Malcolm in the Middle: Season 1

Malcolm in the Middle is one of the best and funniest sitcoms ever on TV. I only want to add my voice to that of others who wonder why the dvd of the complete seasons of this series is still not yet available in the U.S. Regions 2 and 4 have been available for years. Malcolm may still be in syndication in the U.S., but that's no reason to hold the complete series hostage for those who would like to have the whole shebang on dvd. It never ceases to amaze me that so often, for whatever reasons, release of some TV series are held up. These kinds of delays only frustrate us buyers and further, it hurts sales because, by the time a series IS released, no one cares anymore! This fiasco happened with The Wonder Years and the Happy Days series (why have only six seasons been released so far?). I don't understand it, but I sure hope more of the really decent TV series would get out on dvd more expeditiously and Malcolm in the Middle is one of them.

Great show, unfortunately season 1 was the only one made for US dvd players. Important for buyers to know that we are in region 1, the sellers are not stressing that enough. Apparently due to music used in the show, the licensing fees were too high to release the other seasons. Really enjoyed this.

I first caught this show in it's final season...in late night reruns. And, goodness gracious, I was floored by the quality and consistency of the show. So, when these DVDs went on sale, I had to have them. And...I was speechless. Absolutely fabulous. Easily one of the greatest comedies of all time, and on the short list of best family shows of any kind.Particularly fantastic was the episode "Smunday." They easily blew through 3 or 4 plot twists, and at the climax of the episode I was literally gasping from horror, laughter and shock. Hilarious! Also, the sight gags on this show are funny, slightly exaggeratedly (hence the humor) and always with a touch of tenderness that highlights why family relationships are complex and unique and beautiful, even when their shameless and dysfunctional. I think the episode "Malcolm Babysits" highlights this nicely, when Malcolm in babysitting for the "ideal" family, while his family is their own neighborhood's live Jerry Springer show, while camping in a trailer while their house is getting fumigated. Sure, we know the moral is that there is no place like home, but the lesson isn't forced and is very entertaining. Far from didactic, you barely notice between the humor. And the young cast together are astonishingly good actors. Muniz, in particular, handles his duplicitous "real-life" versus talking to the camera with a fluidity that I think most adults wouldn't be able to sell.The extras are very enlightening as well with the voice-over commentary (although Frankie Muñiz in real life is a long-winded gasbag). I also thought the Spanish dubbing (which I happen to speak) was well done also.I could go on and on. It was worth every cent I spent on it. I just ache for the other seasons.

The first season for Malcolm in the Middle was decidedly the best--when the boys where young enough so that the things they did were cute rather than delinquency, and when there were interesting concepts to explore.And explore them they did. The expanded "Pilot" is classic comedy TV. (though it is a pity they don't give us the pilot as aired, for comparison) "Red Dress" shows us that Lois is capable of being played as being more than a harridan. And "Krelboyne Picnic", one of the few episodes beyond the pilot to really use Malcolm's genius for plot purposes, is hysterical while defying political correctness at every turn.Of the added features, the director's commentary is the most useful. It isn't always just the director, the actors are given their shot at talking to us, as well. It is at least amusing, and often instructive, to listen. For example, the thick body hair on Brian Cranston in the pilot was yak hair, and he met the boys while wearing only a sock (er, in a strategic position, not on the foot).These DVDs are further evidence that TV show producers are seeing DVDs as the means by which their works are going down to posterity, and they are giving us their best.

I just started watching Malcolm in the Middle during the 2005 season, and I wasn't even sure if I'd like it. It was one of those "nothing else is on and I've never seen this." I was very pleased I gave it a chance! This is one of the funniest family sitcoms on TV now. Some may not like to admit it, but this show does portray a family close to the 'norm'. I think that makes it even better!This show centers around a middle-class 'All-American' family who has their share of dysfunctional moments. Both parents work to support their family of four boys. The oldest is sent to military school early in the first season, but he remains very much a part of each episode's plot. The other three boys are a handful to say the least. I guess this is just one of those shows that reminds you of so many people you know, and that adds to the humor!Naturally, after watching from the 2005 season I wondered what started the craze, so I had to buy the Season 1 DVD set. If you're a fan of these TV seasons on DVD like I am, then this is for you! Even if you haven't seen the show on TV yet, this would be a great way to get into it!

This set of season one episodes comprises all fifteen as well as the original pilot, in which Malcolm is diagnosed as `gifted'. I too come from a family in which I was gifted with, let's say a `precocious intelligence' at an early age (look where it got me!) and in which the only female was Mum: hence, I can identify with some of Malcolm's problems. But, hey, the series is wickedly funny anyway, and this is partly down to its willingness to embrace the realism of modern family relationships.In addition, the series was not studio-based and therefore did not have a studio audience; instead it went out into the surrounding neighbourhood and into the schoolyard to add realism. Additionally, the series eschewed canned laughter (a great blessing). Malcolm's own direct addresses to the camera are the icing on the cake for me, following in a long line of such comic set-pieces going back to the resigned stare of Oliver Hardy. I crack up every time I watch Malcolm's similar frustrated stare to camera as Stevie Kenarben tries to tell his joke.Many of these features are highlighted in the generous extras that accompany the DVD set. These include commentaries made four years after the first season aired. The commentaries are by the creator of the series, Linwood Boomer, as well as some of the actors, the writers of the shows, and directors of the episodes. Boomer himself explains how much of the series is based on his own family childhood experiences. We also learn such things as Frankie Muniz actually being younger than Justin Berfield, and that the part of Kenarben terrified the network.Other extras include a forty-three-minute documentary on the series, some bloopers, deleted scenes, and a portrait of Erik Per Sullivan. There's also a behind-the-scenes preview of season two, but at the time of writing (2011) none of the later seasons is available on DVD due (bizarrely) to "music copyright issues" (Wikipedia). The fact that the story of the last episode of season one is "to be continued" makes this all the more frustrating (*stares at camera*). Ah, well, after all, "life IS unfair".

Ordered before Christmas as a present, a bit worried ashad to come from America. Arrived in plenty of time.DVD as advertised. Very Pleased

Kids enjoyed it

A present.

This is intelligent comedy that can be appreciated by young and old and it needs to be made more widley available. Like many others before me I would like to see it released on region 2 DVD asap - even just Series 1 would be a start.its not much to ask - the demand is there