The Middleman

The Middleman on ABC Family: yes, in some ways, you're giving money to Pat Robertson. I think, all I know is that he's somehow still on ABC Family. How they can show the 700 Club and The Middleman back to back is painful to my brain. But man oh man, The Middleman may be the best comic book adaptation ever. For those not in the know, Javier Grillo-Marxuach (a former writer for Lost) wrote the pilot episode for the series some years back, but no one wanted to pick it up, so he turned it into a comic in 2005. And published three trade paperbacks over the next few years until ABC Family (in their infinite wisdom) actually picked this up for series. Originally planned to be 13 episodes, the ratings have been bad, and so the order was cut down to 12. I don't want this to go the way of all the other awesome shows I love on TV (unlike Pushing Daisies and Lost) and get canceled. Anyway, the plot is that a temp, named Wendy Watson (nicknamed Dub-Dub, which always makes me think of Jubjub), ends up hired by mysterious superhero The Middleman to be his replacement and they end up having to fight crime with the help of an alien android and lots of crazy technology with ridiculous names (like the BTRS Scanner, which stands for Beyond the Realm of Science). And more puns and references to pop culture than I could have thought possible. Every episode seems to have a lot of references to one particular subject matter, like the trout zombie episode having many references to the band, The Zombies. Episode titles include "The Sino-Mexican Revelation" (a group of Lucha Libre wrestlers kidnap the Middleman's sensei (played by the Chairman, Mark Dacascos, shown here with the Middleman), "The Flying Fish Zombification" (about a guy turning people into trout zombies...), and "The Boyband Superfan Interrogation" (about an alien who is trying to stop a boy band from destroying the planet through the use of wormholes). Honestly, this is just about the smartest show I have seen in years. But beyond the absurd plots (Supersmart Gorillas Obsessed With Gangster Movies! Recovering Succubi! A Cursed Tuba From The Titanic!), the best thing is the characters. Wendy (adorably played by the adorable Natalie Morales) lives in an illegal sublet with another young photogenic artist, played by Brit Morgan, and is friends with Noser, who generally speaks all in song lyrics and plays "Stump the Band" in a highly entertaining fashion. These are real people in a bizarre but enjoyable world and their interactions are what make the TV show worth watching.

I've been watching it with Tweaks and Meat. And for those of you who want advanced studies in Middlemania, go here to see a bunch of behind the scenes videos and promos giving you a bit of the idea of the ridiculous awesomenosity of the show. This week's episode is about ghosts at a sorority, and constantly references Ghostbusters and Wendy talks about how she watches terrible zombie films to remind her of how awesome the good ones are. It was just great. And there will be upcoming episodes with Kevin "TV's Hercules" Sorbo, vampire puppets (can't possibly be as good as Smile Time, but I'm happy that there will be more vampire puppets on TV), and an evil parallel universe (with goatees!). I defy you to watch this show and not enjoy it. Please watch it. Please.