- 10.0/101 votes
#1 - No Silent Night
Season 7 Episode 10 - Aired 12/9/2015
Dreading the fact that they are always late to church and end up in the overflow room, Frankie makes the decision to have the family watch a Christmas Eve service on TV from the comfort of the Heck house. But a string of events make their evening anything but a peaceful, silent night.
Director: Melissa Kosar
Writer: Eileen Heisler
- 9.0/101 votes
#2 - The Graduate
Season 6 Episode 24 - Aired 5/13/2015
Sue prepares for her graduation and worries the day won't go perfectly. Meanwhile, Brick gets the opportunity to skip a year in school and Axl grows concerned about Devin's fun summer pictures she posted on social media.
Director: Eileen Heisler
Writer: Eileen Heisler
- 6.6/105 votes
#3 - Average Rules
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 5/19/2010
Parent-Teacher conferences cause Frankie to worry about the kids. In them she's told Axl is gifted but not applying himself, that her teachers still do not know who Sue is, and Brick may have to repeat the second-grade due to failure to return over 30 library books. Guest star Betty White as the school librarian.
Director: Wendey Stanzler
Writer: Eileen Heisler
- 6.3/109 votes
#4 - Pilot
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/30/2009
The pilot episode of the American television series The Middle, written by DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler and directed by Julie Anne Robinson, premiered on the ABC network in the United States on September 30, 2009. The pilot introduces viewers to the five central characters within the show who make up the Heck family: Frankie the working mother; her husband Mike; and their three children - teenagers Axl and Sue and their youngest child Brick. The show follows the characters as they deal with everyday challenges and family life, with Frankie serving as narrator. The critical reaction to the pilot episode were mostly favourable. The show held an aggregated score of 70/100 on the review website Metacritic. Many reviewers drew comparisons with another similarly named comedy series, Malcolm in the Middle.
Director: Julie Anne Robinson
Writer: Eileen Heisler
- 6.3/104 votes
#5 - The Cheerleader
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 10/7/2009
Trying to save her job, Frankie organizes a publicity stunt by filling a car with jelly beans. Meanwhile, Sue fails to make the swim team and realizes that she needs glasses and Brick starts reading his mother's romance novels when he can't check books out of the library.
Director: Lee Shallat Chemel
Writer: Eileen Heisler
- 6.0/105 votes
#6 - The Scratch
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/18/2009
Frankie accidentally hits Brick in the head with a beer bottle when trying to get the trash out before the garbage truck leaves. But when Brick innocently tells his school that the scratch was caused by his mother throwing a beer bottle at him, a social worker comes to evaluate the Heck family. Meanwhile, Bob helps Mr. Ehlert shoot a commercial for the car lot.
Director: Wendey Stanzler
Writer: Eileen Heisler
- 6.0/104 votes
#7 - Signals
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 5/12/2010
Frankie points out to Mike that his social ineptness has been passed on to Brick, leading Mike to decide that both he and Brick need to be more social, and the Heck family BBQ is the perfect time to try. Meanwhile, Axl volunteers to clean the family pool in an attempt to get girls to stop by and swim and Sue tries to raise money for a local parish because her new friend, Reverend TimTom might be leaving in order to keep costs down
Director: Jamie Babbit
Writer: Eileen Heisler
- 6.0/104 votes
#8 - Back to School
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 9/22/2010
Frankie comes up with a plan to stay on top of her kids' schedules; Brick's new teacher (Doris Roberts) accuses Frankie of being overprotective.
Director: Wendey Stanzler
Writer: Eileen Heisler
- 6.0/103 votes
#9 - Taking Back the House
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 1/5/2011
After years of being at their kids' beck-and-call and never having time for themselves, Frankie and Mike decide to take charge of their lives and regain control over the Heck household. But Axl, Sue and Brick don't plan on going down without a fight.
Director: Barnet Kellman
Writer: Eileen Heisler
- 6.0/101 votes
#10 - The Drop Off
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/2013
Frankie becomes emotional as the Hecks send Axl off to college, Sue waits for an important call from school, and Brick gets a new cell phone.
Director: Lee Shallat Chemel
Writer: Eileen Heisler
- 5.0/104 votes
#11 - The Bee
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 3/3/2010
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.
Director: Ken Whittingham
Writer: Eileen Heisler