5 Essential Malcolm In The Middle Episodes To Watch Before The Hulu Revival

For a generation of comedy fans who grew up at the turn of the millennium, "Malcolm in the Middle" was an essential family sitcom with a satirical edge. The series debuted on Fox on January 9, 2000, and it ran for seven seasons.

Although the series came to an end nearly two decades ago, it's returning as a four-episode revival series, "Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair," which will bring back almost all of the original cast members. That show is slated to premiere April 10 on Hulu.

While there may not be enough time to comfortably rewatch all 151 episodes of "Malcolm in the Middle" before "Life's Still Unfair," narrowing down the original show to five essential episodes should make it easier to revisit these characters and allow newcomers to get up to speed.

These aren't necessarily the very best episodes of the show, but they do provide everything you need to know about Malcolm and his family, as well as their occasionally messy relationships with each other.

For anyone new to "Malcolm in the Middle," the best place to start is at the beginning. In the pilot episode, Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) introduces the audience to his parents, Hal (Bryan Cranston) and Lois (Jane Kaczmarek), as well as his brothers Francis (Christopher Kennedy Masterson), Reese (Justin Berfield), and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan). But this is Malcolm's story, as he has to deal with being labeled a genius and forced to move into the gifted "Krelboyne" class.

As scary as Lois can be at times, she really comes through for Malcolm when she convinces him to accept his new class. This episode also establishes the lifelong bond between Malcolm and his disabled classmate, Stevie (Craig Lamar Traylor).

"Krelboyne Girl" was the debut appearance of Cynthia (Tania Raymonde), a new student in the Krelboyne class and the first girl to have a major crush on Malcolm. He's come a long way since, but Malcolm doesn't initially know how to handle Cynthia's feelings for him. One gesture of kindness in class is all it takes to win her devotion, which leads to some very funny scenes when she eats dinner at Malcolm's house with his family.

By the time Malcolm realizes that he reciprocates Cynthia's affection, he almost wrecks their connection before anything comes from it. Cynthia only had a handful of appearances on this show, but she helps pave the way for Malcolm's future relationships. This episode also has one the best cold openings as Malcolm sets up Reese for a particularly nasty prank.

Hal and Francis get the B-plot as the former saves the latter from a whupping. Francis doesn't appreciate the favor for what it was, which is why his father actually drove out to the military academy to make sure the lesson was conveyed. In the end, Francis may have wound up facing an even bigger punishment from his peers.

It takes a lot to get Malcolm and his brothers on the same page, but Lois' manic rage in "Hal's Birthday" is more than enough to convince them to run away. Rather than roughing it, they use their dad's credit card to get a nice hotel room with all of the amenities. It was refreshing to see Reese, Dewey, and Malcolm just having the time of their lives together, especially considering the dysfunctional mess they leave behind at home.

The thing that sets Lois off is Francis' arrival with his new wife, Piama (Emy Coligado). That news goes down about as well anyone would expect Lois to take it, especially since she paid for Francis' plane ticket home as a surprise for Hal's birthday. Piama turns out to be a major supporting character on the show, and one of the few who doesn't wilt in fear when Lois yells and screams at her. Even in her first appearance, Piama holds her ground, even though her introduction to the family ends on a sour note.

There's no arguing with Francis' reason for keeping his new bride a secret. Lois probably would have ruined the wedding. But Francis really hurt Hal's feelings by not asking him to be there, and their reconciliation is one of the most heartwarming parts of the story.

"Long Drive" is the quintessential Reese episode. His parents send him to prison for a day as part of a Scared Straight program. In theory, getting yelled at by scary convicts like Samuel (Lester Speight) is meant to frighten Reese into being compliant with the law. Instead, he's the only kid there who realizes that Samuel can't actually hurt them because his act is largely performative.

This episode also has excellent side stories for the rest of the family, as Malcolm is trapped in a car with his mom on an extended trip while she gives him "the talk." Meanwhile, Dewey causes Hal's band, the Gentleman Callers, to break up just by asking questions that bring out their inner conflicts. But the way Hal brings the group back together is touching.

Even Francis gets a meaty part in this episode when he accidentally kills a cow that was beloved by his boss, Otto (Kenneth Mars). That could have ended badly very badly for Francis, but the reaffirmation of his friendship with Otto is another nice touch.

The final episode of the series reveals why Hal and Lois have had such high expectations for Malcolm, and who they want him to become. This actually reframes a lot of their actions towards him in a more positive light, even if their decisions in the present cost Malcolm an easy path to success straight out of high school.

Hal once again demonstrates that he's a good father by offering himself up to a loan shark (played by series creator Linwood Boomer) with an inventive proposal. Hal suggests that he take a beating in advance for non-payment of a loan, as long as it helps Malcolm pay for his college. It's one of Bryan Cranston's best scenes in the finale.

Almost everyone in the family gets the happy ending they deserve, except perhaps for Hal and Lois. What they learn is that they're going to have to go through parenthood at least one more time. Malcolm's youngest brother Jamie (James and Lukas Rodriguez) was born during the series. The revival is going to introduce his previously unseen sixth sibling.