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1* Pretty minor, but in the episode where one of Francis' coworkers in Alaska (really old guy) sends for a mail-order bride and it turns out to be an inflatable likeness of some actress, he says he must have misread the product. My question: how could someone misread blow-up doll as bride?
2** Russian magazine? The ad being [[WhatWereTheySellingAgain extremely vague]] about what it was offering? The guy's actually senile?
3** I'm pretty sure it was a scam.
4* What happened to that girl Nicki that Malcolm was dating? I haven't seen the episodes in a linear fashion, and they seemed to have a pretty good relationship.
5** Hal kicks Malcolm out, so Malcolm hides out in Nicki's attic for a few days. She dumps him when he keeps whining about his life and not listening to any of her problems. She seemed to go back and forth about whether his complaining was endearing or annoying up until this episode, so it's probably having to spend an extended amount of time with him that wore her down.
6** The same thing happened with that cheerleader girl who liked Reese and even got past his instinctive behaviour of constantly pranking or harassing her.
7*** That is, she just suddenly disappeared (I'm currently rewatching the series in order, and I don't remember her showing up after that episode, despite sort of watching for her reappearance). Reese didn't hide in her attic or even, as far as I recall, get any closure.
8*** The cheerleader didn't get any closure, but his later BrainlessBeauty girlfriend, Alison, ended up dumping him once she discovered he was intentionally trying to duck out of spending a lot of money to take her to a dance.
9* How could the episode "If Boys were Girls" be the only instance where a child welfare agent suspect the family of abusing the boys? Wouldn't their frequent criminal behavour be enough evidence to investigate their home?
10** Only [[TooDumbToLive Reese]] ever does anything serious as Francis is always away now.
11*** It also may be possible that they ''did'' come to the household about the boys, but [[NoodleIncident were somehow scared off from doing anything about it]]. In the episode Hal goes insane and tries to board the boys up in their rooms due to the realization the family don't have medical coverage, Reese threatens to contact them, saying "and they'll show up this time!"
12*** That sounds more like the boys have called many times in the past, the agents have shown up and found nothing at the end of their investigation (let's remember that Lois always manages to convince people of stuff). I think the boys are now notorious for crying wolf at the child services place.
13** It's heavily implied in several episodes that the boys, particularly Reese, are well known to the police and the larger community for their criminal antics, so much so that Hal and Lois even know what type of coffee each officer prefers, so it's likely that the local social workers may all know about the family as well and see them as a massive nuisance but mostly harmless to each other.
14* In season six, Francis turns 21, the youngest you are legally able to drink alcohol. But in the season 5 Thanksgiving episode, Francis tells Lois that his argument with Piama came about when she didn't want him drinking and driving. Knowing Lois, why was her only reaction telling Francis to apologize to Piama for the argument? You'd think underage drinking coupled with driving drunk would make Lois go BALLISTIC.
15** Perhaps the stuff that Francis has done in the past (which included a car crash, with the car ''on fire'', in a montage) was so bad that drinking and driving felt almost 'tame' in comparison? Or perhaps it deals with Lois trying to teach Francis that, now that he is married, he needs to become more responsible and learn to listen to his wife, who was actually right?
16** I feel like ALL of that was covered in Lois initial reaction. She likely was angry that Francis was drinking and wanting to drive under influence, but much like the audience, she is mainly angry at the fact that Francis wants to break up with Piama for when she was essentially protecting Francis from his own stupidity. Also Francis literally say it 'looks bad' when a women drives for you, so you also can add sexism into that as well.
17*** That said, it’s possible Francis can’t drink even when he hits 21, because he is not in fact 21. In the episode where Francis turns 21, Hal mentions that he has been married for 20 years. Francis then questions how it’s 20 years, if he is 21, but Hal dodges the question. We saw in a flashback that Lois went into labour with Francis during her wedding, but she refused to have him be born out of wedlock, meaning they finished the ceremony first. So why is the timeline mixed up? The answer is that Lois and Hal simply forgot what Francis real age was during his childhood and are covering it up out of embarrassment. So if that’s the case, Francis would technically still be underage for another year.
18*** The implication there was actually that Francis was born out of wedlock, which they hinted at multiple times in previous episodes.
19* Malcom's current personality transitioned from an epiphany, so what was going on when Lois was preaching her animal instincts at telling who is feeling what? Malcolm's stupid acts at times clearly indicates emotional stress damage.
20* For someone so proactive in well-oiled discipline, Lois never put much thought on Hal after a long period of time. It's kind of sad that she can consistently scream her children into submission while Hal, who is much older but carries an average teenage mentality, is always off the hook. It isn't like he skipped work every Friday right?
21** Also, it's quite clear that Lois is trying to become the female, adult version of Malcolm. Even if the extent is nowhere implied, it just seems like her ability to redirect imperfection with logic has an uncanny similarity with Malcolm.
22** Well, in the episode when she finds that out (skipping work every Friday), the revelation gets him out of a lengthy jail sentence, and she ''does'' scream at him for it. Also he is meeker and doesn't cause near as much trouble as his sons (or is better at hiding it, or cleaning it up). That, and when his boys cause trouble or things go wrong, he has to deal with the fallout as much as she does, whereas Lois main beef with the boys is how little they comprehend responsibility or the realities of life she and Hal have to live through. Hal doesn't usually break the law or cause senseless trouble for the family with his shenanigans.
23** Maybe it's because he's her husband and not her kid and generally spouses don't discipline each other unless, you know, it's in a pre-agreed upon kinky way?
24** It's mentioned in one episode that Lois broke Hal down. He used to be as bad as the boys, but after years of hounding and punishing him etc., he finally just behaved for the most part.
25** IN addition to all of the above, Lois also gets to have sex with Hal (a lot), so that would obvious shift her dynamic significantly compared to her kids. In fact an early episode where they have to stay in a caravan shows Hal and Lois fighting bitterly with the resolution of the plot line being Hal realising it's because they're not having sex.
26* Given some of Francis' depraved actions (and despite what he likes to claim, it was implied that he was always like that and didn't become that due to parental abuse), why didn't Hal and Lois send Francis to an insane asylum? Logically, that would have been the most appropriate place for someone like him, not a military school, given that he is pretty much insane and needs psychological help (assuming, of course, he could be helped).
27** Francis' actions are definitely better the longer he is out of his home. Maybe the only psychological help he needed was to get out of there!
28** "Insane" is really, really stretching it. Francis isn't delusional, he's not out of touch with reality, he's got delinquent tendencies and acts out against authority. If that's "insane," then half of today's youth should be in straight jackets.
29*** Tell that to his toddler self pouring gasoline/lighter fluid onto his teddy bear with the intention of setting it on fire, or being a child torturing his brothers, or apparently scarring Reese with a bayonet. Heck, not only was Francis doing something like that before his mom got strict, but the incident with the bear is the reason why Lois snapped and became strict. Besides, just because someone's neither out of touch with reality nor delusional doesn't mean they aren't insane. I mean, look at [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka Palazzo]] or [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Professor Hojo]].
30*** You're placing the blame on a toddler? seriously? I mean, yeah, what he did was pretty awful, but that's only because of Hal and Lois shitty parental skills. Each and every one of the boys demonstrated that they were actually *better* without Hal or Lois' influence on them(Hell, Dewey taught himself piano). I'm not saying they are entirely to blame either, but having some therapy for their own fucked up upbringing would have helped the family A LOT.
31** Why does no one ever mention the episode where Lois admits she tortures Francis because "he started it" (Lois had to stay at the hospital and Francis went home happy)
32** You should have seen some of the kids I grew up with...
33** I think the deal is that Lois and Hal really didn't know anything about kids when they had Francis, Hal was under a lot of stress with his job and they didn't exactly have amazingly supporting family to help them. The combination of Francis being difficult and Lois wanting to protect her children by any means necessary got them into an unhealthy cycle of the children rebelling while Lois is way too strict and why she overreacts to even small things.
34* Okay, I'll just out and say it - Exactly how is the series ending supposed to be positive? Lois has apparently decided to continue her emotional abuse of Malcolm well into adulthood, and if she succeeds, will place an emotionally unstable man with mother issues as President. Not to mention that all the "hardships" she expects him to solve were caused by the family's own dysfunction and selfish behavior.
35** Malcolm was an egotistical bastard and Lois wanted to humble him by keeping him off the easy path. This would cure him of his insufferable genius tendencies and make him value others.
36*** That's her plan. However, unnecessary hardship does not necessarily make a person better. The entire family suffers like Malcolm does largely as a result of their own actions, but they're still irresponsible maniacs.
37*** Exactly, the family has ALL suffered because of their own actions, yet haven't learnt one iota from it. If anything, Malcolm is going to grow up thinking it's totally cool to manipulate people into fitting the image YOU have for them, and take the abuse from your parents with good humor because "they're family" or whatever bullshit message it was they tried to tack on in the last episode. I think thats the worst part, the characters are constantly confronted, barraged even, by proof that their behavior is wrong, but do they change? No. Do they even care? No no. It has its moments of comedy, but when the writers expects us to sympathize with that, they've gone way over the line.
38** I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be positive.
39* A Thanksgiving episode has Reese take eighty dollars from Hal's wallet. Do perpetually poor people normally carry around that much money in their wallets?
40** No, they don't, but remember that the family actually isn't poor. Lois, and especially Hal are incredibly stupid about their money, and the boys constantly cause huge property damage. Most of the struggle with money comes from the level of financial abuse the main characters subject each other to.
41** Actually, there are many who do. Part of what keeps them poor is that they don't have/use bank accounts - they cash their paychecks and pay for things either with cash or through money transfer services at places like Walmart. They also consider any cash left over at the end of the month as a "windfall" to spend on anything. Some even use predatory 'paycheck loans' to spend their paychecks even before they receive them.
42* Why does everyone panic over Reese' future? Why does he angst over what sort of genius he is? With his culinary skills he should able to do fine.
43** Short answer: He's an idiot that can't behave himself. There are several episodes that show that Reese has potential to have an happy, if not ideal life if he could stop making pranks and stupid things at his job place. He *is* a culinary genius, but even with that he would have to behave himself to be able to get (and hold) any kind of job.
44** There was that one episode where Reese is capable of living by himself, although he had no idea he could wash his clothes. He'll probably be fine once he learns how to do laundry.
45*** Except he wasn't, he was using credit cards to pay for everything (like buying new clothes each time his got dirty rather then washing them) and transferring the debt to new credit cards rather then paying it off. He couldn't make it with out putting himself into crushing debt that would eventually catch up with him.
46* How did Mr. Herkabee keep his job for so long? At the end of the first episode, the boys in his class are seen acting crazy (save for Malcolm), and the girls are in a near-fetal position. All of this is seen by the superintendent or some other important figure. You'd think he would have lost his job after that, but no, he kept it and mentally abused kids on a daily basis. Somehow he was made a disciplinarian of Malcolm's high school and even kept a cattle prod in his desk. How did no one find out about that? Even the teachers can't carry weapons at school. How did he not get fired despite being such a horrible person and teacher? It's not like he kept it a secret, and he didn't have the money to bribe anyone.
47*** Simple JokerImmunity
48* When Lois got pregnant with Jamie, they claimed that they wouldn't be able to afford it. However they would have been in the same situation, needing to support four children, when Dewey was born, and Francis had emancipated himself. Furthermore, Francis was slowly paying back his loans, and one or both of the parents should have gotten a raise in the twelve years.
49** The cost of living is ''always'' going up, and has been outstripping inflation and most raises for quite some time. And assuming either of them got a raise is, well, way too idealistic.
50*** I'd have to rewatch the episode, but they might not mean financially; look at the kids they raised, and they aren't the best parents either. They might have meant that another kid would basically burn the house down, they couldn't afford to have another kid in the sense that a student can't afford to have another failing test.
51*** Additionally, a baby's needs are significantly higher than an older child's, especially in the first year or so of life. Doctor's visits during the pregnancy, baby food/formula, baby-sitting or daycare fees--hell, diapers alone are a small fortune.
52*** Malcolm and Dewey share a bed for the entirety of the series and all the kids wear handmedowns. It's clear that they couldn't exactly afford Dewey either. The flashback episode where they're making their will also does solidly say that their finances are worse now than when Dewey was born. That along with other episodes clearly show they are drowning in debt.
53* In one episode, Lois meets up with a group of women for a book club. Then it turns out none of them actually read the books, they just get together to relax and rant. But why bother pretending it's a book club? Why not just say they're getting together, or having a night out? Maybe it started out as an attempt at an actual book club, but why not just drop it after going a while without reading anything?
54** To fool their husbands, of course. The idea of their wives attending a boring old book club probably goes over most of their husbands heads, they couldn't care less. But if they knew their wives were getting together and gossiping - sharing all their marital secrets... They may be not as comfortable with the idea. And I can't remember exactly, were the girls drinking also? Another reason the men wouldn't be happy.
55*** Yes, the ladies were drinking, with their drunken state even leading to them doing things they considered funny at the end of the episode.
56** Book clubs simply being a hangout with women sounds like a comedy trope. I've seen it on the Simpsons.
57* When Lois is pregnant with Jamie, she and Hal have a fight where he admits that he didn't go through with a vasectomy, the way Lois wanted. Male pride or whatever, he doesn't want to do anything to 'his boys'. It's rare that it happens, but a vasectomy can revert itself and make the man able to impregnant women again. And if Lois is so intent on not having anymore children, cause they can barely keep up with the five they had at that point, including Jamie, why didn't she get a hysterectomy? Sure, it's not a cheap surgery, but neither is a vasectomy. And a hysterectomy is much 'safer', since it cannot revert itself.
58** You don't get a hysterectomy to stop having kids, you get a tubal ligation. This can also revert itself. It's a much more expensive, more invasive surgery with a higher risk of complications, a longer recovery time and a higher likelihood of failure. There is a reason that when a couple decide on a surgical birth control method, it's usually a vasectomy.
59** And a hysterectomy is even more expensive than a tubal, even more invasive, and with an even higher risk of complications and even longer recovery time. Though it won't revert, it does increase a woman's health risks in several ways for the entire rest of her life. Generally, you wouldn't want to do it unless you were sure that the health risks being caused by the uterus are higher than the health risks of early menopause.
60* At the end of Season 2 Eric turns 18 and goes to Alaska, Francis gets emancipated and does the same. Erik and Francis being roommates it's reasonable to assume they're roughly the same age, that is to say Francis, which means Francis probably turned 18 when he was in Alaska. This is reinforced when he parries Piama without parental consent, meaning at that point he must be 18. It also backs up with a statement from somewhere else I don't remember where Francis says he was shipped off to Military School when he was fifteen and also somewhere stated he spent two and a half years there. However Lois and Hal don't have their twentieth anniversary until Season 6, and Francis was born on their wedding day. So if Francis turns 18 part way through Season 3, how can he only be nineteen going on twenty at the start of season 6? He spent some time married to Piama before they were forced to leave Alaska and they also spent some time travelling and wasting their money before getting employed. And we know he spent at least one year at the ranch since Otto and Gretchen throw him an anniversary. The only way it works is we assume Francis got fired not long after that early season 5 episode where he's been there for a year and we're seeing some stuff out of order. Which also means he spends significantly less time at the ranch then it seems. The other possibility is that he faked his age for his marriage certificate and was less than 18 at the time, but this contradicts other references to his age and would also make him seventeen when he has that line about not being a stupid sixteen year old anymore when the boys go to visit him at the ranch, which would be a bit weird. It would also make his marriage illegal. Unless emancipation law allows marriage without parental consent, but that's something I have no clue of. Reading through this page (I'm rewatching the series chronologically and haven't reached that episode yet) I see he turns 21 in Season 6 too which falls in line with the timeline I presented above. Really it's the Hal Lois 20th Anniversary being in Season 6 is the only real problem, accepting that we also have to accept that Francis turned both 20 and 21 in the space of one season. I guess you could say that part of that episode actually took place at some earlier point in time, only Jamie being a toddler is kind of crucial to one plot point. The only way I can conceive this without squeezing Francis's post marriage Alaska life, unseen touring time and time at the ranch into a much smaller time frame than depicted is that Hal and Lois simply called a mulligan on one marriage anniversary for some reason and decided not to count it. Either that or they never actually managed to finish the ceremony when Francis was born and only legally got married some months later. There's no reference to Francis's birthday in the anniversary episode so that helps.
61* There’s something that I’m wondering about but is never explained in the show nor online. Why was Chad always seen wearing red gloves?
62** I am pretty sure its to prevent him doing more damage. You can see how much he does with them at the sleepover imagine being able do more dexterous things like if he got hold of a gun or power tools or such.
63** Some mental conditions make you compulsively do harmful things with your hands--scratching, picking at your skin and hair, that kind of thing. It was probably to stop him from hurting himself or others.
64* I guess I was missing something but what exactly was the nuclear option in the series finale? Or was it something vague that's up to our imagination?
65** They tricked Lois into thinking she had cancer. They faked x-rays and such.
66* In the Season 3 episode where Francis visits Ida for Christmas, he finds a picture of Victor as a young man where he looks identical to Francis except with massive comedic eyebrows (which Francis hopes aren't genetic). While unlikely, this is fairly normal within sitcom logic. But later, we find out Victor was never actually Lois’ biological father, which makes this downright bizarre.
67** That episode was written before the reveal, putting this in retcon territory.
68* Why does Malcolm become so stupid whenever Jessica is around? You'd think after the third time of having her manipulate him, he'd wise up to her act, especially since he's learned from the rest of his family that her FreudianExcuse CrocodileTears are old hat. It just seems like the writers wanted a female character who wasn't Lois that could boss the boys around with impunity.
69** RuleOfFunny. Though there is probably a quote about the difference between being intelligent and being smart. There are plenty of episodes where Malcolm doing something stupid despite his intelligence like trying to destroy a gun instead of going to the police.

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