History Series / MalcolmInTheMiddle

* MediationBackfire: In the episode "Ida Loses a Leg," after [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Ida loses a leg]] saving Dewey from getting hit by a truck, Lois drives Francis up to Ida's house so he can look after her for a few weeks, since he's unemployed at the time, while she's just staying the night since it's a long drive and has to return to work as soon as possible. Francis tells her that's a terrible idea because he and Ida hate each other so much, but Lois tells him she doesn't care, and advises that that they better find something they have in common if they don't want to be miserable with one another until Ida fully recovers. Right in front of Lois' face, Francis tells Ida about how Lois is such demanding and controlling mother, while Ida complains of how Lois was such a needy, self absorbed child while growing up.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Boone Vincent is for all intents and purposes Wayne Newton.

** In one episode, Malcolm is taken to the hospital to treat a serious head injury; the hospital is already familiar with Malcolm and all his brothers, and are not pleased to see them, as they have a history with their idiotic injuries.

** To be fair Reese didn't so much steal Malcolm's girlfriend as simply dated her after she had already dumped him for using an overly complicated word, Malcolm actually initiated a relationship with Reese's girlfriend while they were still dating and Reese found out about it as he was trying to declare his love to her with a very expensive serenade and horse carriage ride.

* YouDoNOTWantToKnow: At the very end of "Reese's Party," after the meth dealers pack up and leave the house after Dewey told on their mothers after Francis couldn't get to leave because of all the dirt they had on on him, Hal and Lois return from the bed and breakfast, where they had gotten into an argument about Hal not getting a vasectomy. Malcolm tells them that the weekend was fun, but in a boring way, and Dewey backs him up, right after Craig brings Reese back from the bus depot, saying that he enjoyed his trip to see Grandma' Ida. Once the boys and Craig are out of earshot:
-->'''Hal:''' Do you ''really'' want to know?\\
'''Lois:''' Not really.\\
'''Hal:''' No...

** In "Forwards Backward," the main plot revolved around Malcolm and Reese [[EscalatingWar fighting an ever increasing prank war]], which culminates in them being brought home from the hospital and Malcolm getting grounded on his birthday, while Lois and Hal ignore Dewey reminding them that he will portray Abraham Lincoln in the school play, a role that earns him a standing ovation. The following day, Lois and Hal give Dewey a brand new video game, but when that's not enough for him to forgive them for missing the play, Hal gives him Malcolm's former birthday gift, a rare, and expensive, comic book. Dewey takes his new possessions to the room and considers forgiving them, [[ABirthdayNotABreak and wishes Malcolm a happy birthday while he and Reese perform menial labor around the house]].
** In "Vegas," the main plot is kicked off because Malcolm refused to inform Lois and Hal about the big science award ceremony because he feared [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents they would embarrass him]]. [[VivaLasVegas In Las Vegas]], Malcolm decides that since Lois would flat out refuses to speak to him about his comment, he goes and gets tickets to see Boone Vincent (played by Creator/DavidCassidy), her favorite singer, where Lois is invited to his dressing room after the show. After talking to Vincent, Lois understands that all teenagers, including his own daughter, think that their parents are embarrassing, and she should consider forgiving Malcolm, since he at least got her tickets to see his show as a way to show he does regret his actions and wants to make amends.

** In the episode where [[GruesomeGrandparent Ida and Victor are introduced]], Victor gives gives Reese a hand grenade, and after Reese pulls the pin, Malcolm throws it in the new, expensive, refrigeratror Lois and Hal bought, and it gets destroyed when the grenade goes off. When Lois tries to chastise her parents for giving her son such a dangerous weapon, Ida guilts her into apologizing, and Hal tells Lois to take the boys to another room while he deals with the situation. He tells Victor and Ida that he doesn't want to get into [[AbusiveParents the psychological issues Lois has from being raised by them]] but he decides to give it a shot anyway, and asks them for a sum of money higher than what he asked them a few days earlier to pay for a new refrigerator, fix the grenade blast damage, and pay for some additional expenditures. Victor reacts in shock that Hal wants to borrow such a large amount, but Hal states they clearly told him they don't lend money to family (earlier in the episode, [[BlatantLies they told him and Lois they would loan them money for a new refrigerator]]), however what he's asking for is not a loan, but a blackmail payment, threatening them that is they don't ''give'' him the money, he'll have them jailed for child endangerment.
** In "Busesy Take a Hostage," Dewey realizes that the special-ed teacher and the principal have been using "arts and crafts time" as a sweatshop to pocket the money made from selling the items the kids made in class. After the teacher accused the principla of bribing him with promoting him to vice principal for taking part in the schem, Dewey tells the principal that no one outside the classroom at that time will find out about how children were exploied for personal gain, on the condition that Busesys get an actual curriculum the accomodates special ed students. Francis, who accompanied Dewey to school that day asks the janitor and security guard if they are willing to stay quiet as well. The janitor and security guard agree to not say anything either, on the condition that [[DoWithHimAsYouWill thatthey be given five minutes alone with the teacher and principal before they're untied]].

* DoWithHimAsYouWill: In "Buseys Take a Hostage," a variation is seen that's more like "let us do with them as we will." Dewey was transfered out of the special-ed class, his former classmates, lost without his leadership, ended up tying up their teacher, the principal, a security guard, and the janitor. After Fancis convinces Dewey to transfer back to the class because they need him, Dewy takes the tape off the principal's mouth, and the principal promises that if he's untied first, he'll make sure that the authorities will treat Dewy leniently. When Chad recognizes the lanyard Francis had was made by him, and Francis mentions that he bought it at a store far from there, [[EurekaMoment Dewey realizes that the Principal and the teacher were using arts and crafts time as a sweatshop]]. Dewey promises that [[{{Blackmail}} no one will find out about any of this, on the condition the Busesy get a curriculum that's tailored for special-ed students]]. As Francis unties the janitor and the guard, they agree not to say anything on the condition that they get five minutes alone with the principal and the teacher before they are untied.

* {{Blackmail}}: In the episode where [[GruesomeGrandparent Ida and Victor are introduced]], Victor gives gives Reese a hand grenade, and after Reese pulls the pin, Malcolm throws it in the new, expensive, refrigeratror Lois and Hal bought, and it gets destroyed when the grenade goes off. When Lois tries to chastise her parents for giving her son such a dangerous weapon, Ida guilts her into apologizing, and Hal tells Lois to take the boys to another room while he deals with the situation. He tells Victor and Ida that he doesn't want to get into [[AbusiveParents the psychological issues Lois has from being raised by them]] but he decides to give it a shot anyway, and asks them for a sum of money higher than what he asked them a few days earlier to pay for a new refrigerator, fix the grenade blast damage, and pay for some additional expenditures. Victor reacts in shock that Hal wants to borrow such a large amount, but Hal states they clearly told him they don't lend money to family (earlier in the episode, [[BlatantLies they told him and Lois they would loan them money for a new refrigerator]]), however what he's asking for is not a loan, but a blackmail payment, threatening them that is they don't ''give'' him the money, he'll have them jailed for child endangerment.

* DoWellButNotPerfect: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in "Home Alone 4", when Reese and Malcolm reveal to Francis that their parents are considering letting him come home from military school if he does a good enough job watching over them that weekend... causing him to realize they need to clean up the house, as he has essentially trashed it by that point. After they're done, it's recognized they made the house ''too'' clean, and promptly make a ''minor'' amount of mess in order to balance things out. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero This winds up causing a shelf to hit Malcolm in the head and cause a gash.]]

* BriarPatching: In the episode "Malcom's Car," Malcolm buys an old muscle car that's barely running, and he pleads his case to Lois and Hal that he'll pay for the restoration, insurance, and maintenance himself. Just as Lois is about to launch a tirade where her ultimate response to Malcolm's request is "no," Hal takes her aside and tells her that they should go ahead and let Malcolm keep the car. When Lois says that she will not allow Malcolm to drive such [[TheAllegedCar an unsafe vehicle]], Hal says that he doesn't want him to drive that car either, but simply telling him "no," will result in him getting angry and either keeping the car or doing something worse. By keeping the car, he'll realize what a stupid idea it was to begin with, and he'll actually learn his lesson and think before doing something so impulsive next time. Lois takes Hal's advice and backs off and allows Malcolm to keep the car so long as he pays for everything, and as per Hal's prediction, Malcolm gets rid of the car after realizing what a waste of time and money it was.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: In the episode "Casino," after Francis spends the weekend with Craig, the former laments that he has to spend more money buying a plane ticket back to Alabama, and the latter says that he knows of a way to travel for free. Francis thinks it's [[HollywoodHacking hacking into the airline's system]], but Craig suggests going into a chatroom and posing as some teenage girl with daddy issues named Debbie and talking some [[{{Ephebophile}} random creep]] him into buying "[[{{GIRL}} her]]" a plane ticket so they can meet in real life. Several scenes later, Francis is seen walking into an airport terminal, and when he sees a sketchy looking guy holding a rose and a sign that says "Debbie," Francis goes up to him and says "thank you" before making his way back to Marlin Academy.

* BirthdayPartyGoesWrong: Played with in the B-plot of one episode where younger brother Dewey manages to make friends with a new boy in the neighborhood. The boy's parents pull Dewey aside to get his help in planning their son's birthday, wanting to make his first one in a new home special. Dewey instead shanghais the party by changing it to be more to his tastes, replacing the space theme with a cowboy one, getting a bounce house, and even making the cake different. During the party, the birthday boy angrily confronts Dewey about ruining his day, though Dewey is too enamored with his success to care. Unfortunately for him, Malcolm undergoes a minor freakout in the A-plot and attempts to escape back into childhood, accidentally causing the bounce house bust and setting off a domino effect which leads to the party collapsing into panic and chaos. The last scene of the birthday boy has him smiling in satisfaction as everything goes to hell.

** Malcolm beats up an obnoxious bully who looks his age or older... and soon finds out he's ''seven''. Hal later understands his son's predicament when a large guy in who looks to be in his 20's, who he assumes is the boy's father, threatens him. It turns out he's the boy's 15 year old brother.
** Also a Real Life example with Frankie Muniz as he was 14 at the time the series started. He looked and sounded considerably younger then his actual age, so he was able to convincingly play 11-year old Malcolm.

* BabiesEverAfter: Confirmed with [[spoiler:Hal and Lois]].

** In ''Stilts'', when Hal and Lois begin revealing some of the nasty things they've been keeping from one another, Hal says he [[spoiler: burned a hole in her favorite dress. This is a callback to ''Red Dress'', where Lois discovered her favorite red dress burnt and hidden in the toilet and thought the boys were responsible.]]

** In one episode, Francis accidentally starts one by proclaiming he could eat 100 marshmallow peeps in a single sitting, causing all the students in his military school to debate whether or not a human could. He ends the argument by [[spoiler: Proving he can, albeit he vomited a few back up]]

* ClearMyName: Subverted in the episode ''Red Dress'', Malcolm, Dewey, and Reese claimed they weren't responsible for burning Lois's red dress, but she doesn't believe them, so they instead, under Francis's advice, made themselves immune to every single punishment she could issue instead of attempting to clear their own names, thus forcing her to (ironically under Francis's advice) take them to the anniversary dinner with them. [[spoiler: Turns out it was actually Hal who burned her dress, as revealed when he accidentally set the house on fire while plastered, and in a way [[LaserGuidedKarma was responsible for having to wait several hours for Lois]].]]

* DaddyDNATest: In "Victor's Other Family," Ida threatens to sue [[SecretOtherFamily Sylvia, Victor's other wife]], over a tiny pension, her lawyers warns her that she'll be financially devastated even if she win the right to the pension. Lois, wanting to avoid any legal drama, tries to talk to Sylvia in the hopes her signing over the pension, but Sylvia says that she hates Ida too much to simply hand over something that belonged to Victor, so Lois decides to back Ida's lawsuit. As they are gathering evidence and documentation, Lois gets the result of [=DNA=] test the lawyer advised her to take, and she [[spoiler: discovers that Victor is not her biological father]], and Ida [[spoiler: admits that likely candidate was a guy who could walk up flight of stairs on his hands]], and even says that [[spoiler: Susan may have been fathered by another man]].

* DidntThinkThisThrough: In the series finale when the family is [[spoiler: trying to pay for Malcolm's tuition]], Hal goes to a loan shark and says: if you give me the money I won't pay it back, but I promise I will scream as loudly and as horribly as possible when you break my limbs as a warning to others. The loan shark stares at him blankly for a few brief moments and then says: "I could still do that for free." Hal scurries out in terror.

** The dual stories episode of the family at bowling night. In Lois's version, Malcolm fails to get a single strike, even with a lighter ball (labeled Connie). In frustration at Lois's attempts to motivate him, Malcolm walks down the lane, right towards the pins, and tosses the ball at them. [[spoiler: Knocking over none.]]

* EscalatingWar: An entire episode starts in the middle of one. Every time one brother does something to the other, a flashback is shown to an earlier prank in the war. Ultimately, the two boys are in full body casts, and then the viewer is shown what started it all. [[spoiler: Malcolm ate Reese's blueberry after Reese told him not to. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong "What's the worst that could happen?"]]]]

* FinancialAbuse: Malcolm's parents repeatedly and deliberately deny him financial opportunities he's earned, use credit cards he's offered because their own credit is terrible, and take most of the money from his paychecks for themselves. While they have their reasons for this, [[spoiler: making Malcolm a president who understands being poor]], they're also truly terrible with their own money and waste an extraordinary amount, particularly on Hal's frequent and short-lived obsessions, making it a bit of a BrokenAesop.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** What makes it worse is that during the time they kicked him out, Reese was a model citizen and was getting perfect scores in all his classes. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, Reese also had no concept of financial responsibility, carelessly racking up 10 grand in credit card debt.]]

* ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin: In one episode, Hal wins 1000 bucks in a scratch off lottery. He then proceeds to buy a steam roller. Cue a hilarious montage, where he steamrolls anything he can find, and getting progressively more unhinged with each use to the point he was considering smashing cars in a car lot. [[spoiler: Dewey eventually has an "intervention" when he stands in front of the steam roller, and Hal is forced to choose between the steam roller and Dewey. He chooses Dewey.]]

*** In the series finale, Lois, along with Hal, force Malcolm to work extremely hard in college to help him understand about financial struggles. To elaborate: [[spoiler: As soon as Malcolm finishes high school, he is offered a six figure job working for a computer company. However, Hal and Lois refuse to let him take it, saying they have other plans for him. When he calls them out later on this, they reveal that they intend for him to work as a janitor while going through law school, to work his way up to become district attorney, win a place on the Senate, and then become President of the United States, while at the same time knowing that despite all of this, he will never be respected for any of it. While they're doing it because they believe Malcolm will be able to use his experience of being poor to help those like them when he becomes president, it says something about his family that they find manipulating Malcolm for decades and screwing him over every chance they get to be ''easier'', than displaying any sort of personal fiscal responsibility.]]

* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: In "Victor's Other Family" when Lois gets the results of the [[DaddyDNATest DNA test]] Ida's lawyer advised her to take for the lawsuit against Sylvia, Victor's secret wife, Lois discovers that [[spoiler: she is not Victor's biological daughter and that the likely candidate was a guy from the OldCountry that could walk up some stairs on his hands.]] When Lois asks Ida about [[spoiler: Susan being Victor's biological daughter]] Ida, casually replies [[spoiler: "maybe, it's possible."]]

* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: In "Vegas", Hal's dream about winning the jackpot in a slot machine in Vegas turns out to be true. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, the "jackpot" turns out to be part of a timeshare scam, and to make matters worse, he got the money for the Vegas trip by cashing in on his life insurance.]]

** In the two-part episode "Reese Joins The Army", Hal's company tries to pin all of its' illegal activities on him. He almost goes to jail until [[spoiler: Malcolm manages to prove that he skipped work on all the days they claim he was committing crimes.]]

* TrashTheSet: Reese makes the world's greatest mess in the finale [[spoiler: so he can get work as a janitor]].

The show also had the advantage of being shot film-style instead of in front of a live studio audience, and the added freedom allowed it to have tighter pacing and a surreal tone more reminiscent of an animated cartoon (although, if mishandled, could also cause confusion). Also helping achieve this was that it was an early example of a live-action sitcom (especially on network television) that lacked a LaughTrack or StudioAudience -- it, along with other sitcoms like ''Series/TheBernieMacShow'', ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris'', and ''[[Series/TheOfficeUS The Office]]'' led to the different, laughter-free, single-camera style becoming a unique sitcom style going forward, with ''Malcolm'' sometimes cited as the TropeCodifier of said style.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Malcolm beats up an obnoxious bully who looks his age or older... and soon finds out he's ''seven''. Hal later understands his son's predicament when a large guy in who looks to be in his 20's, who he assumes is the boy's father, threatens him. It turns out he's the boy's 15 year old brother.