Malcolm In The Middle's 7 Best And 7 Worst Episodes

There are few sitcoms from the early 2000s as influential as "Malcolm in the Middle." Not only is the show a stylistic breath of fresh air, it captures the messy and chaotic lives of American teenagers in a way few network sitcoms ever had before. It strips away the pristine family tropes the genre had become known for, and introduces a more down-to-earth portrayal of the dynamics at work in many middle class families. What results is something utterly irresistible.

While "Malcolm in the Middle" aired its ending back in 2006, the show's endearing characters, timeless humor, and great performances have given it major staying power among audiences. So it was no surprise that fans were elated to hear star Frankie Muniz spill the beans about a potential revival being spearheaded by Bryan Cranston (per Fox News). While it isn't a sure thing, news of this potential reboot will no doubt encourage old and new fans alike to give the original show another watch. That means there's never been a more perfect time to look back on the series' best installments ... or its worst. From clip show disasters to thrilling revenge capers, these are the 7 best and 7 worst episodes of "Malcolm in the Middle."

"Francis Escapes" is one of the earliest episodes to focus on Malcolm's oldest brother Francis, who is away at military school. After his mom revokes his phone privileges (cutting off contact with his girlfriend Bebe), Francis escapes from the school and hides out in the family's backyard. He reaches out to Malcolm, trusting his brother to keep his secret and help him run away with Bebe.

This episode actually contains some interesting and relatable character dynamics. Consider the heartbreak Francis feels when he finds out that his relationship is more important to him than it is to Bebe, or the betrayal he sustains when Malcolm spills his secrets to Lois, knowing that it's for Francis' own good. Unfortunately, the episode's humor falls flat. Repeated jokes centered around Dewey thinking Francis is a monster that lives under his bed and Bebe convincing Malcolm to help her get away with shoplifting feel tired and stale. Instead of lifting the episode's central themes, the humor drags them down, leaving "Francis Escapes" a so-so entry in the show's stellar Season 1.

"Cattle Court" may be one of IMDb's lowest-rated episodes of "Malcolm in the Middle," but it's still pretty funny. Reese, who's working at a butcher shop, ends up meeting a fellow classmate named Carrie, who's a vegetarian. Trying to impress her, Reese quickly throws away his food and pretends to be a vegetarian as well. But things go rapidly wrong when he tries to sneak meat in his hat and pockets on a date with Carrie.

There are quite a few fun moments in the episode, but the highlight comes when Reese begins to feel guilty about his diet and place of employment. He dreams of animals putting him on trial and sentencing him to be cooked, a clever and comical reversal. But the episode's message gets muddled, due to the script's inability to commit to either Reese feeling bad about his meat-eating ways and going vegetarian, or sticking to his love of meat. Additionally, the secondary plot, which involves Malcolm convincing Craig that Lois doesn't value him, feels mean-spirited and unfunny.

"Softball" is, in many ways, similar to the Season 1 episode "Rollerskates." But unlike that installment, it fails to successfully capture the mentor-mentee relationship in an interesting way. Here, Malcolm reluctantly agrees to let his mom teach him how to be better at softball. Like Hal, Lois ends up being very strict and humiliating Malcolm in front of his friends and team, including a girl he likes. However, in the end, Malcolm learns valuable skills that make him a better player.

One of the reasons "Rollerskates" works so well is that it chronicles how Malcolm's training changes Hal's character, transforming him from a mild-mannered dad into an intense control freak. But Lois is always an intense control freak, which means "Softball" doesn't bring anything new to table. This makes the main plot feel redundant and unmemorable. Additionally, Hal's side plot, which features a job interview with a spy agency, feels too dumb and over-the-top to be a good fit in the typically grounded show.

In "Living Will," viewers find out that Hal has a very difficult time making decisions, which leads him to ask Lois to make them for him. But when a neighbor who isn't close with Hal is left in a vegetative state, it's revealed he's named Hal as the executor of his living will. Hal is faced with the decision to pull the plug or keep him on life support. 

Things go downhill, both for the family and the viewer, when fear paralyzes the upper half of Hal's body, forcing him to do everything with his feet. While Cranston is an impressive physical comic, the humor feels too focused on making fun of him to be truly funny. This episode also features a side plot involving Craig's dad trying to make him take over his gyms. While this leads to a funny scene where the boys try to teach Craig Feldspar to fight dirty, the actual character arc between Craig and his dad feels cheap, with little interesting buildup.

"Kitty's Back" revolves around Malcolm's best friend Stevie's family. After running away from her folks back in Season 3, Stevie's mom Kitty returns out of the blue and asks Lois to help her get back together with her husband and family. Lois refuses, feeling that Kitty doesn't deserve a second chance. However, the next day, Stevie and his father Abe are mad at Lois for being mean to Kitty. At the end of the episode, Lois realizes it's not her place to judge Kitty and gives her old friend a second chance.

This episode's plot is unfortunately filled with tonal misfires. It tries to deal with heavy subjects, like Kitty's abandonment of her family and subsequent quest for redemption, but makes light of things like her drug use and criminal acts. Additionally, the wedge that the episode tries to force between Stevie's family and Malcolm's family feels false and unnatural. The cherry on top of the disappointing sundae is a tropey and uninteresting secondary plot involving Francis hazing Dewey while inducting him into the "brotherhood."

As the title suggests, "Clip Show 2" is one of the two clip show episodes of "Malcolm in the Middle." Clip show episodes are often widely disliked, as they tend to feel like lazy rehashes of old content. Sadly, this one is no different. "Clip Show 2" is one of only two "Malcolm in the Middle" episodes to score below a 7.0 on IMDb, and for good reason.

The plot of this episode involves Hal and Lois trying to make decisions about their will. Their discussions about it lead them to look back on old memories, which enables the clip show format. Sadly, the pacing and structure are all over the place, and without proper context, many of the clips lose what made them funny in the first place. That being said, the entire episode isn't a complete bust. "Clip Show 2" features a very sweet moment as Hal and Lois jump to Dewey's aid after he wakes up sick and prove they'll be good parents to the new baby.

The only episode more disappointing than "Clip Show 2" is the original "Clip Show." In this episode, Hal drops Malcolm, Reese, and Dewey off with a psychiatrist after finding damage to his car and assuming the boys stole it. The meeting with the psychiatrist sets up the episode's clips, as the boys tell the professional various stories about their prior experiences.

This premise works better than some, and Andy Richter is a lot of fun as the boys' psychiatrist. But this doesn't change the fact that the clip show format just doesn't work. Much of the series' humor works because of its build-up. Without that sort of context, the episode's clips fall flat. It also doesn't help that "Clip Show" arrives less than three seasons into the show's runtime, meaning all the clips feel too recent to land and there's less material to draw from. This all leads to "Clip Show" earning a dismal rating on IMDb.