AlexTheMartian
New member
I just watched a Biography Channel documentary of The Wonder Years on YouTube (part 1 is here) and noticed many similarities Malcolm in the Middle had with it.
While The Wonder Years was dealing with serious issues much more often then Malcolm, both sitcoms were of a different format then all others airing at the time.
Both shows presented a sitcom in a unique way never done on broadcast TV before, The Wonder Years used narration of the main character as an adult to tell the story of his childhood, and Malcolm in the Middle had Malcolm break the 4th wall (the "wall" that separates the viewer and the characters) and talk to the audience giving commentary on what was going on. Both are very effective techniques, and bring us to a more personal level with the main character then any other show, it is almost as if we are getting into a good novel where we feel we are actually part of the story.
Two shows currently on television at this time that I can compare to The Wonder Years' narration technique is How I Met Your Mother and Everybody Hates Chris, and I think both do a great job with it. However, no show I can think of have yet have been able to have the main character break the 4th wall quite like Malcolm in the Middle, only other times the 4th wall is broken regularly have been in The Bernie Mac Show and The War at Home, but neither of those can even come close as both of those do so after the situation has happened in a separate location, where Malcolm does so DURING the situation. Which is harder to successfully pull off, but when done I believe it is a much more effective use.
Both shows went through roughly the same childhood and teenage years of the main character. This lead to, in both series, dealing with both characters growing up fast during the time between seasons. In The Wonder Years, the main character's best friend literally grew almost 6 inches during one of the summers, and the year following the main character finally got his growth spurt. When the main characters of both series voice changed that changed the dynamic of the shows. Both shows lead writers to having to shift from writing about a child to writing about a teenager.
Both shows also had no live audience, and used a single camera (however I think The Wonder Years was not filmed on a set, although I could be wrong). Also both shows payed very close attention to detail to create the environments for the shows. The Wonder Years made sure the show accurately represented the 1960s, and Malcolm in the Middle had to represent the messy random-item-filled home of a suburban family barely making ends meet.
I think both series also had a similar ending. While not the story themselves, but the actual series, as both lasted close to the same length (The Wonder Years for 6 seasons, Malcolm in the Middle for 7 seasons), and the final season for both series were unfortunately not as highly rated as their first seasons, leading both to a sudden end. Also both are not planned to have DVDs (or any additional, in Malcolm's case) released anytime soon for the same reason of expense to secure music rights.
The Wonder Years actually had an unsure end, as their was no word if the show was to be canceled or continued, so the staff had to make the decision to write the narration that would put a wrap to the series by ending the final episode with the main character providing summary of each individual character life following the "wonder years", and concluding that with the voice-over of a kid asking his dad "hey dad, want to play catch?" and the narration of the main character responding "I will be right there", indicating that the story of this childhood is now over. I do not know why, but that is an emotional ending to me.
Sitcoms today need to take same lessons from both these shows.
While The Wonder Years was dealing with serious issues much more often then Malcolm, both sitcoms were of a different format then all others airing at the time.
Both shows presented a sitcom in a unique way never done on broadcast TV before, The Wonder Years used narration of the main character as an adult to tell the story of his childhood, and Malcolm in the Middle had Malcolm break the 4th wall (the "wall" that separates the viewer and the characters) and talk to the audience giving commentary on what was going on. Both are very effective techniques, and bring us to a more personal level with the main character then any other show, it is almost as if we are getting into a good novel where we feel we are actually part of the story.
Two shows currently on television at this time that I can compare to The Wonder Years' narration technique is How I Met Your Mother and Everybody Hates Chris, and I think both do a great job with it. However, no show I can think of have yet have been able to have the main character break the 4th wall quite like Malcolm in the Middle, only other times the 4th wall is broken regularly have been in The Bernie Mac Show and The War at Home, but neither of those can even come close as both of those do so after the situation has happened in a separate location, where Malcolm does so DURING the situation. Which is harder to successfully pull off, but when done I believe it is a much more effective use.
Both shows went through roughly the same childhood and teenage years of the main character. This lead to, in both series, dealing with both characters growing up fast during the time between seasons. In The Wonder Years, the main character's best friend literally grew almost 6 inches during one of the summers, and the year following the main character finally got his growth spurt. When the main characters of both series voice changed that changed the dynamic of the shows. Both shows lead writers to having to shift from writing about a child to writing about a teenager.
Both shows also had no live audience, and used a single camera (however I think The Wonder Years was not filmed on a set, although I could be wrong). Also both shows payed very close attention to detail to create the environments for the shows. The Wonder Years made sure the show accurately represented the 1960s, and Malcolm in the Middle had to represent the messy random-item-filled home of a suburban family barely making ends meet.
I think both series also had a similar ending. While not the story themselves, but the actual series, as both lasted close to the same length (The Wonder Years for 6 seasons, Malcolm in the Middle for 7 seasons), and the final season for both series were unfortunately not as highly rated as their first seasons, leading both to a sudden end. Also both are not planned to have DVDs (or any additional, in Malcolm's case) released anytime soon for the same reason of expense to secure music rights.
The Wonder Years actually had an unsure end, as their was no word if the show was to be canceled or continued, so the staff had to make the decision to write the narration that would put a wrap to the series by ending the final episode with the main character providing summary of each individual character life following the "wonder years", and concluding that with the voice-over of a kid asking his dad "hey dad, want to play catch?" and the narration of the main character responding "I will be right there", indicating that the story of this childhood is now over. I do not know why, but that is an emotional ending to me.
Sitcoms today need to take same lessons from both these shows.
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