Review: ‘The Middle’ – ‘The Yelling’

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.
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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.”
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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.

Tags: Add new tag, Arts, Bob, Middle, Middle class, Mike, Programs, Sue, Television