The Middle (ABC)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Splungeworthy, Mar 24, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. RickH

    RickH Connoisseur of deep album cuts

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Funny, I never thought the show would last beyond a season or maybe two but my wife and I have watched it every year. Brooke Shields' character Rita Glossner really gave Frankie a hard time! :laugh:
     
    musicfan37 and jon9091 like this.
  2. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    I honestly had no idea that was Brooke Shields for the longest time. She was hilarious.
     
    RickH likes this.
  3. Done A Ton

    Done A Ton Birdbrain

    Location:
    Rural Kansas
    The Glossner clan were great. I loved it when Rita called the Hecks one percenters. I also felt that the Hecks weren't just in "The Middle" by living in flyover country, they were also in the middle between the picture perfect Donahues and the "gives white trash a bad name" Glossners.
     
    rufus t firefly, jon9091 and RickH like this.
  4. GeoffC

    GeoffC Forum Resident

    Great Show, great cast and great writing. When it started comments were made about it being a watered down version of Malcolm in the Middle but it soon developed into a 'strong but gentle' sitcom with interesting and 'human' characters. Many episodes seemed to be about the 'flaws' of these people and how they affected their daily lives and ultimately how these imperfections didn't really matter because that was what made them who they were. There always was a lot of positivity by the end of each show and that's one reason why I enjoyed it so much.
     
  5. Done A Ton

    Done A Ton Birdbrain

    Location:
    Rural Kansas
    So many great characters on this show:
    Frankie's spinster aunts Edie and Ginny and their basset hound Doris.
    Brad
    Darrin
    Mr. Ehlert
    Bob
    The Wrestlerettes
    and on and on
     
  6. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    I started watching mainly because I loved Patricia Heaton in Everybody Loves Raymond. Her character here was very different, and for me, less enjoyable. However, I really liked Sue with her boundless optimism, despite her social invisibility, and Axl was pretty good fun as a stereotypical obnoxious teen with a deeply hidden soft heart.

    Overall, it was just an inoffensive, family friendly, middle of the road type of sitcom. The ending eps were great.
     
    Matthew Tate and rburly like this.
  7. mike's beard

    mike's beard Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    A great ending to a great show.
     
  8. Fregly

    Fregly Well-Known Member

    Location:
    London
    There is something special about this show that sneaks up on you. I thought Norm Macdonald as the off the grid odd uncle was hilarious. I forget exactly but one episode he lets Brick drive the truck, who can barely see over the steering wheel, and asked cluelessly sincere questions like -- do you smoke?
     
  9. utopiarun

    utopiarun "on the road to Utopia"

    Location:
    Staten Island NY
    And Reverend Tim Tom :)
     
  10. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    It was definitely one of my favorite shows and I enjoyed it.

    I'm glad that they gave Sue a happy ending. During the entire run, no matter how hard she tried and how much optimism she showed, she could never catch a break (mostly in social situations.) But she finally got the outcome she wanted the most in the end.

    Frankie and Mike were the perfect, average middle class couple. Even though I liked Patricia Heaton's character in Everybody Loves Raymond much better than her character in The Middle, she did a good job portraying such a character. The actor who played Mike, I really liked. He really didn't have to change much from the character he played on Scrubs (he played the Janitor,) as they had similar personalities.

    My least favorite character was Brick, but I grew to like him over the seasons. Axl was a perfect character as the older brother, even though he could be obnoxious at times.


    In the early seasons, when Frankie worked at the Car Dealership, I also enjoyed Brian Doyle Murray's and Chris Kattan's characters. Brian Doyle Murray still had guest appearances in later seasons, but Chris Kattan seemed to be completely written out. I don't recall him being on any of the later episodes in a guest role.


    I too didn't realize that Rita Glossner was played by Brooke Shields. I don't know how I never noticed that.
     
    utopiarun, Matthew Tate and rburly like this.
  11. footprintsinthesand

    footprintsinthesand Reasons to be cheerful part 1

    Location:
    Dutch mountains
    I'm sure this thread will soon be a total spoiler of the finale. Let's just leave it there :agree:
     
  12. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    Sue could be the eternal optimist. I saw the episode where she had to work to get her Perfect Attendance award recently. The look on her face when the principal calls the name Sara Heckey (or similar), and then Frankie and the rest of the family have that "Oh no!" looks on their faces. Sue then smiles, seeing the upside, and proudly accepts her award and the family is relieved.

    I never saw Scrubs, so I had never seen Mike before. If you watched the series, you know that Mike and Frankie were going to Chicago for their honeymoon, but Mike said he was sick or something and he was offered the job at the quarry. Also, the Heck men didn't show feelings, especially Mike and Rusty's dad.

    The Brick character was odd, but that was purposeful imo. The family barely paid attention to him, even not feeding him or celebrating his birthdays. He was a resourceful kid and I think his misadventures, usually involving mom or dad going to school to talk about his social skills. Was Dave Foley, the school counselor mentioned above? His character was funny when dealing with Brick.

    Bob (Chris Kataan) was only in on the car sales parts of the shows. He dad an excellent job as Frankie's best friend at the dealership. Mr. Ehlert's shenanigans were fun to watch as well.

    I knew it was Brooke Shields fairly early on. I saw an interview with her last fall and she said she hoped they would have a positive resolution with her "family." The finale was extremely well done with that as well. They sewed the show up in the best way they could imo.
     
    Matthew Tate and neo123 like this.
  13. Willowman

    Willowman Senior Member

    Location:
    London, UK
    The 2 minute skit on La-La-Land was much more enjoyable than the movie itself!

    We like The Middle in our house.
     
    rburly likes this.
  14. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    It looks like not so underrated. ABC is considering a spinoff series about Sue Heck. It will be set a few years in the future from The Middle finale, chronicling the next stage of Sue’s life as a young adult with a new cast of characters around her.

    Finally, the Summer of Sue is a reality! I'm in.

    The Middle’s Sue Heck Might Get Her Own Spinoff
     
  15. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    I like how they had the same bag of potato chips in nearly every episode. I always looked for it.
     
  16. mark renard

    mark renard Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Was Frankie still working as a dental hygienist??? They didn't show her working at all in the last couple of seasons.
     
  17. geralmar

    geralmar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    I hope not the same bag with Axel's toenail clippings.
     
    audiofool, musicfan37 and jon9091 like this.
  18. Fregly

    Fregly Well-Known Member

    Location:
    London
  19. buzzzx

    buzzzx Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cal.
    Great cast, Eden Sher was absolutely perfect in her role.
     
    rburly likes this.
  20. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    To the best of my knowledge she was still there. I watch the re-runs almost every morning now, but I haven't seen the more recent episodes in a while.
     
  21. GLENN

    GLENN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kingsport,TN, USA
    This is one of those shows I'm going to have to watch from beginning to end some day. I only caught it for less than one season, around the middle of it's run (see what I did there?) Loved the humor and visual style, but after a couple of so-so episodes I could tell my wife wasn't really into it, so we quit watching. I'd love to see it all available for streaming. Netflix, are you listening?
     
    rburly likes this.
  22. troggy

    troggy Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

    Location:
    Benton, Illinois
    I looked and the two older kids are pushing 30 in real life. Time for "The Middle, the 2nd Generation"?
     
    rburly likes this.
  23. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    And, this is one of those shows that's best watched in chunks or binge watching for X amount of episodes. It leads to more enjoyment and appreciation of the show. Again, It's on Freeform channel in the afternoon for long blocks.
     
  24. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    That's the same thing I was thinking about Big Band Theory. Fortunately we haven't seen the kids there, but shouldn't the oldest kid be in school by now?! Sorry for the tangential thinking...
     
  25. Will she finally get her braces off?
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine