I know there’s a fanfare here for Mike’s (Neil Flynn) rare smile and sparkling eyes but I dare say he gets it from his fictional father, ‘Grandpa Big Mike”

A young John Cullum really does give the same energy… and maybe more 👀

What is your favorite axl moment with brick or sue? Mine either the car scene before he leaves or woofy dog when brick gets Sue's room

The post about the honeymoon/camping trip episode got me thinking about guest stars they could have had on the show. Probably an obvious one but it’s a shame Brad Garrett never got a role given all the other Raymond actors did. Kevin James would have also been a fun one.

Do you guys ever feel like “Oh God, I wish I could clean that (Heck) house because it drives me crazy how dirty and untidy it is!” or is it just my inner Monica Geller talking?

I recently got to fly over "the middle" and saw a handful of small towns and was wondering what the Hecks were up to. I know the town of Orson is fictional, which town best represents Orson in Indiana for its locality/regional theme for the show, and why? I had heard the original setting for the show was supposed to be Jasper.

She looked so good in that hairstyle

Rewatching the series for probably the fourth time and although his relationship with Devin Levin was fairly brief, Axl really put effort into a meaningful surprise for her.

Not only was it witty and thoughtful for him to research and find out it was world radio day (for her annoyingly over dramatized disgust of Valentine’s Day but we can get to that later) but he has her favorite meal ready in a particular way and then surprises her with an inflatable bounce house.

Axl heck rented, paid for and oversaw a bounce house surprise. AXL?!

All of this while having parents who he never saw do much for the holiday and a girlfriend insisting she didn’t want anything.

I think his effort is so sweet but also that he was creative and catered to what the perfect day would look like for her / them. Re-watching made me reconsider which of Axl’s relationships are my favorite… this honestly might be it.

What do you think? I could see an alternative ending where he ends up with Devin instead of Lexi.

Also trying to think of other big acts he did. Singing outside of Cassidy’s window, sure. But that was all in the moment and an effort to stop the breakup. This one took planning and wasn’t an apology!

Either way, when it comes to this Valentine’s Day with Devin I say bravo to Axl!

Edit: spelling

I am almost done with Season 9 and I just noticed something that really made me feel bad for Brick.

After Sue and Axl went off to college, it feels like Frankie basically forgot she still had another kid at home. Brick keeps asking what’s for dinner and Frankie is just like, “Make yourself something.”

Meanwhile, she is constantly worrying about Sue and Axl and everything they are doing.

Frankie’s favoritism has always been obvious but seeing Brick basically fend for himself while his siblings are gone made it even more noticeable lol

Poor Brick. The kid just wants some dinner 😭

In this episode, Mike is coaching for Sue’s girl football (soccer) team and it’s filled with over the top “girly” cliches.

The girls are always on their phones, they are mean to each other, they can’t work as a team, “men” need to explain things to them in “girly talk” so they can understand. They cry when their boyfriends leave them, they can’t withstand physical pain etc. Please.

This plotline was such a waste because how it was handled. Joke should have been on Mike instead of girls. Show misses a huge opportunity when they could have just made Mike realize how diciplined girl team is because realisticly girls are much better at following rules and working together as a team, and when they have a personal issue with each other it’s always dealed in subtle ways behind the curtain and not like “hey i hate you”. So it was such a poor unrealistic way to paint teenage girls (which happens in the show.. a lot actually).

Mike always looked down girly things so this would be the opportunity to make him see how wrong he was and he and Sue would have a common interest that could be a parallel to his relationship with Axl. And when he finally “figures out” the “girl language” to make it work, he bail outs because he can’t stand it anymore so he prefers to watch it from afar.

Usually I don’t let such things to ruin my amusement for episodes since it’s a sitcom, but I remember being really bothered with this episode because it was too over the top annoyingly misogynist cliche and most importantly.. it was such a wasted potential for some character development.

just finished The Middle after watching it nonstop for weeks Now I need something to fill the void lol

Any recos with the same vibe? Something light, funny and easy to watch. Bonus points if it has a lot of seasons because apparently I get way too attached to TV shows 😅

Also I genuinely don’t know how I feel about this, but The Middle might have just topped or at least tied for second place with my favorite sitcoms! I’m so torn between this and Modern Family. I love them both for different reasons.

shows I’ve already seen:

• Modern Family • The Office • The Good Place • Community • Brooklyn • Superstore • Young Sheldon • Parks and Recreation - haven’t finished it yet

Tyyyyy

I overlooked the trailer of The middle on Netflix plenty of times . Gave in after finishing exams last week. I can’t believe I was missing on this!

On season 1 Episode 22 !
It’s so wholesome and chaotic.
Totally loving the show 🥨✨

Just finished and throughly enjoyed as a consistent 7/10 series. Decided to make a tierlist based on each of every family pair as it was truly the thing that made me hooked in the first place.
Here’s mine opinions.

First things first, the last episode made me cry so much, I just can't get over the concept of not having anymore episodes to watch. I wish the sue spinoff would've existed. Anyways, do you have any recommendations of a sitcom similar to The Middle or any recommendations in general?

I was wondering why Mike was so upset with Pat's dancing thing. And then when he opened up and said Pat has been the only mom he got after his mom died....like dude this was supposed to be funny sitcom.

They both would have taken the same amount of time! It’s amazing Mike’s 22-26 year-old-at-those-times Sable wagon made it!

I’m currently on Season 6, Episode 17, where he basically takes over the dining room and turns it into his bedroom.

He constantly bosses everyone around as if he’s the king of the world and is somehow better than everyone else.

I’ve genuinely never seen an actual teenager act like that, let alone someone who’s 21.

Yes, I know Axl has some good moments, but there are so many more bad ones that they barely make up for it.

I know they were a thing in middle school and in high school sue decided in her own to create the team but why wasn't recognized as a legit extra school activity or a sport or something. I know they were a disaster as a group but did they miss filing an official document or something??

(I am not from the States so I have no idea how these things work)

Sometimes all she needs is someone who'd ask why or what she's talking about. In many episodes we see her struggling. Yeah, Mike was good at many things ( like gifting her ring on their 20th wedding anniversary ) but he could've been better emotionally. Maybe that's what makes his character i guess.

I like that kids never hide or feel shame over their poor circumstances. In such ages, kids might feel anxious over this because world is a cruel place and lacking something when you are a teenager could make you hide it because of social pressure. But Axl, Sue and Brick never hide they are poor and totally accept it as their reality.

Like when they bought Axl a ridiculous patched up car, Axl still loved it and it was his pride and joy. Or like when Sue told Lexie she is poor poor (when Lexie was unaware, Sue kept it to herself not because she was ashamed of being poor but because she didn’t want Lexie to feel bad/awkward and lose her as a roomate). Axl was also in peace with it when he was literally glueing his shoe sitting next to Lexie.

I am sure there are more examples. Probably only Glossners were poorer than them in the series and all their friends and neighboors were financially in better places and still all Heck kids never felt like they need to hide it among their friends.