I have a fondness for watching long winded television series. I never watch series that are still being produced and you have to wait weekly for the next episode and then a year for the next season, so inevitably, I watch shows that are at least five to ten years old. I think this is because I like to watch it all at once, and emmerse yourself in the characters as they are and how they come to be throughout the series.

Once, I decided I would watch the entire series of Malcolm In The Middle – I mean, it’s not a groundbreaking series but I just really felt like watching it. Anyway, I ended watching a season a day and I loved watching how the characters, especially the child ones, developed from being 11 year olds into adults. It’s my belief that the characters drive a narrative, because, if you think about it, and you taker what was taught about  causality in yesterdays lectorial, it’s usually the person that is doing the action that develops into a sequence of cause and effect.

Usually this is driven by a characters personality and what they believe and feel. Bringing this back to Malcolm In The Middle, I found it interesting that, as the seasons progressed one of the characters main traits (that was not prevalent or as developed in earlier seasons) came to be the cause of their detriment further along. For example, Malcolm’s narcissism and intelligence often caused him to alienate others.

As I said before, Malcolm In The Middle isn’t some sort of breakthrough program that deserves to be recognised academically or can accoladed for smashing through social boundaries, but I think, as a narrative it reflects life as it is. It’s an exaggeration of a dysfunctional suburban family that anyone can relate to.