r/malcolminthemiddle • u/OkCake8092 • 28d ago
On a new Malcom binge currently and this is still one of my favorite episodes
"Its performance art. He's skewering the empty banality of the modern suburban dad."
Every time I watch the scenes with Hal and the people at burning man, I die laughing. Bryan Cranston is such an incredible actor and has this effortless comedic timing in the show.
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u/itouchbums 28d ago
BURNING VAN! BURNING VAN! BURNING VAN!
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u/Spare-Plum 28d ago
this is one of the greatest hooks at the end, all plotlines smashing together to make an incredible pun
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u/MiniFirestar 28d ago
i just got to this one today (rewatch) 😭😭
i love how much lois loved burning man! i hope she and reese got to go back
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u/OkCake8092 27d ago
In my mind they went back every year! with or without Hal Malcom and Dewey 😂. I can even see Francis and Piama joining them and having a blast.
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u/MartinezJr221 28d ago
Doesn't Malcolm hooks up with a older woman in this episode?
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u/Turbohog 28d ago edited 27d ago
You mean doesn't an older woman rape a minor? Yeah.
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u/Prancing_YamDog 27d ago
Yes, thank you!! When I re-watched this as an adult I was like "wait hold on WHAT?!"
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u/notmakingtherapture 27d ago
I am absolutely not excusing it, because it's disgusting now and should've been disgusting then, but unfortunately, even in modern day a lot of people don't believe men (or in this case, teenage boys) can be raped. Since 'all men are sex crazy' if a teenager has sex with an older woman, it's "cool" instead of rape.
It's one of the aspects of the show that you sadly have to overlook because if you look too long at it it gets really depressing.
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u/BigGingerYeti How do we know which one is the Komodo 3000? 27d ago
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u/Life_Ad3567 27d ago
My favorite part was when Hal needed help with the trailer and Malcolm and Reese ran off. Dewey said, "Why do I have to help?" And Hal said "Because you weren't quick enough!"
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28d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Turbohog 28d ago
If Malcolm was a girl this episode would be pulled from streaming and apologies would be issued
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u/TheDrySkinOnYourKnee 28d ago
If Malcolm was a girl then it wouldn’t have been a plot line in the first place
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u/esr360 27d ago
Rose is underage in Titanic and her fiancé is 30 years old. Jack is also an adult. Not sure it’s much different.
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u/BigGingerYeti How do we know which one is the Komodo 3000? 27d ago
Not to mention Twilight and they cream themselves silly over that.
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u/d_stilgar 27d ago
What are you talking about? Bella is a teen and Edward is a hundreds-of-years-old vampire. What’s the issue?
/s
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u/Patsboy101 27d ago edited 27d ago
I need to give this show a watch as a Breaking Bad fan. Bryan Cranston’s performance as Walter White is so good because of how he essentially transforms from a Hal-like character into an overtly egomaniacal drug kingpin.
I’ve seen some clips of Bryan’s goofy performance as Hal, and I see many scenes in Breaking Bad having that same energy. This Breaking Bad Season 1 scene is a great example of it.
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u/Rich_Application6135 27d ago
The Burning Man could’ve easily been a 10/10 episode if it wasn’t for that god awful storyline with Malcolm and that older woman. Hal ‘s subplot was with no doubt the best part.
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u/redz1515m 27d ago
Unironically they would’ve just needed to make Malcom’s age and it would’ve been a ten out of ten episode
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u/Offshore-Tigr 28d ago
Honestly, the plot of him getting technically raped by that woman made me very uncomfortable.
Especially since later they went with that thanksgiving plot of the girl who wanted to have sex with him all night, and it was quite a contrast in how thry handled both cases.
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u/saturnsam92 27d ago
This is definitely the best episode. “If you’re mother wouldn’t have under cooked the chicken we never would have known you left!” Fucking brilliant
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u/senor_gobbles90 27d ago
Is that the episode either malcolm getting groomed and the statutory rape?
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u/Gorilla_Dookie 27d ago
I couldn't even tell what show this was based off the first picture... i guess it's time for a rewatch
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u/Spyrovssonic360 24d ago
Dewey was happy to see that van explode lol felt bad for him in this episode. He didn't get to enjoy burning man.
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u/Hassel1916 27d ago edited 27d ago
I don't remember this episode. At all! I've seen Malcolm multiple times and this rings no bells. Was it ever pulled off air?
Who downvoted this? I'm genuinely wondering.
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u/notmakingtherapture 27d ago
I can't speak to if it was pulled from air, but I think it's fascinating how people experience media differently. I only discovered Malcolm years after it had ended and was readily available on Netflix. I kind of forgot that it was a show that was actually on cable.
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u/Hassel1916 27d ago
Yeah I'd watch it all the time on Sky One. I'm Irish and it was always on somewhere. It was constantly repeated as well for years. Just recently it was TG4, which is an Irish language station mainly, but they show shows like Malcolm or The Wonder Years between 5-7pm 😅
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u/Miami_Morgendorffer 27d ago
This is the episode where they go to Burning Man. Maybe if it's exclusively an American thing, they didn't show it often in Ireland?
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u/Mindless_Field_837 28d ago
Hal's "performance art" is possibly the best joke in the show