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The Worst Episodes of Malcolm in the Middle

Every episode of Malcolm in the Middle ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Malcolm in the Middle!

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

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  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Malcolm in the Middle Season 4 Episode 17 - Clip Show 2
    5.8/10(14 votes)

    #1 - Clip Show 2

    S4:E17

    Hal and Lois are penning their will, and think back to all the trouble their sons put them through. It is there that Lois' problems with Francis are finally revealed and how her inability to admit when she is wrong lead to a lot of the problems the family has been dealing with.

    Director:Levie Isaacks
    Writers:Dan Kopelman, Maggie Bandur

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  2. Malcolm in the Middle Season 3 Episode 19 - Clip Show
    6.3/10(14 votes)

    #2 - Clip Show

    S3:E19

    An embattled psychiatrist probes the boys' naughty behavior patterns in a session framed by flashbacks to past episodes.

    Director:Jamie Babbit
    Writers:Alex Reid, Michael Borkow

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  3. Malcolm in the Middle Season 5 Episode 12 - Softball
    6.3/10(12 votes)

    #3 - Softball

    S5:E12

    Malcolm is convinced to play Softball by Lois and ends up doing very badly at it due to Lois's hold on him. Meanwhile, Francis tries to pick fights with Lois, Reese tries to break Francis's record of collecting toilet seats from a local junkyard, and Hal accidentally applies to become a member of the CIA.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writer:Michael Glouberman

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  4. Malcolm in the Middle Season 7 Episode 8 - Army Buddy
    6.5/10(13 votes)

    #4 - Army Buddy

    S7:E8

    When Lois finds renewed energy with orthotic inserts for her shoes, Hal fears she will not look to him for support anymore and plots to destroy the inserts. A former female army buddy of Reese's comes to their house for a visit. But she gets defensive when Reese thinks they are way more than just friends and comes intact to the idea of trying to sleep with her.

    Director:Peter Lauer
    Writer:Neil Thompson

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  5. Malcolm in the Middle Season 3 Episode 16 - Hal Coaches
    6.8/10(15 votes)

    #5 - Hal Coaches

    S3:E16

    Clever Hal invigorates Dewey's soccer team; sly Reese blackmails a philandering neighbor; obsessed Malcolm battles a computer program.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writer:Ian Busch

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  6. Malcolm in the Middle Season 5 Episode 11 - Ida's Boyfriend
    6.8/10(12 votes)

    #6 - Ida's Boyfriend

    S5:E11

    Malcolm gets his tongue pierced and needs to hide it for a month. While Lois' mother, Ida, comes and annouces that she will marry a rich Chinese Man that she met on a cruise. Malcolm gets complications when his tongue ring gets infected, rendering him unable to say "S's" and he discovers that Ida has been drugging her fiancé with opiates and mood enhancers. When Lois and Hal confront Ida, she drugs them with free food. But luckily, the fiancé misses a drug treatment, and realizes that Ida is a terrible woman and he leaves her at the altar. Malcolm is punished for his tongue piercing. Meanwhile at the ranch, Otto decides to hire a murder mystery acting troup, but it all turns out badly.

    Director:Peter Lauer
    Writer:Neil Thompson

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  7. Malcolm in the Middle Season 6 Episode 5 - Kitty's Back
    6.8/10(10 votes)

    #7 - Kitty's Back

    S6:E5

    Kitty returns and asks Lois for help getting Kitty's estranged husband back; Francis comes home and puts Dewey through the torturous "Brotherhood Initiation."

    Director:Peter Lauer
    Writer:Matthew Carlson

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  8. Malcolm in the Middle Season 7 Episode 17 - Hal's Dentist
    6.8/10(11 votes)

    #8 - Hal's Dentist

    S7:E17

    Hal's friend Trey tells him to come to his dental office when he looses a tooth during a poker game, but their friendship becomes in jeopardy when Hal's faced with a $2,000 bill and causes a fight between them. Reese, meanwhile, teaches Lois how to ride a bike, while Malcolm and Dewey find sleeping as their new favorite pastime.

    Director:Steve Love
    Writer:Jay Kogen

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  9. Malcolm in the Middle Season 3 Episode 20 - Jury Duty
    6.9/10(13 votes)

    #9 - Jury Duty

    S3:E20

    Lois gets jury duty and Hal tries to figure out what case she's working on. Meanwhile, Malcolm and Reese saw Stevie's mom naked and brag about it, they also take Dewey to the sewers and get lost.

    Director:Ken Kwapis
    Writer:Pang-Ni Landrum

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  10. Malcolm in the Middle Season 4 Episode 16 - Academic Octathalon
    6.9/10(15 votes)

    #10 - Academic Octathalon

    S4:E16

    An academic competition faces the Krelboynes in an event Malcolm derides. Especially when he learns his teacher has a cheating plan. Also: a commitment to a formal dance ruffles Reese, who's now trying to ditch his date.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writer:Rob Hanning

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  11. Malcolm in the Middle Season 7 Episode 11 - Bride of Ida (1)
    6.9/10(11 votes)

    #11 - Bride of Ida (1)

    S7:E11

    Lois, Hal, and Dewey go out of town for a piano competition, so they get Ida to watch over Malcolm and Reese while they're gone. Since Ida thinks Reese needs to become a man, she comes up with a competition for Malcolm and Reese, and if Reese wins, he can take Raduca as his bride. Now, when Lois and Hal return, they're surprised to find out that Reese has run away to Las Vegas to get married.

    Director:Linwood Boomer
    Writer:Rob Ulin

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  12. Malcolm in the Middle Season 7 Episode 12 - College Recruiters (2)
    6.9/10(11 votes)

    #12 - College Recruiters (2)

    S7:E12

    A broke Francis gets talked into getting a real job by Dewey, but one of Francis' rocker friends decides to offer him the position of tour manager of his band instead. Back home, Hal takes over the college recruiters, which Malcolm refuses to meet with, and treats each one as a suitor. However, Hal's plans are ruined when Malcolm chooses to go Harvard.

    Director:Peter Lauer
    Writer:Jay Kogen

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  13. Malcolm in the Middle Season 3 Episode 3 - Book Club
    7.0/10(16 votes)

    #13 - Book Club

    S3:E3

    Lois, in an attempt to get a break from the family, joins a book club that turns out to be a night off for frustrated housewives, but it all goes a little bit haywire. Meanwhile Francis tries to get to Alaska, learning something important about himself and about truck drivers. Hal, who tries to keep the boys out of troubles for the evening, is caught in an inner conflict about how to treat them.

    Director:Todd Holland
    Writer:Alex Reid

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  14. Malcolm in the Middle Season 3 Episode 18 - Poker 2
    7.0/10(14 votes)

    #14 - Poker 2

    S3:E18

    Girls in the house spell trouble for the boys, who are on their own while Dad's hosting a poker game that's more about one-upmanship than cards.

    Director:Jeff Melman
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Malcolm in the Middle Season 5 Episode 2 - Watching the Baby
    7.0/10(12 votes)

    #15 - Watching the Baby

    S5:E2

    Hal and the boys offer to watch baby Jamie so an exhausted Lois can finally get some sleep. Hal leaves the boys in charge while he goes to the Lucky Aid to pick up more diapers. While the boys are watching Jamie, three beautiful teenage girls arrive and woo Malcolm, Reese and Stevie away for the night, leaving Dewey alone with the baby. Meanwhile at the Lucky Aid, Hal doesn't have enough money for the diapers and Craig forces him to work. Back at home, Dewey concocts an elaborate bedtime story for Jamie involving each member of his family.

    Director:Levie Isaacks
    Writer:Alex Reid

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  16. Malcolm in the Middle Season 5 Episode 8 - Block Party
    7.0/10(13 votes)

    #16 - Block Party

    S5:E8

    Neighbors have the annual "The Wilkersons are gone" block party until they come home early. Reese and Dewey set up a plan to get money by letting Reese-tortured kids get revenge. Hal and Lois enter a kielbasa-eating contest and Malcolm unknowingly assists a robbery, but a surprising twist comes in the end.

    Director:Levie Isaacks
    Writer:Rob Ulin

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  17. Malcolm in the Middle Season 5 Episode 9 - Dirty Magazine
    7.0/10(13 votes)

    #17 - Dirty Magazine

    S5:E9

    Malcolm alerts the A.C.L.U. when he encounters censorship working on the high-school literary magazine; Hal tries to flirt with the woman in his office responsible for cutbacks.

    Director:Bryan Cranston
    Writer:Eric Kaplan

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  18. Malcolm in the Middle Season 5 Episode 16 - Malcolm Visits College
    7.0/10(11 votes)

    #18 - Malcolm Visits College

    S5:E16

    Lois tags along with Malcolm as he visits a college, but she's determined to room in the dorm Malcolm is staying in when she learns the room is co-ed. Meanwhile, after his father denies him a piano, Dewey begins stealing objects from around the house to amuse himself and to drive Hal crazy. Reese meets a girl, who he thinks is a narc, and he pretends he is a dealer, unaware that she is really an undercover cop.

    Director:Peter Lauer
    Writer:David Wright

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  19. Malcolm in the Middle Season 5 Episode 17 - Polly in the Middle
    7.0/10(11 votes)

    #19 - Polly in the Middle

    S5:E17

    Hal sets up Abe Kenarben on a blind date with Jaime's babysitter Polly but then realizes Lois has also set her up on a blind date - with Craig. Malcolm, Dewey (with his "lucky" shirt) and Reese also meet Reggie Jackson and Francis is embarrassed by Piama in front of his co-workers.

    Director:Steve Love
    Writer:Matthew Carlson

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  20. Malcolm in the Middle Season 5 Episode 19 - Experiment
    7.0/10(11 votes)

    #20 - Experiment

    S5:E19

    When Dewey's annual candy selling event for school comes up, he uses the excuse of "these bars help support america" to sell them. Malcolm and Stevie attempt a science experiment, and are shocked when Reese begs to help.

    Director:Bryan Cranston
    Writer:Alex Reid

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  21. Malcolm in the Middle Season 6 Episode 2 - Buseys Run Away
    7.0/10(13 votes)

    #21 - Buseys Run Away

    S6:E2

    The Buseys disappear after Dewey leaves the special-needs class; Hal becomes the leader of a group of brainless bodybuilders.

    Director:Bryan Cranston
    Writer:Michael Glouberman

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  22. Malcolm in the Middle Season 6 Episode 8 - Lois Battles Jamie
    7.0/10(11 votes)

    #22 - Lois Battles Jamie

    S6:E8

    Lois thinks Jamie is out to get her when Jamie knocks over a shelf and nearly crushes her.

    Director:Steve Welch
    Writer:Michael Glouberman

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  23. Malcolm in the Middle Season 7 Episode 6 - Secret Boyfriend
    7.0/10(13 votes)

    #23 - Secret Boyfriend

    S7:E6

    When Malcolm gets paired with a dimwitted beauty as his chemistry partner, he thinks it's a recipe for disaster, but when she reveals her feelings for him, sparks fly. They agree to keep their romantic experiment under wraps until Malcolm realizes that she's just embarrassed to be dating him. Meanwhile, Lois demands that Reese get a job, and she kicks him out of the house to prove that she means business.

    Director:Peter Lauer
    Writer:Gary Murphy

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  24. Malcolm in the Middle Season 7 Episode 10 - Malcolm's Money
    7.0/10(11 votes)

    #24 - Malcolm's Money

    S7:E10

    Malcolm receives a check for $10,000. After Hal and Lois find out, they decide to keep the money and spend it on something for themselves. However, when Dewey overhears this, he wants to get in on it, too. Now, they'll have to find a way to pay Malcolm back.

    Director:Steve Love
    Writer:Michael Glouberman

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  25. Malcolm in the Middle Season 7 Episode 14 - Hal Grieves
    7.0/10(12 votes)

    #25 - Hal Grieves

    S7:E14

    Hal learns that his father has passed away, but sheds no tears and passes it off as nothing since he never knew him. So, to make sure nothing like that happens again, he lets the boys do whatever they want by letting them miss school and even offering to buy Malcolm a new car, until Lois puts a stop to it. Noticing how depressed Hal has become, his friend Abe brings George Takei over for a visit in an attempt to cheer him up.

    Director:Christopher Masterson
    Writer:Eric Kaplan

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Clip Show 2" is the worst rated episode of "Malcolm in the Middle". It scored 5.8/10 based on 14 votes. Directed by Levie Isaacks and written by Dan Kopelman, Maggie Bandur, it aired on 4/20/2003. This episode scored 0.5 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Clip Show".