Malcolm in the Middle: The Complete First Season

In the words of They Might be Giants' rollicking Grammy-winning theme song, "life is unfair." This inventive and wholly original sitcom has been honored with a Peabody Award and Emmys for directing and writing, but if life was fair, it would have also earned an Emmy for Best Comedy Series, not to mention statues for its pitch-perfect cast. With his perpetual "yes, me worry" expression, Frankie Muniz instantly earns audience empathy as Malcolm, whose chances for a normal life are thwarted not only by his genius IQ (as discovered in the pilot episode), but also by his outrageously dysfunctional family: Lois (Jane Kaczmarek), his obsessive, control-freak mother; Hal (Bryan Cranston), his devoted but ineffectual father; Francis (Christopher Masterson), his eldest brother waging his own private war at military school; middle brother Reese (Justin Berfield), a delinquent savant; and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan), the put-upon youngest who is not as innocent as he looks. As Malcolm observes at one point, "this family may be rude, loud and gross, and have no shame whatsoever, but with them you know where you stand." This three-disc set contains all 16 episodes from the irreverently funny first season that brilliantly sustains its subversive tone throughout. DVD extras include a commentary track on the pilot episode (with select scene commentaries on the others), a 42-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, and a gag reel. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (K. Lee Benson)