I would like to publicly pay tribute to Eileen Heisler & DeAnn Heline. Never heard of them? Neither had I. In fact, I had to look them up on Wikipedia. They are the creators of a television series called "The Middle." If I were poetic, I'd write them an ode. But I am not. So I shan't.
The Middle is about a family in the middle of the continental U.S. Working parents, neurotic mother, and quirky children. These are not the perfect children from The Brady Bunch, the rich children from 90210, or the slimy children from Married With Children. In fact, they are quite unremarkable if seen in a crowd. Axl is a teenager who is put out every time someone asks him to do anything at all, Sue is completely forgettable but resilient. And Brick is just socially awkward but brilliant. Sound boring? It's not. It's validating.
Axl enters the house and takes off his pants. He's in his underwear watching t.v. most of the time. No reason. He just is. Sue, with the fashion sense of an awkward teenager from 1984 (me), rarely has success but keeps plugging along. Brick talks to himself. Actually, he repeats the last word of every sentence in a whisper to his belly button.
Because of this show, I can now sit through dinner without freaking out every time my 10 year old son rips off his shirt and drops his pants. He does this every time we sit down for dinner. Every night. Why? Because he's quirky.
I can admit that one of my daughters has not stepped foot into one of the bathrooms in this house for well over 3 years because the toilet overflowed once and she's afraid of the germs making her dirty.
I try to take a child with me every time I go to the grocery store because I talk to myself and it looks more normal if there is another human being close by. (*whisper* close by)
Thanks to Eileen and DeAnn, quirky is IN.
Thank you!
The Middle is about a family in the middle of the continental U.S. Working parents, neurotic mother, and quirky children. These are not the perfect children from The Brady Bunch, the rich children from 90210, or the slimy children from Married With Children. In fact, they are quite unremarkable if seen in a crowd. Axl is a teenager who is put out every time someone asks him to do anything at all, Sue is completely forgettable but resilient. And Brick is just socially awkward but brilliant. Sound boring? It's not. It's validating.
Axl enters the house and takes off his pants. He's in his underwear watching t.v. most of the time. No reason. He just is. Sue, with the fashion sense of an awkward teenager from 1984 (me), rarely has success but keeps plugging along. Brick talks to himself. Actually, he repeats the last word of every sentence in a whisper to his belly button.
Because of this show, I can now sit through dinner without freaking out every time my 10 year old son rips off his shirt and drops his pants. He does this every time we sit down for dinner. Every night. Why? Because he's quirky.
I can admit that one of my daughters has not stepped foot into one of the bathrooms in this house for well over 3 years because the toilet overflowed once and she's afraid of the germs making her dirty.
I try to take a child with me every time I go to the grocery store because I talk to myself and it looks more normal if there is another human being close by. (*whisper* close by)
Thanks to Eileen and DeAnn, quirky is IN.
Thank you!
The Middle is one of my favorite shows.
ReplyDeleteQuirky is good.
This family is so normal, so real. No false pretenses, no plastic smiles.
I want to adopt Brick, I think he's wonderful - and I think he and The Boy would get along famously, as they talk to themselves in parallel play.
How do I not know anything, nothing, about this show?
ReplyDeleteI like this show, too :)
ReplyDeleteThis is the first I have heard of this show. As I live in Australia that may not be the most surprising of comments. I shall keep watch the aussie ABC listings in the hope it makes its way Down Under!
ReplyDeleteWow - that looks really funny. I'll have to give it a try.
ReplyDelete