Characters of Malcolm in the Middle

The cast of Malcolm in the Middle (from behind, left to right): Christopher Kennedy Masterson as Francis, Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, Erik Per Sullivan as Dewey and Justin Berfield as Reese. (In front, left to right) Jane Kaczmarek as Lois and Bryan Cranston as Hal.

The following characters had significant roles in the American television comedy series Malcolm in the Middle, which was originally televised from 2000-2006 on the Fox Network.

Main characters

Originally there were four brothers (although Malcolm's oldest brother attended a military school away from home, so Malcolm was still the middle sibling left at home). A fifth son was introduced in the show's fourth season, a boy named Jamie. The boys are, from eldest to youngest: Francis, Reese, Malcolm, Dewey, and Jamie. In the last episode Lois discovered she was pregnant with a sixth child. In David Richardson's original script for "Stock Car Races", it is revealed that Hal named each of the (four) boys after someone or something: Francis after Francis the Talking Mule, Reese after the candy Reese's Pieces, Malcolm after Rusty Malcolm (a stock car racer within the show) and Dewey after a favorite dog of Hal's. In the third season, Francis travels home (to celebrate his father's birthday) with an Alaskan girl named Piama, and reveals that they are married. It is implied in "Hal's Christmas Gift" that the popularity order with the brothers is: Francis, Dewey, Reese, Jamie, then Malcolm. Throughout many of the series' episodes, the family is shown to be extremely loathed and despised by their neighbors.

During the first season, the writers decided to keep the family's last name a mystery. However, a last name had already been revealed on the show. In the pilot episode, as Francis speaks to his mother on the phone, his name tag says 'Wilkerson.' There was also a joke in the original pilot script that was cut – Malcolm, walking to school, is confronted by a boy who says "Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm. I was talking to my parents last night – I was listening to them talk, and what's your last name?" "Wilkerson, why?" Malcolm replied. "Oh. Who are the Pariahs?" said the boy. In the fifth season episode "Reese Joins the Army (1)", Reese uses a fake ID by the name of "Jetson" to lie about his age. In the series finale, "Graduation", Francis' employee ID reads "Nolastname" (or "No Last Name", a joke referring to the fact that the family name was never spoken aloud). In the same episode when Malcolm was introduced to give the graduation speech, the speaker announces Malcolm's name, but microphone feedback makes his surname inaudible.

It should also be noted that the only characters to appear in every single episode are Hal and Dewey. Lois was absent in "Clip Show" (except for flashbacks), as well as for several episodes in the fourth season, Francis appeared infrequently during the sixth and seventh seasons, and both Malcolm and Reese did not appear at all during "Clip Show II" (except for flashbacks).

Malcolm

Malcolm, portrayed by Frankie Muniz, is the main protagonist of the series, he is shown to have a rather justified superiority complex, though much of his misfortunes he brings upon himself. His lack of friends and popularity is mostly due to his parents and home situation, as well as his own ego and need for fairness and truth. A heavy example of this is in the fourth season episode "Malcolm Holds His Tongue", in which he gets kicked off his Basketball team for stating the (horrible) flaws in his coach's game plan, and thus attempts to keep his thoughts to himself, only to get a peptic ulcer by the end, after continually listening to what people had to say and not speaking his mind.

Malcolm puts much, if not all, of the blame on his family for everything wrong in his life. He is constantly embarrassed by them and often tries to disassociate himself from them as much as possible. His personality causes him to occasionally put his own best interests ahead of others, despite the cost. He has been shown to leave his best friend Stevie Kenarban more than once, and often ran out on his Krelboyne classmates in favor of a more popular crowd (although, it is shown the Krelboynes have no true problem selling Malcolm out themselves).

Malcolm has an incredible memory, Though it usually revolves around things he resents as he states "I remember anything that ruins my life." He will also hold a grudge for years, as seen in "Morp".

Malcolm is the only one who seems bothered that the whole neighborhood hates their family.

Malcolm's relationship with his brothers is one of seeming animosity at most times, though there have been several instances of much unity and friendship between them. Though he had felt great guilt after having cheated with Reese's girlfriend (prompting Reese to join the army) the following season he compiled a list of things Reese did to him that he insisted were much worse. While he enjoys pulverizing Dewey and making him miserable, he occasionally attempts to help him, although its usually goes wrong (such as when it becomes apparent Dewey may also have a genius-level intellect, and Malcolm attempts to keep him from being transferred into the Krelboyne class, but instead manages to get him sent to a class for emotionally disturbed children after sabotaging his answers for his IQ test).

Malcolm has had five jobs in the series. His first was as a babysitter for a wealthy family to earn money to purchase a robotics kit, but he quit after learning that the family's parents were spying on him. In the fourth season, he worked as a tutor to a girl named Nikki, whom he eventually dated for a few episodes. Later, in the fifth season, Lois forced Malcolm to take a job with her at the Lucky Aide, as a way to have him under her control. While he hated the job and tried to quit many times, Lois would not let him. He finally quit at approximately the time he graduated High School. In season 6 he had a job betting on horses. In the final episode he gets a job as a janitor at Harvard to help with his tuition.

In the final episode it is revealed that Hal and Lois do not plan for him to have an easy life. Because Malcolm consistently exceeds his parents' expectations, by both his intellect, his character. and sense of ethics, by the time he graduates from high school, they have the highest of expectations for him: that he will become President of the United States. Pursuant to this, instead of letting Malcolm take a six-figure salary job out of high school, his parents force him to follow through on plans to attend college as part of an elaborate plan for his future. Lois says that at Harvard, Malcolm will have to work harder than his classmates and will accomplish more than they do, but they will continue to look down upon him. When Malcolm argues that he could have taken the job and "bought (his) way into office", Lois concludes that Malcolm "wouldn't have suffered enough". Because of the struggles he's forced to endure, Malcolm will realize that there is more to life than flaunting how intelligent he is. After college, the plan provides for him to channel his energies into a political career, and after starting off as a district attorney or running a foundation, he will be elected governor of a mid-size state, and then President. They envision that he would then become one of the greatest Presidents ever because he would represent, understand, and, more importantly, show empathy with the interests of people like his family, which, his parents say, no other President has. It appears that his brothers and Grandmother are aware of these plans, as when Malcolm looks around at his family after being told this, they all nod at him, and Francis simply states, "Thought you knew". After hearing this Malcolm ultimately understands that, even if he does move out of the house, he will never truly be free of his family. Although he recognizes that his parents' plans are outlandish and improbable, and complains that they are making decisions for him that are rightfully his to make, he signals that he has accepted their vision for him and will carry it in his valedictorian speech at his graduation ceremony. The series ends in a rather mediocre way for him, as while he does maintain contact with his family (as evidenced from a phone conversation with Reese), he is shown to be working as a janitor while attending Harvard. Despite this, it should be taken into account that Malcolm does seem to have realized the good this will do for himself and the world, accepts he can do it, and has comes to terms with his future. Further, he realizes this is his role when his mother asked him to look her in the eye and tell her he could not do it, could not do all these things, but he cannot, knowing it well within his ability.

The character was originally written to be nine-years-old, and Muniz was sure this would prevent him from getting the role, as he himself was thirteen at the time. However, the makers of the show liked his acting so much that they bumped up the age of the character to twelve.

Lois

Lois
Malcolm in the Middle character
First appearance	Pilot
Last appearance	Graduation
Portrayed by	Jane Kaczmarek
Information
Occupation	Cashier
Family	Ida (mother) Victor (father) Radu Gogorsky (biological father) Susan (sister, possibly half-sister)
Spouse(s)	Hal (husband)
Children	Francis (first son) Reese (second son) Malcolm (third son) Dewey (fourth son) Jamie (fifth son)

Lois, played by Jane Kaczmarek, is Francis, Reese, Malcolm, Dewey, and Jamie's mother. She is described as hard-nosed, manipulative, crazy, and a complete embarrassment to her five sons and devoted husband, Hal. She is very rarely cowed by authority figures and has faced down Edwin Spangler, the extremely strict commandant of the military academy to which she sent Francis. Although she has a great sense of morality, she has a tendency to impose it on others, more often than not complete bystanders, leading her to be disliked by many but revered by some due to her outspokenness, like the other cadets at Marlon Academy. She and Hal celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary in the second episode of Season 1.

Lois had a very miserable childhood due to her hateful parents. They bullied and ignored her her entire young life. As a teenager she had a lot of dreams that never came to be. Her controlling and abrasive behavior and short temper soon grew from this. Lois has an extremely unhealthy need to control and win every argument, no matter how outlandish or petty.

Despite the sacrifices she has made, her sons are not grateful, because as far as they are concerned (particularly Francis and Malcolm) she is to blame for everything that went wrong in their lives. Indeed, Lois often appears unsympathetic to her sons' problems.

One of the main reasons for her controlling Malcolm's life is because, despite loving Hal, she is greatly aware that their own poor decisions ruined both their lives.

While she was having Jamie, Malcolm, Reese and Dewey felt sorry for her and while they were at the hospital, they tried to learn how to take care of babies so they could help. However their resentment towards Lois came back when Malcolm says "MOM NEVER DID ANY OF THIS".

Lois' birthday reveals she turns 40 in 2000. She went into labor with Francis in the middle of her wedding to Hal. Lois had Reese in the hospital and pushed him out hours before he would have come out naturally, because he kicked her so hard. Malcolm was born on the lawn when Francis locked her out of the car. Dewey was presumably born in the back yard, because the family had to exit the house after Malcolm, in a failed attempt to make invisible ink with a chemistry set, created chlorine gas. Jamie was born in her bedroom and Francis delivered him because the paramedics did not come due to taking a coffee break.

Lois at times can even be abusive towards her children, usually for when they refuse to do something important or when they are punished, or even for selfish desires. She kicked Francis out of the house for refusing to fix the roof, eliminated Reese's basic needs (such as food, using the bathroom, clean clothing and kicked him out of the house but still forcing him to live in the backyard with no shelter or heat whatsoever) for refusing to find a job, humiliated Malcolm in public every chance she got when he was grounded, and forced Dewey to shower outside in the cold while she took a warm bubble bath.

Despite the family's rather poor life style, Lois often tells her sons they should be thankful for what they got, though the reasons she states are quite outlandish and demeaning.

Lois hates being screwed over or ripped off, even if it was years ago. When a blender they bought 10 years ago broke and it was still under warranty she demanded the money back and tore the garage apart trying to find the receipt.

Lois has been a major reason for Malcolm's humiliation and misery. Several major points were when she humiliated him on the first day of high school, and when she made him wear a ridiculous costume with stilts out side the Lucky Aid.

It is very common for the boys to retaliate for her hostility by playing tricks on her. It was referenced that the worst thing they ever did to her was make her believe she had cancer in order to put perspective on their terrible report cards. (The Nuclear Option) When stressed by her children Lois would often have a sudden explosion of anger usually involving insane erratic gestures, an array of swears, the occasional banishment from some location, and a cruel and unusual threat towards her sons. Jane Kaczmarek described Lois as 'a great mother'; this is probably because, although she is often portrayed as a villain, she really does love her children and what they sometimes see as hostility is merely an example of extreme parenting. In the episode Lois Battles Jamie, it is revealed that when Francis was born, Lois was a very soft mother; upon seeing her son attempt to light a bear on fire, however, she realized she would have to toughen up to stop her children from getting hurt and morphed into the person she was by the time the show began.

Lois has a very poor relationship with her oldest son Francis, and while they state that they love each other, neither of them can truly forgive the other for all the misery they have caused each other over the years.

Lois is intensely disliked by Hal's wealthy and snobby family, as seen in the fourth-season episode "Family Reunion". They consider her low-class, and refer to her as "Lois Common Denominator." She, in turn, took a strong and immediate dislike to Francis's wife Piama. Both of them take every opportunity to back-bite each other, but by the end of the series they have developed a much more cordial relationship.

In addition to being a full-time mom, Lois works at 'Lucky Aide', a local drugstore (motto: "The L stands for Value"). Craig, one of her co-workers, clearly has a crush on her, which she does nothing to encourage. He often makes inept attempts to impress her. She prefers to shop at Value Village.

Lois is of Eastern European descent as we know from the episode "Ida's Dance" in which it is implied. Lois and Hal continue to be sexually attracted to one another and seem eager to expand their brood. In the series finale it is hinted that she is pregnant once again. Her original plan was to have all girls.

In the episode "Tiki Lounge", she states that she does not believe in an afterlife, but later has to pay lip service to Hal by claiming she believes in heaven. The episode "Dewey's Opera" reveals that she suffers from severe flatulence every night as she goes to sleep.

She rarely sees her sister Susan (Roseanne's Laurie Metcalf), who only appears in the episode "Lois's Sister". Despite Susan's comfortable life, she is extremely resentful of Lois; their politeness to each other barely masks a simmering hostility that apparently once came to a boiling point over "the apple turnover incident." When Lois discovers that Susan is dying of kidney failure, she is shocked to find out that her sister would rather die than ask for a donation from her (Susan finally begrudgingly and ungratefully accepts a donated kidney).

Hal

Hal
Malcolm in the Middle character
First appearance	Pilot
Last appearance	Graduation
Portrayed by	Bryan Cranston
Information
Occupation	Systems Manager, Office Clerk, Store Clerk
Family	Walter (father)[deceased] Sharon (mother) Claire (sister) Tom (brother-in-law) Amelia (sister or sister-in-law) several unnamed nieces and nephews
Spouse(s)	Lois (wife)
Children	Francis (first son) Reese (second son) Malcolm (third son) Dewey (fourth son) Jamie (fifth son)

Hal, played by Bryan Cranston, is married to Lois, and is father to Francis, Reese, Malcolm, Dewey, and Jamie. He is more relaxed in his parenting than Lois, mainly because he is afraid to make the wrong choice. However, he does discipline his boys; most of the time when Lois is disciplining them to back her up, and sometimes even when she is not around. Several episodes refer to him as a former rebel and troublemaker, much like his sons. The episode Hal's Birthday reveals his birthday is in March and it is assumed he is born in the same year as Lois. He ran a pirate radio station in college under the name of Kid Charlemagne. Despite all that, Hal blends well with his neighbors, sharing similar interests. His indecisiveness supposedly stems from a childhood incident in which he accidentally caused a snake to strike a clown (as an adult he is afraid of both snakes and clowns). When Lois is away, he quickly loses self-control and indulges in his baser enjoyments, such as smoking, gambling, loud music, and building "killer robots" (as explored in one episode). Even with Lois with him, in one episode, he steals a car that was speeding up and down the street in front of his house (subsequently pushing it into a lake with her help). In another episode, Hal is seen to love domino toppling and in the episode Bowling, he is seen as a skilled bowler (he almost bowls a perfect game, but Malcolm accidentally knocks down the pins, causing the results to be inconclusive). Hal has been revealed as a talented hairdresser and roller skater. There are also hints that he has a foot and fatness fetish. In "Hal Sleepwalks" it is implied that Reese is his favorite son and that Malcolm's intelligence scares him.

In the episode If Boys Were Girls when Lois imagines what her life would be like if she had four daughters as opposed to four sons, she imagines Hal as overweight, most likely because of all of the stress of having five women in the house, and overprotective. He is also blamed by Frances, the oldest daughter, for none of her marriages working out. Although he does not show it much, he has a high temper, and usually flies into fits of rage over petty annoyances, frequently engaging in self-destructive vendettas against those who cross him. In the second-season episode Convention, when he and Lois go to a convention, he keeps getting into fist-fights with a man who stole a great idea from him long ago. Also when a clown at a batting cage insults Lois he immediately strikes the clown and continues to get the whole family involved when other clowns join the fray. Another example of his high temper is in the fifth-season episode Reese's Apartment, when he gets furious and starts speaking angry gibberish after hearing the horrible, outlandish thing that Reese did (which is never revealed). He is also very squeamish, and is terrified of cartoon characters like Rosie the Robot and "evil puppet" movies.

Because he is nowhere near as mean and intimidating as Lois is, his own sons are always quick to take advantage of him.

Hal is very devoted to Lois. He likes the fact that he is "the only one who really understands" her and believes her to be his "special treasure." He also believes that both his happiness and the well-being of his sons depend largely on her. As a result, Hal supports Lois on most things and allows her to handle disciplining the boys. However, as a man, he often understands what his sons are going through better than Lois, and helps them accordingly, sometimes behind Lois' back. (For example, he drives Francis back to military school when he runs away, preventing Lois from finding and punishing him.) Although he usually defers to Lois, he also knows when to disagree with her; he calms Lois down when she starts going overboard, as she tends to do, and provides a balance to her abrasive and intense personality. In the episode "Mono" he believes her to be the most amazing, wonderful, beautiful woman in the world. It is also said that he loves her more than she loves him.

Hal has sunk to some great lows during the course of the show. He stole money from Francis to pay for paint, and stole Malcolm's new credit card to pay for a ski trip while trying to outdo the boys on Christmas, and lies to Dewey constantly. He even stole a present for Lois from someone in the mall. He is shown to be quite cowardly; when he and an idiot friend knocked down his bedroom wall in a drunken haze he tried to think of some way to blame it on the boys. When he ruins something he often bribes his sons to take the blame. While he and Lois blame a lot of their misfortunes on the boys, a lot of it seems to stem from Hal's own poor work ethic. He has also been shown to be criminally negligent with his children, he almost drove off with baby Jamie on the roof of the car, and once stated that he left Dewey in Mexico. On Malcolm and Reese's prom night, he kicked Dewey out of the house so he and Lois could have sex (along with making the poor decision of giving Dewey his wallet, which Dewey took advantage of to get revenge on Hal and Lois for being so selfish and negligent). He has also shown to be quite hypocritical, such as when he scolded Francis for lying to his wife Piama that he was on vacation when he was in fact fired from his job, while at the same time Hal was lying to his children (particularly Reese, Malcolm and Dewey) that he had a spectacular Christmas gift for them when he fact did not, which was caused by his jealously of his boys' presents. Hal even nearly sent Malcolm to a university not of his choice for an expensive ring offered to him by the university's recruiter, granted that Malcolm would certainly be sent to that university. He has even said out loud that he hates having children.

When he tries to help his sons, Hal usually only succeeds in humiliating them and himself horrendously.

Hal is not above throwing tantrums, or falling into complete despair. An example of this was when Lois's hateful mother Ida sued them and with a new baby on the way, and already hopelessly in debt, while he put a brave face on for Lois, he assumed no one was watching when he fell into a horrendous, wailing, sobbing fit (with Malcolm watching).

Hal fears Lois more than anything else (even more than the boys do). A great example of this was when he forgot to renew their health insurance (which was overdue for months). He madly tried to keep the boys from hurting themselves, only to ironically have a section of the roof fall on top of him breaking his leg. When Dewey called Lois for help, Hal ripped the line out, preferring to deal with great pain than face his wife.

Hal (like everybody else in his family) is intensely disliked by almost everyone he knows, especially with his co-workers. When his company was facing scandal, his co-workers set him up to take the fall.

He is quite passionate about a range of activities, such as roller-skating, painting, pirate radio and race walking. He also has a passion for electronics and listening to old music. Many subplots involving Hal are that he becomes obsessed with a single topic (usually an activity or errand) that he hopes to do or finish, which usually (but not always) ends with failure and frustration. He comes from a large and rich family, all members of which have various (repressed) problems. They rarely visit because of their intense friction with Lois. Hal's family believes that Hal deserved a high-class woman, instead of Lois, who has a lower-class background. His father (Christopher Lloyd) never listened to him, and so he always made jokes or tickled Hal before they both could speak about Lois. His mother is mentioned but never actually appeared.

Hal works as a low-level, cubicle-bound, white-collar worker in a large, scandal-ridden corporation. He was used as a scapegoat for much of the company's shady business practices, a charge that would have resulted in a lengthy prison term. However, with the help of Malcolm, Hal proved that he could not possibly be the guilty party because all of the incriminating evidence against him took place on Fridays, and Hal presented inarguable proof that he had been skipping work on Fridays for 15 years. He stated in the sixth-season episode Motivational Seminar that he works in systems management. In another episode Hal's company head stated that Hal was one of the best systems managers he ever had, however in the seventh-season episode College Recruiters (2) Hal says he could be replaced at his job in an hour.

Hal gives each of the boys "one free pass". He does so when they do something so horrible that he can't tell Lois about it. They don't get to choose when to use it, Hal decides by how bad it is, and how Lois would punish them if she found out. Each of the boys used their pass at a fairly young age apparently. In a flash back, Hal remembers all the times he gave them their "one free pass". Francis used his when he got handcuffed to a pole at a strip club, trying to get his money back from the stripper. Reese's was when he strapped roller skates to a horse and accidentally killed it in the driveway. Malcolm mixed the wrong chemicals in his chemistry set and blew/burned his and Hal's hair off leaving their scalps red, with some smoke trailing off. Hal caught Dewey smoking some of his ten year-old hidden cigarettes, which he had hidden all over the house when he was smoking, but had since forgotten. When he caught Dewey he had already become addicted to them, to the point of going in to the "crawl space" under the house to find more. However Lois found out and Hal had to find all of his hidden cigarettes. "Mom made Dad get rid of all of his old cigarettes. He's pretty motivated; she said she would make him eat any she found tomorrow morning," Malcolm said as his dad opened an air vent, letting a pile of cigarettes come falling out.

Reese

Reese
Malcolm in the Middle character
First appearance	Pilot
Last appearance	Graduation
Portrayed by	Justin Berfield
Information
Occupation	Student, Fast-food cashier, Soldier, Exterminator, Meat packer, Telemarketer, Janitor, Bully
Family	Hal (father) Lois (mother) Francis (older brother) Malcolm (younger brother) Dewey (younger brother) Jamie (youngest brother) Unborn sibling (brother/sister)

Reese, played by Justin Berfield, is the second oldest of the sons, and also appears to be the least intelligent and most destructive, although sometimes he appears to be more intelligent than Malcolm when devising fiendish plans. He also has scored high on tests, when he set his mind to it, and had nothing to do but study, as shown in the episode in which he is kicked out and is alone, in which he is referred to as the "most improved student ever seen" by his teacher. Reese is often too tied up in violence and laziness to try to learn, and appears to have immense problems focusing. He even had a mean streak in the womb; while Lois was in labor, he kicked her so hard and so often that she delivered him several hours ahead of schedule. Immediately following his delivery he kicked the doctor in the nose. His obsession with violence horrifies the family and leaves him with few friends, partly as he is a bully at school. He bullies the "Krelboynes" in Malcolm's class, (except Stevie who, because of being paraplegic, is "off limits" except in certain situations), as well as his younger brothers, especially Dewey. Reese is often seen exercising, to build his muscles. He is apparently the favorite grandson of both Ida and Victor, and in "Hal Sleepwalks", is implied to be Hal's favorite as well, Though most episodes show that both Lois and Hal have very little to no hope for Reese and just want him gone.

Reese has very little (if any) empathy with virtually no sense of right and wrong, and seems to enjoy doing bad things for the fun of it, despite the trouble he gets into. When he first showed a talent for cooking, he entered a cooking contest and despite being a clear winner sabotaged all of the other contestants, and when confronted about ruining an obese woman's quiche, he shows no regret on calling her fat. Reese has also been shown willing to sell out his own family to save himself. When Hal was trapped under a collapsed room while they were grounded, he was all for abandoning him and making a break for it. When Malcolm was doing badly at bowling, Reese led the whole bowling alley in making fun of him. Reese bought Dewey a new toy plane but then smashed it in front of him just to see the look on his face. Dewey said he was the worst brother ever, Reese said (excitedly), "I know, isn't it great?!".

Reese has been shown to be cowardly and is often quick to run when things turn against him.

It is very rare that his family is ever proud of him. When he was on the school wrestling team Malcolm states "We're still getting used to this whole proud-of-Reese thing". It even gets to the point where Hal and Lois openly admit that he is hopeless.

Reese's apparent ruthlessness is further explored as he is shown to be an expert (and cold blooded) hunter, He drove his supposed cousin to tears in which he said "No more..He spared nothing!"

Because of his bullying and destructive nature he gains a lot of contempt from everyone around him, including his own family (especially Malcolm and Dewey). Both Malcolm and Dewey take great pleasure from whatever befalls Reese knowing full well he deserves it. Reese has been outsmarted and manipulated by Dewey many times.

Reese takes great pride in what victories come his way no matter how petty or meaningless. He was inadvertently an integral part in an experiment with a new enzyme Malcolm and Stevie were working on for a contest a local company was working on. But while the enzyme won and would go on to make millions of dollars, the company kept all the patent rights and cut the boys off completely, and because they were minors there was nothing they could do about it and all they won was a pencil case, while Malcolm put on a happy face for the audience he was actually infuriated, but Reese was delighted at the prize.

Reese seems to find life easier the lower he keeps everyone's expectations.

During his teen years, Reese ran off to join the army (after discovering that his girlfriend was cheating on him with Malcolm) without telling his family where he had gone. He was underage at the time, but managed to enlist using a fake ID. He was successful in completing Basic Training and was praised as one of the most brilliant soldiers in his platoon after he learned to "turn his brain off" and surrender his will to his superiors. He "turned his brain back on" during a war game and utilized his past experiences with his family to allow his side to win. After being sent to Afghanistan in combat conditions, Reese immediately deserts and starts trying to make his way home, unwittingly marrying an Arab man in the process. When Lois discovers what he has done, she informs the recruiter that he is underage, gets implicit permission to bring him back, then flies halfway around the world to do just that. Late in Season 6, he deliberately fails all of his final exams so that he will have to repeat his entire senior year of high school, thus making sure that he can live at home for one more year.

Despite Reese's outwardly unintelligent facade, he discovered a gift for cooking in his early teen years. He is gifted at gourmet cooking and enjoys it; the only effective way his parents can find to punish him is banning him from the kitchen. He finds success in a meat-packing job, but is fired after setting all the cows free (trying to impress a girl).

Reese is depicted as a virgin with limited sexual knowledge, although he manages to go on several dates with girls. In the episode "Morp", a girl named Jeanie pays Reese to take her to the senior prom because she had been too focused on getting into college and can't find a date by normal means. Reese turns out to be a gentleman and sweeps her off her feet. Although Jeanie did not initially plan to do anything with Reese after the prom itself, she invites him to go to the beach with her and tells him, "I really want you." Before Reese can accept, his watch alarm goes off, indicating that he is "off the clock" and leaves, revealing that he was only nice to "satisfy his customer". At one point, Reese's grandmother Ida makes Malcolm and Reese fight over a teenage girlfriend named Raduca, who comes from the same village as Ida. The winner is supposed to marry Raduca. Reese ends up being together with her and subsequently moves into the family's garage with her. Raduca immediately cheats on Reese and ends up getting deported, because Reese wasn't able to answer simple questions about her, even claiming that she has a tail. He starts dating a girl named Alison in the episode "Forbidden Girlfriend", who has the same intellect as him, although he considers her to be smarter than he is. They keep dating until the prom, since Reese originally planned to have a fight with her before it and make up with her afterward, so he wouldn't have to pay the expenses for going to the prom. She makes him go anyway, but announces that she will break up with him immediately after the prom.

After graduating high school, Reese moves in with Craig Feldspar and finds success as a janitor. In a telephone conversation with Malcolm in the series finale, he says that when the principal found the peepholes in the bathroom, the head janitor was fired, and thus Reese got his job.

Dewey

Dewey
Malcolm in the Middle character
First appearance	Pilot
Last appearance	Graduation
Portrayed by	Erik Per Sullivan
Information
Occupation	Student, Special Student
Family	Hal (father) Lois (mother) Francis (oldest brother) Reese (older brother) Malcolm (older brother) Jamie (youngest brother) Unborn sibling (brother/sister)

Dewey, played by Erik Per Sullivan, is portrayed as being quieter and more inclined to the arts than his brothers, at least until Jamie was born. It was noted in one episode that Dewey was exposed to radiation from a cracked microwave while in the womb. He was almost born on the lawn of the family house after everyone had to evacuate due to toxic fumes from an accident with Malcolm's chemistry set. He hides his intellect from Malcolm and Reese, in many cases cleverly taking advantage of them. But for much of the series he is frequently beat up and picked on by them. In one episode he fools Reese into believing he is forwarding instructions from their mother when in fact he is making them up while talking to a telemarketer, Francis, a time and temperature lady, or even no one on the phone ("Hal's Friend"). Despite being a genius like his older brother Malcolm, Dewey is the opposite in terms of personality. There is a chance that Dewey downplays his intelligence where the rest of his family are concerned, perhaps so that Hal and Lois would not try to invest time in influencing his personal life, much like they do with Malcolm.

In the earlier seasons, Dewey was shown to have a very poor grip on reality. Often from his point of view when he asks his parents nicely for something while in reality throwing a horrendous tantrum. He had often been shown biting heads off his toys, eating parts of a teddy bear, marbles, coins and even underwear. His memories and fantasy also deviated away from reality or the current situation greatly as when he remembered a car incident HE was driving while Lois was saying his name, and while Malcolm and Reese were fantasizing on how cool they would look on a motor bike, Dewey was imagining himself with six arms.

Dewey is sometimes abnormally calm and stoic in dangerous situations, as in "Zoo" when he and Malcolm are trapped in a tiger pit and the show almost ends. Dewey assures Malcolm that they will be all right even as the tigers start to close in; he is proven correct when Reese and a goat he has been fighting fall into the pit and distract the tigers. In "Bowling" when he was sent to his bedroom as punishment, for killing the neighbor's parakeet, in one version of the scenario (the episode shows what happens when Hal or Lois take the boys bowling) he gets Hal to fall asleep then has fun all night, and when Lois is the one who stays at home, he acts calm enough for her to let him watch TV (though suspicious if this is a new tactic she only lets him watch C-SPAN).

While Dewey holds a great deal of animosity for his brothers, the one he despises the most is Reese, and takes great delight in what pain comes his way.

Dewey longs for attention, especially in Future Malcolm, where he tries to convince his parents that the baby is talking to him from within the womb and forcing Dewey to do crazy things such as painting a wall green, driving the family car and breaking a stack of crockery (however, Dewey might have been telling the truth, when he says that the baby wants Lois to turn around, Lois sees Hal, who has a fatness fetish, and has been fattening her up all episode, pouring maple syrup into her tea). As the series progressed, most episodes involving Dewey would have him viewed as a manipulator when dealing with his brothers or parents. Examples of this are the episode Stevie in the Hospital, when he made Lois think she was losing her mind by messing with her clothes and daily routine, and in Dewey's Opera, when he fueled a fight between Lois and Hal so he would have better material for the opera he was writing based on their fight. In Baby Part One, Dewey was angered to learn that his parents, or possibly just Hal, had completely forgotten that the day they planned to induce labor on Jamie was his birthday. He got back at Hal when, at the Bridal Expo they were attending, Dewey went around collecting sympathy from people who were working at the expo by telling them his story. They then set it up so Dewey could reveal what Hal did to the entire convention in order to publicly shame him.

In the fourth season, Dewey begins to exhibit a high degree of intelligence, seen mainly in his talent of playing the piano and composing music. The episode "Humilithon" reveals his start on the instrument: he has a piano delivered to the garage and teaches himself in a series of 15-minute daily lessons. In "Malcolm Visits College," Dewey even builds a fully functioning organ out of various appliances and objects, simultaneously driving Hal insane with the disappearing items (Hal had previously refused to buy Dewey a piano to play). In one episode it shows that Dewey has memories from when he was a baby and dropped by his grandparents. Dewey is about to follow his brother into the gifted class, only to have Malcolm help him stay in normal classes. Malcolm has Reese complete Dewey's test, which accidentally gets Dewey thrown into the "Special" class, which is full of kids considered lost causes. Students in this class are known as the "Buseys" (a reference to actor Gary Busey). Dewey has since organized the class to desire more normalized expectations, and taught them standard lessons. He has been trying to show that they are just as capable as others, and has organized them to do things such as performing an opera he wrote based on his family.

By the seventh season, it seems that Dewey is no longer in the "Buseys" class; however, it is not specified whether Dewey had been restored to mainstream classes, or if he had been transferred to the Krelboynes.

Dewey spends much effort making sure his brother Jamie does not feel neglected as he did. Jamie once showed Dewey a pearl necklace, as a result Jamie and Dewey went on a treasure hunt looking for the "stash" (where Francis' hid Lois' jewelry) as part of a back story, in the end it turned out that Jamie was stealing jewelry from their neighbor's house. In Morp, Dewey learns that his parents have practically no baby photos, or photos of him growing up. He then stages an elaborate scavenger hunt for his parents to complete, after Lois and Hal kicked him out of the house so that they could have sex while Malcolm and Reese were at their prom and Hal gave him his wallet. Dewey had the two collecting party supplies and food, and then spent the rest of Hal's money renting out a video arcade. Lois and Hal learned he did it so Jamie could have his own private party, and to give them an opportunity to not ignore him growing up like they did Dewey. While Lois still punished him, she admitted it was a nice thing he did for his brother.

Dewey, despite all the misery he endures from his family, is perhaps the favorite child. The first evidence of this is in "Forward Backwards", when Lois claims that "There are no favorites in this family", to which Hal wonders out loud "Where is Dewey?" However, according to an implication given by Francis in "Hal's Christmas Gift", he is the favorite, whereas Dewey is the second favorite (although, Francis has been shown to have self-centered perspectives at times, and it is possible he merely thinks of himself as the family's first favorite) also in "Hal Sleepwalks", Hal states Reese is his favorite. It has been mentioned that, unlike Malcolm, Hal and Lois intend for Dewey to be wealthy and happy later in life. In "Hal Sleepwalks", Lois tells Malcolm that "Dewey is a flier; he'll just drift and float through life and things will turn out for him". This vision for his future is ultimately confirmed in the series finale, when Lois tells Malcolm "You don't get the easy path. You don't get to just have fun and be rich and live the life of luxury", leading Hal to state "That's Dewey".

Dewey's final scene in the series is when he quickly hides in the closet with Jamie after pulling a prank and worrying what would happen if Lois ever found out it was them. He then realizes, in a somewhat state of content, she will automatically know it was him and his younger brother, as Malcolm and Reese are no longer living in the house.

Francis

Francis
Malcolm in the Middle character
First appearance	Pilot
Last appearance	Graduation
Portrayed by	Christopher Kennedy Masterson
Information
Occupation	Vandal (young age), Cadet, Student, Kitchen worker, Rancher, Band manager, Data entry Clerk
Family	Hal (father) Lois (mother) Reese (younger brother) Malcolm (younger brother) Dewey (younger brother) Jamie (youngest brother) Unborn sibling (brother/sister)
Spouse(s)	Piama

Francis, played by Christopher Kennedy Masterson, is the oldest of the brothers and the biggest troublemaker. Francis is a regular character on the show for the first five seasons, although he has lived outside the house from the series' beginning. His mother, Lois, was in labor with Francis in the middle of her wedding to Hal. Francis was a troublemaker from a young age; he broke curfew, drank, smoked and slept around. Lois exiled him to a military academy after he was caught in bed with his girlfriend, and crashed the neighbor's car (which proceeded to burn up), and got four nose rings (Lois warned him he would go to military academy if he got so much as one). From afar, Francis provides fodder for many subplots. Francis is shown (in frequent flashbacks) dating girls of which his parents did not approve, although he claims to be in love. He also once attempted to light a teddy bear on fire. He has been shown to be obsessive and going out of his way to prove Lois wrong (such as getting his nose pierced multiple times just in order to spite his mother who forbade him to do so). Francis did not feel guilt for the things he did and believed his actions were justified, no matter how horrendous they were.

Francis blames his mother for most of his problems and, at one point, even pretends to be an alcoholic in a ploy to make her feel guilty. Francis has a very poor relationship with his grandmother Ida, as they are often seen arguing and they both attempt to make each other miserable and even try to hurt each other (In the episode "Baby" Ida seriously hurt Francis by squeezing his crotch, and in "Graduation" Francis attempted to kill Ida by grabbing a fireplace poker)

During the first two seasons, at the military academy, rebellious Francis finds a formidable adversary in Commandant Edwin Spangler, whose hook-for-a-hand proved a valuable comic device as Francis sows insurrection in the student ranks. In his time there it is shown that Francis' vandalism at school is caused (at least in part) by his desire to stand up to Spangler after the Commandant's cruel treatment of other cadets. At the beginning of the third season,Francis heard about a supposedly lucrative logging job in Alaska from his friend Eric and tried to convince Lois to let him go. Lois refused, and in a rage, Francis slammed the phone off the wall, landing on his foot, and while hopping around in pain caused a display case to fall on him. Despite the 9 inch gash in his leg, Spangler insisted Francis rebuild the case himself immediately despite his injury. This was the last straw, and at only 17 years old, he legally emancipates himself with the help of forged signatures and an unscrupulous Alabama lawyer. He then leaves the academy, accidentally cutting off Spangler's remaining hand in the process, and heads to Alaska to work in the kitchen at a logging camp.

While in Alaska, Francis finds that the job is anything but what Eric described. Once there he is under the employment of the malevolent Lavernia, a cruel and brutal woman who works him to the bone for extremely little pay. Despite clearly ruining his life, Francis prefers this than proving Lois right. After several misadventures he marries a local woman, Piama, whom he had dated for one month. Lois reacts hysterically and continues to be somewhat hostile toward Piama for some time. Piama, like Lois, is hot-tempered and does not shrink when Lois goes after her. By season 4 Francis and Piama have left Alaska (due to the closure of the logging camp) and Francis finds work as a farmhand at a New Mexico dude ranch owned by a German couple. Here, Francis becomes more of a responsible adult: he even begins to discipline his younger brothers, who always regarded him as a rule-breaking role model. A little over two years after he begins working at the ranch, however, he is fired because the ATM he used to deposit the ranch's funds was not actually an ATM (it is not told what it was, though it's hinted to be a food trough).

For the remainder of seasons six and seven, Francis makes only occasional appearances, yet he is still credited in each episode. While visiting Francis, Dewey discovers that he has regressed and reverted to his old ways, living in a cheap apartment without getting a job. Here, he briefly takes a job as the manager for his friend's band and attempts to start his own business.

In the final episode, Francis and his mother fight over the fact that he remains unemployed. Later, his father discovers that Francis has been working at a large corporation called Amerisys Industries for two months. He explains that he enjoys his job of sitting in a tiny cubicle entering data into computers all day immensely, but he kept the job a secret from his family because he equally enjoys frustrating his mother by telling her that he is unemployed. Francis' final scene shows him taunting his mother over the phone with his non-existent unemployment by yelling, "You just can't stand that your son is still a free spirit!" He then picks up his briefcase, makes plans to come home right after work for dinner with Piama, kisses her, and happily heads to the office.

Jamie

Jamie
Malcolm in the Middle character
First appearance	Baby (2)
Last appearance	Graduation
Portrayed by	James and Lukas Rodriguez Kara and Jessica Sanford (earlier episodes)
Information
Occupation	Daycare, Lois' bane of existence
Family	Hal (father) Lois (mother) Francis (first sibling) Reese (second sibling) Malcolm (third sibling) Dewey (fourth sibling) Unborn sibling (brother/sister)

Jamie was played by identical twin brothers James and Lukas Rodriguez in his later episodes. In his earlier episodes when he was a baby, he was played by twin sisters Jessica and Kara Sanford. The character first appeared in season four of the show on May 18, 2003. Jamie is the youngest of the family for almost all of the series, but that changes on the series finale's Epilogue where it is revealed that Lois is pregnant again. Like his older brothers, in the episode "Lois Battles Jamie", Jamie proves to be more than a handful for Lois; refusing to eat his peas, getting himself banned from Gymboree and being able to slip away from his chair numerous times. He is also the first of the boys to attempt to kill Lois by pushing a huge shelf on her, but is unsuccessful, as Lois rolled away just in time. (However, it was revealed that Reese had been giving him three cans of Kapow soda per day, which is why Jamie had been acting so crazy. According to Reese, "half a can made him nuts.") Jamie was the first to ever actually break Lois' spirit, forcing her and Hal to call Francis so he could remember what made her the mother she was. Though Francis was in extremely emotional pain he managed to remind Lois what made her the parent she was. Jamie has managed to remain silent for a vast majority of his time on the series. The only words that he ever said were "shut up," when Lois, in an effort to get Jamie to start talking, filled every second with thoughts about her day and early life, most notably about her miserable adolescence and "Francis" in the episode "Blackout". In the character's first appearance, Jamie's gender was left ambiguous. But in "Vegas", Hal tells him "Nice try, Mister," after his attempts to urinate on him, and later, Lois introduces Malcolm and Jamie as her sons, thereby confirming that Jamie is a boy.

Recurring characters

• Stevie Kenarban, played by Craig Lamar Traylor. As Malcolm's best friend, Stevie first meets him in the pilot; they are in the same accelerated class through middle school and most of high school. They originally met on a play date and took a liking to each other through a mutual interest in comic books. Stevie is a wheelchair user and has severe asthma, and only one lung; as a result, he speaks softly and can only say one or two words on each breath. However, despite these handicaps, Stevie seems to be a normal teenager and does not let his physical disadvantages keep him from having a relatively normal life and even uses his handicap to his advantage. He is seem in several episodes milking his handicap to get favors from others, guilt his parents into buying him things, flirt with girls, and even pulling pranks or getting other kids in trouble. Stevie has a sarcastic side, has outsmarted Malcolm and Reese numerous times, and has even managed to get the better of Reese physically on occasion. He has been shown to be a far stronger person than both his parents (even Abe admitted he was a weak, small man). In the episode "Stupid Girl", it is hinted that Stevie might have a crush on Lois, even asking for a picture of her and saying "So how's my girl?" when asking Malcolm about her.

• Craig Feldspar, portrayed by David Anthony Higgins, is Lois' neurotic, though well-intentioned, co-worker at the Lucky Aide. It was made obvious on numerous occasions that Craig is in love with Lois, and he even told her so when he thought he was going to die. He is generally depicted as an indolent, unpopular, and bumbling character, although on occasion he shows flashes of apparent greatness. He is seen in several occasions to be extremely fussy and obnoxious. In Episode 512 - "Softball" - Craig, nicknamed "The Satin Hammer", plays for the Lucky Aide softball team and remarks to a disbelieving Malcolm that he had been scouted by the "Kyoto Crazy Phantoms". He then makes a diving play on a seemingly unplayable ball to prove his ability. He appears frequently in the show, especially during later seasons, as his character becomes more entwined with Lois and her family. After entrusting his house and cat ("Jelly Bean") to Dewey's care while he is away, and the resulting fire that destroys it, he lives with Malcolm's family for a short time until the boys' scheme to cover their tracks ends up getting him out. As pitiful as his life is, Craig much prefers this over being under the rule of his fitness minded father who owns a successful chain of gyms. The series ends with Reese moving out of the house and becoming Craig's roommate.

• Piama Tananahaakna, played by Emy Coligado, is Francis' wife; she appears for the first time in "Hal's Birthday" during the third season. She was 19 when she married Francis, and had been married before. Her mother moved away long ago, and her father kicked her out when she was 14 for throwing away his liquor. After Lois is mistreated by Hal's family, Lois treats Piama better, seeing that the actions against her by her husband's family reflect how she is acting towards Piama. Their relations change permanently after Hal and Francis take a motorcycle roadtrip against their wives' wishes. She later comes to work for the Mannkussers (who own the dude ranch where Francis works). She mostly serves as a voice of reason between Francis and his family. Although it has never been directly stated (Francis says she is "fiery" in "Hal's Birthday"), the series hints that both her attitude towards Francis and others, and her mannerisms, are very much like Lois'. As shown in the final episode, she supports Francis' new job as a programmer, and his decision not to tell Lois about it.

• Victor Welker and Ida Kenzel, played by Robert Loggia and Cloris Leachman respectively, are Lois's dysfunctional parents, introduced in the episode "The Grandparents." Ida is depicted as greedy, chain-smoking, manipulative, racist, and quick to take offense. She has a strong dislike towards Francis and sees Malcolm as soft, but clearly favors Reese. The only good deed she has ever done is saving Dewey from being run over by a truck; this resulted in her suffering the loss of one of her legs. Victor's background is obscure, except for mention that he left home at a young age and that he was in "the war." Ida often refers to a hard life growing up in "The Old Country" and going through "a camp." While they speak with Slavic accents and appear to be from somewhere in Eastern Europe, their exact nationality is never specified, and may be intended to be fictional. However, an episode which centers on a fictitious "St. Grotus Day" feast appears to take place in a Croatian community center, with a Croatian flag and a poster of Zagreb Cathedral on the wall. Victor, who had died by the time Ida made her second appearance on the season 3 episode "Christmas," had been keeping his second family a secret from Lois and her sister, Susan, (Laurie Metcalf): He had run off and married a good-natured Canadian woman, played by Betty White. In the episode "Victor's Other Family," it was further revealed that Victor was not Lois's biological father and its unknown if Victor is really Susans father.

• Abraham "Abe" Kenarban, played by Gary Anthony Williams, is the devoted father to Stevie and husband to Kitty. He is also Hal's best friend and enjoys playing poker with him and his other friends: Trey, Brian, Malik, and Steve. In his debut episode, he mentions he was raised by his grandmother and his four spinster aunts. When sufficiently scared or unnerved, he is prone to asthma attacks.

• Kitty Kenarban, played by Merrin Dungey. Stevie's mother and Abe's wife. At first, Kitty didn't allow her son take part in many activities, due to her fear that he would get hurt. Kitty was generally soft-spoken, and was shown to be quite repressed, and avoided all forms of confrontation. However, after getting to know Lois, she began to express her anger more vocally. Kitty disappears from the series after the third season premiere, and Abe later confides in Hal and Lois that she left him, but he was unable to tell Stevie. It is revealed that she becomes a porn star, among other things. She returns in season six, claiming that she had to be bad after being good for so long, but is 'done'. She makes no further appearances in the show after her return, although she was mentioned by Abe a few times after her final appearance. (In the pilot episode Dungey plays a different character: Malcolm's teacher, before he transfers to the Krelboyne class.)

• Caroline Miller, played by Catherine Lloyd Burns, Malcolm's teacher, appears in most of the first-season and two of the second-season episodes. She was very passionate about her job and had Malcolm's best interests at heart. She disappeared from the series after giving birth in the school parking lot, the result of a mis-programmed model rocket launch intended as a prank by the Krelboynes.

• Cynthia Sanders, played by Tania Raymonde, is a new and outgoing Krelboyne girl who joins Malcolm's class in the episode "Krelboyne Girl." Cynthia is one of Malcolm's first crushes throughout the series but quickly takes on the role of a caring and compassionate friend. She knows Krav Maga, which she promptly uses to subdue Reese when his behavior becomes too annoying to her. She is cited as also having very large breasts for her age. In season three her prolonged absence is explained by stating that she has returned from Europe. After sharing a brief romance with Reese (in which he is only trying to take advantage of her to see her breasts) she returns in the season four episode "Humilithon," she saves Malcolm from making a horrible mistake by saying they had sex; destroying her own reputation in the process. After this episode she is never seen again and there is no explanation as to what became of her.

• Lloyd, played by Evan Matthew Cohen, is one of Malcolm and Stevie's Krelboyne classmates and best friend for the first four seasons of the show. Lloyd is portrayed as nerdy, physically and emotionally frail, and overly-dramatic. As a Krelboyne (gifted student), Lloyd is often bullied by his classmates (including Reese), and often suffers the consequences of schemes with which he helps Malcolm. Lloyd suffers from anger displacement tendencies and major self esteem issues, which he regularly sees the school's therapist, Mrs. Gilbert, for. He has been publicly humiliated several times, most famously during "Krelboyne Picnic", when he got his braces stuck to a super-powerful magnet he built. It is lightly hinted that he is suicidal, as it is stated by his friend, Dabney, that the majority of his ideas end in suicide, and that he has more than once made a death pact. In "Cynthia's Back", Lloyd mentions that he has a third nipple. Like Malcolm's other Krelboyne friends, Lloyd appears less frequently during the show's fourth season, eventually leaving Stevie as Malcolm's only friend by Season 5. Interestingly, Lloyd is an undergraduate house at Caltech, a university well known for its emphasis on the natural sciences and engineering.

• Dabney Hooper, played by Kyle Sullivan, is one of Malcolm and Stevie's more emotionally-stricken and flamboyant Krelboyne classmates and best friend for the first four seasons of the show. Like other Krelboyne students, Dabney is regularly bullied and often suffers the consequences of schemes with which he helps Malcolm. Over the course of his appearances, Dabney displays vague homosexual traits, and oftens shows affection towards Malcolm. Dabney has an unhealthy relationship with his mother, Dorene, who orders her son around and attempts to dominate almost all aspects of his life. However, in "Hal's Friend", after Dabney receives a paintball gun as a birthday present from his grandfather, only for Dorene to take it away, Malcolm secretly takes him to a paintball battle course, and in the process he learns to stand up for himself and adopts a no-nonsense attitude towards his mother. Like Malcolm's other Krelboyne friends, Dabney appears less frequently during the show's fourth season, eventually leaving Stevie as Malcolm's only friend by Season 5. Interestingly, Dabney is a undergraduate house at Caltech, a university well known for its emphasis on the natural sciences and engineering.

• Eraserhead, played by Will Jennings, is one of Malcom's other Krelboyne classmates, he is seen less frequently than the other Krelboyne students but is shown to have a talent for playing the piano, and often gets involved in class theatre productions. It is known he has an older brother who beats Reese up in the episode "Krelboyne Picnic" after he is caught tormenting Eraserhead.

• Kevin, played by Victor Z. Isaac, is a nervous and easily excitable Krelboyne student and one of Malcolm's friends that first appears early in the third season. It is hinted that he's berated at home, as he once exclaimed, when he got a bad grade on a test, "My stepdad's right, I am useless!". Like Malcolm's other Krelboyne friends, Kevin appears less frequently in Season 4, eventually disappearing midway through the season. Kevin's presence in the series seemed to be to fill the void of Eraserhead.

• Jessica, played by Hayden Panettiere, is a teenage girl who first made an appearance as a babysitter that Hal hired so that he could take on a second job while Lois was away tending to her pregnancy. Proving to be more of a threat than initially thought, she turned out to be as scheming, conniving and manipulative as any of the boys. In later episodes she was a frequent visitor as a neighbor who would come over to escape a negligent father. Working again for her own benefit she proceeded to create uncomfortable situations including convincing the family to see Mamma Mia! and convincing both Malcolm and Reese that the other was homosexual. In season seven she replaced Stevie as Malcolm's best friend and, though manipulative, did her best to look after Malcolm during that time. In one of the final episodes she convinces Malcolm to end a detrimental relationship claiming that she has feelings for him. After he returns to her once he ends his previous engagement, she confesses that she had once again lied. When Malcolm is upset that he has once again fallen for one of her tricks she kisses him, responding next with 'Yeah, nothing.' With Stevie's return Jessica is no longer seen; even during graduation. Much like Cynthia, her character has frequent breaks in between episodes, but unlike Cynthia, Jessica is given much more of a back story and her absences are fewer in the later season, making her more of a central guest character. In one episode it is revealed that she dates a very large and muscular Asian named Mike, whom Dewey uses to his advantage, in order to get Reese beaten up.

• Lionel Herkabe, played by Chris Eigeman, Malcolm's dry, stuffy, selfish, uptight, and somewhat competitive teacher and later principal for 8th grade and much of High School, is divorced and in debt though he used to be a dot-com millionaire. He was a Krelboyne like Malcolm and manipulates him for his own purposes. The relationship between Malcolm and Herkabe is somewhat strained since Malcolm considers Herkabe to be his least favorite teacher and also thinks that he has been out to get him since the day they met, since Herkabe actually told him that, as revealed in Humilithon. In the same episode, Hal also displays a dislike for Herkabe since he makes him and Lois sign up as parental volunteers because of uncivilized behavior on school property for the first week of school. Hal refers to him as "Jerkabe", the name that he calls him behind his back. Hal eventually apologized to Herkabe the next day, but does not accept the apology and verbally expels Hal from the volunteer program. However, he casually shows up the next day and is seen mopping the floor. Herkabe angrily notices this and after some angry wordplay between the two, they then engage in a gladiator-type fight with mops. Even Malcolm's classmates dislike him, to some degree, because of his competitiveness. During his appearances on the show, Malcolm always wound up being the guinea pig for many of Herkabe's carefully planned schemes, only for them to be defeated by Malcolm at the end of each episode, such as in Academic Octathlon where he tricked Malcolm into joining and encouraging the Academics team to cheat at the quiz event with Malcolm giving everyone the answers, causing everyone to win an undeserved trophy. In Malcolm Films Reese Malcolm is assigned by Herkabe to videotape Reese for a class, but finds out it was nothing more than a trap for Herkabe to humiliate both of them. At the end of the episode, Malcolm triggers a fight between two seniors and when Herkabe goes to break it up, Malcolm locks himself in his office and announces everyone's permanent records over the loudspeaker. Herkabe's last official appearance was in Malcolm Defends Reese where he makes Reese his personal whipping boy and constantly teases him over his lack of intelligence. Malcolm, angry and tired of Herkabe humiliating Reese, confronts him about it, but Herkabe just wanted Malcolm to tank his courses so Herkabe could keep his trophy for having the highest GPA. Unfortunately, he slips and lets Malcolm find out that he never took gym class, so he was stripped of the award. He attempts to reclaim his spot by taking gym in the present-day, but Reese, blindly amused by Herkabe's presence in gym, pelts him with dodge balls as revenge for the humiliation he endured.

• Commandant Edwin Spangler, played by Daniel von Bargen. The strict and hard-nosed military veteran in charge of the cadets at Marlin Academy. He suffers from dozens of injuries and has lost his right eye, his left hand, and his right ring finger; ironically none of these are combat-related, as he has never served in wartime. For the first two seasons and beginning of season three, Francis was Spangler's most rebellious student and clashed with him on many occasions. Halfway through the third season, Spangler reveals that he was about to quit his job from boredom, but Francis gave him a purpose in life in trying to discipline him. He affectionately presents a ceremonial sword in recognition to Francis, who then accidentally cuts off his one remaining hand. Afterward Spangler's life goes downhill as Francis stood out as his only failure. Spangler is fired from the academy, tracks Francis to Alaska, and attempts to kill him at first. Taking pity on Commandant Spangler, Francis attempts to get him a job but he fails his interview by showing up drunk. Eric and Francis realize that 'the only thing that ever made him remotely happy was tormenting and bullying helpless students.' They quickly find him a job at the Snow Haven Retirement Home where he has the freedom to bully the elderly. After this he is never seen again.

• Cadet Eric Hanson, played by Eric Nenninger. Francis' fellow cadet at the academy, and friend for the first three seasons. Eric was Francis's reluctant sidekick and normally suffered the consequences of the antics caused by Francis. On several occasions, Eric has mentioned that he has two fathers. At the start of season three, Eric turns eighteen, drops out of the academy, and goes to work in an Alaskan lodge. Francis emancipates himself and follows soon after, but both of them learn that their job is not as great as they hoped. Francis eventually gets a job at a ranch, but Eric is left behind to hitchhike on the highway, possibly as revenge for suggesting Alaska in the first place. His fate is unknown.

• Cadet Drew, played by Drew Powell. A minor character in the first and second season. He is physically the strongest of the cadets, but emotionally the weakest. As with other recurring characters from Marlin Academy, he is never seen again after Francis left to work in Alaska.

• Cadet Stanley, played by Karim Prince. A cadet at the academy, and Francis' friend & informal body guard during the first season. Cadet Stanley is shown to have a hard core appreciation for the military lifestyle. He is shown doing pull ups whilst having Francis hold on to him to add extra weight. When the majority of the school leaves on an outdoor survival trip, Stanley claims he believes strongly in the trip and threatens to break Francis' clavicles if he does not attend. Later when cadets are showing off their survival skills based on how little equipment they are bringing, Stanley enters the room completely naked except for camouflage paint over his entire body.

• Cadet Finlay, A cadet at the acadeny, and Francis' friend. He gets good grades and does Francis' homework for him.

• Richie, played by Todd Giebenhain, is Francis's best friend before military school, and Francis often visits Richie on his trips back home during the first two seasons. He is a vagabond and delinquent who was eventually shipped off to military school with Francis. He was Reese's boss in a fast-food restaurant called "Circus Burger", where he stole hundreds of dollars from the cash register and framed Reese for the theft. It is never explained why Richie disappears or why Francis never sees him again after the third season. He once gave Francis an injury by clipping his nasty toenails and hitting Francis in the eye with it. He is last mentioned in the season 6 episode "Stilts" by Francis, claiming he tried to dry off Reese in the oven after he had taken several different pills at once.

• Lavernia, played by Brenda Wehle, is Francis' cruel, heartless boss at the Alaskan lodge. Lavernia rules over her workers with an iron fist, charging them so much for everything that they end up owing her money. Eventually she closes down the lodge and fires her workers after they cut down all the trees on the company's land and a mining operation buys it.

• Artie, played by John Ennis, is a chubby, uneducated, color blind and dyslexic employee at the Alaskan lodge. Artie often hung around with his co-workers Pete, Francis and Eric. It is implied that Artie may have absorbed his twin in the womb, as he mentions that he had a boil removed, but it turned out to be the vestiges of his unborn twin. While he seems to fit in and get along with them, Eric states in "Jury Duty" that Artie is the "camp outcast". It is unknown what happened to him after the lodge was shut down.

• Pete, played by Sandy Ward, is an elderly employee at the Alaskan lodge. He usually hung around with his co-workers Artie, Francis and Eric. Pete seems to be possibly insane, or at the very least senile, as he often says bizarre, outlandish things (such as hinting he's spent a night in a caribou's stomach or believing bears can fly and lay eggs). Because of this, he is often looked upon as an "old coot". According to Eric in "Jury Duty", Pete has a family, but they apparently abandoned him and changed their names so Pete could not track them down. When the lodge is shut down, Pete wearily says that he'll probably have to move back in with his parents.

• Otto Mannkusser, played by Kenneth Mars. Francis' German boss and sidekick for the fourth and fifth seasons. He meets Francis while he had a 1974 broken car at the highway coming down from Alaska. Otto is in charge of The Grotto, a dude ranch (named after the two in the episode "Zoo,", Otto says "She is Gretchen, I am Otto - Grotto"). Otto is married to Gretchen and has an estranged son. Otto is gullible and a bit of a pushover; he hires too many employees and gives them extra vacation days. However, after Francis works on the ranch for a little over two years, Otto fires him when the ATM that Francis was depositing his funds into was not really an ATM. His last name might be derived from the ill-formed German expression "Mannküsser", literally meaning "man kisser." In the German version of the show, the Mannkussers are Danes and speak with a very heavy Danish accent.

• Gretchen Mannkusser, played by Meagen Fay, is the wife of Otto and the co-runner of the Grotto. She is a kind and caring woman. As Otto explained to Francis, their marriage was by deceit: Gretchen was actually the girlfriend of Otto's best friend, but Otto loved her as well. When they were planning to elope, Gretchen's intended arranged for her to meet him at a rendezvous point, but he lied about the actual location and said he would meet her at the train station in Berlin. When his friend did not show up, Otto came and comforted her and they married. They had a son named Rutger.

• The Poker Players, played by Dab Martin (Malik), Jonathan Craig Williams (Steve), Edward James Gage (Brian), Alex Morris (Trey), play poker with Hal and Abe. They are all African American and have high-class careers. They are also seen in a band with Hal and Abe in the episode Long Drive.

• Polly, played by Julie Hagerty, is Jamie's slightly insane hippie babysitter. She usually gets people involved in her own problems, such as the time when Malcolm had to keep a secret about Polly stealing back her ashes. She also dated Abe and Craig at the same time but in the end admitting they are more of a distraction to her career. She refers many times to family issues such as court cases. Polly disappears by the end of season 5, and by season 7, it is revealed that they have a new babysitter for Jamie.

• The Buseys are Deweys classmates in the special class, although only three make recurring appearances and have speaking roles. They are educationally and socially looked down upon by their students and peers.

• David Hanson, played by Danny McCarthy Jr., is a Busey who thinks he rides a motorcycle and has an occasional stutter. In "Hal Sleepwalks", it is implied that he became class president after breaking down at a debate and started cursing rampantly. In "Election" it is revealed that he has Tourette Syndrome.

• Zoe, played by Amy Bruckner, is a Busey who thinks she can talk to animals. She has an imaginary alter ego she refers to as "Bad Zoe" She plays Lois in Dewey's Opera and runs for class president in "Hal Sleepwalks".

• Chad, played by Cameron Monaghan, is a very aggressive Busey whose shirt always has a sheet of paper on it with some kind of warning, such as "Seizures may be a trap" or "Do not corner". He is also usually seen wearing oven mitts. Chad has an overactive imagination, shown when he believes there are four of him and when he thinks he can make a teacher burst into flames by staring at him. In the episode Chad's Sleepover he is seen to be obsessively neat and organized, as he rearranges everything in Malcolm's house according to factors such as color and texture, at one point stating "Rough can't go next to smooth."

• Bernard is Dewey's class hamster he brings home for the weekend in "Health Scare". Fearing for Bernard's safety after an encounter with a bully classmate who is next in line to have Bernard, Dewey tries to convince his parents to let him keep him. As Hal and Lois are too preoccupied with the possibility of Hal having a serious illness, Dewey decides to take matters into his own hands. He places Bernard in a hamster ball filled up with food, and sets him loose. Bernard's journey in the ball became somewhat of a recurring landmark in the series, appearing in such episodes as "Poker", "Reese Drives", "Hal's Birthday", and at the end of the season 3 finale, "Monkey", where it is shown that he has traveled all the way up to Alaska.

External links

• Official FOX Malcolm in the Middle website