“The Final Four” – Mr. Ehlert takes a liking to Mike and presents him with two tickets to the Final Four – Mike’s dream come true! But when Frankie’s uncle passes away and the funeral is set for the day of the game, a battle begins to brew as Frankie forces Mike to choose which life event is most important to him. Meanwhile, Sue tries to help Brick get out of going to a birthday party by impersonating Frankie over the phone, but panics when she realizes that Frankie is going to make a call for real in order to get him out because of the funeral, on “The Middle,” WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“The Middle” stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Charlie McDermott as Axl, Eden Sher as Sue, Atticus Shaffer as Brick and Chris Kattan as Bob.

Guest starring are Brian Doyle Murray as Mr. Ehlert, Jeanette Miller as Aunt Edie, Frances Bay as Aunt Ginny, Dierk Torsek as Reverend Hayver, Phillip Wilburn as paramedic, Margarita Franco as anesthesiologist and Adam Pilver as surgeon.

“The Final Four” was written by Rob Ulin and directed by Alex Reid.

Then there are the Heck kids.

Axl, portrayed by Charlie McDermott (Frozen River), is the teenage son, a jockey, semi-nudist (seriously) and often rebel who occasionally has a soft spot; Eden Sher (Weeds) plays the socially awkward teenage daughter Sue who has tried out for every sport and extracurricular at school known to man without ever being accepted into any of them; and Atticus Shaffer (The Unborn) plays Brick, the bookwork and youngest child who often whispers to himself and considers his backpack his best friend. Oh yeah.

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FRANKIE AND MIKE FOCUS ON TAKING THE FAMILY ON A ROAD TRIP TO CHICAGO FOR BRICK’S COMPETITION IN A REGIONAL SPELLING BEE, BUT ARE GOBSMACKED WHEN THEY REALIZE THEY FORGOT ABOUT SUE’S BIRTHDAY, ON ABC’S “THE MIDDLE”

“The Bee” When Mike discovers that Brick is a spelling wiz and won the school spelling bee, he puts all his efforts into training him to win the regional bee, which could ultimately lead to competing in the Scripps Spelling Bee. But as the family gets set for their road trip to Chicago for the regional bee, Frankie and Mike are horrified when they realize they forgot one thing — Sue’s birthday — on “The Middle,” WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“The Middle” stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Charlie McDermott as Axl, Eden Sher as Sue, Atticus Shaffer as Brick and Chris Kattan as Bob.

Guest starring are Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Ehlert, Kiva Jump as Mrs. Thomas, Duane Shepard, Sr. as judge, Keith Gerchak as announcer, Jill E. Alexander as Penny, Ryan Agahee as Sanjit, Noelani Bailey as girl contestant, Harrison Boxley as boy contestant, Gregory Kasyan as kid #1 and Aidan Miner as kid #2.

“The Bee” was written by Eileen Heisler & DeAnn Heline and directed by Ken Whittingham.

“The Middle” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format with a 5.1 channel surround sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to the airdate.

Source: The Futon Critic

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

The Middle (ABC) – Forgive me if I’m forgetting one, but I don’t think there has been a genuinely funny, down-to-earth, timely broadcast sitcom that dared to focus on a cash-strapped working class American family since Roseanne at its peak. (No, I haven’t spaced on Malcolm in the Middle, a personal favorite of mine. Malcolm was a bit “out there” and made no claim to realism.) So here’s three cheers for the harried Hecks of small-town Indiana: Car-salesperson mom Frankie (Patricia Heaton), quarry manager dad Mike (Neil Flynn), dim teen jock and horn dog Axl (Charlie McDermott), socially awkward outcast Sue (Eden Sher) and bizarre little Brick (Atticus Shaffer, an instant scene-stealer). I hope they stay with us for years.

Episode Synopsis: THE MIDDLE “Christmas” Episode 10 – While Frankie focuses on rehearsing for a solo in her church’s midnight Christmas mass, Mike takes over handling the chores of setting up the Heck family Christmas. But Frankie becomes a bit jealous when it seems that Mike is doing a better job at organizing the holiday then she would have done. Meanwhile, Frankie and Mike try to help Brick overcome a problem in order to get into the holiday spirit, on “The Middle,” TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“The Middle” stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Charlie McDermott as Axl, Eden Sher as Sue, Atticus Shaffer as Brick and Chris Kattan as Bob.

Guest starring are J. Brock Ciarelli as Brad Bottig, Dierk Torsek as reverend, Donovan Scott as Santa, Charles Dougherty as choir director and Joseph Whipp as Mike’s boss.

“Christmas” was written by Roy Brown and directed by Reginald Hudlin.

Source: Daemons TV

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THE MIDDLE Episode 8 “Thanksgiving” airing Wednesday, November 25 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

Episode Synopsis: THE MIDDLE “Thanksgiving” Episode 8 – Frankie’s dream of an idyllic family Thanksgiving is thwarted when Mr. Ehlert forces the staff to work on the holiday. Meanwhile, Frankie and Mike approve of a clueless Sue’s first boyfriend — who turns out to be a safe choice — and a panicked Axl loses Brick in a corn maze, on “The Middle,” WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“The Middle” stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Charlie McDermott as Axl, Eden Sher as Sue, Atticus Shaffer as Brick and Chris Kattan as Bob.

Guest starring are Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Ehlert, Peter Breitmayer as Pete, John Cullum as Big Mike, J. Brock Ciarlelli as Brad Bottig, Jeanette Miller as Aunt Edie, Frances Bay as Aunt Ginny, Jeris Lee Poindexter as old man and Megan Hubbell as cute girl.

“Thanksgiving” was written by Vijal Patel and directed by Michael Spiller.

[Source: Daemons TV]