The American Broadcasting Company aired The Middle for most of its lifespan on the same night as Modern Family. Modern Family would receive much more publicity than The Middle. More awards, more ratings. Modern Family, however, ceased being terribly funny or entertaining after about four seasons, in spite of the fact that it endured and subjected us to its overrated humor for a painful eleven years. Once America acquired a habit for watching Modern Family, not even the steep drop-off in the quality of their milquetoast comedy could break America’s viewing habit.
Meanwhile, The Middle toiled away. Funny but never flashy. Never getting huge ratings, but quietly lasting nine seasons. Never earning awards or accolades, but being much more relatable to most of the America in flyover country. Similar to how Roseanne appealed to the lower-middle-class world that had grown accustomed to seeing the most popular show on TV be a lawyer/doctor duo on The Cosby Show. Or Married With Children appealed to the vast blue-collar segment of society being underserved by Hollywood, The Middle was about a family not in New York or Los Angeles. Instead, it was a semi-rural family, the Heck family, growing up in relatively unknown Indiana. Maybe it was a blessing that the show sort of flew under the radar, as that probably kept the network suits from swooping in and ruining it with focus groups and management decrees.
A grumpy father, portrayed by Neil Flynn (hevpreviously portrayed the janitor on Scrubs). A loving father, but one that would never want to be bothered to actually show any emotion. He puts in 12 hour days at a quarry, provides for his family, and simply wants to watch the Colts game. The mother, portrayed by Patricia Heaton, already a sitcom superstar having portrayed Debra on Everybody Loves Raymond. Maybe not always the most attentive mother, but holding down three jobs to help make ends meet. The house is a mess, it’s falling apart, there are not enough chairs at the kitchen table (nothing a little lawn furniture can’t fix).
They have three children: Axl, Sue, and Brick. Axl, played by Charlie McDermott, is the epitome of a stereotypical older brother. Kind of a jerk at times, lazily lounging around in his underwear and a robe, tormenting his younger siblings, but when push comes to shove is the protector of those same siblings. Brick is the youngest, played by Atticus Shaffer. Brick is brilliant, but also mentally quirky, leading to tough moments growing up.
Then there is Sue. Full name of Sue Sue Heck. My absolute favorite character on the show. She is so full of optimism, that at first glance, she almost comes off as corny or too sweet. But Sue wears you down, she is the eternal optimist, in spite of failure after failure after failure. Viewers cannot help but root for her. She is just so positive and full of energy, it is very endearing. Eventually my reaction to her failures, while still entertaining and amusing in their own way, changed. No longer were we the viewers laughing at her like we may have done in early seasons, now we were unabashedly rooting for her. Her failures started to hurt us a little. Sue is such a wonderful and perfect person, the sister we never had, and darn it, when was she going to have her perfect happy ending?
Eden Sher portrayed Sue, and I honestly don’t believe I have ever seen her in another TV series or movie. But if she never portrays another character on another show, that is quite alright, because she already achieved acting perfection in her role as Sue. The fact that Eden Sher never received any accolades for her performance as Sue only goes to show how badly the Emmy voters are at doing their job.
Along for the ride on The Middle are some great guest stars in recurring character roles. Norm MacDonald as Uncle Rusty, Chris Kattan as coworker Bob, Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Ehlert, Jack McBrayer as Dr. Ted, Jerry Van Dyke as Tag, and Dave Foley as Dr. Fulton. There is even a cameo or two by Betty White and Dick Van Dyke.
Enough about them though, it’s time to get back to Sue Heck. As viewers quickly gain a rooting interest in Sue, all the times she falls short of her goals make us want her to win and win big. She fails to make the basketball team, and we hope she makes volleyball. If she fails to make volleyball, we want her to make cross-country. If she fails to make cheerleader, we hope she can land a role in the school play. If she does not get to be in the school play, maybe she can be mascot. Will she get that after-school job? Will she get into college? Will she fall in love? Will the boy love her back?
Sue’s pursuit of boyfriends is a recurring theme in The Middle. And since she is the sister/daughter/friend we’ve never had, the boyfriends are never good enough for her. She deserves the perfect guy. Not that any of the guys she dates are bad, in fact most of them are pretty good guys. They just happen to be goofy, gay, or one even leaves her to become a priest. They are all fine, but fine is not enough for our little sister. She deserves perfect, and why can’t Sue and the boy next door, Sean Donahue just realize already that they are perfect for each other???
How did The Middle end? Will Sue find love? Will Axl grow up and become a responsible adult? Will Brick power through his quirkiness to a bigger and bolder life? Don’t let me tell you, you should go out and watch the show and find out for yourself.
-MTR