The fifth season of ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...

'' premiered on November 2, 2003, on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, and ended on May 23, 2004, with a total of 22 episodes. Frankie Muniz stars as the title character Malcolm, and he is joined by

Jane Kaczmarek Jane Frances Kaczmarek (; born December 21, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Malcolm's mother Lois on the Fox television sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned her three Golden Globe nomination ...

, Bryan Cranston, Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Justin Berfield and

Erik Per Sullivan Erik Per Sullivan (born July 12, 1991) is an American former actor. He is best known for his role as Dewey, the younger brother to middle child Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) on the Fox series ''Malcolm in the Middle''. Early life Sullivan was born on ...

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

* Frankie Muniz as Malcolm *

as Lois * Bryan Cranston as Hal * Christopher Kennedy Masterson as Francis * Justin Berfield as Reese *

as Dewey

Recurring

Craig Lamar Traylor Craig Lamar Traylor (born March 19, 1989) is an American actor and artist. He made his acting debut in an episode of '' ER'' in 1996 and portrayed Stevie Kenarban, the asthmatic, one-lunged boy in a wheelchair and the title character's best frie ...

as Stevie Kenarban * David Anthony Higgins as Craig Feldspar *

Julie Hagerty Julie Beth Hagerty (born June 15, 1955) is an American actress. She starred as Elaine in the films ''Airplane!'' (1980) and '' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982). Her other film roles include ''A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy'' (1982), ''Lost in Am ...

as Polly *

Kenneth Mars Kenneth Mars (April 4, 1935 – February 12, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in '' The Producers'' (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in ''Young ...

as Otto * Emy Coligado as Piama * Katherine Ellis as Gretchen

Production

In April 2003,

renewed ''Malcolm in the Middle'' for a fifth season. Main cast members Frankie Muniz,

, Bryan Cranston, Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Justin Berfield and

return as Malcolm, Lois, Hal, Francis, Reese and Dewey respectively. The season reveals that Hal and Lois' fifth child Jamie is a boy. Though it was initially reported that the episode "Lois' Sister" would serve as the series' 100th episode, that honor instead went to the episode "Reese's Apartment".

Release

Broadcast history

The season premiered on November 2, 2003 on Fox, and ended on May 23, 2004 with a total of 22 episodes.

Home media

The season was released on Region 2 DVD on April 29, 2013, and on Region 4 DVD on September 4, 2013.

Reception

Josh Wolk wrote for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'', "The inevitable reality of aging child stars is unfortunate, as ''Malcolm'' still amazes with vibrant comic creativity." Scott D. Pierce wrote for ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'', "It's not exactly the same show, and viewers may have gotten used to it, but there's still magic there. It can still make you laugh." ''

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

'' was critical of "Reese's Apartment", saying, "No one's saying this boisterous sitcom has to slow down with age. But Malcolm's 100th episode hurts itself by hopping from story line to story line instead of sticking with the strong central situation." The episode "Dewey's Special Class" won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography. In 2019, Angelo Delos Trinos of ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

'' included the episode "Malcolm Films Reese" in his list, "10 Episodes Of Malcolm in the Middle That Aged Poorly". He wrote, "The way privacy is belittled by the characters involved simply won't fly well today, especially in a school setting." He added, "The subplot about Francis dealing with a critic also aged terribly. Here, the newspaper critic is depicted as a vindictive bully who uses his profession to rain bile on everybody. The problem he presents is solved when he's repeatedly beaten senseless."

References

2003 American television seasons 2004 American television seasons 5 {{Malcolm in the Middle