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The Middle Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
24 Episodes 2009 - 2010
Episode 1
Pilot
Wed, Sep 30, 200923 mins
Mike Heck remains imperturbable whether a fellow Orson, Indiana quarry employee is hurt in an explosion or his family goes through even more drama. Firstborn son Axl is in an arrogant self-contained phase, barely prepared to put on more then his boxers, let alone join in life. Lastborn Brick is weird already and his class's favorite target, as his teacher informs his defensive parents. Sister Sue is an utter screwup; her only success, admission to the school's lame show choir, turning into the worst public humiliation. She's most like mother Frankie who, despite utterly neglecting the household, is near dismissal for never selling a single car at the dealership...and nearly succeeding proves even worse.
Episode 2
The Cheerleader
Wed, Oct 7, 200922 mins
Axl patiently endures his father's favorite, surreal punishment: staying within hand-reach of a parent for a given time, however inconvenient for everyone, and chooses to do so in his undressed state at home. Years of buying on credit without payments until 2009 kick in hard since New Year, so budgeting must reach new depths. Even Brick's cheap hobby, reading, is suspended after ma fails to pay a hefty tardiness fine, hence looses the library card. Mr. Ehlert is about to fire Frankei for failing to make a single sale, but awards stay of execution for having the promotional idea he picks, guessing the number of jelly beans in the prize car, yet ends up regretting. Frankie forces Mike to pretend Sue's ambition to join the school's swimming time isn't absurd, so she goes on.
Episode 3
The Floating Anniversary
Wed, Oct 14, 200921 mins
Mike gives daughter Sue questionable advice on handling a crush. Mirroring Newton's laws, growing Independence by Axl and Brick are balanced by codependency by Frankie's aunts. Assured the world won't stop without her, Frankie takes a fifteen minute break, and the world falls apart.
Episode 4
The Trip
Wed, Oct 21, 200921 mins
Socially indifferent Brick didn't bother to protest when classmate Olivia declared him her boyfriend, but soon tires of her 'romantic' demands to the point of despair. Alas, Axl's advise doesn't cut it and Mike is no match for the possessive, selectively girl either but Brick's brain ultimately finds a way out. Eager to see Sue succeed at something, both parents invest ludicrous effort in helping her win a place on a cheap bus trip to nearby Indiana by selling $3,000 food for the school. When her name is absent from the winners list, teacher in charge Perez is not allowed to 'get away with his error', nor with vague promises until it's too late anyhow. Only once Sue is aboard, non-assertive bad example Frankie discovers the real error, with twisted consequences.
Episode 5
The Block Party
Wed, Oct 28, 200920 mins
Brick's teachers tell Frankie and Mike that Brick tested as "socially challenged," so Mike thinks basketball is the answer to help Brick interact with others. When that fails, Mike enters the neighborhood block-party lawnmower contest and discovers that Brick has a talent for souping up machines. Meanwhile Frankie joins the booster club to raise money for new football jerseys for Axl's team, but Axl refuses to give his old one to her.
Episode 6
The Front Door
Wed, Nov 4, 200921 mins
Frankie is caught in the middle when Axl accidentally breaks down the front door, and Mike insists that he fix it - which could leave the Heck house wide open for days. Meanwhile, Frankie must sell a car within a week or be forced to wear a dog suit outside the lot, and it's school picture time for Sue, who has never had a flattering photo taken of her.
Episode 7
The Scratch
Wed, Nov 18, 200921 mins
When the Heck family goes into a cleaning frenzy in order to get the trash out to a passing garbage truck, Frankie accidentally hits Brick with a beer bottle as she attempts to toss it into a bag - causing a small scratch. But when Brick innocently informs his school that his scratch was caused by his mother throwing a beer bottle at him, a social worker is called to look into the matter - sending Frankie into a panic to give off the image that the Hecks are a picture-perfect family. Meanwhile, Bob must help an uncooperative Mr. Ehlert shoot a new commercial advertising the car lot.
Episode 8
Thanksgiving
Wed, Nov 25, 200921 mins
Frankie's dream of an idyllic family Thanksgiving is thwarted when Mr. Ehlert forces the staff to work on the holiday. Meanwhile, Frankie and Mike approve of a clueless Sue's first boyfriend -- who turns out to be a safe choice -- and a panicked Axl loses Brick in a corn maze.
Episode 9
Siblings
Wed, Dec 2, 200921 mins
Frankie observes what she thinks are the perfect siblings, and it becomes her mission in life to make her kids stop fighting with one another and interact as a loving family. Meanwhile, Mike contemplates firing Aunt Edie after she makes a costly mistake at the quarry.
Episode 10
Christmas
Wed, Dec 9, 200923 mins
When Frankie gets a solo in the church choir, Mike takes over the stress and work of Christmas to save time for her rehearsals. Brick becomes depressed when he loses a toy. Sue is confused when her "boyfriend" still hasn't kissed her after a month of "dating".
Episode 11
The Jeans
Wed, Jan 6, 201021 mins
Frankie and Mike must endure the unpredictability of teenagers when a hormonally charged Sue wants a cool pair of jeans in order to fit in with her peers, and Axl wants a car to impress a girl. Meanwhile, in an attempt to teach Brick about responsibility, Frankie and Mike reluctantly allow him to take care of Aunt Edie and Aunt Ginny's dog Doris for a few days.
Episode 12
The Neighbor
Wed, Jan 6, 201021 mins
Frankie fears that a confrontation with trashy neighbor Rita Glossner is at hand when Sue has a run-in with her sons. Meanwhile, Axl tries to bribe Brick when he's asked to teach his little brother how to kick a ball for a gym requirement, but it's Brick who turns the tables on Axl and ends up bribing him for another favor.
Episode 13
The Interview
Wed, Jan 13, 201021 mins
Mike's discovery of a dinosaur bone in the quarry causes the plant to get shut down for scientific research - leaving him out of a job. But he begins to feel like a dinosaur himself when he discovers how drastically things have changed technologically over the years in terms of searching for a job. Meanwhile, Frankie feels she must once again come to Brick's rescue when he decides to run for school historian.
Episode 14
The Yelling
Wed, Jan 27, 201021 mins
Axl finally wins days of peace from Frankie's endless maternal nagging by calling her bluff when she claims hating to yell at them. Unlike them, she soon regrets having promised to leave them in peace and quiet until result deadlines have expired. After a while, the kids seem remarkably enterprising, self-reliant and even somewhat responsible. Mike's frustrations focus on gentle Bob, who is too close with his wife and too neurotic to make a comfortable night delivery partner.
Episode 15
Valentine's Day
21 mins
Axl and a few high-school jock buddies boast about their dates with senior girls, who promised to spend Valentine's day night with them after dinners wilt college boys, but never call, so they stay put on the Heck couch. Brick was finally invited for a sleepover, even with 'coolest' classmate Zach, an Asian who consistently pretends to be feline, but also had a secret flaw. Against his better judgment, Mike let Franbkie approve Sue being invited with a girlfriend to a mixed party with alcohol, only to gets cared of everything. The Heck parents' plan to spend their first romantic couple Valentine alone meet problems from both offspring and their own outdated dating skills.
Episode 16
The Bee
Wed, Mar 3, 201021 mins
When Mike discovers that Brick is a spelling whiz and won the school spelling bee, he puts all his efforts into training him to win the regional bee, which could ultimately lead to competing in the Scripps Spelling Bee. But as the family gets set for their road trip to Chicago for the regional bee, Frankie and Mike are horrified when they realize they forgot one thing: Sue's birthday.
Episode 17
The Break-Up
Wed, Mar 10, 201021 mins
Axl delights his startled parents by dating his basketball team's ambitious, seemingly perfect head cheerleader Morgan, but when she dumps him for being 'not focused enough', he's heartbroken. Frankie enjoys comforting him but her 'solution', an answering machine recording showing Mike once grieved over a break-up with her, not only embarrasses both men but also inspires Axl to a disastrous 'roma,tic move', which nevertheless works out, albeit only for him. Even babysitting easy Brick proves too hard for airhead Sue, who gets as paranoid as him after they watched a zombie movie - "Revenge of The Pod People", causing public embarrassment for the whole family.
Episode 18
The Fun House
Wed, Mar 24, 201021 mins
Frankie fears her job at the car dealership may be on the line when hardcore motivational consultant Abby is hired to whip the sales staff into shape. Meanwhile, with Frankie putting in extra hours at work, Mike has to deal with issues at home, including getting a pool table in order to make the house more fun for Axl and his friends, giving advice to Sue's slightly confused ex-boyfriend, and helping Brick with a school project,
Episode 19
The Final Four
Wed, Mar 31, 201021 mins
Mr. Ehlert takes a liking to Mike and presents him with two tickets to the Final Four - Mike's dream come true. But when Frankie's uncle passes away and the funeral is set for the day of the game, a battle begins to brew as Frankie forces Mike to choose which life event is most important to him. Meanwhile, Sue tries to help Brick get out of going to a birthday party by impersonating Frankie over the phone, but panics when she realizes that Frankie is going to make a call for real in order to get him out because of the funeral.
Episode 20
TV or Not TV
Wed, Apr 14, 201020 mins
With Mike's quarry closed, the Hecks just can't pay the bills, so the electricity is cut off. A budget adviser consultation just spells out the inevitable: they need to cut back on 'non-esentials'. Despite the kids' unanimous protest, cable TV is suspended, a choice the uninspired parents quickly regret even more. Axl now finds time to start a rock band, Sue is busy babysitting to earn $500 for a most dodgy fashion model training. Brick seemed OK as he always reads anyway, but is panic-struck when the school forbids nerds like him passing recess in the library, and the playground proves as perilous as they feared. The parents agreed on church bingo with the nasty aunts, but bicker once they win $1,000 there.
Episode 21
Worry Duty
Wed, Apr 28, 201021 mins
Frankie is worried that Axl's going to get his heart crushed again when his on-again/off-again girlfriend, Morgan, re-enters his life and tries to mold him into the man she wants him to be. Meanwhile Brick learns what it means to be a mother hen when he has to watch over a baby chick for a school science project.
Episode 22
Mother's Day
Wed, May 5, 201021 mins
Remembering how much Mike enjoys father's day, partially her doing, Frankie can barely hide her disappointment over her childishly amateurish mother's day treats. Wanting a 'compensation', she decides to spend the next day visiting her own mother Pat Spence, accompanied by Sue, who feels a mortal sinner after shoplifting a worthless magnet just because she misinterpreted the lame text as a license to steal. Pat is clearly not as pleasantly surprised as she acts, so the spoiling has a verbal sting in the tale's tail.
Episode 23
Signals
Wed, May 12, 201021 mins
Axl and his mates awake from lazy 'teen hibernation' when the annual Heck family barbecue is supposed to inaugurate 'bikini season', he's even prepared to clean the pool himself. Alas, it's still so chilly they can barely stand swimwear themselves, let alone attract girls to the pool. After attending Brick's class's social skills performance, equally awkward Mike promised to try giving their youngest the good example. Alas for Brick, who rescues Mike politely, a bully is far from impressed. Sue joined the parish's youth sessions after meeting hot associate reverend TimTom, only to hear he's leaving shortly. Her zealous fund raising to enable paying for him to stay proves fruitless, yet he attends the barbecue baring surprising goodbye gifts.
Episode 24
Average Rules
Wed, May 19, 201021 mins
The Hecks parents must react to school assessments of their kids. Axl scored high on aptitude, so his slacking and poor grades are no longer acceptable, but cramming all night with Mike still doesn't do the trick. Brick may a librarian's dream, the only school kid who truly enjoys reading, mean old Mrs. Nethercott, who luckily can't prove vandalism, still threatens to prevent him passing to the next grade unless he returns all missing books, now found all over the Heck home. Sue is the only school kid without a yearbook picture, so Frankie steps up the search for some activity she can join. the principal opens up track running without time threshold, but even a passing deer proves too much opposition fro the eternal failure.
