I do my weekly DVR Purges, but let's be frank: they are crap. I don't proofread them at all most weeks. They're collections of scattered thoughts that barely even make sense a week later. What I've decided to do is, with most of these shows I watch taking a break, reflect on where I stand with them, assessing what is in the show's favor (assets) and what could get it in trouble (liabilities).
Now, not every show I watch will be included. In general, I'm sticking to shows that I've kept notes (be them from Purges or otherwise) as I've watched. That means, shows like The Bridge, Looking, Sherlock, and Dexter will not be included. To get my thoughts on those, ask me. This project, supposing I stay on schedule should take all month and I hope it does a good job summing up where these shows stand. In some cases, I'm hoping to convince you to start watching. Other times, it'll be nothing more than a postmortem for a show that's gone.
I hope you enjoy.
Favorite Episode(s): "Hungry Games", "Orlando", "The Wonderful World of Hecks"
The Family: They aren't the best people, but they are good people. Like any great ensemble, most of the time, everyone is divided up. The show it at its best when everyone is together. This applies to The Middle as much as any show I can think of. Look no further than the car ride to Orlando and how excellently things spiral out of control. I'm not sure why, but the equation Hecks + discussion of mortality = gold. The family discussing religion at the beginning of season three's "Get Your Business Done" is still one of my favorite scenes in the series. This season brought the delightful "Hungry Games" which is an entertaining enough series of interviews by the family members with Reverend Peele (I'm not learning his actual name). It's all held together by Axl defending the family at the end by determining "We win ugly". When this show wants, the Hecks can be the sweetest, most cohesive hot mess of a family on TV and that is perhaps its greatest asset of all.
Call-backs: Anyone who has ever heard me talk about this shows knows that I love the historians on it. This is the kind of thing that isn't required to make the show work, that makes me love it even more. The Middle is full of call-backs to other episodes or running-gags. It's not like Arrested Development in which there's an intended payoff. It's little things like remembering the blue bag for road trips or Sue's Disney World jar or even the oft mentioned "death napkin". It's the kind of show that rewards you for how much you are paying attention.
Mike: Neil Flynn's performance in The Middle is analogous to Kyle Chandler's in Friday Night Lights. He doesn't always say much. Most of what he does involves listening to others and saying exactly what's needed and no more. It's a thankless job and why he is looked past in favor of his co-stars when people talk about the show. There's not many actors who can deliver a talk like the one he had with Axl in "The Christmas Tree" about Cat's Cradle and make it work. That was as effective as anything I've seen on that show. He can do something sweet like that, paternal like his talk with Sue about dating in "Office Hours", or do flustered with the situation in "The Optimist". That's range.
Frankie at Work: When the show began, we spent a lot of time with Frankie at the car dealership. By the second season, the writers realized little of that worked and dropped it at the expense of having Chris Kattan around. Her return to work, now at the dental office with the amazing Jack McBrayer, has been largely problematic. They don't need to prove to us that Frankie is bad at her job. That's been established. All it does now is make me not like her. I know part of the fun of the Hecks is that they are the "bad family" in the neighborhood, but it's tough to go through stories like Frankie forgetting to send out the appointment reminders (which also involved an uncomfortable amount of farce) or Frankie losing her car because she forgot where she parked. Even if it means less McBrayer, I'm completely fine if we never follow her into the office again.
Bi-polar Axl: The show has fallen into a pattern with Axl. He has two modes when dealing with the rest of the family: complete dick or part of the team. Obviously, it doesn't mean much during the times when he is sweet to the family, like the end of "Hungry Games" without his moments of rebellion. As seen in "Vacation Days" and "The Christmas Tree" there's a pattern to it and I'd like a little more variety in that. They clearly know how to milk a moment out of him though and it's great when it happens. Him defending Sue when Darrin leaves her without a date for the dance or the Mother-Son bonding over beer pong is excellent. More of that, please, and less of him being purposely difficult for no other reason than "he's the rebellious child".
Shitting on characters: Another hallmark of the show that is perhaps relied on too much at times is how much the world shits on certain characters. Sue has long established bad luck. It's kind of her thing. She gets little victories like winning the Optimist scholarship (an absolutely perfect move by the writers) and I love those. "Heck on a Hard Body" was the perfect Sue episode, in that we get reminded of how much her inner-circle loves her (Her argument with Darrin is adorable and Brad offering to win the car for her is touching) and her tenacity gets her the win. For every example of that, there's an episode where people literally sit on her without realizing she's there or forget her name despite knowing her for years. I've come to terms with Sue though. Brick is the one I really feel sorry for. To their credit, Mike and Frankie openly admit they messed up by ignoring him, and the show acknowledges that part of why he is weird has to do with neglect. It doesn't make it any easier to see how often he's forgotten in favor of tending to Sue or Axl. Something like "Vacation Days" is almost a cop out. After Mike is incredibly hurtful to Brick as he attempts to fulfill all his promises to Mike over the years, Brick shrugs it off as though it's nothing and says that he's doing it out of responsibility only. That doesn't really absolve Mike for being awful. It sidesteps it.
There are few shows that have gone up in esteem with me over five seasons. I couldn't get into The Middle when it began, picked it up in Season two to figure out what I was missing, kept up with it in season three as part of my Wednesday routine, and couldn't find a reason to stop watching in season four. As season five ended, it occurred to me that it was the highlight of my Wednesday and one of the few shows I couldn't imagine quitting. That's what happens when a show knows exactly what it is. At no point in the show's run has it ever tried to be a show it isn't. It's a family comedy and remains about the family, first and foremost. The Disney trip is the first time the show has done a stunt location (as opposed to multiple per year with Modern Family). The characters developed immediately and have been consistently written. I can't think of a single time that a guest star has been bigger than the episode. Does anyone even give credit for how spectacular the casting was for what easily could've been The Patricia Heaton Show? Heaton is every bit as good as her Emmy winning performance in Everybody Loves Raymond. Neil Flynn easily shakes the role of Janitor in Scrubs. Charlie McDermott, Eden Sher, and Atticus Shaffer are ideal for their roles. When The Middle eventually ends its run, it will go down as one of the most overlooked family comedies of its day, and it does it without gimmicks. It's just a good show.
Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
Suburgatory
Modern Family
Parenthood
The Mindy Project
The Michael J Fox Show
The Big Bang Theory
Agents of SHIELD
The Crazy Ones
Back in the Game
Parks and Recreation
The Walking Dead
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