Malcolm in the Middle (season 3)

The third season of Malcolm in the Middle premiered on November 11, 2001, on Fox, and ended on May 12, 2002, with a total of 22 episodes. Frankie Muniz stars as the title character Malcolm, and he is joined by Jane Kaczmarek, Bryan Cranston, Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Justin Berfield and Erik Per Sullivan.

Malcolm in the Middle
Season 3
DVD cover
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkFox
Original releaseNovember 11, 2001 (2001-11-11) –
May 12, 2002 (2002-05-12)
Season chronology

Episodes
See also: List of Malcolm in the Middle episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
421"Houseboat"Todd HollandBob StevensNovember 11, 2001 (2001-11-11)06-01-30115.49[1]
Malcolm's family and the Kenarbans vacation together on a houseboat. Lois scolds Malcolm for nearly ruining Hal's life (Hal had groped another woman in a store while shopping for the vacation after mistaking her for Lois, and Malcolm, who was trying to impress a girl at the time, refused to speak up for him and left him to get arrested out of embarrassment), and forces him to make amends. Hal reveals he avoided Malcolm in order to surprise him with a fishing pole and they go out fishing. Reese and Stevie hang out with sex-starved girls from a cheerleader camp. During his time fishing, Malcolm soon becomes annoyed, and sees some bras and Reese's shirt float past the boat, causing him to throw Hal overboard and rush the boat to the girls' camp. Dewey has an increasingly bad time, ending with Reese and Stevie abandoning him on a buoy to become severely sunburnt. Meanwhile, Francis' friend, Eric, drops out of the military academy to take on a logging job in Alaska and Francis gets himself emancipated so he can join him, incurring Lois' wrath.
432"Emancipation"Jimmy SimonsAlan J. HigginsNovember 14, 2001 (2001-11-14)06-01-3028.94[2]
Francis leaves the military academy and comes home a final time before heading out to join Eric in Alaska. However, Lois wants nothing to do with him, leading to a serious fight between her and Hal. Malcolm's new teacher, Mr. Herkabe (Chris Eigeman), sets up a ranking system to pressure the Krelboynes to achieve. They turn against each other until Malcolm develops a scheme to break Herkabe's system, humiliating him in front of the school principal.
443"Book Club"Todd HollandAlex ReidNovember 18, 2001 (2001-11-18)06-01-30413.62[2]
Lois attempts to escape the boys' nightly misbehavior by joining a women's book club, but she soon realizes that it is merely an excuse for the women to socialize—and get drunk. Lois helps them plot against a wealthy PTA mother, Lillian Miller, who seems to handle all her motherly duties with ease while living in luxury. Meanwhile, Hal tries and fails many different ideas to keep the boys in order, and Francis hitches a ride with a trucker who makes him humiliate himself in exchange for the ride.
454"Malcolm's Girlfriend"Ken KwapisIan BuschNovember 28, 2001 (2001-11-28)06-01-3058.91[3]
After getting a girlfriend (portrayed by Alessandra Torresani, whose face is never shown on camera), Malcolm neglects his family and friends; the family reacts when they find out about her. Dewey uses his new friend's wealth to get the birthday party he's always wanted. Still en route to Alaska, Francis is briefly jailed, but starts to enjoy watching the guards' complicated lives unfold in the style of a soap opera.
465"Charity"Jeff MelmanGary Murphy & Neil ThompsonDecember 2, 2001 (2001-12-02)06-01-30312.03[3]
Lois forces the boys into community service to build character. They choose to help out at a church, where they quickly go from trading their own stuff to stealing merchandise and creating a black market. Francis finally reaches his destination in Alaska only to learn that his new job isn't the easy money-making opportunity he thought, but rather a living hell. When Hal discovers the boys' black market business, he attempts to make the trip back to the church to return the stuff they had taken and apologize. However, when his car breaks down and the police arrest him, Hal and the boys have an epiphany about their own actions.
476"Health Scare"Todd HollandDan KopelmanDecember 9, 2001 (2001-12-09)06-01-30712.89[4]
When news hits that Hal may have a serious illness, Lois becomes meaner than usual as she grounds Malcolm and Reese for drawing mud into the house. They later disobey Lois by going to a party full of girls only to come home in hot water. Meanwhile, Francis has a showdown with the combative Lavernia in Alaska, and Dewey becomes overzealous in taking care of his class' pet hamster.
487"Christmas"Jeff MelmanMaggie Bandur & Pang-Ni LandrumDecember 16, 2001 (2001-12-16)06-01-30613.07[5]
As the boys ruin Christmas every year with their antics, Lois finally issues an ultimatum: either the boys behave until Christmas morning or the holiday is canceled. Her ploy works, but the boys realize that she could keep using this threat for every holiday and special occasion and decide they need to teach her a lesson. They draw obscene pictures on the garage wall and tear open their presents on Christmas Eve. However, remorse sets in when the boys realized that Lois bought them the presents they wanted. Meanwhile, Francis spends a torturous Christmas with Grandma Ida in Whitehorse and eventually finds a closet full of gifts for the family that she withheld because of petty offenses. He pays her back by hiding stashes of musical Christmas card (playing Jingle Bells) inside her apartment before he leaves.
498"Poker"Ken KwapisMichael BorkowJanuary 6, 2002 (2002-01-06)06-01-30811.84[6]
Hal finally gets an invitation to Abe's poker game, but Hal feels left out after the game. Hal believes that Abe's friends targeted him because of his comparatively boring job, but it never occurs to him that he was the only white player there. Malcolm clashes with Stevie for filming him in a homework assignment, leading to a poker match between Hal and Abe. Reese collects money from old ladies who wanted to partner up at Lois' dance class, then uses the money to buy Dewey a toy and smashes it in front of him. For revenge, Dewey films Reese being dragged to the class. Francis and his friends are trapped in an Alaskan blizzard fending off cabin fever. Lois feels she has a natural talent for dancing, but Dewey's video footage shows otherwise.
509"Reese's Job"Todd HollandGary Murphy & Neil ThompsonJanuary 20, 2002 (2002-01-20)06-01-31011.14[7]
Reese works at a fast-food place, but gets into trouble when his co-workers think he stole money from the cash register. Dewey tries to prove himself trustworthy with a goldfish and his parents try to sabotage his efforts by switching the live fish with a dead one, but Dewey keeps switching the dead fish with live ones. Malcolm finds himself eclipsed by the newest, youngest Krelboyne, Barton, Herkabe's latest attempt to get rid of Malcolm. Barton and the boys confront Richie with stealing the money, which he denies until his girlfriend walks into the room and reveals the truth not knowing the boys are there. Richie has to agree to several services in exchange for the boys' silence. The next day, Barton's father decides to transfer him to another school where he can be a normal child. Francis helps one of his lodge friends prepare to marry a Russian mail-order bride, but what arrives is not what they expected.
5110"Lois' Makeover"Jeff MelmanMichael Glouberman & Andrew OrensteinJanuary 27, 2002 (2002-01-27)06-01-31113.48[8]
Mortified when she learns that she performs poorly in Lucky Aide secret-shoppers' performance reviews, Lois tries to dress up her appearance. Her work life begins to improve after the makeover, but she removes all the makeup after a man mistakes her for a prostitute. Hal is re-energized after beating the boys at basketball until the boys discover his dirty secret and get their revenge on him. Francis deals with a rat infestation.
52
53		11
12		"Company Picnic"Todd HollandStory by : Janae Bakken
Teleplay by : Alan J. Higgins		February 3, 2002 (2002-02-03)06-01-313
06-01-314		21.45[9]
The family attends Hal's company picnic, where Hal tries to avoid his new boss (Stephen Root) because of his bleak history of first impressions and Malcolm sees an old crush. Hal's boss thinks he's the owner of the company Hal works at (Patrick Warburton). Francis finds himself caught up in an ice hockey match between the loggers and a female oil-rig crew and bets his teammates' money against the loggers, knowing that if he wins he can pay off his debts to Lavernia and leave his Alaskan hellhole. However, the loggers do win, and when Lavernia and the rest of the team find out the truth about the money, they tie Francis naked to the ice-cleaner truck and drag him around the pit as punishment.
5413"Reese Drives"Jeff MelmanMichael Glouberman & Andrew OrensteinFebruary 10, 2002 (2002-02-10)06-01-30913.27[10]
Reese gets his driving learner's permit, but after another student named Jackie makes him miss his turn for a driving test, he steals the Driver's-Ed car and ends up in a chase with the cops. However, he drives back to the driving course and makes a perfect score, impressing Jackie and his whole family. After allegedly throwing eggs on Craig's house, Lois makes Malcolm clean it, but Craig actually framed Malcolm so he could have Malcolm's help to set up his new home cinema. Francis makes several promises to different lodgers in order to fix a hole in the lodge's roof, but when he can't deliver, the angry lodgers come after him.
5514"Cynthia's Back"Ken KwapisMaggie Bandur & Pang-Ni LandrumFebruary 17, 2002 (2002-02-17)06-01-31211.93[11]
A moody Cynthia returns from Europe and Malcolm discovers it's because she was hiding a more developed figure. When Reese finds out about this, he tries to date her. Malcolm outsmarts him by asking him Cynthia's name in front of her, which Reese had not bothered to learn. Desperate, he grabs her breasts in a last attempt and Cynthia beats him up. Lois' friend Karen tells her that she kissed Hal on New Year's Eve, but he denies it completely, and Lois realizes that Hal loves her more than she loves him. Dewey helps Hal overcome his fear of kite flying. In Alaska, after his drunken roommates steal a totem pole, Francis looks to it for answers.
5615"Hal's Birthday"Levie IsaacksAlex ReidMarch 3, 2002 (2002-03-03)06-01-31613.58[12]
Lois arranges for Francis to come home on Hal's birthday as a surprise, but the real surprise is on everyone else when Francis arrives with a wife, Piama (Emy Coligado). Malcolm, Dewey, and Reese are immediately sent to bed while the arguments rage on with Lois and Francis. The boys sneak off to a hotel with Hal's credit card to start a new life, but are soon caught. The entire family eventually do celebrate Hal's birthday before Francis and Piama return to Alaska.
5716"Hal Coaches"Jeff MelmanIan BuschMarch 10, 2002 (2002-03-10)06-01-31914.32[13]

Hal decides to coach Dewey's soccer team and turns them into monsters. When Malcolm and Reese get a computer from their neighbor Ed, they discover his big secret and Reese blackmails him into doing favors for him. However, Ed turns the situation against him when he learns of Reese's infractions at school and finally makes him return the favor. Malcolm starts playing a game called The Virts (a parody of The Sims), where he recreates himself and his family, but gets obsessed when his virtual self repeatedly becomes obese and depressed. In Alaska, Piama holds Lavernia's pet parakeet hostage and demands better treatment for Francis.

Note: Lois only appears in the cold opening and is completely absent from the majority of the episode. This is the first episode where a main character is absent for that long.
5817"Dewey's Dog"Bob StevensMichael Glouberman & Andrew OrensteinApril 7, 2002 (2002-04-07)06-01-31812.39[14]
Dewey finds a dog, hides him from his parents, and trains him to attack Malcolm and Reese on command. When Craig comes by to return some dry-cleaning, Dewey holds him hostage. Craig manages to escape but the dog chases him. Because the dog is gone, Malcolm and Reese torture Dewey as revenge. Hal and Lois go on a date, and neither will admit that they caught Craig's flu. In Alaska, Francis comes face-to-face with his former commandant Spangler, who blames him for not only losing his job at Marlin Academy, but also his desertion. Francis feels sympathy for Spangler and gets him a job at a retirement home that gives him free rein to bully the elderly.
5918"Poker #2"Jeff MelmanStory by : John Bradford Goodman
Teleplay by : Bill Hooper		April 21, 2002 (2002-04-21)06-01-32211.93[15]

Hal, Abe, and their poker buddies start to compete over minor issues. Reese sets Stevie up with two popular girls (Dana Davis and Lindsey Haun), telling them that Stevie is terminally ill. Malcolm discovers that one of the girls has a handgun and tries to hide it from her. Eric suspects that Piama is having an affair, but Francis finds that Piama was merely talking to her estranged father.

Note: This is the second episode where Lois only appears in the cold opening and is absent from the rest of the episode, the first instance being in "Hal Coaches".
6019"Clip Show"Jamie BabbitMichael Borkow & Alex ReidApril 28, 2002 (2002-04-28)06-01-32113.12[16]

Believing the boys ruined the car, Hal forces them to see a psychiatrist (Andy Richter) to cure their bad behavior. Soon the three open up and tell him all about their family, which escalates into a big fight between the boys, freaking out the shrink. During the cold opening, Francis tries to fix a clog in his house's sink, almost getting his hand caught in the sink vent. Absent: Jane Kaczmarek as Lois

Note: If not counting her appearances in the flashbacks, then this is the first episode where Lois is completely absent.
6120"Jury Duty"Ken KwapisStory by : Pang-Ni Landrum & Tom Mason & Dan Danko
Teleplay by : Pang-Ni Landrum		May 1, 2002 (2002-05-01)06-01-3205.89[17]
While Malcolm and Reese spend a day exploring a sewer with Dewey and Stevie, they can't stop bragging that they saw Kitty naked over the weekend. Lois serves jury duty for a stolen motorcycle case; and, as she's not allowed to discuss it, Hal and Abe think her case is a high-profile murder case and spend the day proving their own theories about it. Lois forces her fellow jurors, who want to declare the defendant guilty and go home, to properly analyze the case. Francis is trapped with the crew in an ice-fishing shed with a bear outside.
6221"Cliques"Jeff MelmanMichael BorkowMay 5, 2002 (2002-05-05)06-01-31710.95[17]
After a chemical mishap, the Krelboynes are forced to join the general school population, while Herkabe serves a temporary job as a coach in gym class. They all find new groups except Malcolm, who gets concerned about a fight between the cliques. All the groups prepare to fight each other until the other students realize that they are in the presence of Krelboynes. They pants the Krelboynes and Malcolm, who are left at the school in their underwear. Herkabe returns as their teacher and in a rare moment, he shows empathy for them and Malcolm. Upon realizing that their home is on Native American land, Francis and Piama host a legalized casino as a means to pay off Lavernia's debts. When Dewey is stricken with chickenpox, Lois tries to keep him busy with dominoes, but then she forbids Reese to knock them down. Reese tries to keep Hal from knocking them down, because Lois will blame Reese no matter the truth. Hal tries to knock over the dominoes on film, but wind from the closing door knocks them down before he starts filming.
6322"Monkey"Ken KwapisDan KopelmanMay 12, 2002 (2002-05-12)06-01-31511.94[18]
After knocking out a burglar, Reese believes he has a future in law enforcement, so he instantly begins imposing his brutal rule on the neighborhood. He takes it too far when he smashes Lois' car window when she refuses to move it for pedestrians. Hal, who did not even make it out of bed when the burglar broke in, tries to prove to himself that he can be macho but it proves to be useless while Dewey refuses to sleep, keeping Malcolm awake too. Elsewhere, Craig is incapacitated by injuries, thanks to being chased into traffic by Dewey's dog. Rather than spend his insurance money on a nurse he instead gets a trained capuchin monkey, who tries to murder him until Hal comes to his rescue, which restores his self-worth. Hal happily reads Dewey a bedtime story of his exploits, which helps him and Malcolm finally fall asleep. With the logging work done, Francis is laid off and finds out that his home is scheduled for demolition, but Piama refuses to leave until she sees the settlement check. They finally bid farewell to Alaska, leaving Eric behind to hitchhike his way home.

Cast and characters

Main

Notable guests

Production

Main cast members Frankie Muniz, Jane Kaczmarek, Bryan Cranston, Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Justin Berfield and Erik Per Sullivan return as Malcolm, Lois, Hal, Francis, Reese and Dewey respectively.[19] The season introduces the recurring character Piama Tananahaakna, with Emy Coligado cast in the role.[21] It is also the final one to feature Eric Hanson, played by Eric Nenninger.[22] The season's parallel plot involving Francis shifts from Marlin Academy to a resort in Alaska.[23] The episode "Clip Show", true to its title, serves as a clip show, incorporating footage from previous episodes presented as flashbacks.[24]

Release

Broadcast history

The season premiered on November 11, 2001 on Fox, and ended on May 12, 2002 with a total of 22 episodes.[25]

Home media

The season was released on Region 2 DVD on February 4, 2013,[26] and on Region 4 DVD on September 4, 2013.[27]

Reception

Greg Braxton of Los Angeles Times lauded the season premiere for its comedy, particularly Cranston's performance.[28] For her performance as Meg in the two-parter "Company Picnic", Susan Sarandon was nominated in the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category, but lost to Cloris Leachman.[29]

In 2019, Angelo Delos Trinos of Screen Rant criticized the episode "Cynthia's Back" as being outdated. He said, "While not the worst of its kind, Cynthia's Back suffers from depicting outdated stereotypes about women being too emotional and casual sexual harassment."[30]

References
  1. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 5-11)". The Los Angeles Times. November 14, 2001. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  2. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 12-18)". The Los Angeles Times. November 21, 2001. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  3. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 26-Dec. 2)". The Los Angeles Times. December 5, 2001. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  4. "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 3-9)". The Los Angeles Times. December 12, 2001. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  5. "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 10-16)". The Los Angeles Times. December 19, 2001.
  6. "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 30-Jan. 6)". The Los Angeles Times. January 9, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  7. "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 14-20)". The Los Angeles Times. January 25, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  8. "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 21-27)". The Los Angeles Times. January 30, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  9. "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 28-Feb. 3)". The Los Angeles Times. February 6, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  10. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 4-10)". The Los Angeles Times. February 13, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  11. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 11-17)". The Los Angeles Times. February 22, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  12. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 25-March 3)". The Los Angeles Times. March 6, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  13. "National Nielsen Viewership (March 4-10)". The Los Angeles Times. March 13, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  14. "National Nielsen Viewership (April 1-7)". The Los Angeles Times. April 10, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  15. "National Nielsen Viewership (April 15-21)". The Los Angeles Times. April 24, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  16. "National Nielsen Viewership (April 22-28)". The Los Angeles Times. May 1, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  17. "National Nielsen Viewership (April 29-May 5)". The Los Angeles Times. May 8, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  18. "National Nielsen Viewership (May 6-12)". The Los Angeles Times. May 15, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  19. "Casting Malcolm S02". AlloCiné (in French). Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  20. "Where Are They Now? The Cast Of Malcolm in the Middle". Screen Rant. June 20, 2017. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  21. Lavender, Natasha (February 14, 2020). "What Emy Coligado has been up to since playing Piama on Malcolm in the Middle". Looper.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  22. "Where Are They Now? The Cast Of Malcolm in the Middle". Screen Rant. June 20, 2017. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  23. Cantor, Paul A. (November 30, 2012). The Invisible Hand in Popular Culture: Liberty vs. Authority in American Film and TV. University Press of Kentucky. p. 278. ISBN 978-0813140834.
  24. Dankievitch, Randy (February 4, 2015). "How Malcolm in the Middle Did the Clip Show Right". TVOvermind. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  25. "Malcolm in the Middle: Season 3 (2001–2002)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  26. "Malcolm in the Middle: The Complete Third Season [DVD]". Amazon.com. February 4, 2013. Archived from the original on February 17, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  27. "Malcolm in the Middle – Season 3". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on August 11, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  28. Braxton, Greg (August 19, 2001). "Happily Caught in the Middle". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  29. Clarendon, Dan (January 4, 2020). "20 Stars You Forgot Were on 'Malcolm in the Middle,' Now 20 Years Old (PHOTOS)". TV Insider. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  30. Trinos, Angelo Delos (August 20, 2019). "10 Episodes Of Malcolm in the Middle That Aged Poorly". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
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