The turn of the 21st Century saw the American television sitcom ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ become a household favourite across the world. Following the life of Malcolm and his dysfunctional family allowed the audience to laugh, cringe and in particular, relate to the life of a suburban household.
The cringeworthy realization of Reese’s failure to prove his Mother wrongdoing, only to result in further punishment became a reoccurring favourite of mine.
Having not watched the show since the finale on May 14th 2006, flashbacks from my childhood soon became clearer after the opening theme reminded me of easier days. The theme from the song ‘Boss of Me’ by They May Be Giants perfectly captured what I, my brother and the majority of my friends thought about life, teachers and of course, parents.
“You’re not the boss of me now and you’re not so big”.
These words were often said behind the backs of teachers we believed to be against us. I’m still pretty sure that a few were. But more perfectly, the ending line of the song captures how those born in the 90’s felt at the time.
“Life is unfair”.
If we thought that we had it hard at the time, I wish I had known how twisted life was going to get. I think I would have been a bit more grateful. What i’d give to go back and have the whole day of worrying where i’d left my Gameboy.
That’s life, and the realization that six years had flown by since the end of such an influential sitcom had shut its books got me thinking. Where are they now?
Seeing where the likes of Hal, Lois, Reese, Malcolm and Dewey had ended up shows that what they did involving ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ has hugely affected their career path, and the lives of millions across the planet.
