Malcolm and the Camera

Emrysgirl

New member
As many of you have noted, Malcolm talks to the camera much less, if at all, in recent episodes. I'm sure many of us miss this, but it's been suggested that the reason for this is that now we know the family pretty well and Malcolm doesn't have to explain things anymore.

Would you like to see Malcolm talk to the camera more in season 7 or is it, at this point in the show, unnecessary?

I myself am not sure. I miss the explanations, but I don't want to constantly get plot summaries. For example, In Stilts : I enjoyed the part where Malcolm was explaining his interaction with Sam, but I didn't care too much for ending medical term comment. It made me feel like I missed something, like they should have shown the hospital scene.
 
I think that the pieces to camera are really important in making the show different and indivdual. I guess the other characters have become so popular it would seem a bit odd to only get the view of malcolm- but i still think there should be more monolgoues.
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
I agree with Deweyrules! and I think he should talk to the camera, as I've expressed before, because it is supposed to be a show told in teh eyes of Malcolm. Even if we already know all the characters, he can explain his opinion to us, which gives the show bias and makes it more interesting.
 

Malcolm

New member
"In real life, when a kid starts talking to someone who's invisible, they jack up his dosage of Ritalin. On Fox, they gave me my own show!"

I agree. The "talking to the camera" thing is part of the spirit of MitM.
 

allison

New member
I miss it a little bit because as people said it made the show something special. And I think it was funny in a way especially when Malcolm said something and then turned to the camera and said something that he didn´t want people around him to hear. One example: When he talked to Cynthia about her gigantic breasts he told her "I was surprised, that´s all. I mean I would have reacted the same way if you had a new haircut." And then he turned to the camera and said "A giant haircut."
I think he didn´t only adress the camera when he wanted to explain something. So i think it was not only to get information about his family members. Maybe it´s true that they don´t do it anymore because Malcolm isn´t a very important character anymore, but the show is still called MALCOLM in the middle and now people who don´t know the earlier seasons could really wonder why that is. So I hope he´ll talk to the camera more in season 7 than he did in season 6.

Bye the way: This may be a silly question, but does time kind of stop while he´s talking to the camera? Because sometimes I had that impression. Of course people around him still move, but when he´s talking to the camera, what does it look like for people around him? In Softball he missed the ball because he was talking to the camera, so the time didn´t stop. But I remember other episodes where it really seemed like people waited until he had finished his talk with the camera.
There probably isn´t a real answer to that question. :D
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
There really isn't. There's a rule while they're shooting--No one looks at or talks to Frankie while he's talking to the camera. So, basically, I would think it's like time continues, but if there weren't a camera there, Malcolm would be thinking those things, instead of saying them. It would be really confusing if it weren't a TV show. I hope I made a little bit of sense?
 
It made sense to me. I took a drama class and there's an actually term for what they do when the actor turns to the audience and says what they're thinking. but I think that this is what made malcolm different than the other shows on tv I'd like to see more of this in season 7
 

Dewey

Minimalistic
I think it should continue...te taking to the camera is a quirk whick distinuishes 'malcolm' from other sitcoms.
 

Jimmy Junior

New member
I really miss Malcolm talking to me - it gave me an insight into what he was thinking, and somehow made him sound less moany.

allison said:
In Softball he missed the ball because he was talking to the camera, so the time didn´t stop. :D
I think he would have missed the ball anyway - in a way, Malcolm's soliloquies are a window into his thoughts; if he was deep in thought, that would have made him miss.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
I treat Malcolm's monologues the same way I do J.D.'s thoughts on SCRUBS. The reason it's spoken out loud instead of being thought might be b/c he is (or was when the show started) a kid, and kids say anything outloud.
 

Jimmy Junior

New member
Emrysgirl said:
I treat Malcolm's monologues the same way I do J.D.'s thoughts on SCRUBS. The reason it's spoken out loud instead of being thought might be b/c he is (or was when the show started) a kid, and kids say anything outloud.
I don't think it is at all - he often insults the rest of his family in his soliloquies - if they could hear him surely they'd turn round and slap him?
The show was originally (and to my mind still should be) about Malcolm - providing the viewers with a commentry is an integral part of the show.
 

Emrysgirl

New member
Jimmy Junior said:
I don't think it is at all - he often insults the rest of his family in his soliloquies - if they could hear him surely they'd turn round and slap him?
The show was originally (and to my mind still should be) about Malcolm - providing the viewers with a commentry is an integral part of the show.
No, that's not what I meant. (Sorry, it's been 2 months since I wrote anything worthwhile and I'm a bit rusty explaining myself. Bad news for the 10 page paper I'm supposed to be writing:eek:.)

My primary comment was that Malcolm's monologues are like J.D.'s thoughts (for those who have seen SCRUBS), sort of a constant commentary/footnotes thing.

I was then wondering why Malcolm speaks to the viewer directly instead of just thining it, like J.D. I came to the conclusion that this was a play on the fact that Malcolm was a kid. Viewers are used to kids saying anything outloud, so wouldn't be too confused by this. But they (we) don't think of kids analyzing stuff, so having a 11 year old with an inner monologue might be a bit weird.
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
Emrysgirl said:
I treat Malcolm's monologues the same way I do J.D.'s thoughts on SCRUBS. The reason it's spoken out loud instead of being thought might be b/c he is (or was when the show started) a kid, and kids say anything outloud.
Now that's an interesting thought. Maybe the writers feel that because he's not a kid anymore, he keeps more of his thoughts to himself?
 

Ryebeach

Moderator
I've always thought Malcolm little talk to the camera, and in effect, us, make him that much more relatable. Those moments are also what made the show different from all the other shows on TV over the years. Just one of many aspects that made this show stand out among the rest. I hope it's used at least once an episode in season 7 and as I've said in a previous post, Malcolm talking to the camera should also be the very last scene whenever the series finale airs. The show opened with Malcolm talking to the camera and it should end that way as well.
 

Frankie'sgirl

New member
I only found this place because i just JUST realized that Malcolm wasn't talking to the camera. I just finished the epi where he's in the booster club, and there were all these perfect moments where he could have said something and instead of talking he just swallowed spit. WHATS UP! And yeah- I too feel as if I don't know Malcolm as well now.:(
 

MITM18

New member
I know what you mean, but there really wasnt an enough time to have those moments to tell the entire story.
 

yardgames

Retired Administrator
I think that the episode you're referring to, Malcolm Holds His Tongue, was purposelly written in such a way that Malcolm wouldn't talk to the camera because the point of the ep was for him to, well, hold his tongue--hold his thoughts in.

Welcome to the forums, by the way. Hope you have a good time, and I'm looking forward to seeing yoru thoughts and opinions.
 

MITM18

New member
Maybe, they dont have Malcolm talking to the camera as often like the earlier seasons, since they are showing how Malcolm doesnt want to express his feelings as is usual in being a teenager.

He wants to bottle all his feelings up.
 

ReMoss85

New member
Emrysgirl said:
I was then wondering why Malcolm speaks to the viewer directly instead of just thining it, like J.D. I came to the conclusion that this was a play on the fact that Malcolm was a kid. Viewers are used to kids saying anything outloud, so wouldn't be too confused by this. But they (we) don't think of kids analyzing stuff, so having a 11 year old with an inner monologue might be a bit weird.
In the commentray on the season one dvd, they say that Malcolm is basically this kid who doesn't have anyone but himself to really talk to, and the idea of him being all alone struck Linwood Boomer as too depressing. So, and this may not be the only reason, he had Malcolm talk to the viewers/camera like we/it were his friend. So he doesn't have any real friends but at least he can share what he's thinking with someone. Now that his character has become an extreme case of unpopularity and the writers have been exploiting it so much lately, I wonder why he doesn't talk to the camera even more than he used to. He used to at least have Stevie and the Krelboynes.
 
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