The Middle

On the season premiere, Frankie gets accused of being an over-protective mother, when she tries to explain Brick's eccentricities to his new third grade teacher (Doris Roberts).

Frankie and Mike must choose who is going to proudly walk Axl onto the field at Homecoming...or wait for Sue to stagger over the finish line at her first cross-country meet.

Frankie is humiliated when a store clerk mistakenly assumes that she's shopping for adult diapers when she's actually looking for baby diapers for Sue's babysitting job.

When Axl is suspended from school, Mike forces him to go to work at the quarry to teach him a lesson. And Frankie blames herself when Sue's cross-country team is cut by the school

Frankie convinces Mike and the kids that the Heck family should host a foreign exchange student from Japan to expose him to life in an average American family.

Frankie wants Mike to wear a costume to the neighborhood Halloween party, and Sue's spirits are lifted when Reverend TimTom (Paul Hipp) returns to host a Halloween church event.

For his birthday present, Brick demands that Frankie and Mike tell him the true story about the day he was born - which has always remained a Heck family secret.

Brick wants his independence from being Frankie's weekend errand boy and pleads with her to let him stay home alone. Axl tries to grow a beard - with mixed results.

Frankie wants the macho Heck men to share their feelings with each other when Mike's father and brother (Norm McDonald) join the family for their annual Thanksgiving feast!

Frankie's plans to have a simple holiday are threatened when her parents (guest stars Marsha Mason and Jerry Van Dyke) come to town to spend the 12 days of Christmas with the family.

Frankie and Mike decide it's time to regain control over their lives and the Heck household after years of being at their kids' beck and call.

Frankie mistakenly pays $200 for a small bottle of eye cream that she thought was priced at $20 and incurs the wrath of Mike. And Axl's fathering skills are put to the test.

Mike forms a bond with Brick when he studies up on football in time for the Super Bowl; Frankie thinks her career's looking up when Mr. Ehlert chooses her for a management seminar.

As Valentine's Day approaches, Frankie is elated when Axl asks for her help in impressing his mysterious new girlfriend; and Sue searches for the boy who kissed her at Halloween.

Frankie's determined to find Brick his first friend; Sue's caught sneaking into an R-rated movie; and Axl and his friends covertly shoot footage of their hot biology teacher.

After Sue wins a family trip to New York, Murphy's Law goes into full effect and it's anything but a smooth flight, when the Hecks board a plane and fly to the Big Apple.

Frankie tries to make the grade when she and Mike must defend Brick and head back to the classroom to test their own skills against Brick's teacher (Doris Roberts).

The Hecks attempt to Spring clean 20 years of junk accumulated throughout the house, but end up digging up things that were best left forgotten and buried.

After repeatedly warning Axl to clean up his mess, Mike punishes his son by forbidding him from playing on the final school basketball game of the season.

Frankie's obsession over the upcoming British Royal Wedding turns into an obsession as she begins preparations to enjoy the festivities.

Mother's Day for Frankie turns out to be anything but serene when Mike and the kids present Frankie with the perfect Mother's Day gift - a day to herself.

As prom quickly approaches, Axl text-invites the wrong girl and wants to weasel out - but Frankie and Mike force him to do the right thing.

Frankie and Mike attempt to cure Brick of his irrational fear of crossing over bridges. Axl vies for a lifeguard job at the local pool and Sue searches for a new bathing suit.

Brick has three days to complete a daunting school assignment he has neglected for the entire year or he risks not being moved up to the fourth grade.