The Middleman (probable spoilers)

[ShadowMaat]

Read about this show online and felt enough morbid curiosity to give it a shot. Now, having watched the pilot ep, I'm not sure what to think.

It's over-the-top cheesy. A deliberate, overwhelming cheesefest. At times the balance tips over into outright stupidity and even knowing that the dialogue and situations are supposed to be silly I'm not quite sure it works and I can't decide if the "good" balances it out.

The premise is simple enough: comic book evil really exists. And likewise, comic book good guys really exist in the form of The Middleman, a WWII-looking bastion of goodness who says things like "dagnabit" and "doggone" and who has all kinds of nifty comic book-type weapons and gadgetry that he uses to Save the Day when tentacle monsters, evil scientists, alien invaders and the like.

At some point I actually developed a crawling sort of fear that this show was based off one of the "Who Wants To Be a Superhero?" guys. I'm pretty sure it isn't, but the cheese levels are still overwhelming. And yet I find myself willing to tune in again to see what happens. It's like a twinkie...

Dunno if I'll keep watching, but for now I'm willing to give it another shot.

Oh, and I do have one prediction: Wendy's father was the previous Middleman.

[MarshAngel]

The cheese didn't bother me overmuch but I thought the peppy, too fast, dialogue was trying way too hard to be witty and teetered on annoying and incomprehensible. The constant barage of pop culture references seemed forced and they really haven't gotten a handle on cliches, of which there were too many to count.

It's not a particularly original setup but it's not a bad one either. I'm finding more and more that episode 1 is never a good gauge for an entire series. These things usually get better with time so I'll give it another viewing.

[warmbeachbrat]

*sigh* I was really looking forward to watching this. BUT, about a half hour before it started, my daughter called. Her husband found a baby bird and could I please come and take it to the shelter? They don't have a car and live about an hour away. So, bye-bye Middleman. I suppose they'll re-air it before next week, so I'll try to catch it then.

Oh, the bird (a tiny, pink, naked little thing--no bigger than my little finger) will survive....

[TheGreatLordGeorge]

I watched it, it was okay. I will give it my standard three show tryout

[Uberdork7898]

Does anybody else watch this utterly fantastic show that airs on ABC Family?

It was originally a comic book series created by Javier Grillo-Marxuach. The premise of the show is, "A struggling artist is recruited by a secret agency to fight against evil forces".

[Kezia]

Never heard of it... sounds awesome though. Thanks for the rec, I'll check it out.

[drjacksonfan]

i love this show. i have seen every episode to date.. i make sure not to miss it..
i'm even blogging over at tvguide.com in the community blogs.. i love it.. i'm trying to get more people into it..

[the fifth man]

I haven't seen any of this show yet. I'll have to check it out.

[Uberdork7898]

i love it too drjacksonfan! i'm trying to get more people to watch it, but they say "it's an aquired taste." which it is of course.

[ShadowMaat]

Still watching. Still enjoying, too, although the cheesiness still overloads my senses once in a while. I think it helps that the Middleman himself is quite yummy. His phraseology is also a bit of a draw. It kinda reminds me of the Adam West version of Batman and it does definitely capture the comic book feel. LOL! I don't think the move to 10PM is a good sign, but I'll keep watching while it lasts.

[Uberdork7898]

same here. and yes, MM is quite yummy. and i love the middlecar. it reminds me of the impala the winchester brothers have on supernatural. i love the random phrases he spouts out. if you go to the show's webpage, you can actually vote for the the phrase he'll say in the season finale.

i think they just moved it to 10 b/c it's a little more adult than disney likes. whatever. i think it'd do better on another site. some want it to move to sci-fi, but they'd probably just cancel it like all the other good shows they had on sci-fi.

[MB.Eddie]

I've watched the first 5 eps. It certainly is pretty cheesy + a little lame in parts, but like others have mentioned, the MM + his phrases make you tune in for the next episode.

[ShadowMaat]

So... After reading that the Middleman has basically been canceled I was kinda jonesing for a Middleman fix and much to my astonishment came across a Middleman collected comics thing at the library. It was... weird. No one "looked" right (I think they even made Noser white) and while some of the stories were kinda fun (there were a few that weren't on the show) I'm ultimately not sure it was worth the effort, mostly because of how it ended.

Spoiler:

They killed the Middleman! And then, depending on which version you go with (there are two) either the O2STK bumps up Wendy's dad to take over the top spot or Wendy herself assumes command and "15 Years Later..." is still refusing to take on an apprentice.

Bah. Between that and the "Cape Cod and the Islands were completely submerged" offhand comment in another book I just finished I'm feeling a bit depressed. *sigh* I need a happy fluffy book. Or more Middlemanly goodness. Or both.

[mr_kennedy]

why didnt i see this thread?

i loved this show, i checked the first episode out just outta curiousity and thought it was abit lame but then i watched the second episode wow i laughed my ass off, talking gorilla who is trying to start a mob? lol

matt keesler is a great actor

as for the middlemans phrases? kinda reminds me of ned flanders

i want a season 2 now already