It is that time of year to celebrate Christmas with the Hecks on ABC at 8p on The Middle, and this episode delivers like Santa on Christmas morning.
Mike (Neil Flynn) thinks it is going to be the perfect Christmas because Frankie’s (Patricia Heaton) parents aren’t coming this year, so he is really looking forward to spending it without the in-laws. Meanwhile Frankie is happy to have her son, Axl (Charlie McDermott), home all the way from college. Only problem is he would rather spend the time with his friends from high school. The two of them will try to work out a deal, but it will be tough negotiations. Talking about tough, Brick (Atticus Shaffer) gets a costly financial lesson tonight when he gives his mom the wrapping paper he was selling for school so he could get a gift. Frankie wants him to learn a lesson, so she makes him find a way to come up with the money to pay for those 20 rolls of wrapping expensive paper. Brick being Brick finds something else to sell to earn the money and then he has to find something to else to make up for that and so on. You just have to see what he is panhandling so he can make back that original $97 that is now so much more.
And then there is our sweet Sue (Eden Sher), Christmas was made for her but she was not made for Christmas. The happiest high schooler is handed some lemons and yet again she somehow makes lemonade as she makes laughs hysterically!
So tune in for a family Christmas episode that is unlike anything else on television and that is why The Middle is so enjoyable.
And you must watch all the way through for something that a lot of dad’s will now be trying with their sons that have grown up and moved out. It is the sweetest and most touching moment on television this season thus far. I hope that ABC posts that moment because it is something that every parent needs to use on their kid and I want to share it with all of you.
BTW I just had to share with you the greatest wrapping paper that I got with the screener.
Tonight at 8p The Middle turns 100 and a big reason why the family sitcom to this milestone is not only the writing, but also the amazing chemistry between the cast. On Saturday, I attended the party to celebrate their centennial episode and it was evident that not only do they enjoy what they do but also they enjoy who they are working with on The Middle.
On tonight’s episode the town of Orson is also celebrating turning 100 and Frankie (Patricia Heaton) and Mike (Neil Flynn) have the distinct honor of riding the main float which is a cow. The night before the parade, they have to guard the float and we find out how they wound up in Orson and not Chicago like their original plan. It is a sweet moment between the two and since this is The Middle, it won’t last.
They aren’t the only ones taking part in the festivities, Brick (Atticus Shaffer) thinks he has come up with the motto for the town’s next 100 years. It really is a good one, but is it the best one? That is up for the town to decide. Shaffer told me about one motto that didn’t make the show, but it was his personal favorite. One of the prop guys came up with, “Orson enjoy your dairy air.” It is much funnier when you read it aloud.
Axl (Charlie McDermott) has new idea to make money quickly at the parade. Will it work out better than his past ideas or will it go down in flames like something else on the show tonight?
Then there is Sue (Eden Sher), who is trying to enjoy the festivities as much as she can now that she knows her boyfriend has moved on. Will this finally be the one thing that gets her down? Who are we kidding, nothing can get our Sue Heck down and that is just how we like it!
The Middle is turning 100 because it’s that rare show that deserves to make it to this honor. The Hecks are you, they are me and they are everyone we know. That is why every week we find ourselves tuning in for it.
So what does turning 100 mean to the cast? It means something different to all of them, but they all agree that they love their jobs. For Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn it means it’s their second sitcom in a row that has gotten to that magical number, and it is something they don’t take lightly. Heaton told me that going from Everybody Loves Raymond to The Middle, “I find it miraculous. I kind of want to turn around and see if anyone is going to take it away from me. It is sort of crazy that this happened. I am very grateful.†Flynn has this to say this about going from Scrubs into another hit, “I’m twice as lucky. I am fortunate to have it happen once, but twice.â€
Now while they have been here before, for the three actors who play their kids this is the longest they have been on or at something. Charlie McDermott summed up that feeling with, “This is the largest thing I have ever done. I don’t think I’ve done a 100 of anything before this. So it is nice to spend that much time on something I enjoy a lot. It is really cool to be here.†His TV sister, Eden Sher, added, “It means that I am a lucky child. It means I am examine my life every day and I cry from gratitude.†As she answered the question to what it means to hit this milestone, you can tell she really is in awe of it all! Then her younger TV brother, Atticus Shaffer, said it perfectly when he told me, †It took a long time to accomplish, but it’s been a lot of fun along the way.â€
Aw Heck, if they can have fun along the way as they make The Middle, then we can have as much fun watching what they made. Something that is very easy for us viewers to do every Wednesday at 8p on ABC. The Middle is about the Heck family and in a way that is what they have become to us. But unlike our real family we get to shut them off after a half hour. Which is about as much time as we actually enjoy spending with our real families. Also unlike our real families, we get to laugh with them every week.
So here is to 100 more episodes of The Middle!!!
Tonight at 8p on ABC Frankie (Patricia Heaton) pays tribute to The Bachelor in her own special way on The Middle. We saw how she reacted to the Oscars earlier in the year, well tonight we see what happens when she watches the finale of ABC’s most talked about reality show The Bachelor. Especially when things don’t go her way.
But that isn’t the only love story, Sue Heck (Eden Sher) takes up tennis. Will she get a higher score than love? You will have to tune in to find out.
And there is one more love story in the episode, Axl (Charlie McDermott) and Cassidy (Galadriel Stineman) have their first fight and his love for her needs to be extinguished. Literally because he sets her house on fire. Will they get back together or is their love over forever? You have to watch this very funny episode to find out.
Then the comedy block ends on at ABC at 9:30p with the new show How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life). Polly (Sarah Chalke) leaves her husband Julian (Jon Dore) and moves back with her mom (Elizabeth Perkins) and her stepdad (Brad Garrett). Her parents are unconventional and living with them is going to be interesting for her and her 6 year old daughter (Rachel Eggleston). Especially when her ex-husband keeps coming over. How will she survive living with her parents? You will have to tune every week to find out.
And did I mention we see a lot of Brad Garrett and I do mean a lot!
No matter how you feel about Valentine’s Day, you are going to love The Middle on ABC tonight at 8p.
When Brick (Atticus Shaffer) finds the Valentine’s Day card that he made for his mother in the trash, he confronts her about it. Frankie (Patricia Heaton) comes up with several excuses why she did it, and then she tells her youngest son that she all of his homemade presents in a box and keep all of them. So ofcourse he asks to see it, only problem is there is no box. So now she has to come up with a box full of ugly gifts made with love.
While Frankie is regretting breaking up with all of Brick’s gifts, Axl (Charlie McDonald) is helping his classmates break up with their girlfriends before February 14th. Something that sounded like a good idea at first, but turns out to be a bad one.
While things are bad for the Hecks’ oldest son, their daughter has a date for the Valentine’s Dance. That’s right Sue (Eden Sher) is going with a boy to the dance! Can something so wonderful really happen for our Sue Heck?
And finally Mike (Neil Flynn) decides to send his wife a text for V-Day, but instead sends to someone at the job. Things will get real awkward, real fast!
Tonight’s episode is the perfect mix of love that comes along with the holiday and because of that you will have so much affection for it! I have already watched it more times than I can count because I adore it so much. I have such fondness for tonight’s The Middle, I made it my Valentine!
And word to the wise if you are going to DVR this episode, make sure to add an extra two minutes to make sure you get the must see ending. There is one moment that you have been waiting ages to see and another that will make you laugh so hard, you will spit out your Valentine’s Candy!
Finally below is a Valentine’s Day gift like the one that Brick made for him mom, but it was made for me! I was so verklempt when I opened up the package and saw it is was for me. That unlike Frankie, I cherished it so much that is hanging up on my fridge and I didn’t throw it out. Thank you Brick!!!
The Middle is in it’s fourth season and the Wednesday night show that airs at 8p on ABC is going through some changes. We have already started to see and hear some of the changes, but some are yet to come.
The first change happened before the show even debuted this season. Atticus Shaffer is getting older and part of maturing for a boy is his voice will change. That is exactly what is happening to Brick in real life, and now the show is wondering what they will do with the 5th grader who has the manliest voice in his class. When Show EP Eileen Heisler was asked about that at the ABC TCA press day, she said “He might have to skip a grade from being so smart. Then she added, “It’s so funny because we honestly at the beginning of the year, (we’re) like, ‘Oh, Atticus had a voice change.’ And now we’re really used to it, and as we were backstage, we were walking in, and we’re hearing the clip, and we’re, like, ‘Who’s that? Oh, my God,’ you know.”
The second change happened a little later on in the season and that is when Frankie (Patricia Heaton) lost her job. Since the pink slip, she has been trying to figure out what to do next with her life. The mother of three has recently decided to be a dental hygienist. Show EP DeAnn Heline explained that choice by saying that they have a writer who is a former dental hygienist. Then she explained, “It just seemed like something that she could go to school for and not spend years in school.” She also said that there is another advantage about it, “And that sort of seemed quirky and fun, you know.” I can already see all the interesting scenarios that will happen once she start working for a dentist.
The third change will also involve one of the character’s schooling. Axl is graduating from high school this season and now the show has to figure out what they will do with him in the fall. Does that mean that Charlie McDermott will be graduating from the sitcom too? Heline said, “He will be going to college next year, and we do have a way that he’ll still be, obviously, very integral, very a part of the show. Don’t want to give away too much, but he will still be a huge part of the show.” We have to wait until then to find out.
And the fourth change that is also coming this fall is The Middle will be airing in syndication. So if you are like me and started watching it mid-way through its run, then you will be able to catch up with the episodes you missed then! I can’t wait to be watching it from the beginning and as it happens.
So don’t be afraid to watch the very funny The Middle every Wednesday at 8p on ABC because you missed the first 100+ episodes. In a few months you will be able to see it from the start and you don’t want miss out on Sue Heck!
