s dog Doris- were followed through. The sink was broken all season. The dining room table never got replaced. I love that and it makes it more realistic in a lot of ways.

#15

Great! I like this show too. Eden Sher (Sue) is fantastic. She illuminates the show about as much as Micheal J Fox illuminated Family Ties.

Her performances, like MJF, make the show what it is.

#16

The show is the most consistently underrated comedy on TV. No one every thinks of it, yet it’s more consistently funny than almost anything else.

#17

This is one of the few “must see” show son my list. I’m one of the few people who doesn’t record things for later viewing and this is one that I look forward to and try to not miss.

I think Eden Sherr is a treasure. I’ve never seen her in anything else or even being interviewed so I don’t know what her range is, but she is perfect as Sue.

Patricia Heaton has really grown on me. I loathed her on the first few seasons of Raymond and only started liking her when seemingly everyone else started to dislike her. She too is perfect in her role on this show.

Axl is dickishly hilarious and Brick doesn’t really bother me. I do prefer it when they give him smart allecky “normal” lines as opposed to the whole quirky schtick.

I’m glad this show has survived this long; I’m looking forward to next season and Sue’s first year in college.

#18

Yeah, that was a great episode. I love Sue, she’s my favorite character. I identify with Brick more, but Sue is really great. Wonderful show!

#19

We love this show. It’s been the most consistently funny and more/less believable thing on TV for a long time.

So - with starting a new season, did The Middle jump the shark tonight?

With Sue now in college she gossips to Axl’s girlfriend which leads to Axl and the girlfriend breaking up. Then Sue fixes it by leading her newfound glee club in serenading an apology to the girlfriend on the campus grounds?? That was unbelievable and not even very funny, even the story timing and setting were totally contrived. The rest of the show was pretty good.

#20

I really like it, but I think it’s going to be difficult with Axel and Sue in college.

I did enjoy Sue going crazy with all the activities she could sign up for. She is so relentlessly cheerful that it breaks my heart.