Figures from Malcolm in the middle

The family
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This article describes the main characters of the television series Malcolm right in the middle . These mainly consist of the actual family, consisting of father Hal, mother Lois and the male children Malcolm, Reese, Francis, Dewey and later Jamie, as well as friends, work colleagues and classmates. Over time, the actors adapt to their age-related developments and develop their own specific preferences or life strategies.

main characters

Malcolm

Frankie Muniz played Malcolm

Malcolm is the main character in the series and the third son of Hal and Lois. At the beginning of the series he is ten years old. In the episode Stock Car Racing (Season 1), he is told by his father, Hal, that he is named after Rusty Malcolm, a well-known racing driver. Also at the beginning of the series, teacher Caroline Miller realizes that he has an IQ of 165 and is therefore highly gifted. So she sends him to a gifted class. Malcolm doesn't want that, but his mother forces him to. For many episodes, Malcolm tried to lead a normal teenage life despite his talent. Like his big brother Reese, however, he often only has nonsense in his head, but unlike his brother, he solves problems with his head rather than his muscles. Malcolm almost always tries to help those around him where he can, even if that often leads him into difficult situations. Malcolm's self-centered and opinionated nature makes him often assume that his happiness and problems are the happiness and problems of the whole world. Following the example of his mother Lois, Malcolm also tries to defend his principles with all his might. So he (like Lois) cannot understand why there are people who have a different opinion than he and tries to impose his opinion on others because his views of things are the right ones and the rest of the world is wrong. With this quality, Malcolm always gets into trouble and usually does not make friends or existing friends turn away, which he explains with their ignorance.

However, during the seven seasons he changes. At first he is portrayed as a gifted person who doesn't have many friends. However, he looks more and more like his older brother Reese in the new seasons. Malcolm is still extremely intelligent, but he and his brother, who is no longer completely stupid, spend a lot of time doing nonsense and getting their family into trouble. Malcolm has several girlfriends over the course of the series, but they leave him because he either only talks about himself and never listens to them or because the rest of the family is already driving them sufficiently insane. Malcolm is a good dancer, but otherwise completely unmusical in contrast to his brother Dewey. Most recently, he started studying at the elite Harvard University and was apparently the last in the family to learn that his parents' plan would one day make him President of the United States .

Usually several times per episode, the main character, knowing that the other people in the series do not notice this, turns briefly to the viewer and reports on current events or expresses his feelings. This is the art of breaking through the fourth wall .

Reese

Justin Berfield played Reese

Reese is the second oldest son in the family and also appears to be the least intelligent. However, when he develops malicious schemes and pranks, he can occasionally be more resourceful than his brother Malcolm, as he has a strong imagination. Reese is usually very violent (towards younger and physically inferior children). He's also lazy, which is why he has little to no desire to go to school or do homework. However, his failures at school are also due to the fact that he has great difficulty concentrating. He is a feared bully at his school in the lower grades, who regularly beats many of Malcolm's classmates (except for Stevie, who is in a wheelchair and is therefore taboo as a "cripple"). Reese is fearful and intimidated with youngsters of the same age or equal. He also has no friends. A running gag of the series is that nobody knows "who Reese actually is". People of the same age know him by sight, but neither know his name nor what he does. The knowledge of being a "nobody" and the lack of popularity is a huge problem for him personally. He likes to take the frustration out on his younger brothers Malcolm and especially on Dewey.

Although he is the favorite grandson of his grandparents Ida and Victor, as they think he is a "real man" to pass on the genes, his parents - unlike in Malcolm - have little hope in him. But Reese is also highly gifted in his own way: He is an excellent and enthusiastic cook and would have almost won a cooking competition once, had he not flashed his cunning and sabotaged the other participants. This would not have been necessary because he would have won anyway, which he knew beforehand. He also cooks for his family on special occasions. She is then extremely pleased and adores Reese's culinary skills downright ecstatically.

Because of his often ruthless and destructive nature, he earns a lot of contempt from his fellow men - both from his classmates and from his brothers. That's why Malcolm and Dewey always enjoy it when something bad happens to him - knowing full well that he deserves it. Often he can easily be misused and manipulated by his fellow human beings for their purposes. Reese is proud of a lot, no matter how small and insignificant it is.

When his girlfriend breaks up with him to be with his brother Malcolm, he leaves his family without consultation and joins the United States Army as a minor under a false name. When Reese “completely switches off his brain” there, he wins a lot of sympathy from his commanding officer and becomes one of the best soldiers ever. After he passed his basic training with flying colors, he was sent to war in Afghanistan , where he deserted as a parachutist immediately after landing and was finally found by his mother Lois and brought back home. Due to his stupidity, athleticism and the consequences of Lois' upbringing, he places all hopes on his physical abilities, which makes him the archetype of the youthful thug. After graduating from high school, he moves in with Craig and becomes a caretaker at his former school.

Dewey

Dewey, who was the youngest brother until Jamie was born, suffers most from Malcolm and Reese, who would rather beat him up or take advantage of him than play with him. Furthermore, he gets hardly any attention from his parents. So he takes refuge in his own world, sometimes speaks to flies or plays with his imaginary friends and is more or less portrayed as a loner in the family. Like Malcolm, Dewey is also gifted, albeit in the musical field. Dewey is also extremely skilled. At times he “works” secretly as a magician on the street and earns money with what he hides. His parents finally find the money and explain the unexpected windfall with forgotten savings, and buy a new washing machine with it. Dewey also has the gift of being able to manipulate other people, apparently at will. B. Hals “band” (shortly before their first public appearance) confuses them and subjects the friendships of the members to a severe stress test. Besides, Dewey doesn't always take the truth very seriously.

Malcolm wants to help Dewey avoid having to go to the gifted class (which he describes in black pictures), so he lets Reese answer the questions on the IQ test. As a result, Dewey has to go to a remedial class that only includes children who are considered hopeless cases. Since Dewey has been in this particular class, he's quickly risen to become the leader, making sure the kids get whatever they want. He also gives them tutoring. What the other main characters in the series have to struggle to achieve (e.g. money) and usually not achieve, Dewey often falls into his lap by itself, something that the other family members recognize and often address.

Dewey has a pronounced musical talent, which he can successfully implement as a pianist and composer, although his family does not support him in this or his parents (partly unconsciously) sabotage his success. As Dewey z. If, for example, Lois is supposed to take part in a competition, one mishap after the other happened: First they miss the plane because Lois refuses to be scanned by the security staff, which means that Dewey can no longer practice before the competition. After that, Dewey gets Chili in his eyes so he can't see anything, and she jams his hands in her purse, making piano play seem impossible, and more. In addition, Hal and Lois always miss their school performances. Dewey sees all of this as an act of sabotage by his parents out of resentment. But he also knows how to help himself against his brothers Malcolm and Reese and even makes a profit for himself by cleverly playing off their fear of their mother Lois against them.

It is often only marginally noticed by all family members. Even outstanding events such as B. the award of a music award, are ignored by everyone. However, this leads to the fact that he regularly discovers the secrets of others, which gives him the opportunity to assert his interests in key situations - often to get revenge on a person who has subsequently caused him the worst.

Dewey is usually very caring towards his younger brother Jamie, unlike the way his own older brothers treat him.

Hal

Bryan Cranston played Hal

Hal is Lois 'husband and Francis', Reese, Malcolm, Dewey and Jamie's father. Before dating Lois, Hal was in a relationship with her sister for 5 years. His character fluctuates between an immature boy and a hard-working father. He's usually more tense than his wife, mostly because he's afraid of making the wrong decision. However, he can also punish his children if Lois is in any way unable to do so himself. Several episodes indicate that he used to be, just like his sons, a rebel and troublemaker.

Hal is extraordinarily imaginative. He regularly daydreams of being successful and famous and of how his neighbors envy him. In addition, Hal often has the urge to want to destroy things. Be it objects with a steam roller, or the elaborate domino course of his son Dewey etc.

He thinks it is terrible when Lois gets upset and therefore tries to avoid sensitive discussions and situations. Still, Hal officially stands behind every decision his wife makes, even if he secretly disagrees. When Lois is gone, however, he quickly loses self-control, falls back into old habits and, for example, starts smoking, gambling, listening to loud music or building a “killer robot”. He often gets outbursts of anger over minor incidents, most of which end in self-destructive fits.

If he develops a hobby, he is very passionate and ambitious, such as roller skating, running a pirate radio station and walking the Olympics . In the bowling episode he is portrayed as a very good bowler who almost completes a perfect game. However, these hobbies usually only last a short time. He comes from a large and rich family. Because of the strong tension between her and Lois, she rarely visits. They think Hal deserves a higher class woman than Lois.

Hal works in an open-plan office as an office worker in a large, but crisis-ridden company, where for years he stayed away from work every Friday without excuse and unnoticed. He also changes his alleged favorite son several times in the series, like Malcolm or Reese. In the episode The New Family Member, it is revealed that Hal's birthday is in March, and it is implied that he and Lois were born in the same year.

Lois

Jane Kaczmarek played Lois

Lois is the resolute, irascible and tough mother of the boys and the necessary link that holds the family together. Most of the time she sees through her sons and her husband. She works as a saleswoman at Lucky Aide , the local supermarket. When it comes to upbringing, she is resolute and strict, she is opinionated, controlling and is convinced that she has to win every argument. She is clearly choleric and often publicly embarrasses her sons, for which they - especially Francis - hate her. Although she has a great sense of morality, she often imposes her own ideas on others.

She had a very unhappy childhood because of her hated parents and was locked in a closet several times by her father Victor as a little girl. As a teenager, she still had many dreams, but most of them never came true, which is why she is irascible today. Allegedly, she turned 40 in 2000 when the series first aired.

Lois and Hal feel sexually attracted to each other even after 17 years of marriage and they lead a very intense and varied love life, which offers important support to their marriage and partnership. Originally, Hal was her sister's boyfriend for 5 years until Lois finally "relaxed" him, which her sister accuses her to this day. In the script, Lois is described as a "female devil". She is one of the main characters in the series, along with her husband Hal, which is barely evolving. Only in the last season does Malcolm get closer to her. The actually dramatic and sad relationship with Francis is only then examined in more detail. She apologizes for her past behavior, but that doesn't help Francis get away from her either. Thereupon she makes a helpless attempt to offer him money as compensation.

In the last episode of the series, Lois becomes pregnant again, which causes horror in Hal and Lois.

Francis

Francis, the eldest son, suffers from the trauma of his childhood, which was mainly shaped by the authoritarian mother, although Lois - at that time still an inexperienced young mother - made serious efforts to give her first child the most loving and understanding education. Since then, however, he has made Lois responsible for almost everything that went wrong in his life.

Francis was sent to a military academy in Alabama by his parents to teach him discipline. This plan fails, however, because Francis proves to be "completely lacking in discipline" and thus often brings the commandant of the academy, Spangler, to the edge of despair. When Francis can no longer stand it there, he lets himself be freed from "parental guardianship" by a legal trick and goes to Alaska in the hope of a well-paid job as a tree feller . However, he only ends up as a kitchen helper and dishwasher in a cheap dump where he meets the Inuit woman Piama, who will soon become his wife. He tries to gain respect among the loggers, which he does not succeed, although he defies his boss Lavernia with an unforgettable boxing match. In between, the completely demoralized Commander Spangler appears, who chased Francis to Alaska because he couldn't cope with Francis' lack of discipline.

When the last tree in the area was felled and the land was generously bought from the Indian tribe of Piama by a raw materials company, Francis quit his job and drove south with Piama. In a vacation ranch in Arizona he finds a new job as a foreman for the Danish (in the original English version German) hoteliers Otto and Grete, who find it hard to find their way around the USA and are very grateful for Francis' help. This saves them more than once from big stupid things (like buying sunscreen for cows). He enjoys this task and even begins to develop a sense of responsibility for the first time in his life. But Francis also loses this position because he deposits Otto's money at an ATM that is not an ATM at all.

From then on he stayed more badly than quite afloat until, at the end of the series, he finally followed in his father's footsteps and ended up in a boring office job, which, however, fits his changed way of life and which makes him satisfied.

Jamie

Jamie is the youngest child in the family Lois gives birth to at home at the end of season four. At the beginning, the gender is not explicitly mentioned as Jamie is both a girl and a boy name. At the beginning of the fifth season it is revealed that Jamie is also a boy. In the last season, Jamie is shown as a toddler, but initially he does not speak a word, which is discussed in an episode. In this, however, he speaks his first words ("Shut up!"), Which nobody hears, to Lois, who tries to teach him to speak. Jamie is completely silent and barely whimsy for most of his appearances.

Minor characters

Craig Feldspar

Craig Feldspar is Lois' (Malcolm's in later seasons) neurotic colleague at the Lucky Aide supermarket . In his job as deputy managing director, he is not very competent; He is tyrannical towards subordinates and ducky towards superiors. In numerous scenes it is shown that he is unhappily in love with Lois. Lois does not notice this for a long time until he tells her when he thinks he is about to die. When he is rejected by her, he gradually begins to become a little more confident. He loves his Persian cat "Jelly Bean" more than anything and spoils the animal to an absolutely absurd extent. Craig likes science fiction, computer games and comics and is an absolute expert in this field. He is usually portrayed as sluggish, unpopular and awkward, rarely showing greatness or self-confidence. In the episode Softball (season 5), however, it becomes apparent that he can play softball very well and is even the best on his team. This is one of the few times he shows he can be confident too. Although Craig's father owns his own gym and has an extremely healthy diet, Craig himself is overweight, which is why his father does not accept him. In this episode, Craig learns that his mother is still alive, something that his father kept from him for years. At the end of the series, Reese moves in with Craig after graduating.

First appearance: Lois sees red ( Red Dress )

Stevie Kenarban

Stevie Kenarban is an African-American and Malcolm's best friend. He is in a wheelchair, has only one lung and is also asthmatic . That is why he often has to pause for breath while talking and can only speak with difficulty and hesitantly. He and Malcolm meet for the first time at a meeting agreed by Lois. At first, Malcolm thinks he's a freak as he goes to gifted class, but after discovering Stevie's passion for comics, they quickly become friends. Stevie's parents do not allow him anything, not even television, as they are constantly concerned for his physical and mental health. Stevie himself would much rather do the same things as Malcolm. He also proves every now and then that he is very capable of doing this despite his disability.

First Appearance: Malcolm the Hero ( Pilot )

Piama Tananahaakna

Piama Tananahaakna is Francis' wife and an Inuit Indian. She was 19 years old when she and Francis met in Alaska and married three weeks later. Piama is very resolute and decisive, but always gives Francis the freedom to commit his mistakes and stupidities himself. At first, Piama and Lois are always in opposition and ready to fight, as Lois resented not having been informed about the wedding of their eldest son in advance. However, when Hal and Francis go on a motorcycle excursion against their wives' wishes, the two stick together, which is why their relationship gets better and better over the course of the series.

First Appearance: The New Family Member ( Hal's Birthday )

Abraham "Abe" Kenarban

Abraham Kenarban, usually just called "Abe", is Stevie's overprotective father and Kitty's husband. He's a friend of Hal and enjoys playing poker with him and his other friends Trey, Brian, Malik and Steve. As a child he was raised by his grandmother and his four unmarried aunts. If he is scared or insecure, he - like his son Stevie - often has asthma attacks and he is very overweight.

First Appearance: The Runaways ( Sleepover )

Kitty Kenarban

Kitty Kenarban is Stevie's mother and Abe's wife. Like Abe, she doesn't give her son a lot of freedom because she is afraid he might hurt himself. She usually speaks in a low voice and avoids any kind of confrontation through her reserved manner. At the beginning of the fifth season, she separates from Abe and disappears. During this time she lets off steam and works, among other things, as a prostitute and plays briefly in porn films. She returns in season six, but never appears on the series again after that, although Abe mentions her several times afterwards.

First Appearance: The Runaways ( Sleepover )

Ida Kenzel

Ida is Lois' mother and Malcolm's grandmother. She is mean, devious, tyrannical, racist and vicious and is feared and hated by the whole family, but she saved Dewey from a passing car and lost her leg. She is a chain smoker and has a strong dislike for Francis and the supposedly too soft Malcolm. Reese, on the other hand, thinks she is a real man. She often speaks of her old home, which is never mentioned by name. Customs, the names of relatives and acquaintances, as well as the words in her native language, which she occasionally uses, are made up of characteristics or words of Slavic and Eastern Romance. She once speaks of her brother Miloš , whom she has not seen since emigrating, which almost exclusively indicates a Czech or Serbian origin. In the episode Ida's dance, there are increasing indications that it is a fictional ethnic minority that unites Eastern and Southeastern European influences. In Ida's dance you can see both a Croatian flag and a photo of the city of Zagreb but also the celebration of St. Grotus Day, which could actually indicate belonging to the Serbian minority in Croatia , as Serb families usually have their Slava once a year , so celebrate the family patron saint. Ida often talks about her tough childhood, for example when she was a little girl she only had a piece of wood to play with. In other respects, too, she portrays life in the “old homeland” as very simple to primitive and describes some very archaic customs. Ida criticizes her fellow men almost constantly with disparaging and insulting words and biting sarcasm. She always interprets the words and deeds of others as insulting or disrespecting her. On the other hand, she tries to present her own actions as justified and self-evident. However, these are mostly extremely selfish and morally questionable. She lives in Canada, but also seems to spend a lot of time with her daughter Susan, who is much closer to her than Lois.

First appearance: Help, grandma and grandpa are here ( The Grandparents )

Victor Welker

Victor is Lois' stepfather, as it turns out only after his death. His past is largely unclear, except that as a young man he left home and went to war. This is one of the reasons why he knows a lot about guns and gave Reese a hand grenade on his only appearance in an episode because he thinks he is a "real man", although Reese cannot handle it. Later (in the fifth season), when Victor is already dead, it is learned that Victor still has a secret, second family in Canada, which he looked after much better than Ida, Lois and their sister. At the same time, Lois and Ida accidentally find out through a paternity test that Victor was not Lois' biological father.

First appearance: Help, grandma and grandpa are here ( The Grandparents )

Caroline Miller

Caroline Miller is Malcolm's teacher in the gifted class for the first two seasons of the series. She is very enthusiastic about her job, which is why Malcolm's interests when he moves to her class are also close to her heart and she takes great care of him.

First Appearance: Malcolm the Hero ( Pilot )

Cynthia Sanders

Cynthia Sanders enters the gifted class in the episode Spring Fever (Season 2). She is one of Malcolm's first crushes in the series, but after a few episodes she becomes a good friend of his. After a period of absence due to a student exchange in Europe, she returns in the middle of the third season. When she comes back, she suddenly has large breasts - unusual for her age - which is why Reese is with her for a short time to be able to see her breasts. In the episode Everything Started, she prevents Malcolm from driving his parents' car against their will by claiming to have had sex with Malcolm in front of the entire student body. This was her last appearance on the series; what happens to her afterwards is unclear.

First appearance: Spring fever ( Krelboyne Girl )

Lloyd

Lloyd is one of Malcolm and Stevie's classmates in the gifted class and one of their best friends for the first four seasons of the series. He is usually portrayed as a nerd who is easily fragile both physically and emotionally, which is usually embodied in an overly dramatic manner. Like the other gifted students, he is often bullied by students from other classes. He suffers - also because of this - from his low self-esteem and has to see a school therapist regularly. Several of his appearances are slightly implied that he is suicidal, which his friend Dabney confirms by saying that most of his ideas would end in suicide and that he had already made a death pact several times. Like most other gifted people, Lloyd appears less often in episodes of the fourth season until he no longer appears in the fifth season, as Malcolm and Stevie go to a different school from now on.

First appearance: The Gifted Chaos ( Krelboyne Picnic )

Dabney Hooper

Dabney Hooper is Malcolm and Stevie's emotionally troubled and slightly cocky classmate in the gifted class and one of their best friends in the first four seasons of the series. Like the other students in the gifted class, he is regularly harassed by students from other classes. Over time, Dabney shows little homosexual traits, for example he is occasionally attracted to Malcolm. He has a bad relationship with his strict mother Dorene, who tries to control her son anytime, anywhere. According to Dabney, his father is trying to buy his love. When his grandfather gave him a paintball rifle for his birthday, his mother promptly took it from him. But after Malcolm secretly takes him to a paintball course and is caught by his mother, he becomes more self-confident and resists her. After he barely appears in the fourth season of the series, he can no longer be seen from the fifth season.

First appearance: The Gifted Chaos ( Krelboyne Picnic )

Jessica

Jessica is a neighborhood girl and goes to the same school as Malcolm, who is of the same age. She is hired by Hal as a babysitter to take care of Malcolm, Reese and Dewey while Lois is pregnant with Jamie, otherwise Hal would not be able to handle the boys. In later episodes, she is simply a guest at the family home and also lives there for some time to escape her bad father. She is often thrown out by him because he often has problems with the police and alcohol. Jessica can control and exploit the boys through her highly manipulative nature and always manages to outsmart Malcolm.

First appearance: The babysitter ( Stereo Store )

Polly

Polly is Jamie's slightly insane babysitter and appears in a supporting role in season five. In the episode The Lucky Sweater , Hal and Lois pair her with Abe and Craig, but that doesn't work out in the end, because she thinks a relationship would only hinder her career. After she disappears at the end of season five, it turns out that Hal and Lois have found a new babysitter for Jamie.

First Appearance: Malcolm's Job ( Malcolm's Job )

Otto Mannkusser

Otto Mannkusser is Francis' German or, in the German-language dubbed version of the series, the Danish work manager and co-owner of a ranch with a hotel (the "Grotto", a suitcase word from Grete and Otto) in the fourth and fifth season. He is married to Gretchen, with whom he immigrated to the United States years ago and also has a son Rutger (Lasse in the German version), with whom he has no contact. Like Gretchen, Otto is gullible and, despite his overweight, mostly a weakling. When Francis Otto accidentally deposits money in the wrong ATM, he is immediately terminated, even though the two were good friends for over two years. His surname “Mannkusser” could possibly have originated from the term “Mannkusser”.

First appearance: A day at the zoo ( zoo )

Grete Mannkusser

Gretchen Mannkusser and her husband Otto are the owner of the “Grotto” and a German (Danish in the German version) immigrant to the United States . She is a very caring woman for her husband when he is overwhelmed. Otto once told Francis how the two got together: Years ago Gretchen was actually Otto's best friend, but Otto was also loved. When Gretchen and her boyfriend wanted to run away together, Otto falsely told her that she was going to meet him in Berlin (or in the German dubbed version in Copenhagen ). When she was standing alone at the train station, Otto comforted her and met her.

First appearance: A day at the zoo ( zoo )

Lionel Herkabe

Lionel Herkabe is the teacher of the gifted class from the beginning of the third season and from the fifth season headmaster of the high school, which Malcolm and Stevie attend. He is mostly portrayed as selfish and uptight and often wants to take advantage of Malcolm for his own ends. Like Malcolm, Herkabe was gifted as a child. The relationship between him and Malcolm has been strained since Malcolm publicly claimed that Herkabe was his least popular teacher. Hal and Lois also show an aversion to him when he calls them up as parental volunteers at the school. Behind his back, Hal calls him "Jerkabe" (Jerk, English for idiot) while on duty. During Herkabe's appearances in the series, Malcolm seems mostly dissolved and often has to serve as a guinea pig for his carefully thought-out plans, which at the end of such episodes always ends with him being defeated by Malcolm.

First appearance: rebellion against the system ( emancipation )

Edwin Spangler

Edwin Spangler is a strict and hard-boiled military veteran and commander of the military academy that Francis goes to, among others. He suffers dozens of injuries and has lost his right eye, left hand, and right ring finger; ironically, he didn't lose it in a fight or whatever, since he never fought in a war. Nevertheless, strangely enough, he wears extremely high decorations - apart from the rank badge of a four-star general , he holds the US parachute jump badge master class as well as the South Vietnamese parachute jump badge in upper school. With the championship marksman badge of the United States Marine Corps, Spangler wears an award that he would not be entitled to wear as a member of the US Air Force (according to his uniform) because the US Air Force does not wear this badge - which is never discussed in the series becomes. In the first two seasons, Francis is arguably his most rebellious student, which is why their mutual opinions clash on numerous events. In the middle of the third season, when Francis has already left the academy, Spangler quits his job because of boredom, as Francis gave his life meaning by repeatedly trying to discipline him. He follows Francis to Alaska and first tries to kill him. Eric and Francis realize that the only thing that makes him happy is torturing and intimidating helpless students. The two of them quickly find a new job for him in a nursing home, where he has the freedom to harass the elderly. This was his last appearance on the series.

First appearance: Remorse ( Shame )

Eric Hansen

Eric Hansen is Francis' classmate at the military academy and his friend for the first three seasons of the series. He is usually reserved and often suffers from the consequences of Francis' stupidities. Eric mentions several times that he has two fathers, which most people around him take with surprise. At the beginning of the third season he turns 18 and leaves the academy. Shortly afterwards, Francis follows him to Alaska, where they work at Lavernia's lumberjack, but had hoped for a better job beforehand. When the business closes, Francis gets a job on a ranch, while Eric stops on a freeway, waiting to hitchhike. His further fate is unknown.

First appearance: water games ( Water Park (1) )

Other minor characters

Drew

Drew is one of the cadets in the military academy and appears as a supporting character in the first and second seasons. He is the strongest of all Cadets physically, but also the weakest emotionally. After Francis leaves the Marlin Academy for Alaska, Drew is never seen again.

First appearance: Lois sees red ( Red Dress )

Stanley

Stanley is a military academy cadet in the series' first season. He often protects Francis, is a good friend of his and also shares a room with him. He has a very strong appreciation for the military lifestyle. For example, he looks forward to survival training in the wild and is the only one who takes it really seriously, even threatening Francis with breaking his collarbone if he does not take part in the survival training.

First appearance: Lois sees red ( Red Dress )

Finley

Finley is a cadet from the Military Academy and is Francis' friend. He often gets good grades and not infrequently does Francis' homework for him.

First Appearance: The Runaways ( Sleepover )

Richie

Richie was Francis' best friend before he went to military academy. Francis visits him often on trips back home for the first two seasons. He is a tramp and often comes into conflict with the law. Later in the series, he is Reese's boss at the Circus Burger fast food restaurant . In this one he steals hundreds of dollars from the cash register and accuses Reese. In this episode ( The Catalog Bride ) he also appears for the last time in the series.

First Appearance: At Home Alone ( Home Alone 4 )

Kevin

Kevin is a nervous and easily excitable student in the gifted class. He first appears on the series at the beginning of the third season and appears until the fourth season. Like many of his classmates, he is very ambitious. Once when he got a "bad" mark on a test, he yelled, "My stepfather was right, I'm useless."

First appearance: rebellion against the system ( emancipation )

Lavernia

Lavernia is Francis' cruel and heartless boss of a logging business in Alaska . She rules over her employees with an iron fist in order to make enough money from her business. Eventually, however, she has to fire her employees after they have cut down all the trees on the property, whereupon it is bought by a mining company.

First appearance: barter deals ( charity )

Artie

Artie is an overweight, illiterate, and color-blind man who works in Lavernia's logging business. He is dyslexic and often hangs out with colleagues Pete, Francis and Eric. What happens to him after Lavernia's hut is shut down is unknown.

First appearance: nerve games ( health scare )

Pete

Pete is a slightly older employee at Lavernia's logging business. He often seems a little crazy or senile by age, as he often mentions bizarre or offbeat things. According to Eric, Pete has a family, but they have left him and changed their name several times so that Pete cannot find them. When Lavernia's company closes, Pete says he's moving back in with his parents.

First appearance: barter deals ( charity )

Malik, Steve, Brian and Trey

Malik, Steve, Brian and Trey are four friends of Abe and Hal. Like Abe, they are dark-skinned and better off socially. They have better school degrees and jobs than lower-middle-class white Hal. The six of them often play poker together and for a short time also form a relatively successful vocal sextet.

Joint first appearance: Poker ( Poker )

David Hanson

David Hanson is a slightly overweight student in Dewey's remedial class and one of his best friends. Often times he pretends to be riding a motorcycle. He usually stutters when he speaks. In a later episode, it is revealed that he has Tourette syndrome .

First appearance: the disturbed gifted ( Dewey's Special Class )

Zoe

Zoe is a slightly overweight student in the remedial class, which Dewey also goes to. She thinks she can talk to animals and has an imaginary second self that she calls "Evil Zoe". In the episode Sleepwalker (season 6), she runs as head girl against David.

First Appearance: Hal and the Bodybuilders ( Busey's Run Away )

Chad

Chad is an aggressive student in the remedial class that Dewey goes to. Most of the time he wears a sign on his shirt with a warning written on it. He mostly wears oven gloves. He believes he has four different personalities and thinks he can set a teacher on fire with his thoughts alone. In the episode The Overnight Guest (Season 6) he stays at Dewey's and shows the compulsive behavior of having to organize everything. He cleans up the entire house.

First appearance: the disturbed gifted ( Dewey's Special Class )

Web links

• List of many of Malcolm's characters in the middle of the Internet Movie Database

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Malcolm in the Middle: Episode Guide of the TV Series (Season 7). In: fernsehserien.de. Retrieved February 24, 2012 . 
2. ↑ Malcolm no longer in the thick of it - The US broadcaster Fox discontinues the ingenious comedy after the seventh season. ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ It is not clear whether this is a negligence of the props or whether Spangler is to be branded as sneaking awards; In the USA in particular, however, the illegal wearing of military decorations is a long-discussed topic; see the corresponding article on the English language Wikipedia .