Is MITM a real view of Teenage life?

I 've watched some episodes of the first seasons both in french and english, and there are some -little- differences !
And french episodes are shorter than english ones, for example the pilot lasts 3 minutes and 30 seconds more in english than in french (from "this is the world" to "so what do you want me to do about it ?").

I agree there are no cut parts in the last seasons, but at the begining there was !

Welcome to the forums, Nico! It's great to have so many wonderful new members lately--no matter where you're from or what language you're native to.

Tony, you hit the nail on the head with your comment that MITM is great at taking serious situations and presenting them in a humorous light. That's always been a strength of the show; from a debillitating disease to losing a leg.

I think the extent to which sex/drugs/alcohol are actually a problem for teens varies geographically, and it can be hard for a national--indeed worldwide--show to present an accurate view of the entire world. I think the solution of not ignoring the problem but not exaggerating it either really is a brilliant one.

@Yardgames-And that's what MITM is great at, not overdoing it but not underplaying the problem either, and like I said, presenting it in a hilarious manner.
That's one thing that I love about MITM too is that it differs from the other so called "funny" shows directed at teens and such. On most shows, when a problem like the alcohol arises, there is always(usually) a big, sappy, fight between the parents and the kid and then it's always resolved in a sappy crappy manner. MITM, on the other hand, had Malcolm, in "Thanksgiving", get drunk and then he has the oppurtunity to have sex with that drunk girl, but he uses his better judgement and doesn't do it, and it just showed, in a VERY funny manner, that he takes responsibility for what he does. Plus, when he gets home drunk, he faces the consequences from Lois in a VERY funny manner.
There's another area where MITM differs...the mom. Moms on most of these comedy shows with teens are pushovers who mainly let the kids get away with anything....not Lois, though. What did she do with Malcolm after he got the tounge ring? He had to clean the toilet with his own toothbrush. Tell me any other tv mom who would make their son do that.
Anyways, sorry if I went babbled on, but I love comparing a great show like Malcolm to other crap. And that last part of my post just gave me more love for Lois.

yardgames said:

Welcome to the forums, Nico! It's great to have so many wonderful new members lately--no matter where you're from or what language you're native to.
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Thank you for your welcome !
It doesn't appear so late to me, because the 7th season of Malcolm haven't been aired here yet ! It only starts on september !
So I've seen some episodes in english, but I have to wait to watch it in french !

I agree with your point of view about sex, drugs and alcohol, this is a good solution not to talk about it all the time nor hide it.
I think it's not so far from reality, for example they often talk about drugs when Malcolm says something weird, that's a joke I could hear from my friends !

I think MitM portrays teenage fairly well. Except they make some kind of trouble everyday but that is part of the show. Most people I know do not drink or have sex, and I live in a town that's similar to where they live. I mean if Lois found out they are doing drugs or drinking, the punishment would be harsh. Except the time that Reese agreed to do drug testing in Stilts. My brother is 10 years old and he watches it too, and in episodes such as Houseboat where they do refer to sex it's kind of from the kids' point of view. I think Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey have enough on their hands with making trouble so drugs, alcohol, and sex aren't a huge part of their lives.

I think the show is a fairly accurate, albeit exaggerated, representation of teenage life. Although most teens don't sneak in Swedish girls during blackouts, the show does consider some real issues. The first that comes to mind is popularity. None of the boys are terribly popular, save for maybe Francis in the past and Dewey in the future, and the ways they deal with that are very convincing, such as when Malcolm first went to high school. Then, of course, there are the typical sitcom situations, such as two dates to the school dance, which MitM handles much more realistically than others. But even past the scenarios we've all seen a hundred times, the show really shouts out the message that it is emulating a real household with real people that have real personalities. That's probably why it was so successful -- people can relate to what goes on. It isn't portraying a perfect family that always gets through every problem within 22 minutes, ending every episode with a tear-jerking hug, but rather a normal family of which the members still share a strong bond despite frequent (non-trivial) mishaps. This is pretty clear in Reese Comes Home, an episode in which each character's role revealed a lot about their personalities and resolves. And to keep up with this kind of "normal" approach, it makes sense that the writers of MitM would try to emulate teenage life fairly accurately, which I think they accomplished, and with a laugh at that.

I think that's an accurate idea, and I believe that's how Linwood originally intended it to be. He didn't intend the family to be perfect by any means. There's tons of times where MITM plots are relatively realistic. But the plots that MITM does best are the ones that are realistic in principle, but exaggerated in execution. It's great to step back and see these scenarios from a third-person perspective, and even if you can relate to perhaps the worst MITM plot, the Wilkersons version is usually worse.

And Im sure everyone here on the VC has had at least one "MITM Moment" in their life. By that I mean we probably have had at least one teacher we despised and a teacher who despised us(like Mr.Herkabe and Malcolm). I know I did, back in 8th grade, I had a teacher who I couldn't stand and he couldn't stand me. Another one that we have all bound to have had is a idiot of a boss(like how Craig is the boss of Lois and Malcolm, yet he's an idiot). I remember working these little odd summer jobs around this place where I live, and my boss was a total moron who reminds me alot of Craig.
So yeah, sans some exaggerations, MITM IS a real view of teen life and just life.

You found a job in Easley, SC!? I couldn't find one in all of Green Bay! What did you do?

It's not what I would call an official job, but I was part of a lawn care team and our boss happened to be like Craig. Lovable, but sometimes whiny and an idiot.
Oh crap....this is post 900 for me!!! WHOO!

Why is that crap? Congratulations on your 900th post--you're getting closer to the dancing stars!

Sorry about you're boss Tony. I think I'd rather have a boss like Craig, rather than someone who's always yelling and screaming for me to do stuff.

Congrats on your 900th post. Guess what, This is my 1000th! I finally have 5 stars.

Teenage life is just beginning for me, and I've already had two girlfriends I don't intend to drink, and hopefully won;t face too much peer pressure.
I sure as hell won't do drugs, or smoke, due to having Cystic Fibrosis, but I plan to have a good time anyway.

2 girlfriends at 13? Damn! You're a lucky boy!

Well, the first was all made and broke off by our friends, we got asked to go out with each other by separate people, and broke up through messages. A very "we're 11 and have no idea how to do things" relationship. I talked to her friends a hell of a lot more than I talked to her!

As for my second one, back in May, that was easily the better of the two, hand holding, dancing, ACTUAL talking, but ended very messy with a break up, getting back together unofficialy, then breaking up again, only to "remain friends".

For more on my wacky goings-ons, just ask

Perhaps when taken as a whole the series is more than a little exaggerated. I mean, how many people can say they've pushed their mom down a waterslide, taken weird skating lessons from their dad, gone on a houseboat, and went to Vegas to compete in a bunny-eating competition? Yet, if just one of those situations were to happen to you, the results suggested on MITM aren't so far out there after all.

@Murph humor us with more stories.

I could, but they wouldn't exactly fit into this thread at the minute. But the next time there's a thread related to disco's or clubs, I'm right in there!

I am from Los Angeles, and being that most clues point that the family is probably Californian (although the facts hardly ever match up) I think it is an realistic view on life but in an exaggerated way. I disagree that sex, drugs, and alcohol is a standard of every boy's teenage life. Yes parties with alcohol and stuff in High School exists, but if you compare the number of people who attends these parties to the total number of people in the school, it is not a majority at all. Hollywood and TV love to focus in at this aspect of teenage life because it is entertaining. A majority of teenagers life probably will not be entertaining enough to put in a movie. Do you want to watch a teenage girl talk on the phone for hours, or watch a teenage boy listen to his ipod for hours? No that's boring.

OK back on the topic of MITM and it's lack of what I'm talking about, we realize that both Malcolm and Reese are somewhat "loners" in their school (I forget the episode where they find this out, but I think it has to do with a party). I think this a brilliant idea on the writers'/creator's part, otherwise they will not be the characters we know and love today, instead it will be 'just another teenage TV show' focusing on the popular kids' lives, that is more like The WB type of stuff, not FOX. i can not remember one FOX sitcom ever that had popular kids or teenagers, usually they are loners, losers, and bullied.

Malcolm is not popular because of his personality and smartness/vainness (we all know how Jessica bring out his flaws), and Reese is not popular because i think in high school he was somewhat a loner, he never really did have any friends, and in his younger years he was a bully and people were afraid of him.

And to be honest, you will not see anyone of Malcolm or Reese's types at any high school party.

yardgames said:

Perhaps when taken as a whole the series is more than a little exaggerated. I mean, how many people can say they've pushed their mom down a waterslide, taken weird skating lessons from their dad, gone on a houseboat, and went to Vegas to compete in a bunny-eating competition? Yet, if just one of those situations were to happen to you, the results suggested on MITM aren't so far out there after all.

@Murph humor us with more stories.

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I've been on a houseboat twice, and the first time was kind of reminiscent of the MITM episode. My brother was bored (without having TV etc) and spent the whole time picking on me. By the last night I couldn't take it any more. It was pretty much a re-enactment of the Abe / Kitty storyline.

yardgames said:

2 girlfriends at 13? Damn! You're a lucky boy!

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That is nothing, trust me :Wink:. I atleast tripled that.