The Middle

Supernaturally talented Patricia Heaton may be doomed to playing the long suffering wife now, as far as television goes -- but she is SO good at it. After who knows how many seasons of Everybody Loves Raymond she appears to have completely mastered the role. And who's complaining? I would never have thought there was so much fertile ground left for family comedy but the writers seem to have tapped a whole new vein. Patricia Heaton being one of the most talented humans ever, your expectations are high on anything new from this lady. No disappointments here! Great story - great imagery - sizzling dialog - wonderful character work from a top-notch cast. Where are all these brilliant new kid actors coming from? Atticus Shaffer is simply miraculous in his role as the ... "unusual child". There was so much entertaining content in this half-hour (or about 22 minutes, I guess, minus the commercials) that I felt like I'd watched a class A feature film comedy. It's not going to be easy to maintain this level of excellence but if they even get close, I'll be a huge fan. Can't wait to see the next episode!

You'd want to see this show because of the household names, Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Chris Kattan, Brian Doyle Murray, and you'd be pleasantly surprised by the writing. We all "know" the harried mom, laid back dad, "under achiever" kids, but within a twenty minute episode I realize how really well the writers capture the frustration and absurdity that goes with life in "the middle". This program doesn't fit the "oh poor hapless daddy" sitcoms, the kind Bob Newhart would NEVER do, and that's why I've been watching it. Because they have a real mess of a home and wear clothes you do see in the newspaper insert ads, these are some real people dealing with some way out there kinds of characters in situations which are hilarious and sometimes heartwarming, without being mushy. This is one show I look forward to each week!!

I really wish ABC would promote this show more, and give the actors credit for their work. They have been robbed of Emmy nominations twice. I honestly enjoy Modern Family but I don't get why that show gets a million Emmy nods every year. Anyway, I've been watching since day 1 and have loved it since. Frankie Heck is the harried car-saleslady mother of 3 kids, living in the fictional town of Orson, Indiana. She is always trying to get the kids to bond, while trying to get by herself, as she and her husband Mike don't make a lot of money and their house is always a mess. Axl, the oldest, is a typical lazy, sarcastic teenager who is almost always making fun of his sister Sue, the middle teen daughter. She is very optimistic and bubbly, but nobody really knows she exists, and can never make anything out of herself, especially at school. Finally we have little Brick, who's nose is always stuck in a book and doesn't really have any friends, but if he does make a friend, they're even quirkier than he is. And they are always trying to compete with their practically perfect neighbors, the Donahues. I think we can all relate to this show in some way--the house is always a mess, the mom doesn't always feel like cooking so she brings home fast food, there's those neighbors who are like the perfect family that you've always wanted to be, and the kids don't always get along. It's not laugh out loud funny but I still tune in every Wednesday. And it is NOT a ripoff of Malcolm. That show was about 4 brothers, one of them being a genius. And they lived in California whereas the Hecks live in the MID-west. And they're middle-income, and this show is focused on the mom, trying to do her best to support her family. This show also has more positive vibes. If it didn't have the word "Middle" in the title, people probably wouldn't say a word, right? 8/10.

Easy to follow can leave running fall asleep wake up and just keep watching. Although I always rewind to where I was because I like to say I've seen every episode of a series. I can however confirm with this show I have never not once been left disappointed. The entire cast has some significant part and their own unique way or portraying their characters and being humorous! Nobody in the show is just pure evil and it does remind me of my everyday life as part of a middle class family! It's never too far fetched. Not to mention I've never seen an episode I didn't at least giggle once every couple minutes! :-)

There's a number of shows that I record every week and this is one of them. Whenever I go to catch up on watching shows that were recorded, there are some that are starting to feel like a chore to watch, but I always looks forward to watching this one.

I was never a fan of "Everyone Loves Raymond" so I never saw too much of Patricia Heaton, but she's really very good in this show. I think most of the characters in this show are really well cast. I think Eden Sher as the daughter "Sue" is terrific. She's such a lovable nerd. Neil Flynn who plays the husband "Mike" is funny and believable. Atticus Shaffer as the youngest son "Brick" is pretty bizarre, but somehow I find myself laughing at him, especially when he repeats to himself in a whisper, the last word of his sentences. I can't explain why, but it's funny to me every time he does it.

I hope the show doesn't get old for me. I've watched the first 9 episodes so far and haven't been disappointed yet.