Malcolm in the middle is probably one of the best American comedy programmes released in the UK to date. Originally broadcast in 2000 it is available on the sky channels on digital TV from the sky or virgin packages on a regular basis, it also sometimes appears on the BBC channels. The series is a little like the wonder years accept more strange and obscure with the family issues.

The characters

Francis-the oldest of the family's boys was sent to military school in the first few series and pretty much destroys the life of everyone around him until he is taken in by a rich European rancher and feels appreciated for once and takes a whole personality shift for the better.

Reese- Seems to be the hopeless one in the family he is a bully and does not seem bright in the slightest, however it is discovered in later series that he is a fantastic chef and cooks the family a feast at thanks giving to the standard of a 5star restaurant.

Malcolm- The genius of the family whom is the narrator in the early episodes though as the show goes on the attention is shifted across the family. Despite wanting to be just a normal kid he is placed in the super intelligence class and surpasses even the most intelligent kids never mind adults in the area.

Dewy- In the first few series he was the youngest, but towards the end of the shows life time there is evidence to show that his intelligence even surpasses Malcolm. The programme ending seems to be around the time when Dewy reaches Malcolm's age when the show started. Dewy also seems to take a lot of the attention in the series while the older brothers are shunted aside.

Jamie- The baby brother who appears towards the end of the shows life, he seems to put up with a lot and is quite intelligent himself for a toddler.

Lois and Hal-The boys' parents who can't keep their hands off each other, Lois is a cruel and strict prison guard mother, whereas Hal is much more light hearted and much like one of the boys. The boys never get off lightly when they are caught sneaking out of the house or caught with fireworks.

Stevie- Malcolm's new friend from the super intelligence class, he speaks in a monotone and sits in a wheel chair, he is a little naive but regularly gets caught up in Malcolm and Reese's schemes.

Craig- A rather large middle aged geek who works and has a rather large crush on Lois, Dewy and Hal set fire to his house and lose his cat and the family makes his life a living hell, but he still hangs around.

The opening scenes contain clips from various different programmes and movies including One million years BC and Nazca the anime which immediately catches your eye when you are channel hoping, the music is by They Might be Giants I think and is called the boss of me which suites the theme and feelings of the characters perfectly in my opinion.

The programme in general is good for most ages and there usually isn't anything overly objective, it is truly unique and brilliant and doesn't contain canned laughter and doesn't need it. The filming of the characters is done in more like a soap opera style than a typical American comedy also which is a brilliant touch.

It was nominated for many different tv awards in America including Emmy and Grammy awards and has millions of fans across the globe.
You can buy the boxsets on amazon for around 20 pounds each.