Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday, on a Wednesday! This week, I’m starting my coverage of The Middle (2009-2018, ABC), which is currently available on DVD/Blu-Ray and streaming!

The Middle stars PATRICIA HEATON as Frankie Heck, NEIL FLYNN as Mike Heck, CHARLIE McDERMOTT as Axl Heck, EDEN SHER as Sue Heck, and ATTICUS SHAFFER as Brick Heck. With CHRIS KATTAN as Bob.

Modern Family wasn’t ABC’s only new single-cam family comedy in the 2009-2010 season. A half hour earlier on Wednesday nights, viewers could settle into The Middle. Created by a pair of Roseanne alums — with credits also on Murphy Brown and Ellen — The Middle eschewed the sexy narrative stimulus of Modern Family’s unique household dynamics for something far more familiar and traditional: a simple nuclear family construct of a mom, a dad, and their three minor children. The only conceptual trapping — if you could even call it that — was the show’s deliberate rejection of urbanity, with this family living a suburban, and even somewhat rural, existence in a small Indiana town. The kind of Midwestern locale referred to in the pilot as “flyover country” — a region our national media tends to generalize and neglect. This was partly true of sitcoms as well, as the most celebrated network shows were still set in or near big cities. Additionally, this family — amusingly named the Hecks — was not upper-middle class like the Dunphys or the Pritchetts. The Hecks were, as the title described, more purely middle class. And perhaps even on the lower end of the middle, allowing for the kind of relatable economic struggles faced both by this demographic and those who also live in the non-urban “middle” parts of this country. These distinctions, of setting and strata, were enough to set The Middle apart from the rest of the genre, serving as the situation’s only premised particulars beyond its inherently low-concept and intentionally classic family configuration.

Notably, this also wasn’t a show about the industry, made by people in the industry for other people in the industry. There was nothing in it even adjacent to those themes. No meta, no wink, no allusions. It was physically and spiritually removed from all that gimmickry. And its only premised hooks were uncomplicated — a backdrop for the characters and their weekly stories. An intentionally not-flashy marker of identity, albeit a marker, nonetheless. This would prove to be a template as ABC moved forward with more single-cam family sitcoms throughout the 2010s. Like The Middle, and the even the more ostentatious Modern Family, familiar setups in shows like The Goldbergs, Black-Ish, and Fresh Off The Boat nevertheless got distinguished by important but simple details — other basic identity-markers, including class and setting (and race) — which made them special relative to each other. Thus, The Middle’s principal relevance in the context of my sitcom study is being a leading encapsulation of its subgenre during this era. Although the series never cracked the annual Nielsen Top 30 — and it was certainly never the kind of show that the TV Academy thought was sexy enough to award — it was solid enough to remain a constant from 2009 to 2018, apparently leaving the air only by its own choice. And well after it had become a guiding example of ABC sitcommery in the 2010s decade.

Now, I can’t lie and pretend this is my favorite sitcom from this era. In general, family shows, especially those with children, are not my cup of tea. They often give themselves permission to supplant humor with warmth, and that makes them less compelling on one of this genre’s seminal metrics: comedy. What’s more, I’ve seen so many kids on sitcoms used as narrative devices rather than characters, as they’re not reliably capable of driving plots with clearly communicated perspectives — the kind that would allow us to draw a link between their depictions and their actions. Instead, the fact that they’re young and don’t know better is often treated as a catch-all excuse for any range of conflict-making maneuverings. This yields weak situation comedy, as it’s impersonal and unspecific. Accordingly, I have an admitted preference for adult-centered shows, as they just don’t have to worry about those pitfalls. That’s why I prefer the early 2010s efforts from NBC — such as 30 Rock and Parks And Rec — as they, like the best of CBS’ multi-cams (namely, The Big Bang Theory and Mom), are more boldly, intentionally comedic, with better supportive (adult) regulars. And it’s why I tend to prefer Modern Family over The Middle as well, for even though the former’s kids also grew in prominence, the latter’s kids are always more central. Heck, they plainly become The Middle’s most important characters by the series’ midpoint, eventually eclipsing the adults as the focus of many episodes.

In the beginning, though, it’s different. The Middle opens as a Roseanne-like blue-collar family sitcom centered around forty-something matriarch, Frankie, who has three kids, a husband working in management at a local quarry, and a career as an underperforming salesperson at the only car dealership in town. The first pilot featured Ricki Lake before the whole thing was tweaked and recast, with sitcom vet Patricia Heaton stepping into the leading role. On Everybody Loves Raymond, Heaton had also essayed a frazzled mother with three children. But The Middle was no Raymond. Not just because this was, appropriately for the late 2000s, a single-camera show, but because Raymond was knowingly fixated on the adult family members. As Ray says, “It’s not really about the kids.” Well, on The Middle, it is about the kids, as all three are narratively and comedically relevant from the start. Mostly as regular elements who compound the stress felt by Heaton’s middle-class working mother Frankie and her loving but un-emotive husband Mike (played by Scrubs’ Neil Flynn). Their oldest is Axl (Charlie McDermott), a lazy, self-centered jock, and the youngest is Brick (Atticus Shaffer), an eccentric with tendencies that are implied as autistic. Both are fairly textbook — Axl is a teen archetype without much personalization (he’s the weakest in the ensemble), while Brick is an oddball who earns appreciated but easy laughs merely by being weird. (He’s sort of a more extreme take on Malcolm In The Middle’s Dewey.) The middle child, on the other hand, is another story — and perhaps it’s fitting for a show with this name to have this figure grow to become its most vital presence.

That “middle” child is Sue Heck, played by Eden Sher. Best described as the perennial loser, Sue Heck fails at everything she tries. But she keeps on trying anyway, and she always does so with a brace-faced smile. Initially the butt of the joke instead of a nuanced underdog, Sue grows to become an ambassador for the show as a whole, symbolizing the oft-neglected person, both in the context of a nuclear family and also in the broader “flyover” demographic that The Middle is personifying at large. She doesn’t take over the situation, like a, say, Sheldon, who becomes the center of gravity for everything that follows. But she does become a dominant figure within weekly story, as she increasingly personifies the overall tenor of the series in the same way that, oh, Jack and Karen quickly became more boldly evocative of their series’ sense of humor than the title characters on Will & Grace. And she thus emerges as The Middle’s finest asset. The Christine Baranski of Cybill. That is, the character who’s the biggest credit to The Middle and its bona fides as a good sitcom. Plus, she’s easily the funniest presence in the ensemble, with the most uniquely comedic personality and therefore the most ability to directly motivate stories that are personalized to her depiction. Audiences have to come here, to this sitcom, to get Eden Sher’s Sue Heck, and stories that are crafted for her are acutely aware of that fact. She’s special. And without her, I’m not even sure that I would still be covering the series.

Don’t get me wrong — I appreciate how this show represents ABC’s sitcom bent of the 2010s. And I love Patricia Heaton, a linchpin of Everybody Loves Raymond (one of my early 2000s’ favorites) who doesn’t get enough credit these days for her reliability as an actress. But The Middle doesn’t take as much advantage of her as Raymond did. Oh, early on, she is more of a star — Frankie’s at the crux of this busy, hectic family. And there’s a case to be made that, as a Heaton fan, the early version of the series here in Season One is the most appealing, for it’s when scripts are most dependent on its star performer as a narrative nucleus, going between her home and her work (where Chris Kattan recurs as her downbeat colleague). To wit, One also has the most natural support from the premised hooks of her middle-class middle-American world. Those are key details that fade into the background over time — going from explicit to implicit as the show refines its sense of humor, leaning away from laughs predicated on the world and into laughs about the funny but relatable characters who inhabit it. This trend is fine, however, for The Middle is fundamentally a low-concept family show that regards the characters and their relationships as most important. While Modern Family has premised setups that are vital for situation affirmation (because they literally define the main characters’ dynamics), The Middle has even simpler needs. Stories don’t have to emphasize “the middle” where the series takes place, as long as the leads themselves intrinsically do. And that, again, is a huge reason Sue shines — she embodies the premise as a middle-class middle child in the middle of America: a plucky underdog who’s quirky but lovable. With enough individuality to motivate sitcommery.

Accordingly, this show is at its best when Sue is best used. We’ll talk more about its overall trajectory throughout these next few months, but a brief encapsulation here notes that when defining a peak era, we’re looking for the best calibration of all its elements — the “Goldilocks” conditions. In the case of The Middle, we want it to be firing on all cylinders with how it displays its situation. That occurs in Season Three. By that point, the show has settled into its comic identity and refined all the leads (like any low-concept sitcom hopes to do), with the kids participating meaningfully within weekly story alongside the adults, and Heaton’s Frankie primarily. In the latter half of the run, the adults — including Frankie herself — don’t get featured as well or as often in major ideas. That’s a shame, for Heaton truly is an energy-uplifting performer whom the show benefits by spotlighting. As for the kids, The Middle also needs them to be genuinely helpful. After the early years where they’re more secondary, the middle era (ha!) finds them on equal footing inside the ensemble. In particular, Sue joins Axl in high school, opening them both up for stories that highlight their differing characterizations. Then, after Four, the kids start going off to college — Axl leaves in Five, Sue leaves in Seven — and they’re both away in Seven and Eight. This naturally weakens the series’ ability to play to its situation, for separating the leads makes it rare for everyone to be working in tandem. And the college setting is literally removed from the world that The Middle told us it wanted to occupy. So, it’s a stretch to the situation that doesn’t expand its horizons as much as strain them.

This is also because after about, say, Season Five, the kids themselves start to earn lesser situation comedy, thus explaining the show’s basic decline. And, no, it’s not due to the tone becoming more sentimental or maudlin like other family sitcoms with kids. The Middle always has a pronounced sense of warmth, but it aims to be consistently funny as well. (I appreciate that about this series!) Conversely, it’s also not because the characters broaden to extremes; despite a year or so in there where, interestingly, Sue does get a bit cartoonish, the show itself never grows too ridiculous. Rather, just as we saw on Modern Family, as the kids evolve into young adults, their narrative usage can’t help but devolve into the clichés of another sitcom genre: the rom-com. With stories entirely about their romantic maneuvers alongside an assortment of vague partners, the plot developments start to become self-driving, unattached to the particulars of their clear (if archetypal) characterizations. Axl really becomes a nebulously imprecise figure in the latter half of the run as he hops between girls, while Brick preposterously finds a steady partner in a way that dilutes his own comic value. And even Sue, the hilarious and unique ambassador for the series en masse, loses shape as she becomes a young woman pursuing and pursued by potential paramours. As such, the last few years, with many stories taking place at school and involving love interests, are lame — a shift away from what The Middle was built to be, especially with its leads, who are best engaged in this specific world when in direct relation.

Fortunately, the first five seasons are great by the series’ standards, with, again, Three representing the highest water mark (after a strong Two), and the first year naturally self-discovering, offering the boldest use of Frankie and the core premised trappings at its disposal. One just doesn’t yet have the refined character knowledge to project the full extent of the warm, familiar, comfort-food consistency for which The Middle would become known. Indeed, that comfort-food consistency is The Middle’s calling card — like many of these ABC family sitcoms from the 2010s — as it’s got likable characters in a light-hearted world, and stories that accordingly reflect that ethos. There’s a lot of charm in that alone, especially for a genre built on the reliability of making people feel good. Now, in terms of comedy, and in particular situation comedy, this show does have its moments. (Thank you, Sue!) However, to me, it never shines quite as bright as some of its more audacious contemporaries on NBC and CBS, along with the gaudier and more risk-taking Modern Family. So, it’s not a favorite of mine on a macro series-ranking level. To wit, I think the show fully lives up its name in comparison to long-running network hits. It’s in the middle when it comes to comedy, character (outside of Sue), and its own niche in the genre. But, hey, that’s not a knock, for I know what to expect of The Middle. And I’m happy to trade trendy for traditional. Excitement for comfort. Meta for earnest. That’s a heck of a glad exchange on my end, especially in the 2010s, where those qualities are special. For me, that’s reason enough to enjoy this show — which, after my study for this survey, I’m happy to say I truly do. I’m excited to dig in now to spotlight its finest samples.

 

01) Episode 1: “Pilot” (Aired: 09/30/09)

Frankie tries to help her kids succeed at school while balancing her menial sales job.

Written by Eileen Heisler & DeAnn Heline | Directed by Julie Anne Robinson

The Middle’s aired pilot is an efficient and effective look at the show as conceived. Frankie is the central character, as the action jumps between her job at the last remaining car dealership in a small Indiana town, and her home life, which largely involves supporting her kids through their difficulties at school. Eventually, stories will shift to a broader ensemble focus — with Frankie less of the primary narrative figure, even as her perspective remains at the fore via her voice-over. And the show’s tone will change as well, as Frankie’s life — in “the middle” — is depicted here as more suffocating and worthy of being mocked than the earnestly relatable place filled with quirky, mostly nice people that it’ll become for most of the run. So, I highlight this debut sample as an indication of what this sitcom initially intended to be, before evolving.

02) Episode 5: “The Block Party” (Aired: 10/28/09)

Mike tries to help Brick make friends while Frankie hopes Axl will gift her his jersey.

Written by Alex Reid | Directed by Ken Whittingham

This early offering exhibits a refining understanding of the three kids and how they exist in relation to each other. While Brick’s story involves his challenges in making friends — as a result of his social quirks (which render him palpably different) — the show reaffirms the juicy comic idea of Sue as a plucky loser, the butt of the joke whom this family nevertheless loves and protects. That will slightly evolve as the show comes to celebrate rather than roast her (like everything about “the middle” in its premise). But it’s a glimpse of her depiction here in Season One. More interesting, meanwhile, is the subplot with Axl, as the show is already trying to soften his edges as a lazy, conceited jock by having him show genuine regard for his siblings.

03) Episode 8: “Thanksgiving” (Aired: 11/25/09)

Frankie cancels Thanksgiving when she’s forced to work that day.

Written by Vijal Patel | Directed by Michael Spiller

Holidays are ripe fodder for all family sitcoms, and The Middle is no exception, turning many of them into annual staples. The series’ first Thanksgiving isn’t one of its finest, but it is an effective display of the show’s premised conceits. Frankie having to work on the holiday speaks to the family’s middle-class existence and the general daily grind she endures as a busy wife, mother, and working woman in a household that’s essentially living paycheck to paycheck. However, this entry is also notable because it’s the debut of Sue’s “boyfriend” Brad (Brock Ciarlelli), one of the series’ funniest recurring players — a personification of Sue’s lovable lack of self-awareness, which is always highlighted whenever he appears, especially early on.

04) Episode 10: “Christmas” (Aired: 12/09/09)

Frankie is excited to have a solo at their church’s midnight Christmas service.

Written by Roy Brown | Directed by Reginald Hudlin

One of the things I love about The Middle is its distinguishing choice to represent people and parts of the country that TV, and the media writ large, has tended to ignore — especially in the context of the sitcom genre during this era. In particular, I appreciate that the Hecks regularly attend church. We don’t see that too often in sitcoms, at least not as a matter of regular practice, so it’s something that sets this series apart and plays to the conceptual parts of the situation regarding its depiction of a middle-class, middle-west version of a middle-type, or “average,” American family. That’s emphasized here in the show’s first Christmas excursion, whose story hinges around Frankie singing in the choir — a revealing idea for this series.

05) Episode 12: “The Neighbor” (Aired: 01/06/10)

The Hecks face off against their bully neighbors, the Glossners.

Written by Jana Hunter & Mitch Hunter | Directed by Lee Shallat Chemel

Brooke Shields debuts here as the recurring Rita Glossner, matriarch of the terrible family that will torment the Hecks and their friends for the rest of the series’ run. It’s a narrative setup that’s familiar to these somewhat suburban family sitcoms — neighborhood conflict — and also indulges a quintessentially American experience that feels appropriate for The Middle as a matter of premise. Now, I must admit that this comic idea loses its novelty after this initial offering — as does the stunt casting of Brooke Shields (amusingly disguised as “white trash”) — but in her debut, it’s fun, especially because she forces Frankie into a confrontation where Patricia Heaton naturally shines (with shades of Debra Barone, who pops out occasionally on this series).

06) Episode 15: “Valentine’s Day” (Aired: 02/10/10)

Both Brick and Sue have Valentine’s Day plans for a change.

Written by Bruce Rasmussen | Directed by Chris Koch

Valentine’s Day is another holiday we’ll see a lot ahead, especially as the kids grow up and their romantic pursuits become more of a regular focus. This installment is among the best in that subcategory, however, because it’s more individually about them than any broader arc-based concerns. Specifically, Brick’s challenges with socialization are highlighted when he has his first sleepover — with a boy who acts like a cat. And Sue’s own social inexperience is on display when she gets invited to a wild co-ed party — something that calls attention to her own unique depiction and the ways in which she’s a comic outsider, always trying (and loveably so). Meanwhile, Axl gets a shot to his ego in this thematically cohesive entry that starts to indicate how the kids are becoming more narratively prominent amid their refining usage.

07) Episode 16: “The Bee” (Aired: 03/03/10)

Before going to Chicago for Brick’s spelling bee, the family learns they forgot Sue’s birthday.

Written by Eileen Heisler & DeAnn Heline | Directed by Ken Whittingham

Episodes where the Hecks are all together tend to make for some of this series’ finest. This is true of all ensemble sitcoms, which thrive on having a variety of well-defined characters whom we want to see interact in comedic story. “The Bee” has the right idea then, as the entire family journeys to Chicago for Brick’s spelling bee — a setup that culminates appropriately, using an established trait of his character (his whispering tic) for a big-yuk climax. Additionally, the family’s middle-class identity is highlighted in the low-level hotel at which they’re forced to stay. And Sue’s encroaching position as the premise’s mascot is starting to become evident, when the family’s shortsighted neglect of her birthday emphasizes how the middle child is often overlooked, just like the middle class in the middle of this country. It’s thematically perfect.

08) Episode 17: “The Break-Up” (Aired: 03/10/10)

Frankie tries to comfort Axl after he has his first major heartbreak.

Written by Vijal Patel | Directed by Wendey Stanzler

Axl’s love life will become the driving force for far too many stories in the latter, and weaker, half of The Middle’s run. But we get the first taste of it here in another entry that, like the Valentine’s Day outing above, is less about the functional churning out of narrative fodder than it is the genuine exploration of this character. That is, his vulnerability upon getting dumped is another softening of his depiction that exhibits how the series is trying to break him out of the archetypal clichés with which he (in particular) was initially rendered. Also, this is a chance to develop Frankie and Mike’s relationship, as Mike’s struggle to express his feelings comes into view when Frankie plays an old voicemail he left her — it’s very funny, and character-revealing.

09) Episode 23: “Signals” (Aired: 05/12/10)

Frankie thinks Mike could learn some things from Brick’s social-skills class.

Written by Eileen Heisler & DeAnn Heline | Directed by Jamie Babbit

Season One’s penultimate showing is penned by the series’ two creators. It’s both a fine show for the regulars and an effective expansion of the series’ world that will prove helpful going forward, as The Middle continues to evolve (and indeed improve). I especially enjoy the parallels drawn between Brick, who has known social difficulties and is thus in a special class for it, and his father Mike, who has trouble connecting with others because he doesn’t like being vulnerable. It’s a terrific setup to spotlight their characterizations, strengthening them both from the thematic juxtaposition. Also, another of the series’ funnest recurring players is introduced — Reverend TimTom (Paul Hipp), the guitar-playing youth pastor on whom Sue has a not-so-concealed crush. His presence is additive, naturally accentuating the glorious weirdness of Sue.

10) Episode 24: “Average Rules” (Aired: 05/19/10)

Frankie and Mike get bad news about all three kids as the school year winds to a close.

Written by Eileen Heisler & DeAnn Heline | Directed by Wendey Stanzler

My choice for this year’s Most Valuable Episode (MVE), “Average Rules” is a memorable capper to this first season, with a smart utilization of the show’s primary elements inside a well-constructed story. Frankie and Mike have end-of-year school meetings about their three children, learning that each one isn’t living up to his/her full potential. Axl’s subplot, about potentially being gifted, is a little bit of a copout, but it helps thematically earn the ideas explored with the other, and frankly funnier and better-defined kids. In particular, Sue. She has one of her most quintessentially “Sue” half hours as Frankie learns that she’s so average and forgettable that her teachers don’t even remember her. This begets a feverish attempt to get Sue into a club so that she can find a place in the school yearbook — the “no-cut” track team. All she has to do is run a little — but, true to her lovable loser form, even that ends up being a challenge after she’s hit by a deer while out for a practice jaunt. Yep, it’s a whimsically absurd accident that plays to Sue’s chronic penchant for misfortune… which nevertheless proves not to stop her, as she makes it around the track despite all of her obstacles. This encourages a joyful message of plucky resistance that stems directly from her comedically rich characterization and encapsulates the overall tenor of The Middle, which aims to spotlight people like Sue who don’t often get their due. But the cherry on top of this sundae is the guest appearance of Betty White as Brick’s nemesis, a tough librarian who is threatening not to graduate him unless he returns all 31 books he has out. Their scenes are amusing, and a nice little nod to sitcom fans, cementing The Middle as a warm, comfortable, loving example of this storied genre.

 

Other notable episodes that merit mention include: “The Scratch,” a memorable entry that feels more like Roseanne than The Middle, with a misunderstanding that involves CPS and a guest appearance by Vicki Lewis — it’s comedically bold enough to stand out, but not as a great representation of this series or its characters. I’ll also briefly cite “The Cheerleader,” the sophomore outing that reiterates the characterizations of the pilot (and expands Mike’s), “The Interview,” where Mike’s struggles to find work are paired with Frankie’s efforts to help Brick at school, and “Mother’s Day,” the first of the series’ generally amusing Mother’s Day segments and the debut of Marsha Mason as Frankie’s plain-talking mom.

 

*** The MVE Award for the Best Episode from Season One of The Middle goes to…

“Average Rules”

 

 

Come back next week for Season Two and a new Wildcard!