‘Malcom’ Humor Marked By Poor Taste

Mon., Jan. 31, 2000

Theresa Carpine Ferris

The commercials for “Malcolm in the Middle” made the new Fox series look slightly disturbing and filled with vulgar humor. Those ads also compared the show to “The Simpsons.”

Well, it’s not “The Simpsons.”

“Malcolm” stars Frankie Muniz as a youthful genius stuck in the middle of a very dysfunctional family with three wayward brothers, a clueless father, and a mother with two volumes: loud and louder. I caught the similarities to the hit cartoon show, but there wasn’t the maturity (yes, I think its humor is very mature and witty) that “The Simpsons” has had for most of its more than 10-year run.

The premiere did have its moments.

In a style vaguely similar to “The Wonder Years,” Malcolm speaks aside to the audience to relay his view of things. The show is also written well with a mainly kidlike perspective, showing Malcolm’s reaction to being put in an advanced class and his actions after being picked on by the school bully one too many times.

Setting the tone for the sitcom is a showcase of great music with a theme and additional songs by They Might Be Giants. Citizen King also provided its upbeat song “Better Days” for the final sequence.

Hopefully, every episode will feature the same type of fun songs.

It’s not “The Simpsons,” and even though the content is probably unpleasant to some people, it is also a little refreshing to see a different type of sitcom.

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