The family with Malcolm gone

rzombie1988

New member
If you guys remember, in one of the episodes when Malcolm could have gone off to a private school on a scholarship, Lois said something like the family needs you to survive(Which is interesting since he's gone). So would the family fall apart now that Malcolm is gone, or would they actually be better off?

I have to think they'd be better off.

Dewey would probably now take the place of Malcolm, since he seems to be very rationale. He seems to also be less of a pain, and doesn't seem to get in alot of trouble. So they really wouldn't need Malcolm, since they never listened to him much anyway.

Reese is also now gone, and he was probably the biggest problem of the family. But that is for another thread.
 
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Amigo22

Super Moderator
Hmm, good question. I don't know that Hal and Lois would see Dewey in the same way though, especially since he is 5 years younger, and still a kid.
 

MalcolmFun

New member
I don't think there is much question Lois can take care of herself no matter what.

Dewey seems to be fine by himself, alot of the time it is other family members who help him get into trouble.

IMHO it is Reese and Hal who will be in trouble without Malcolm. They are the ones who always need Malcolm to help with thier outrageous problems. For the record in the scene you describe it was Hal who said the family would fall apart if Malcolm left. Lois wasn't there for that conversation and it isnt clear if they ever even told her about that. Also Reese we see lamenting Malcolm will leave especially in "Reese vs Stevie" and some others.

As Dewey got older sometimes he filled in that role anyway and sometimes was the voice of reason.
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
Well, a lot changed between Baby when we heard that speech and Graduation when Malcolm actually left. I think three years later, the family will be better prepared to live without Malcolm. Right around S4/S5--and even S6--the family really did need Malcolm. It was around that time when Malcolm was turning into a depressed creep, but it was also Malcolm that saved Hal from going to jail, hence one important reason why Malcolm was necessary. But now that Hal is settling into a more stable, hopefully less corrupt new job, and with only having two kids left at home, I think the family will be much better able to cope without him at this point.
 

Amigo22

Super Moderator
With Malcolm and Reese gone it would certainly help the family financially with two less mouths to feed, and they also wouldn't need a big vehicle any more.
 

Nico21

New member
Come on!! Who doesn't love their awesome van?? :laugh:
Yeah, they have to keep this van, it's totally a part of the show ! (I always have a thought for MITM when I spot one like this on the road !)

Back to this interesting subject, I think everyone could be fine at short term... But for a longer period they would all really need Malcolm...

On the financial aspect, as you said there's 2 mouths less to feed, but Malcolm becomes a university student, which implies he needs a lot of money to live, even if he has a student job. Studies are very expensive, especially in the USA !

Then I can't imagine Reese not getting into trouble, even if he lives with Craig. Remember the episode in which he had his own flat, at first everything seemed perfect, but he was buying stuff by raising the overdraft (not sure this word corresponds to what I mean) of his credit card. So he will get into trouble somehow, and he will have to ask his family for help one day!

Lois would be the one who needs Malcolm the less on this aspect (she can manage to take care of herself right), but could she stand not controling his life, as she's always done for years ? When Malcolm worked at Lucky Aide with her, she totally forbid him to find another job, she wanted to keep him under her constant supervision. And at the end of the series, she clearly expresses what she wants him to become. So will she stand living hundreds of miles away from Malcolm ?

Finally Dewey could be the one who can live the best without Malcolm. During the show he grew up a lot (including in his mind!), and I think at the end he's really able to take care of himself without getting into trouble. He knows how to take advantage of people, and this is a good quality !
 
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AlexTheMartian

New member
On the financial aspect, as you said there's 2 mouths less to feed, but Malcolm becomes a high school student, which implies he needs a lot of money to live, even if he has a student job. Studies are very expensive, especially in the USA !

Malcolm becomes a university student, he already graduated from high school
 
I never actually thought about the family falling apart since Malcolm's gone. Well...Hal and Lois got Dewey and Jamie. And...I honestly don't know. I'll get back to this in a couple days or a week or so.
 

AlexTheMartian

New member
I will never understand the different levels you have at school :blushing:. I thought 'High School' was the translation of the french 'université'...

here High School is the teenage years. I guess it is becuase high school is the highest of required school people must finish. college and university is optional.
 
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Alle

New member
Hmm, good question. I don't know that Hal and Lois would see Dewey in the same way though, especially since he is 5 years younger, and still a kid.


Dewey, in season seven, was the same age as Malcolm when he was discovered to be a genius. So with Malcolm off to Harvard, perhaps Lois and Hal will start to take notice of Dewey, or for some reason, they'll continue to ignore him. For that Dewey will be either satisfied with their inattention, so unlike his brother, he will have more control over his destiny, or maybe their lack of appreciation would damage his self-esteem.
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
The van is plenty interesting a topic for me. :D I think they probably got rid of the van after they kicked out Reese and Malcolm and won the truck in Bomb Shelter.

On a note related to the thread, I am a college (or university for you Europeans) student now and I feel like I'm taking more money from my parents than I did in high school. My parents agreed to put $5000 a year toward my tuition, which includes the physical tuition, room & board, and food expenses. OK, so they're paying just $5000 for all of that, and I could easily go through $5000 of food a year at home. (The rest of the bill comes from a scholarship, loans, bonds, and things of that nature.) But in addition to that promised $5000, my parents also kick quite a bit of other "non-promised" money in my direction. They frequently give me $30 to fill up my gas tank. Hell, they still pay for the insurance that lets me drive. They pay my cellphone bill, medical insurance, things like that all the time. They often slap me an extra $20 if they see me or buy me some quality orange juice or food. Overall, I would say my parents spend more now. But would Malcolm's necessarily be the same in that respect? Certainly not.
 

Alle

New member
Had Lois and Hal not procured Malcolm's ten-thousand dollar grant for themselves, then squandered it all on a doll-house in the aforementioned episode, then they wouldn't have needed to go to all that trouble.
 
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MalcolmFun

New member
It cots about $75,000 a year to go to Harvard. The only thing that really links those 2 episodes is the dollar figure of $10,000 happens to be the same. It is pretty normal to fund college with a mismash of grants, scholarships and loans. Even ignoring this show is a comedy, expecting a middle class family to have the cash is borders on silly.
-Im in no way condoning what they did
 

tjpeople

Site Administrator
Staff member
$75,000 are you serious?

I pay $6,000 to go to one of the best uni's in the uk.
however its is subsidised by the goverment (for everyone) even so its about $20 max i think
 

AlexTheMartian

New member
Well I wen't online, and as of a recent increase on March of this year, Harvard tuition for a SINGLE year is $31,456 for 2007-08. With tuition plus room, board, and student services fee it is $45,620 anually. However more than two-thirds of the Harvard entering class receives financial aid (including scholarships, loans, and jobs), with over 50 percent qualifying for need-based scholarship assistance and an average total aid package of close to $34,000, bringing the average cost down to about $12,000 anually.

So Malcolm almost definately has financial aid. If he got a scholarship, he might be only paying $12,000 a year. That is because almost all of his tuition will be covered with loans grants and scholarship, and all he will pay for anually is his room and board.

my college is about $75,000 for all 4 years total for tuition alone (compared to 4 years at Harvard for $125,824). In my college financial aid plan, even with just loans alone as in my case, all of my tuituion including School Sponsored Housing (living off-campus in an apatment that the school leases) is covered with financial aid. So my Tuition is about $18,928 - $23,296 a year, and my School Sponsored Housing is $9,220-$10,652 a year. However I will just be paying off the loans, not paying my college.
 
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Alle

New member
$75,000 for a place at Harvard? Those cheap bastards. I've always maintained that education should be free.
 
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