Welcome to a new Wildcard Wednesday! This week, as coverage of The Middle continues, I want to spotlight the series’ original unaired pilot. It was produced for ABC in early 2007 and boasted a script very close to the second pilot (from 2009) that actually sold the series, also penned by creators DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler. This first version simply featured an entirely different cast. The lone holdover was Atticus Shaffer as Brick, whose character was set right from the start. Otherwise, everyone else was replaced — Brenna O’Brien as Sue, Michael Mitchell as Elvis (the original Axl), Lex Medlin as Mike, and most notably, Ricki Lake as Frankie.

All their characterizations are basically the same, but the way they’re played makes them come across totally different than their counterparts in the second pilot (and series). In particular, Medlin’s Mike is more of a goofball prone to putting his foot in his mouth rather than Neil Flynn’s more emotionally guarded and thus sensitivity-lacking patriarch. Additionally, Sue is very much a try-hard loser here, but she’s more quiet and obviously insecure about it. Eden Sher added pluck and spunk — the sort of delusional motivation needed to make this character work on a weekly basis as a clown (someone we cheer for rather than pity).

But the biggest difference of all is Ricki Lake as Frankie — she’s much more understated than Patricia Heaton and probably more based in realism, minimizing comic moments rather than leaning into them. With her at the helm, The Middle is a more downbeat show — a sigh rather than a pat on the back. And while she plays the frazzled mom well, she doesn’t display the inner fire that makes Frankie tick on the series (in accordance with Heaton’s more pugnacious persona). It’s therefore interesting, because the text isn’t much different. However, the tone of the original pilot, stemming from and in extension of these performances, makes for a contrasting experience. It’s not nearly as warm and feel-good, rendering it harder to see this version lasting nine years as a series on ABC — let alone even one.

Of course, that’s easy to say because we did see the second version go on for nine years as a series, proving that it worked. So, like every proposed pilot, we’re dealing in hypotheticals. And now you can conceive of those hypotheticals yourself, for here’s the original Middle  — for your private, educational, and totally non-commercial interest. Enjoy!

Come back next week for another Wildcard! And stay tuned Tuesday for more Middle!