Top 10 Hilarious Malcolm in the Middle Running Gags

The series’ titular character engages with viewers up close and personal in each episode. Speaking directly to the camera, Malcolm routinely serves as the show’s narrator, allowing the audience access to his inner thoughts while while those around him are oblivious to his talking. The commentary is an expected feature and a cherished inside joke between Malcolm and viewers. If you are a true fan of the sitcom, you anticipate and appreciate Malcolm’s take on whatever laughable scene is the topic of his fourth-wall-breaking. The show’s creators definitely made the right call when they ditched the infamous sitcom laugh track in lieu of this comedic device.

Each episode keeps us guessing who could be on the receiving end of Lois’ wrath. While her husband and sons are the usual targets, the seldom relaxed mother does not discriminate. She has no qualms about unleashing her anger on any stranger, peer, or family member deemed deserving. Whether she is threatening to destroy the kids’ TV, yelling so hard she injures herself, setting fire to Christmas stockings, causing a traffic jam scene, or, most notably, repeatedly crashing into a rude stranger's car in a fit of rage, Lois is consistently ready for battle. Sure, her rampages can be terrifying, but they’re also comedy gold every time!

Craig Feldspar is a running joke himself. Whenever he pops up in a scene, he is likely flirting with his Lucky Aide co-worker, Lois. Not only is Lois’ marriage to Hal an obvious barrier to Craig’s desires, but Lois regularly makes it clear that she couldn’t be less interested in her colleague’s incredibly awkward advances. However, near the show’s end, Craig finally gets a glimmer of hope when Lois details the alternate universe in which she could just MAYBE see herself with him. She would be 90 with dementia, in need of a caretaker, constantly sleeping, and Hal would have to be dead. It is the perfect, comical cherry on top of 7 seasons worth of Craig’s desperate pining.

Where to even begin with Reese. The second eldest brother certainly did not inherit whatever gene made Malcolm a genius, and there is evidence to back it up in pretty much every episode. His delinquency and idiotic one-liners are anticipated recurrences on the show, as there are few things more entertaining than watching Reese try to pass his classes, impress girls, and figure out the workings of women’s anatomy. One of his best moments takes place in the middle of a police chase initiated by his theft of a driver’s ed car and refusal to pull over. The debacle is just one of many instances where the brother’s questionable ideas and sheer stupidity contribute to a long-running streak of pure amusement.

We know that Hal is a corporate employee with some sort of office job, but the nature of his work is never revealed. Plenty of scenes present opportunities for answers—career day at Dewey’s school, a company picnic, and a bizarre interview in a very ominous setting. But no, talk surrounding what Hal truly does every day remains hilariously vague. Even when Hal is framed by his company and has to testify in court, leading us to think the mystery might finally end, nada. All we are left with is the long-kept secret that Hal has played hooky literally every Friday for the last 15 years. It's not the insight we were looking for, but it makes the gag even funnier.

From the start, Malcolm’s family is hard-pressed for money. The show often makes light of the bleak situation, using the family’s financial status as the butt of many a joke. Whenever money proves problematic, we can expect one of the characters to deliver a remark that shifts the mood from depressing to laughable. As heads of the struggling household, Lois and Hal are the family members that most often humorously reference the issue. For example, Lois can be heard yelling “Do you think we’re wealthy?!” and acknowledging that she can’t afford any of her kids. Hal absolutely losing it after Malcolm asks about the nonexistent family savings is yet another prime example of the family’s ability to make us laugh at something that isn’t inherently a laughing matter.

The mother-son relationship between Lois and Francis is dysfunctional, to put it mildly. As soon as we’re introduced to the duo, their rocky past and borderline hatred toward each other are on full display, thanks to Francis’ forced enrollment in military school. It is the first major source of tension we see, but it's certainly not the last. Resentful bickering and petty quarrels are frequent parts of the pair’s dynamic, not to mention the epic showdowns over Francis’ decisions to get suddenly married and worse, emancipated. Their rivalry is undoubtedly one of the series’ most entertaining themes, and their fights provide us the same level of enjoyment the two seem to get from enraging one another to no end.

Lois’ personality makes a lot more sense when the show introduces Ida, her monster of a mother with a downright wacky set of customs and morals. With a hard-to-pin accent and habitual cigarette in hand, Ida baffles us with her repeated references to her homeland and upbringing. In one of the most memorable episodes, “Ida’s Dance”, a Croatian flag might represent her culture, though there's no certain telling which country produced the violent anomaly of a woman. But wherever Ida emerged from, cultural practices apparently include baking obscenely large tarts, dangerous dancing, and beliefs that entail having your young grandsons fight to marry your maid. Shocking? Absolutely. Hysterical? Even more so.

A mystery even bigger than Hal’s occupation is the family surname. The only clue is given in the pilot episode, when Francis’ name tag reads “Wilkerson”. Malcolm’s graduation in the series finale looked like the perfect setting for an official reveal, but the joke was on us. Letting viewers down in the best way possible, the gag reaches its peak when Francis’ employee ID reads “Nolastname” and microphone feedback makes the announcement of Malcolm’s surname inaudible. The moment is an equally frustrating and funny nod to viewers who had come to accept the mystery as unsolvable. And though it might’ve gotten our hopes up, we applaud the show’s commitment to keeping the name top secret and capping off the gag so memorably.

Arguably one of the most elite running gags in the sitcom is the hamster ball, aka the main character of season 3. After taking care of his class pet, Bernard, Dewey sets his friend free to roll away in the orange capsule. One might think this is the last they would see of Bernard, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Making quite the rounds, the hamster has impeccable comedic timing when it appears in the background of four later scenes. It even somehow journeys across state lines, as it is shown rolling down an Alaskan road. This is the final time we see the well traveled ball, marking the end of a joke that always had us on the lookout and cracking up with each sighting.