The Middle Season 1 Episode 15 Valentine’s Day – will be shown on Wednesday, February 10 2010 08:30pm on ABC.
Synopsis: Frankie and Mike try to plan a quiet, romantic Valentine’s Day without the kids.
Source: NGE Press
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e17b5c9e-208a-4f6f-aa93-6b3bfeb01753)
Tags: Add new tag, American Broadcasting Company, Classroom, Fashion, Holidays, Holidays and Special Days, Kids and Teens, People and Society, Valentine's Day
“The Middle” (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in at 8:30 p.m. (+13%), ABC’s “The Middle” (2.7/8) finished as the No. 1 regular program in its half-hour among Adults 18-49, beating the second half-hour of Fox’s “Human Target” premiere by 8% (2.5/7) and NBC’s “Mercy” by 69% (1.6/5).
“The Middle” achieved series-high numbers among Adults 18-49 and across each of the key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).
Source: The Futon Critic
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=588c2cbb-4d5a-45aa-9809-bd8f58b01532)
Tags: Add new tag, American Broadcasting Company, Arts, Fox Broadcasting Company, Human Target, NBC, Stations, Television, United States
TV Squad has a review of last night’s The Middle; here are the highlights:
I kind of like the relationship developing between Bob and Mike. When Mike threw him out of the house a few weeks back, I was actually a bit taken aback. Sure, Bob’s a bit — okay, a lot awkward, but he has a good heart and he’s a decent guy. And he’s good friends with Frankie.
…
I think with this episode, ‘The Middle’ strayed further into surreality than we’re used to seeing. I’ve always thought of the show as a surprisingly realistic take on middle class families in middle America, but everything about this episode had reality amped up to the proverbial “eleven.”
…
And it’s not even that the episode didn’t have plenty of laughs, because it did. I loved when Sue yelled at Axl that he was the most irresponsible person she’d ever met, and then handed him a baby to take care of. But the same laughs could have been achieved without having to sacrifice that carefully crafted third dimension for our characters.
There were some authentic moments in the episode, though, like the scene with Mike and Frankie in bed when she realized that she’d become a yelling mom, and she didn’t want to be that. It was pure Mike when he said, “Well, it’s too late now.” And the video Frankie made to show them how horrible their behavior was backfired on her so masterfully, that I couldn’t help myself laughing by the end of it.
As long as the heart of the show remains strong, it’ll be fine. Just keep an eye on that reality check light, please.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d8c198bd-47f5-4581-94a5-c2d5ed50e786)
Tags: Add new tag, Arts, Bob, Middle, Middle class, Mike, Programs, Sue, Television
Patricia Heaton is a wife and mom again.
Of course, much is changed on “The Middle,” her freshman ABC domestic comedy, after “Everybody Loves Raymond,” where for nine hit seasons she played a frazzled hausfrau opposite Ray Romano.
“It’s not normally a great choice, to repeat yourself,” says Heaton, acknowledging her knee-jerk reluctance to go home again, sitcom-wise.
But “The Middle,” which airs Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. EST, offered her a different place to settle.
“It’s from the mom’s point of view, and it’s not with a bumbling dad who can never do anything right,” she says. “It’s about trying to keep the marriage lively and raise the kids right, but not having enough time and energy to do any of those things.”
It’s also far removed from the Barones’ testy Long Island homestead.
“The Middle” – presided over by its middle-class, nearing-midlife couple, the Hecks – is rooted firmly in the Midwest. There, home is more loving and hopeful than on “Raymond,” if no less challenging, frantic and funny.
And frumpy. At 51, Heaton is a looker, but as pushed-to-the-limit housewife Frankie, she looks authentically dressed down.
“The plainer I am, the better,” says Heaton. “I have these bangs that I clip on. The bangs are the last thing to go on. Then, I can really do the character.”
In their small Indiana town, husband Mike (Neil Flynn) is a manager at a local quarry while Frankie supplements her household duties by trying to sell cars at the town’s lone, struggling auto dealership. Adding to the mix are their kids: sullen high-school jock Axl (Charlie McDermott), insecure preteen wallflower Sue (Eden Shur) and quirky, brilliant 8-year-old Brick (Atticus Shaffer).
Read the full story on Merritt News
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=1729f64e-34f8-466b-aa57-0442f3ee0ef3)
Tags: Add new tag, American Broadcasting Company, Everybody Loves Raymond, Long Island, Middle, Neil Flynn, Patricia Heaton, Ray Romano, Situation comedy
Channel Surfing bloggers Malavika Jagannathan and Adam Reinhard talked about The Middle; Here are some of the highlights:
Malavika: To be honest, family-centric sitcoms always made me a bit uncomfortable. As much as I loved “The Cosby Show” and, yes, even “Growing Pains,” I grew out of that phase pretty quickly. If I wanted to laugh at someone’s family, well, I’d laugh at my own. So, I was pretty surprised at how much I liked “The Middle.” Patricia Heaton has always been good at playing the harried mom type and Neil Flynn pretty much shines in anything he does. But, truly, it’s their kooky kids — teenage son Axl, almost always wandering the house in nothing but boxers; the eager but perennial failure at whatever she does Susan; and the totally weird youngest child Brick — that pushes this past “Malcolm in the Middle” territory.
Adam: I totally agree. The Hecks are the most realistic, relatable family on TV right now; in fact, I’m having trouble thinking of any family in all of TV history that could give them a run for their money.
“The Middle” has obvious forebearers, like “Malcolm in the Middle,” as you mentioned (although it is thankfully far less wacky), but especially the mother of all blue-collar comedies, “Roseanne.” Whereas that undoubtedly classic sitcom served as a showcase for Roseanne Barr’s standup routines, with her children little more than window dressing, “The Middle” is much more of an ensemble effort. Heaton is obviously the main character, but unlike Roseanne, she doesn’t get the lion’s share of laughs. In other words, she doesn’t sit around the kitchen all day spitting wisecracks; on the contrary, Frankie Heck is almost constantly in motion, running from one family emergency to the next, and that’s where the humor is derived from. That’s what we can all relate to.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5b5358cb-d1f3-4ba3-b4d4-d77eeaf88412)
Tags: Add new tag, Comedy, Cosby Show, Malcolm in the Middle, Middle, Neil Flynn, Patricia Heaton, Situation comedy, Television
It was a Christmas present gone wrong for Patricia Heaton and one of her sons! Following a recent appearance on The View, the actress took time backstage for a mommy confession, revealing that she gifted her son, “who’s kind of a worrier and hypochondriac,” with the book 100 Things That Will Kill You.
However, originally thinking the book was a great idea “because he worries about everything,” Patricia has been left to deal with the aftermath!
“I went to tuck him in one night after Christmas … and he had the book open on his lap and he was saying, ‘Mom, did you read about the Ebola virus?’” she explains. “And I realized, you know what, probably not a good idea to have gotten him that book.”
Read the full story on Celebrity Babies
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=95a90787-f3da-435a-8f1d-be6b9f323558)
Tags: Actor, Add new tag, Christmas, Ebola, Health, Infectious Diseases, Patricia Heaton, View, Viral
HE MIDDLE star Eden Sher stops by Holly wood 411. Eden talks about playing an awkward child in a dysfunctional family and the rare chance to do a fight scene on a sitcom.
The Middle: Eden Sher
Celebrity Interviews | MySpace Video
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c363d928-1d45-45ce-8d84-9591ee2a6db4)
Tags: Add new tag, Arts, Celebrities, Dysfunctional family, Eden Sher, MySpace, People, Situation comedy, Television
There’s a rookie TV show we’ve been watching that airs in the middle of the week, in the middle of other sitcoms.
The Middle doesn’t get a lot of attention, but we’d like to change that, now that we’ve hit the middle of The Middle’s first season.
So if you like to laugh, really, you should check out The Middle, which stars Patricia Heaton and airs Wednesdays on ABC and A.
The Middle isn’t hip and edgy, like Modern Family.
The Middle isn’t rife with sophomoric sexual situations, like Cougar Town.
But that doesn’t mean The Middle is bland, which often is the quick conclusion when hearing the term “family comedy.”
Yes, The Middle focuses on an Indiana family: Mom Frankie Heck (Heaton), dad Mike (Neil Flynn) and kids Axl (Charlie McDermott), Sue (Eden Sher) and Brick (Atticus Shaffer).
But The Middle is surprisingly cynical in its portrayal of an average clan living in “the middle” of the United States.
Heaton is a TV-comedy veteran from her nine seasons as Debra Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. In fact, Heaton probably can watch reruns of herself 50 times a day if she just clicks around.
“That’s all I’ve been doing for years, sitting in front of the TV, watching old reruns, crying and eating ice cream,” said Heaton, 51.
That’s not true, of course. Last season Heaton was part of a much-publicized but hastily cancelled sitcom with Kelsey Grammer called Back to You.
Heaton seems much more comfortable playing underpaid, overworked and overwhelmed matriarch Frankie Heck. And the great side-benefit of The Middle is that all three of Frankie’s kids are funny in their own right.
Axl is a teenage boy who has entered the stage where everything is “lame.” Sue’s enthusiasm is infectious even though she fails horribly at everything she tries.
Read the full story on Toronto Sun
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=cf67fa9b-a1e8-45c5-a82f-3554b7267670)
Tags: Add new tag, EdenSher, Everybody Loves Raymond, Kelsey Grammer, Middle, Neil Flynn, Patricia Heaton, Sue, United States
ABC’s 8-9pm Repeat Comedies Build Adult 18-49 Audience Against “Idol,” As a Repeat “The Middle” Beats NBC’s Original “Mercy” at 8:30pm by 21%.
ABC Repeat Comedies (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Opposite “American Idol” from 8:00-9:00 p.m., repeats of “Modern Family” and “The Middle” gained Adult 18-49 audience (+6%) for ABC in the hour. In fact ABC was the only broadcaster to grow in the time period.
At 8:30 p.m., a replay ABC’s “The Middle” defeated NBC’s original Mercy by 21% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/4 vs. 1.4/4). Despite facing “Idol,” “The Middle” posted its second-highest repeat number to date.
Source: RBR
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9de18ded-782b-469f-835b-241d7024269c)
Tags: Add new tag, American Broadcasting Company, American Idol, Arts, Modern Family, NBC, Programs, Television, United States
The Middle may be middling as a comedy, but the freshman sitcom about an atypical middle-American family got a resounding endorsement this past week from ABC executives: renewal for a second season in the fall.
For show-runners Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, the early pickup is validation of a gentle and genuinely sweet take on raising kids in an increasingly frantic world.
“It allows us to go forward without the fear hanging over our heads of not being back,” Heisler told reporters at this week’s meeting of the TV Critics Association in Pasadena, Calif. “We get to invest more, as we hope the audience will as well.”
That middle-American setting is crucial to The Middle’s success, Heisler believes.
“DeAnn and I are both from the Midwest, and it started from our yearning for the life we came from. The location is a very important part of the show. We wanted to show regular people in the middle of the country, living more-or-less ordinary lives.”
Read the full story on Windsor Star
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=54723847-7635-4eb3-ba1e-c3fb18ab5f0a)
Tags: Add new tag, American Broadcasting Company, California, Middle, Midwestern United States, Pasadena California, Situation comedy, Television, United States
