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The Best Episodes of Malcolm in the Middle

Every episode of Malcolm in the Middle ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Malcolm in the Middle!

Binge this in 2d 7h•Peaking at 8.7/10

A gifted young teen tries to survive life with his dimwitted, dysfunctional family.

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  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 20 - Bowling
    8.7/10(20 votes)

    #1 - Bowling

    S2:E20

    Malcolm and Reese go to a bowling party where they vie for the attention of a cute girl.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writer:Alex Reid

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  2. Malcolm in the Middle Season 3 Episode 13 - Reese Drives
    8.4/10(16 votes)

    #2 - Reese Drives

    S3:E13

    Highway horror: Reese gets a learner's permit, which he promptly proceeds to abuse by commandeering a driving-school vehicle.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writers:Michael Glouberman, Andrew Orenstein

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  3. Malcolm in the Middle Season 4 Episode 3 - Family Reunion
    8.4/10(16 votes)

    #3 - Family Reunion

    S4:E3

    Christopher Lloyd adds to his gallery of eccentric characters, playing Hal's quirky, cranky and very wealthy father, Walter, in this rollicking episode. The occasion is a birthday celebration for the old man, but the snooty female in-laws seem more interested in offending Lois. Their shabby behavior initially goes unnoticed by Hal, who's desperately trying to bond with his self-centered dad; and by Dewey and Reese, who seek some of Grampa's dough by currying favor with him. But when Lois is reduced to tears after being excluded from a group photo, the family rallies to her side with an all-out counterattack that turns the party into pandemonium.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writer:Alex Reid

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  4. Malcolm in the Middle Season 4 Episode 10 - If Boys Were Girls
    8.4/10(17 votes)

    #4 - If Boys Were Girls

    S4:E10

    After being rattled by a battle among the boys, a pregnant Lois ponders the consequences of raising another brawling kid. So she fantasizes that her unruly sons have morphed into well-behaved young daughters. Malcolm becomes Mallory, Reese is transformed into Renee and Dewey turns into Daisy.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writers:Alexandra Kaczenski, Nahnatchka Khan

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  5. Malcolm in the Middle Season 7 Episode 22 - Graduation
    8.4/10(13 votes)

    #5 - Graduation

    S7:E22

    Malcolm struggles with his speech when he's elected valedictorian of his graduating class at school. However, Lois refuses to listen to any of his complaints and reveals that she wants him to become President of the United States. Meanwhile, Reese does everything he can to get a permanent job as a high school janitor, which includes creating the most disgusting mess ever. In the meantime, Hal has problems with Malcolm's Harvard tuition, while Francis finally gets a real 9-5 job that he actually enjoys. Also returning for the family celebrations is Grandma Ida, as they all say goodbye to Malcolm when he leaves for college.

    Director:Linwood Boomer
    Writer:Michael Glouberman

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  6. Malcolm in the Middle Season 1 Episode 13 - Rollerskates
    8.3/10(22 votes)

    #6 - Rollerskates

    S1:E13

    Roller-skating lessons from Hal bug Malcolm, who rebels against dad's discipline while mom agonizes in bed from a backache she blames on Reese. Francis avoids his squad's survival weekend.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writer:Alan J. Higgins

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Malcolm in the Middle

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  7. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 24 - Evacuation
    8.3/10(19 votes)

    #7 - Evacuation

    S2:E24

    Hal is inadvertently responsible for a toxic chemical spill that forces a neighborhood evacuation; Malcolm deals with being grounded even in the emergency shelter; Francis suffers through a date with a geeky 12-year-old.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writers:Neil Thompson, Gary Murphy

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  8. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 25 - Flashback
    8.3/10(19 votes)

    #8 - Flashback

    S2:E25

    Lois is two weeks late with her period, causing her and Hal to panic and start a big fight, while trying to keep it from the boys. And while Dewey is scared that his parents may split up, Hal and Lois remember the troubles of getting their previous four sons.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writer:Ian Busch

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  9. Malcolm in the Middle Season 4 Episode 21 - Baby (2)
    8.2/10(14 votes)

    #9 - Baby (2)

    S4:E21

    While Lois is in labor, the house is hectic, and Hal, desperate to get home, has crashed the car on the way out of the expo.

    Director:Jamie Babbit
    Writer:Michael Borkow

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  10. Malcolm in the Middle Season 6 Episode 15 - Chad's Sleepover
    8.2/10(9 votes)

    #10 - Chad's Sleepover

    S6:E15

    After Hal forbids Dewey from inviting his peculiar classmate Chad over for a sleepover, Dewey quickly finds out that his father had good reason to warm him. Meanwhile, Malcolm and Reese find out that they are not as popular as they once thought, then plot "revenge" on their classmates.

    Director:David D'Ovidio
    Writer:Rob Ulin

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  11. Malcolm in the Middle Season 7 Episode 16 - Lois Strikes Back
    8.2/10(11 votes)

    #11 - Lois Strikes Back

    S7:E16

    When four popular high school girls play an evil prank on Reese by pretending he has a secret admirer and then dropping a pig off at his front door, Lois comes to his rescue. She plots her revenge on the four unsuspecting girls and wreaks havoc on their adolescent lives. Meanwhile, Hal realizes Lois is at a dangerous emotional place so he decides to get some distance and stumbles upon the idea for making his own pitching machine out of stuff in the garage.

    Director:Alex Reid
    Writer:Gary Murphy

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  12. Malcolm in the Middle Season 1 Episode 8 - Krelboyne Picnic
    8.1/10(19 votes)

    #12 - Krelboyne Picnic

    S1:E8

    The whole family attends a Krelboyne family picnic, and Malcolm dreads his performance in the event's Academic Circus will make him look like a freak. Disasters abound as stage acts bomb, families feud, and Malcolm's dad serves meat to vegetarians.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writers:Michael Glouberman, Andrew Orenstein

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  13. Malcolm in the Middle Season 6 Episode 10 - Billboard
    8.1/10(12 votes)

    #13 - Billboard

    S6:E10

    When Lois catches the boys vandalizing a trashy billboard for a strip club, Malcolm alters the vandalism into a women's rights protest, which sparks a colossal media circus. In no time, feminists, conservative religious groups and national new reporters descend on the scene. After Hal grants a TV interview, a woman from his past turns up at the faux protest; and Reese, inspired by the giant billboard stripper who comes to life in his dreams, gives an impassioned speech about the objectification of women.

    Director:Bryan Cranston
    Writer:Rob Ulin

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  14. Malcolm in the Middle Season 6 Episode 11 - Dewey's Opera
    8.1/10(9 votes)

    #14 - Dewey's Opera

    S6:E11

    When Lois buys a brand-new king-sized bed, Hal thinks that her motive is to put more distance between them and refuses to sleep in it. Moved to tears by an opera he sees on television, Dewey is inspired to write his own operatic masterpiece, "The Marriage Bed," which is based on his parents' fight and turned into a school production. Meanwhile, Malcolm and Reese build their own street luge board; and Jamie falls head over heels for the baby girl across the street.

    Director:Linwood Boomer
    Writer:Eric Kaplan

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  15. Malcolm in the Middle Season 1 Episode 9 - Lois vs. Evil
    8.0/10(20 votes)

    #15 - Lois vs. Evil

    S1:E9

    Lois's firing prompts household economizing. Meanwhile, Francis delights in his honor-guard duty—at a teenage beauty pageant.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writers:Michael Begler, Jack Amiel

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  16. Malcolm in the Middle Season 6 Episode 19 - Motivational Seminar
    8.0/10(10 votes)

    #16 - Motivational Seminar

    S6:E19

    Reese befriends a pack of troublesome stray dogs; Dewey feels conflicted when he starts seeing another mother-figure; Hal unwittingly becomes a motivational speaker.

    Director:Steve Love
    Writer:Rob Ulin

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  17. Malcolm in the Middle Season 6 Episode 22 - Mrs. Tri-County
    8.0/10(9 votes)

    #17 - Mrs. Tri-County

    S6:E22

    Unbeknownst to Lois, the boys enter her in the Mrs. Tri-County Pageant as a joke. When they overhear the other contestants remarking that Lois doesn't have a chance of winning, they plot to help their mother take the crown. Meanwhile, Malcolm is blackmailed into delivering love notes to a contestant for Herkabe, and Reese discovers that, according to the Mrs. Tri-County Pageant manual's scientific formula, he is beautiful.

    Director:David D'Ovidio
    Writer:Gary Murphy

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  18. Malcolm in the Middle Season 1 Episode 5 - Malcolm Babysits
    7.9/10(22 votes)

    #18 - Malcolm Babysits

    S1:E5

    Malcolm's cushy babysitting job provides relief from the trailer the family's using while their house is being fumigated, until Malcolm learns that the trust placed in him in his new position is strictly limited. Meanwhile, the military school's master key leads Francis to a corpse, for which he provides a proper send-off.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writers:Maggie Bandur, Pang-Ni Landrum

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  19. Malcolm in the Middle Season 1 Episode 16 - Water Park (1)
    7.9/10(18 votes)

    #19 - Water Park (1)

    S1:E16

    When the family goes to a water park for a day, Dewey is left home with an elderly, stern babysitter. Francis is hustled at pocket billiards by his military-school commandant.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writers:Maggie Bandur, Pang-Ni Landrum

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  20. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 1 - Traffic Jam (2)
    7.9/10(19 votes)

    #20 - Traffic Jam (2)

    S2:E1

    Hal, Loi, Malcolm and Reese are trapped in a horrendous traffic jam. Francis enters himself in a bet that recalls the egg-eating wager in "Cool Hand Luke." Malcolm becomes smitten over a girl he meets. Dewey has his own little adventure--all over the world--before his family returns home.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writer:Dan Kopelman

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  21. Malcolm in the Middle Season 2 Episode 3 - Lois's Birthday
    7.9/10(17 votes)

    #21 - Lois's Birthday

    S2:E3

    Crummy gifts rile birthday gal Lois, who suddenly splits from home, leaving confusion, anxiety and desperation in her wake.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writer:Alex Reid

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  22. Malcolm in the Middle Season 5 Episode 22 - Reese Joins the Army (2)
    7.9/10(12 votes)

    #22 - Reese Joins the Army (2)

    S5:E22

    Reese continues to be a great soldier in the Army until he finds himself in a situation where his Sergeant cannot help. But after comparing being captured to being grounded, he takes action and leads his team to victory. But being such a successful soldier has it's bad parts as well, as Reese prepares to jump from the plane - right into Afghanistan. Malcolm has his hands full as well as he attempts to prove Hal innocent. But being good with numbers helps as Malcolm notices all of the prosecutions given dates are on Fridays - which Hal hasn't worked on in over 15 years. And with Reese missing and Hal's case, Lois falls deeper and deeper into insanity.

    Director:Peter Lauer
    Writer:Andrew Orenstein

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  23. Malcolm in the Middle Season 6 Episode 18 - Ida's Dance
    7.9/10(9 votes)

    #23 - Ida's Dance

    S6:E18

    Lois goes over to visit Ida, but gets unpleasantly surprised by the St. Grotus Day festival. Malcolm fails a music appreciation course, and reluctantly goes to Dewey for help. Reese and Hal secretly watch scary movies while Lois is not around, but it ends up revealing some unexpected secrets about both Reese and Hal.

    Director:Steve Welch
    Writer:Eric Kaplan

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  24. Malcolm in the Middle Season 1 Episode 2 - Red Dress
    7.8/10(26 votes)

    #24 - Red Dress

    S1:E2

    Lois must take drastic steps to discover which of her sons ruined the special dress she bought for an anniversary dinner with Hal.

    Director:Arlene Sanford
    Writer:Alan J. Higgins

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  25. Malcolm in the Middle Season 1 Episode 11 - Funeral
    7.8/10(20 votes)

    #25 - Funeral

    S1:E11

    A relative's funeral conflicts with Malcolm's plans for his very first date, so he tries to figure out a way to skip the bereavement ceremony.

    Director:Arlene Sanford
    Writers:Maggie Bandur, Pang-Ni Landrum

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Best Episodes Summary

"Bowling" is the best rated episode of "Malcolm in the Middle". It scored 8.7/10 based on 20 votes. Directed by Todd Holland and written by Alex Reid, it aired on 4/1/2001. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "Reese Drives".