"Pilot" is the first episode of the first season of the television series ''

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 ...

''. It originally aired 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 ...

on January 9, 2000. It was the first episode written by

Linwood Boomer Linwood Boomer (born October 9, 1955) is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and former actor. He is known for playing the role of Adam Kendall on the drama ''Little House on the Prairie'', and for creating the Fox sitcom ''Malcol ...

and was directed by

Todd Holland Todd Holland (born August 13, 1961) is an American film and television director and producer. He directed over 50 episodes of '' The Larry Sanders Show'', for which he received an Emmy, and 26 episodes of ''Malcolm in the Middle'', for which he ...

. In the episode, the six primary characters are introduced,

Malcolm Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerpeffray, 14th-century bishop-elect of Dunkeld Nobility * Máe ...

Lois Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English C ...

, Hal,

Reese Reese may refer to: Places Germany * Reese, Germany, a hamlet in Lower Saxony on the River Aue United States * Reese, Michigan, United States, a community east of Saginaw * Reese, Pennsylvania, United States, a community in Blair County * Reese, T ...

, Dewey, and

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

(who is currently at

military school A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

), and Malcolm's struggles and fears to be placed in the accelerated learning class ('Krelboynes') even though he has an IQ of 165. Airing as a midseason replacement for ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...

'', the episode gained a large viewer base, with ratings of 23 million.

Plot

Brothers Malcolm (

Frankie Muniz Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award ...

), Reese (

Justin Berfield Justin Tyler Berfield (born February 25, 1986) is an American former actor, writer, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Malcolm's dimwitted older brother, Reese, on the family sitcom '' Malcolm in the Middle''. He also played Ross ...

), and Dewey ( Erik Per Sullivan) wake up to a typical school morning - the three siblings fighting over waffles at breakfast and their mother Lois (

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 nominat ...

) carelessly shaving their father Hal's (

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2 ...

) excessive body hair. While walking to school, Malcolm and Dewey lay eyes upon the school bully, Dave Spath (Vincent Berry). In class, Malcolm's teacher (

Merrin Dungey Merrin Melissa Dungey (born August 6, 1971) is an American film and television actress, known for her roles on the television series '' The King of Queens'', ''Alias'', '' Malcolm in the Middle'', '' Summerland'', '' Conviction'', '' The Resident ...

) comments on his talent for

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

; in an act of jealousy, Spath pours red paint on his chair. Malcolm sits in the paint just before being called to see the school psychologist, Caroline Miller (

Catherine Lloyd Burns Catherine Lloyd Burns is an American actress and author. She is best known for her role as Caroline Miller, the title character's teacher in the television series ''Malcolm in the Middle''. Acting She has appeared in multiple television sho ...

), and is ridiculed by everyone he passes on the way to her office. Caroline states her intentions to run some tests on Malcolm, and does so by holding up a tampered picture with several mistakes in it. Still annoyed at Spath's prank, Malcolm launches into a tirade, angrily yet correctly naming all the mistakes before yelling about the paint on his clothes. In an excited manner, Caroline stops her watch that she was using to time him. After school, Malcolm arrives for a "play-date" with Stevie Kenarban (

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 ...

). Realizing that Stevie's mother

Kitty Kenarban The following characters had significant roles in the American television comedy series '' Malcolm in the Middle'', which was originally televised from 2000 to 2006 on the Fox Network. Characters Originally, the series featured four brothe ...

(Dungey) is very protective, Malcolm concludes there is nothing to do until Stevie reveals he has a closet full of

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

. The discovery instantly sparks a friendship. The next day, a

topless Toplessness refers to the state in which a woman's breasts, including her areolas and nipples, are exposed, especially in a public place or in a visual medium. The male equivalent is barechestedness, also commonly called shirtlessness. Expose ...

Lois, after lecturing Francis ( Christopher Kennedy Masterson) about smoking, is met by Caroline, who wishes to speak to her. After misconstruing that she wants to put Malcolm in a special class for

intellectually disabled Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...

children, Lois is informed (off-camera) of Malcolm's academic capabilities. At the dinner table, Lois persuades a reluctant Malcolm to join the accelerated learning class ("the Krelboynes"), stating that it is important for him to join, as he will no doubt have a better future as a result. The next day, Malcolm's teacher informs his non-interested class about how he is a success, and Malcolm finds himself surrounded by geniuses only a short while later. After accidentally insulting Stevie, Malcolm tries to make amends with him but Spath once again picks on Malcolm. This causes Malcolm to lose his temper and begins to insult Spath, telling him he's worthless. As the two break into a fight, Malcolm ducks as Spath's fist accidentally and softly brushes against the cheek of Stevie's face. Stevie overhears Spath's friends talking and then falls over in his wheelchair, turning the crowd against Spath despite his claim that it was an accident. As Malcolm and Stevie smile at one another, Malcolm realizes there are things worse than being a Krelboyne. Afterwards, Malcolm then mentions what happens to Spath afterwards and debates whether he feels sorry for him or not. Dewey, who is under an overturned trash can on which Malcolm is sitting, yells to Malcolm to let him out.

Production

Kaczmarek said on the August 28, 2021 episode of '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' that Cranston did not have a hairy back, so for the first scene,

yak The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...

hair was used, along with a

body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

chosen from

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the ...

who worked on the show. According to series creator

, several jokes in the episode were written by his ex-wife, including part of Lois’s speech. The boys who played Richard and Spath auditioned for Malcolm and Reese respectively. Shooting the scene where Malcolm stands up to Spath was said to be difficult, as

had to keep over a hundred 11-year-old kids focused.“Disk Commentary” Linwood Boomer and Todd Holland. Malcolm in the Middle- the Complete First Season Disc 1, Fox TV, 2002. DVD. The original version of the pilot was about 25 minutes, but was shortened to 22 minutes for TV, including overlaying the credits over the last scene instead of being separate, and shortening some scenes like the boys talking about Francis being in Alabama. The episode originally was going to end with Malcolm tying a skateboard to the back of his dad’s car, with the car’s engine starting as it cuts to black. The network didn’t want the stunt to be replicated, so even though Boomer thought it was really funny, he obliged to what the network wanted. The pilot episode was filmed in 1999.

Accolades

This episode won multiple awards, including two

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

s for Outstanding Directing and Writing for a Comedy Series for Todd Holland and Linwood Boomer, respectively, in 2000. Leading on from this, Holland was nominated for the

Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series is one of the annual Directors Guild of America Awards given by the Directors Guild of America. It was first presented at the 24th Directors Guild of Am ...

in 2001.

References

{{EmmyAward ComedyDirector 2000 American television episodes Malcolm in the Middle episodes

Emmy Award-winning episodes