My entertainment (tv and books) tends to go in cycles from casual consumption to flat out obsessions where I’m timing my minutes to see how many pages or episodes I can get in between my actual responsibilities and good habits. I live on the extremes that way but it generally seems to balance out for me . . . I never go too long without being really into something but I can give myself a break and enjoy shows, for example, that I can genuinely watch one episode at a time. Usually, those are sitcoms.
So I made a mistake here. Coming off an anime rewatching binge last month, I decided to pick up Shitt’s Creek as my casual show (which is wonderful). But on vacation, we needed something to watch as a family and discovered Malcolm in the Middle was now on Hulu. I’ve seen the show straight through twice before, both times post-college, but figured it was a good casual rewatch.
The mistake — I forgot Malcolm in the Middle is not a casual show for me. It should be, by all accounts. It’s just a sitcom. But as much as I love sitcoms and am good at bingeing them (as I am with anything) — like Parks.& Rec and Brooklyn 99, both frequent rewatches of mine — I have some modicum of chill there. They are not the shows I’ll get up early for or seek out fanfiction about.
But Malcolm in the Middle doesn’t fall in that category for me (not the fanfiction part, there’s very little on the show . . . which yes is me admitting I checked a couple of years ago). I love it. I’m a little obsessed with it. The first time I watched it straight through in the fall of 2014 I watched the last episode and then proceeded to sob for thirty minutes because it just got me. The character development, the sweeping themes of the show — that are so subtle as you go along — are masterful and it all culminates in this beautiful scene. And the show is funny with a lot of heart and this family just freaking loves each other despite all the disasters and messes and dysfunction.
My point is that I picked up a show and tried to call in casual and instead have spent the last week squeezing in as many episodes as possible. Not a great combination when I was also having trouble getting back to a normal schedule after vacation. But no regrets. There are seven seasons and I’m mid-third season right now — so much left to enjoy.
So maybe my real point is that I wish everyone would watch this show and talk about their feelings about it with me?
With Love,
Natalie