FAQ

There's no way to know. The episode presents two different scenarios of what would happen if Hal were to take the boys or if Lois were to take the boys. It's best to think of the two plot lines as taking place in different dimensions where in one dimension Lois is micromanaging Malcolm, Reese and their friends and things get out of control while in the other dimension Hal leaves the boys alone and things get out of control. However as to which one takes place in the same universe as the remainder of the series to this day remains a mystery.

In the context of age of the 3 (later four, with the birth of Jamie) children remaining at home, Malcolm is the middle child. It also means that he's part of a (lower) middle class family, given the occupations of his parents.

No one has answered this question yet.

"Krelboyne class" is a reference to Seymour Krelboin, a nerdy character from The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). Note: in Little Shop of Horrors (1986), the musical remake of the earlier film, the character's name was changed slightly to Krelborn.

"Busey class" is a reference to actor Gary Busey, known for his erratic public behavior (he suffered suspected brain damage in 1988).

Wilkerson.

The writers original wanted to keep the family's surname a mystery but it was already revealed on the show. The last name of the family has been revealed only twice in the show, in Pilot (2000), where Francis wears the name tag "Wilkerson" on his school uniform (it can be seen best in the scene where he is talking with his family on the phone). Also, though unaired, it appears in a joke from the original pilot script. In that script, Malcolm was walking to school when a neighborhood kid came running up shouting, "Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm. I was talking to my parents last night - I was listening to them talk, and what's your last name?" "Wilkerson, why?" Malcolm replied. "Oh. Who are the Pariahs?" said the other kid. The joke was eventually cut.

A special feature on the season 1 DVD stated also that their surname was Wilkerson.

A trailer on the UK channel Sky One in early 2006 advised viewers to spend time with The Simpsons (1989) and "The Wilkersons," advertising Sunday night new episodes of both series. Another trailer was released to advertise the last episodes, of 24 (2001) and Malcolm in the Middle: it claimed "Say Goodbye to the Wilkersons."

In Graduation (2006), Francis drops his employee ID on the ground and it clearly shows his name as "Francis Nolastname", a nod to the fact that the family surname has barely been mentioned. When Malcolm is being introduced for his graduation speech, his last name is not heard due to feedback from the microphone, but the host can be seen mouthing "Nolastname".

And also in S6E6 titled 'Hal's Christmas Gift', when Hal finds out Malcolm has a credit card, he gives him a hug only to steal said card and about 19:31 you can see the card when he takes it out the wallet and the name says "Reese Nolastname", another nod (it's not entirely clear why the card says "Reese" and not "Malcolm", but it's likely a reused prop from the episode Reese's Apartment).

In S5E22, Reese is seen wearing his army uniform in the airplane as he stands up and is given a parachute. His name tag says Jetson, but this was the fake name he used to get into the army. Reese is referenced as Jetson in the following episode S6E1.

Three men fighting a giant turtle: One Million Years B.C. (1966)

Smiling man in rain: Shiogami from Nazca (1998)

Monster rising out of the ocean: The Kraken from Clash of the Titans (1981).

Woman being held above a nest of pterodactyls: One Million Years B.C. (1966)

Dimetrodon-like lizard crawling on rocks: A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1977)

A boy skateboarding: Nazca (1998)

Mud-monster grabbing a woman as she kisses a man: Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)

Man ski-jumping while on fire: Thrillseekers (1973)

Wrestling match: Bret Hart wrestling Chris Benoit (locking him in his finishing move, the Sharpshooter), during the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match at the 1999 WCW Mayhem (1999) Pay-per-view in Toronto.

Robot head being assembled: Out of the Unknown (1965)

Man attacking giant brain with an axe: The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)

Boxer knocking out referee: Pedro Cardenas fighting Willie de Wit but accidentally KOing referee Bert Lowes instead, during the 1982 North American Championships in Las Vegas.

His wrongdoings are only told in flashback and sketchily, but we know that Francis was a troublemaker from a young age: he broke curfew, drank alcohol, smoked and slept with many women. After being caught in bed with a girlfriend, crashing a neighbor's car (which proceeded to catch on fire), and getting four nose rings (Lois warned him he would go to military academy if he got so much as one), he was finally sent away.

Lois' parents, Victor Welker and Ida Kenzel, are probably Ukrainian. Ida mentions having been through a "camp", and they later lived in an unnamed city which has a large Ukrainian population in the province of Manitoba, Canada. In Ida's Dance (2005), Lois and Ida dance in what resembles Ukrainian traditional dress. However, within the same episode, Lois and her mother use the Romanian word "Noroc" when toasting. The Ukrainian phrase for cheers is "Na zdorov'ya! Budmo!" ("Let's live long!"). Also, in the episode Lois goes to celebrate St. Grouts day there is a Croatian coat of arms on the wall as well as a picture of the Cathedral of Zagreb. These three elements were probably combined to create an unclear, fictional identity to ensure no character is associated with a specific ethnicity (which was also the reason behind the original secrecy around the family's last name, "Wilkerson").