Written By Summer 2011 : Page 40
was amenable to giving it another shot. The humor is grounded in reality. are blunt, but solid as a rock. Which is necessary because Frankie is a dervish, Even the economy complied by tanking, making the show’s milieu topical. For example, when Mike Heck whirling around in frenetic worry over the kids and how to raise them properly. So they went back to work. The creators recognized that the magic just (Neil Flynn), paterfamilias and Or, as Mike asks, “What magazine or lady show can I blame for this?” hadn’t been there with the first ensemble Mike is an equal partner in both par-and were eager to recast. And while the quarry manager, says, “I told you I enting and household. Here the writers pilot script remained largely intact, the tone had been too dark and indie. In loved you the day I married you. If admit to a bit of wish-fulfillment. Not for themselves. Speaking in unison, they avow keeping the show realistic, they’d made it too sad. A subplot with teen son Axl anything had changed, I’d have let that their own husbands are both fully in-volved in family life. But after watching was particularly depressing; his friend had died playing chicken with his truck. you know,” it rings true, despite a shot of Mike listening patiently to his wife’s complaints, Heisler told actor Neil ABC wanted it to be brighter, and “to make sure it’s hard funny,” notes Heisler. the absurdity. And it should. The Flynn that the scene was Mom porn . The retooled show was picked up. Re-In its own casual way, the show pos-casting everyone but youngest child line was lifted directly from Heline’s its that the very nature of motherhood Brick (Atticus Shaffer) had provided the might drive moms crazy. It’s a nice twist chemistry that eluded them the first go-real-life grandfather. from the usual sitcom sane-mother/oaf-round. ish-father routine; Mom gets to be the nutcase, while Dad is often the one who The Middle is their first single camera manages to keep it together. comedy, which they found liberating. The Heck family watches TV and eats fast food. Usually at the same time. Go Ask Axl An attempt to eat together at the dining Axl Heck, 16, is the kind of proud un-table prompts the anguished question derachiever who announces petulantly, from daughter Sue, “Are you dying?” “God, chill, I’ll study while they’re The kids look like real kids, the house handing out the test.” He was initially looks like a real house, the mess looks the least developed character of the five like a real mess, and the parents look Hecks. Says Heline, “We wanted him weary. “Our challenge was to not make to be that typical teen but still differ-it zany because we had no interest in do-ent, not someone you’ve seen a million ing that,” says Heline of the second go-times.” They found help from Heline’s round. “Our goal was to make it real but memories of her cousin as a teen, who kick it up a level.” behaved somewhat akin to a hibernating bear. But they credit They decided to use a voiceover from the mother’s point actor Charlie McDermott with thoroughly fleshing out the of view, a television rarity. Heline notes that the voiceover is character. “Charlie’s rhythms were an inspiration” to their useful “because you have a lot of story to cover in 20 minutes. writing, says Heisler, “and he’s inherently quite sweet.” His It’s getting harder and harder to do.” ability to walk around in boxers without any apparent self-The writers shy away from pat endings. Frankie might feel consciousness is a gift all its own. motivated to improve the family in some way, but by the end Interminable optimist Sue Heck, 14 (Eden Sher), is the of the episode, she usually admits defeat. quintessential middle child. She tries out for every club, un-“Your teenager isn’t going to say, ‘Wow, I learned my les-daunted by her lack of talent. The first season finale has her son.’ People respect that about the show,” says Heline. “It’s going out for cross-country and barely making the no-cut not just that sweet ending where everything is now settled. team. Even as the crowd cheers her woebegone tryout run It’s more, Well, we tried that and it didn’t work .” that ends in a crawl across the finish line, they get her name wrong. But the writers were careful not to make her pitiful. The humor is grounded in reality. For example, when She’s just a normal girl. Mike Heck (Neil Flynn), paterfamilias and quarry manager, “I thought I was a pretty cool kid, but then I realized a lot says, “I told you I loved you the day I married you. If any-of things that happened to Sue happened to me, so then I thing had changed, I’d have let you know,” it rings true, de-realized I wasn’t as cool as I thought,” admits Heline. When spite the absurdity. And it should. The line was lifted directly Sue is challenged to a fight by the neighborhood bullies, the from Heline’s real-life grandfather. Glossner brothers, she, and her best friend choreograph a “That exemplified my grandparents’ relationship and that dance to the song “Kung Fu Fighting.” kind of man,” she says. A man of few words, and those few 40 • WGA W Written By SUMMER 2011
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