Malcolm: The title character has to deal with a neurotic mother, an alienated father and three problematic brothers. A Diabolus Ex Machina makes his life a hell.
Chris: The title character has to deal with a neurotic mother, an alienated father and two problematic siblings. A Diabolus Ex Machina makes his life a hell.
No....not really, it was a pretty predictable and generic idea even when Malcolm in The Middle did it.
shareAre you able to give me examples? As i dont recall any other family sitcom centered on a buttmonkey boy with a supporting cast composed by a neurotic mother, an alienated father and two or three problematic siblings.
shareYou're taking this too literally.
The dysfunctional family sitcom routine has been done for years before MITM did it. Family ties? My Wife and kids? The Simpsons? Even Family guy?
They're all the exact same dynamic except, and you have already stated, they changed the characters personalities and interests around to make it seem different. In some cases the storylines are nearly the exact same or rehashed from others.
Hell, shows like The Middle still work on the exact same concept.
Sometimes they just shift the focus on who is narrating, like Roseanne was pretty much they same formula and could have easily been called Darlene if they wanted to tell that story from a kids perspective.
shareThere are differences. Rochelle may be a control freak, but at least she's better at raising her kids and has their best interests.
- Lois on the other hand was a terrible mother who was CLUELESS when it came to parenting. She'd scream for no reason. In one episode, she admitted that her boys were awful right in front of them.
-Chris, Drew, and Tonya were WAY better behaved than the boys from Malcolm in the Middle lol.