this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2026
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me_irl
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I've only seen bits and pieces of the show but I liked them. Is MitM still good in 2026?
Yes. I rewatched it recently and it’s still spot on.
Except that one line in that one episode where Lois yells at the boys, “Are you Aborigines?!” Which is… gross. The way she says it is hard to make out - I had no idea what she was saying when I first watched it. But it’s especially odd because it doesn’t match with the rest of her character to use ethnic terms as insults. Thankfully, that’s the only questionable “joke” I can recall in the whole series. Best not let it spoil a damn funny show.
Ehh, her character always pissed me off even back in the day. She was I think meant to though.
I can't speak for all, but I like her more as an adult. I can see her perspective better, and just how much she does and puts up with from her family (including her husband.) It absolutely all went over my head when I saw the show when I was a kid/teen (I was pretty much the same age as Malcolm throughout its original run), so it's been enlightening to see the show again and understand the characters more deeply.
I assumed the same, but I saw an episode a few years ago when stuck in a hotel and I still hated her character. Does not help that a lot of the story lines have their basis on a character doing something unknowing that it will cause the issue the story then has to solve, and then having her more then other characters fill the part of making things bad or worse.
I never thought her character was "bad" or "evil" and the actress did a great job most of the time. I just found her character insufferable most of the time. Actually most of the characters have points where they are insufferable, and that might in retrospect be why the show holds up.
I get that. As an adult I can better understand the context surrounding Lois and why she is as she is. Her parents were absolutely the worst. Her mother, Ida, was a monster, in fact I think Lois could've felt right at home in a "Raised by Narcissists" community. She was always compared to her "Golden Child" sister, Susan, and her mother's flighty attachments to her kids and grandkids is seen in some episodes. In one episode, Ida goes to visit Lois after having some petty fight with Susan and declared that she was no longer her favorite. In another, it's revealed that Ida hates Francis because when he was put on the phone as a toddler, he called his grandmother "poopy."
It's honestly amazing that Lois was able to grow up with her self-confidence and desire for "doing the right thing" intact. Her parents sucked and she somehow came out of it all still trying her best. She never had a role model for what being a good parent looked like, and though I agree she's gone overboard when it comes to handling her kids, at least she's trying to break the cycle of neglect and abuse she came from. She's far from the best mother, but with acknowledging all the circumstances around her, I can at least see where she's coming from.
Oh she makes sense as written, not going to deny that, at the same time I don't have to like her character.
I guess my take away is that its a big deal whenever she is not aggressively nasty. She is a pivotal character, but not one I could like.
Totally fair. Don't mind me, I'm not trying to change anyone's opinions, I just like analyzing my favorite shows sometimes.
Oh your in no way bothering me, I too like doing that. And at least her character was interesting, unlike a lot of characters (extra for woman characters) lately. I might be angry at her antics on screen but at least the show got me feeling something.
I'd say so. If you don't like the first few episodes, you probably won't like the rest.
It is still good, so much so that they just put out a reunion special mini series last month which is well worth your time if you enjoyed the original run.
Malcolm In The Middle: Life's Still Unfair
As ever, Hal is the best thing in it, but it's a pretty high bar.
Cool, I'll check it out. (From the library)