The Middle – Hat Day is my new favorite holiday

Let me paint you a picture: it’s morning, and Frankie Heck has just finished fighting with Axl about a report for school that he has due next week, and discussing Majorette tryouts with Sue. She glances over at the breakfast table, and what does she see? Brick, in a light summer hat with flowers on top.

And it’s not even Hat Day.

I tell you, that kid can do more just sitting at a table reading than most actors do over the course of their entire careers. He has such a natural comedic ability, that just about anything he says or does connects.

Oh, and why the hat? He was trying something new to get more attention at breakfast … that’ll do it.

I’m surprised that Bob gets as much screen time as he does. Yes, it might just be my preference for the other actors in the ensemble talking, but I’m surprised that — with the likes of Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn — it’s necessary to throw Chris Kattan anything more than the occasional bone.

And speaking of Neil Flynn, I’m finding him an extremely enjoyable piece of The Middle. On Scrubs his Janitor was funny, but there wasn’t much to his role on the show beyond his problems with JD, itself a side-story at best. The Middle allows Flynn to play a real role on a series, and he is shining bright.

Heaton, on the other hand, has been here before and continues to excel. And speaking of “been here before,” shouldn’t the idea of taping her kids have set off warning bells in her head? It didn’t go down quite the same way here, but remember when Ray taped Debra on Everybody Loves Raymond in order to point out her behavior when she had her period? She practically made him eat the tape. I like how this time things backfired on her, but still … don’t forget the past.

I hope Mike isn’t stuck looking for temporary work for too long. I find myself frustrated for him that this is where life has brought him. I know he’s not alone, and most people experiencing this scramble for work are doing so for real, but he’s the one we’re watching on TV. And like Bob pointed out for different reasons, Mike has a wife and three kids to take care of. I can’t imagine that not selling cars and delivering snack cakes at night — as awesome as that sounds in theory — will keep them fed and clothed for very long. Good luck to you my friend.

And good luck to Sue. I don’t know if I’m back into her or not right now — she easily fluctuates between endearingly pathetic and just plain annoying — but having a kid makes me appreciate what Mike and Frankie are going through with Sue a whole lot more. Do you support your kids even knowing that they’ll fail, or do you shield them from the pain…. Okay, so maybe my wishes for luck go out to Frankie and Mike. Never mind.

But I did like Sue’s outlook on her chances at making Majorettes:

“With the swine flu outbreak, I have a real shot this year. A lot of good people are down.” – Sue

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Feb 04, 2010 @ 09:00 EST5EDT