I rather enjoyed the way the cast broke down into groups on last night’s episode of The Middle. With five solid players on the team, the writers managed three clearly delineated stories, and each group received solid support from the rest of the Heck family.
Frankie and Mike had the weakest story. But I enjoyed the conclusion of it more than if it had been just another sitcom moment. One of the most important things about the Heck family is how middle-America they are, and what could be more relevant right now than a family of five teetering on the edge because of one overlooked zero on a price tag? The Orson Heritage Village thing was so-so, but it would be hilarious if Frankie had to keep the job, and reports from her day at work with her other husband kept on popping up randomly.
Next on the list were Brick and Sue. The two have been paired together before, and usually to great success. This time they found themselves rooming together when Axl’s school project drove Brick from his and Axl’s room. How awesome was Sue when she got excited at the prospect of having a roommate?
And I loved the randomness of the hole in the wall from throwing things at it to disturb the doll baby. Brick reading a book on home improvement was priceless, and I’m really appreciative of the fact that the plot didn’t go where I saw it going: some sort of infestation coming out of the wall. But once they’d gone that far I wonder why Sue and Brick didn’t build a secret tunnel into Brick and Axl’s room … Sue could mess with Axl every night while he slept!
The absolute best part of the episode was Axl and the baby doll he was assigned to care for. Miles better than the old flour bag thing — although Niles on Frasier did some new and wonderful things with that old chestnut — a doll with fancy sensors is the perfect tool for the right character and situation. I think Axl was a brilliant choice.
And the best part about it was how it incorporated every member of the family. Mike was relishing in the struggles Axl faced with his baby. Not that I think Mike was the one to go through the same thing when Axl was a baby, but he definitely enjoyed the kid complaints just right. I’m surprised that Mike got to play that part more than Frankie did, all things considered.
If Sue hadn’t been wise enough to complain to Mike and Frankie about it she totally could have been convinced to care for the doll as a loving aunt. That actually would have been a funny direction to go with the story — Sue overwhelmed by the demands of caring for a baby … who was Axl’s responsibility … and is a doll. I could see that.
And then there’s Brick. Naming the doll “Little Brick” was awesome. I loved how upset that got Brick. Oh, to have had a little brother…. Great episode!
“You hold him up to the microwave, the radiation makes him quiet.” – Axl to Mike, about the doll baby
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jan 13, 2011 @ 14:06 EST5EDT
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Loved the episode. Guffawed at the quote twice: In the episode as well as when I read it above.
Yeah, Axl with the baby was hilarious, and I love that we never saw the parents finding out about the hole in the wall — yet we got the subtle “the only room we’ve done over is Sue’s” during Frankie and Mike’s fight. Was it Murphy’s Law, or S*** Happens that was the moral of the story here? ;-)
Great episode. I loved when Axl asked something like “What are babies good for?” and the mom went “Ruining sex” and then the look on Axl’s face was perfect reaction.