I’m not a huge fan of holiday-themed television episodes, but as far as they go The Middle turned in a pretty decent Christmas special last night.
Built around the theme of “12 Days of Christmas,” which was the length of time Frankie’s parents came to stay, we had the opportunity to experience more family time following Mike’s father and brother coming over on Thanksgiving. Let’s just say Frankie’s family’s a mixed bag.
We’ve met Frankie’s mother Pat before, played by Marsha Mason. She’s a little abrasive, if you ask me, but then what kind of sitcom mom/grandmother would she be if she wasn’t? Who’d want to watch a sunny Marie Barone?
Frankie’s father Tag, meanwhile, is a whole other story. Played by the great Jerry Van Dyke, he was the same Assistant Coach Luther Horatio Van Dam that you remember him being on Coach. Here it’s Mike who endured the brunt of his chattiness.
The 1st Day of Christmas introduced us to “The orange,” the link to Frankie’s heritage that she stuffs in the kids’ stockings every year. No way was that blue, patchy thing anything other than a colored tennis ball. I can’t stomach imagining the alternative.
The 2nd Day of Christmas started with exhibits, gifts that the kids got over the years but never opened. If they can’t even be bothered to open things that they wanted, why would they care if Frankie and Mike cut back on their gifts this year? I know conceptually it’s upsetting, but it wasn’t like they were expected to go completely without. Of course the “true meaning” of Christmas didn’t really fly, but I applaud Frankie for trying.
The 7th Day found Axl helping Brick build an igloo, which was awesome. A reading nook next to the hearth? You know it!
On the 8th Day Mike hid from Frankie’s dad … of course, that only resulted in his condemning the family to cold showers until after Christmas. Although the $100 bills that Grandma and Grandpa handed out could have gone a long way toward buying a temporary solution. Motel vacation anyone?
I really can’t stand the cliched TV grandparents who refuse to respect their kids’ parental wishes. To go back to my earlier example, I never enjoyed the alleged comedy in Marie ignoring Debra and Ray’s wishes with regards to their kids. How is that funny? I sided with Frankie’s freak out, but then how is that good for a barrel of laughs? At least on Everybody Loves Raymond Debra was mainly just incredulous.
The kids’ battle with the Glossners was fun, and it was a great move using oranges instead of snowballs. I wonder how hard the oranges could have been had they frozen them first.
Not a bad episode, even if it was over-infused with the holiday spirit, which is never a good thing on TV. I will say, though, that if I had to choose I’d go with Mike’s family over Frankie’s. And not just because they’re the strong, silent type. I just think that Pat brought Tag down a bit too much, and I’m not so into Frankie when her mother’s around.
Besides, since when have her parents chosen to spend the holidays with Frankie’s family over her sister’s?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Dec 09, 2010 @ 14:00 EST5EDT
I laughed out loud at the orange because my mom still puts an orange (and other fruit!) in a Christmas stocking for me. One year I forgot it was in there and pulled out a fuzzy tennis ball a few months later just like Frankie did. In fact, the whole inside of the stocking had taken on a green, fuzzy growth! So, I could totally relate to – and embrace – the orange!