I've been watching the series on Netflix and its really jarring that after season 5 it goes from Francis being in every episode to Francis suddenly not appearing for long stretches of episodes at a time. I've been trying to find info on why this happened but can't. Was curious if anybody had any info on this.
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I don't have an answer to that, but I do have to say I literally LOLed at your signature. That is all kinds of awesome.
So say we all.
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I agree , never liked any of the Francis scenes ...
Agreed! Francis did nothing but complain about his childhood which if her talked to a normal person they would have just laughed in his face. Not even a therapist would blame Lois for his behavior. Yes Lois was nuts but Francis was uncontrollable and his character was just terrible...
Barbara Stanwyck and I used to ride the trolley! ~Andrea Zuckerman
I'm surprised that so many didn't like the Francis scenes. The academy was hilarious! I didn't care as much for the Alaskan stuff but his fistfight with Velma or Verma (or whatever her name was), that too, was really funny. I also didn't care much for the dude ranch scenario. But all of the things I didn't like were more about the settings he landed in rather than the character. The character was the perfect foil for Lois. He's the only one she couldn't outsmart or manage. She was always one step ahead of the boys and I loved the bond between the brothers when they would call Francis for help getting around Lois.
I thought his character was fully developed - it's just he is an immature whiner but very stubborn and determined. And as he grows in maturity, he reverts whenever he's in Lois' presence. I've known many people in real life who still blame their parents or, revert to certain behaviors when around their parents. So to those on the board who've said it's not -- what's not "developed" about the writing of the character?
The Alaska episode I liked was that one where the guys get snowed in and they're fighting over a string and in the end they try to brand Eric as a string thief.
I'm a Timelord.
Right, not pompous at all then.
"Looking at the number of episodes he was in, it's the same as all the other main characters"
They go by episodes he was credited in, not necessarily appeared in. His name is on the credits at the beginning of every episode, but he definitely does not appear in every episode.
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Maybe because he was boring, whiny, immature, and undeveloped as a character. I could have done with a lot less Francis in every episode. Except the one where he eats the marshmallow snacks on a bet. That was funny.
What's apparent is that Francis is a screw-up. He's the yardstick that Lois and Hal don't want the younger boys to get anywhere near.
So before Jamie's birth, in order to keep Malcolm "in the middle" age-wise, our focus is on the three boys and they just provide semi-regular updates on how badly Francis is doing. It's useful insofar as demonstrating his influence on the younger ones and their general behaviour patterns.
Once Jamie is born, there's less need to dwell on past parental failings (Francis) and we look to the future in a more optimistic way.
My interpretation anyway.
It says in the trivia that Christopher Masterson (the actor who plays Francis) took more of an interest in the production side of the show (directing and writing) for seasons 6 & 7, which is why his character is absent from most of those seasons.
shareI honestly don't know the real reason, but I assume the writers decided to cut out his parts and try and focus more on Jamie and Dewey before the show was over. I'm glad they did. I don't hate Francis, like others do, but after the military school his storylines started to go downhill. Alaska and Otto's ranch were barely interesting. They were only slightly decent for maybe a one time watch, but every time I watch the episodes again, I skip his parts now. His scenes weren't really interesting and it was always the same thing: some goofy thing was going on in his random marriage or at the ranch that needed fixing. I wasn't interested. I was happily surprised that Jamie's storylines and Dewey's turned out to be interesting and I'm glad the writers went in that direction than sticking with Francis. I was content that they still kept Francis in the show but didn't weight down the episodes with his storylines like they did before.
I'm a Timelord.
Right, not pompous at all then.