I thought this episode was much better than Burning Man. I really thought Burning Man was the average episode. For me, it was fantastic because I was Malcolm-deprived all summer, but in comparing it with other great episodes, well, I didn't think it added up.
I really enjoyed Health Insurance though. I thought that the idea of Hal thinking he couldn't go a single weekend without health insurance, when he realized he had gone the last six months without it was hilarious.
I definitely enjoyed Lois' storyline, and the surprise birthday party was a real surprise to the viewer too. Excellent writing here.
But I do have some continuity complaints. With the new team at the helm, they probably aren't quite as familiar with the continuity of the series as a whole. The ep itself wasn't bad; there were just a few things that didn't match up with what we've been told in the past. The new team could probalby use to have a look at my timeline.
Probably the biggest boo-boo in this ep was how long Lois has been at Lucky Aide. I thought that in season six (although I haven't confirmed this yet) we had learned that she had been working at Lucky Aide for "more than ten years," so this maybe should have been a fifteen year birthday party instead. When you think about it, ten years would mean she started working at Lucky Aide three years before teh series began, which may actually work out, if she got the job immediately following Dewey's birth, but what did she do before Dewey was born then?
The next biggest (and confirmed) problem was Reese's age. Reese is 18, not 17. We're told he's almost 17 halfway through season six in Lois Battles Jamie, and there's no way a high school senior for the second time is still 17. It just doesn't work out.
My final problem is with the doctor kid. I thought it was funny, but the end seemed rather hasty--like, that's the best they could come up with? If he's so good, hwo come we've never seen him before?
But it really was an enjoyable episode.