History Recap / MalcolmInTheMiddle

#"[[Recap/MalcolmInTheMiddleReesesApartment Reese's Apartment]]": Reese gets thrown out of the house for an unspeakable prank ([[NoodleImplements one that involves a lot of cats, is done in a lot of third-world countries, and calls for mass evacuation]]), and ends up living a better life on his own -- until Lois and Hal discovers that Reese is using credit cards to get by. Meanwhile, Malcolm helps a dimwitted football player write an essay for his college applications.

#"[[Recap/MalcomInTheMiddleS3E13CynthiasBack Cynthia's Back]]": Cynthia from "Krelboyne Girl" returns from living in Europe, surly, mean, and fraught with DCupDistress (with Malcolm trying to keep Reese from taking advantage of her). Meanwhile, Francis finds a totem pole and goes on a journey for the meaning of life, while Dewey helps Hal with his fear of kites.

#"[[Recap/MalcolmInTheMiddleS4E05ForwarssBackwards Forwards Backwards]]": A series of flashbacks show how Malcolm's birthday was ruined thanks to a prank war with Reese. Meanwhile, Dewey worries about his role as Abraham Lincoln in the school play, and Francis and Otto try to capture a "devil cow."

#"[[Recap/MalcomInTheMiddleS3EP13CynthiasBack Cynthia's Back]]": Cynthia from "Krelboyne Girl" returns from living in Europe, surly, mean, and fraught with DCupDistress (with Malcolm trying to keep Reese from taking advantage of her). Meanwhile, Francis finds a totem pole and goes on a journey for the meaning of life, while Dewey helps Hal with his fear of kites.

#"Dewey's Dog": Dewey finds a dog and uses him to gain the upper hand over Malcolm and Reese. Meanwhile, Hal and Lois both are sick while out eating dinner, but neither will admit it, and Francis comes face-to-face with Commandant Spangler.

#"Forwards Backwards": A series of flashbacks show how Malcolm's birthday was ruined thanks to a prank war with Reese. Meanwhile, Dewey worries about his role as Abraham Lincoln in the school play, and Francis and Otto try to capture a "devil cow."

#"Reese's Apartment": Reese gets thrown out of the house for an unspeakable prank ([[NoodleImplements one that involves a lot of cats, is done in a lot of third-world countries, and calls for mass evacuation]]), and ends up living a better life on his own -- until Lois and Hal discovers that Reese is using credit cards to get by. Meanwhile, Malcolm helps a dimwitted football player write an essay for his college applications.

#"[[Recap/MalcomInTheMiddleS3EP14CynthiasBack Cynthia's Back]]": Cynthia from "Krelboyne Girl" returns from living in Europe, surly, mean, and fraught with DCupDistress (with Malcolm trying to keep Reese from taking advantage of her). Meanwhile, Francis finds a totem pole and goes on a journey for the meaning of life, while Dewey helps Hal with his fear of kites.

#"Cynthia's Back": Cynthia from "Krelboyne Girl" returns from living in Europe, surly, mean, and fraught with DCupDistress (with Malcolm trying to keep Reese from taking advantage of her). Meanwhile, Francis finds a totem pole and goes on a journey for the meaning of life, while Dewey helps Hal with his fear of kites.

#"Malcolm's Money" While Malcolm contends with a surly yearbook photographer, Lois, Hal, and Dewey hide a $10,000 grant check from Malcolm, as they need the money more than he does. Meanwhile, Reese hangs out with seniors at a retirement home.

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#"If Boys Were Girls": During a hellish trip to the mall with Hal and the boys, Lois imagines what her life would be like if Malcolm, Dewey, Reese, and Francis were daughters.

A list of episode titles and summaries for ''Malcolm in the Middle'', an early 2000s filmed FOX sitcom about the awkward and, at times, bleak misadventures of a kid genius named Malcolm, who has a perpetually stressed-out, highly sadistic mom named Lois, a bumbling, hapless father named Hal, a delinquent older brother named Francis who was sent to military school, a bully middle brother named Reese, a fellow genius brother named Dewey, and a younger brother named Jamie.

#"Old Mrs. Old": Malcolm must help an old woman (Florence Stanley; an American film, stage, and TV actress best known for her work on ''My Two Dads'', ''Series/NightCourt'', and ''Dinosaurs''[[note]]she was the voice of Fran's mother, Ethyl, who rides around in a wheelchair and insults her son-in-law Earl[[/note]]) in the neighborhood with whatever she wants of him because he broke her arm. Meanwhile, Dewey uses Lois' purse as a schoolbag, and Francis fears for his hoodlum friend, Richie's, life after he is sent to military school and becomes Commandant Spangler's best friend.

#"Hal's Friend": Hal's old friend from high school, Larry (played by Joel Murray[[note]]brother of Creator/BillMurray and Creator/BrianDoyleMurray; was the voice of Darryl's next-door neighbor, Carl, on the short-lived animated adaptation of ''Baby Blues''[[/note]]) comes over and ropes Hal into plotting revenge against their old boss from their first job at a pizzeria. Meanwhile, Malcolm and Stevie try to cut the umbilical cord between Dabney and [[MyBelovedSmother his overprotective mother]] by taking him to a paintball arena to test out the new paintball gun he got for his birthday.

#"Future Malcolm": Malcolm befriends a surly, intellectual man (played by Jason Alexander of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}'' fame) who may or may not be Malcolm's future self. Meanwhile, Piama gets a job as a nude model for an art class, and Francis joins in after hearing that it's a paying gig.

#"Dirty Magazine": Creator/KurtwoodSmith (Red Forman from ''Series/That70sShow'') and Lori Beth Denberg[[note]]credited as "L.B. Denberg"[[/note]] (from the original cast of ''Series/AllThat'') guest star on this episode that has Malcolm's principal put a moratorium on all extracurricular activities after the school literary magazine publishes an outcast's racy story about street harassment and death.

#"Secret Boyfriend": Malcolm begins dating a secretly brainy girl who has to hide her intellectualism in order to keep her popularity. Meanwhile, Hal argues with a mini-golf manager (played by Harold Sylvester[[note]]Al Bundy's black friend, Griff, on ''Series/MarriedWithChildren''[[/note]]) over denying Dewey a free game.

#"Army Buddy": Larisa Oleynik (from ''Series/TheSecretWorldOfAlexMack'') guest stars as Reese's old friend from the Army, who returns to tell him that she has feelings for someone close to her.

#"Hal Grieves": In this, the only episode directed by Christopher Kennedy Masterson (the actor who plays Francis on the show[[note]]and is the brother of Danny Masterson, who plays Hyde, on ''Series/That70sShow''[[/note]]), Hal's father dies, but rather than grieve over his death, he smothers the boys with affection and becomes a fun parent so that way, they'll miss him when he's gone. Meanwhile, Abe (Hal's best friend) tries to get Creator/LeonardNimoy to appear and cheer up Hal, but settles for Creator/GeorgeTakei.

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#"Christmas": As the boys ruin Christmas every year, the most recent being a tree ornament war, Lois finally issues an ultimatum: either the boys behave or Christmas is cancelled. Meanwhile, Francis spends Christmas with the evil Ida -- and finds her stash of long-withheld presents.
#"Poker": Hal finally gets an invitation to Abe's poker game, where Hal feels left out because he's the only amateur player (and ComicallyMissingThePoint that he's the only white guy in a group of black men). Malcolm clashes with Stevie for filming him in a homework assignment, and Francis and his friends are trapped in an Alaskan blizzard fending off cabin fever.

#"Lois Strikes Back": Lois gets revenge on four girls (one of which is played by Creator/EmmaStone) who pranked Reese. Meanwhile, Hal builds a homemade baseball pitcher and Dewey takes care of a traumatized Reese.

#"Emancipation": Francis comes home a final time before heading out to join Eric in Alaska, but Lois wants nothing to do with him since he quit school. Meanwhile, Malcolm's new teacher (Chris Eigeman), a former Krelboyne student, sets up a new new ranking system, causing the students to suffer a breakdown and increased paranoia.

#"Hal's Dentist": Hal's friend Trey tells him to come to his dental office when he loses a tooth during a poker game, but their friendship goes into jeopardy when Hal's faced with a $2,000 bill and causes a fight between them. Meanwhile, Reese teaches Lois how to ride a bike (who can't ride due to her father's abusive methods he taught her as a kid), and Malcolm and Dewey find sleeping as their new favorite pastime after finding a mattress in the street that's actually comfortable.

#"Cattle Court": Former figure skater Tara Lipinski guest stars as a cute vegetarian who has her eye on Reese, so Reese gives up eating meat to impress her. Meanwhile, Malcolm fools Craig into attending a rock concert, but leads him into going on a trip around the country via motorcycle.

#"Lois' Sister": Laurie Metcalf (Jackie from ''Roseanne'', Andy's mom from the ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' movies, and one of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'''s most short-lived cast members) guest stars as Lois' sister who showers the family with gifts after learning that she needs a kidney transplant. Meanwhile, Francis acts as a Girl Scout troop leader, only to learn that Girl Scouts are evil.

#"Red Dress": When Lois, Malcolm's sadistic, perpetually-stressed out mother, finds her red dress burned and stuffed in the toilet, she immediately blames Malcolm and his brothers, Reese and Dewey, and holds them hostage until one or all of them confesses. Meanwhile, Hal makes friends with the waitstaff while waiting for Lois.

#"Pilot": A boy named Malcolm's miserable life gets worse when his I.Q. test results reveal that he's a genius and is placed in a class filled with neurotic nerds known as the Krelboynes.

#"Home Alone 4": Malcolm's older brother, Francis (who has been sent to military school following a string of atrocities he committed, including getting a nose ring and setting someone's car on fire), is asked to babysit Malcolm Reese and Dewey while Hal and Lois go to a wedding, and the boys are forced to behave so they can prove that Francis is responsible and deserves to come home.

#"Bride of Ida": Ida comes over to babysit Malcolm and Reese, and brings along Raduca, an obedient girl from her home country as the prize in a contest where the winner gets to marry her. Meanwhile, Dewey, Lois, and Hal get stuck at the airport while trying to fly out to a piano competition.
#"College Recruiters": Hal begins treating Malcolm's college recruiters as suitors, while Dewey tells Francis that being unemployed is no kind of life for a man, and Reese studies for Raduca's green card test, and is oblivious to Raduca cheating on him with a man she claims is her brother.

#"No Motorcycles": Hal makes good on a promise he made to Francis (a motorcycle ride on his 21st birthday, despite motorcycles being one of Lois' many [[BerserkButton berserk buttons]]). Meanwhile Malcolm, Dewey, and Reese are held captive in their own home by a bully.

#"Family Reunion": The family goes to Hal's family reunion for his father's birthday, and Hal's family makes Lois miserable because she's not from a rich family.

#"Mrs. Tri-County": The boys enter Lois in a local beauty contest as a joke, but the joke's on them when she competes -- and things get worse when Malcolm is forced to be Mr. Herkabe's assistant and Reese discovers that his adolescent good looks are similar to that of a middle-aged woman.

#"Red Dress": When Lois, Malcolm's sadistic, perpetually-stressed out mother, finds her red dress burned and stuffed in the toilet, she immediately blames Malcolm and his brothers, Reese and Dewey, and holds them hostage until one or all of them confesses. Meanwhile, Hal, Malcolm's BumblingDad, makes friends with the waitstaff while waiting for Lois.

#"Sleepover": Malcolm helps his handicapped friend, Stevie, have a real boys' night out during a sleepover. Meanwhile, Lois challenges Reese to give Dewey a bath in order to prove that he's old enough to stay up and watch a ''Film/ChildsPlay'' movie, and Francis gets hazed by a secret society at the military school, and proves to be no match for the mental and emotional torture he suffered from living with Lois.

#"Water Park": The family goes to a water park, except for Dewey, who is left home alone with a babysitter (played by Bea Arthur from ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' and ''Series/{{Maude}}'') and ends up wandering away from home after the babysitter dies from a heart attack.

#"Traffic Jam": After getting banned from the water park for their antics from the previous episode, Malcolm's family gets stuck in a traffic jam caused by a car wreck right in front of them on their way home. Meanwhile, Dewey continues his adventure away from home and Francis bets his fellow cadets that he can eat 100 Candy Quacks (a BlandNameProduct version of Peeps).