The Middleman

A friend said I should take advantage of the free iTunes download, and it was great advice: The Middleman is the best show I've seen since Pushing Daisies. Both shows feature smart, rapid-fire dialog, but The Middleman features more action (and more jokes) with a lot less romance.

Another reviewer thought the pop-culture references were current and disposable, but I don't think the show has that feel at all: there were far more jokes referencing (and name-checking) comic books and other pop culture from the 20th century. The show even self-references the fact that the "reality" of the show is like a comic book, complete with "monsters, robots... aliens?" Even so, you jokes are plentiful, and if you're not a comics nerd you'll still enjoy it (there were a surprising number of painting jokes, frex). The show should have no trouble holding up years from now.

I was surprised the show will be on ABC Family. It doesn't really seem like a family show, but then again many of the more adult jokes may be over the heads of a younger audience. Frex, the heroine's roommate asks her what it is like to be a "beard." If you like The Venture Brothers, Men In Black, Ghostbusters, or the last bunch of Reaper episodes, you'll like The Middleman<. I've seen comments that it is a ripoff of MIB, Special Unit 2, or Reaper, but if the pilot is any guide is totally avoids the drama and angsty-ness that SU2 or Reaper occasionally indulge in: The Middleman sticks to laughs, and is more comic-booky. And I mean that in a good way.

I've never entered a comment on IMDb before, but I felt the other poster's comments were so unfair that I was motivated to submit my own views.

What a great new show. I was compelled to write this after I saw a negative review of it up here. It's definitely not for everyone, but I found the characters charming, funny, and likable. I can't wait to see what happens in the future episodes! It starts off with Wendy Watson on the never ending job hunts, and she finally finds her job as a Middleman. Dealing with all kinds of odd creatures and evil that seem like they'd be straight out of comic books and sci-fi movies. I won't say anymore as I don't want to spoil it, but definitely check out this show! It's a good one :) I'm really excited for it, ABC Family has been stepping up their game, with shows like Kyle XY and Wildfire. It's awesome too that it's during the summer when most shows have just finished up their season.

"The Middleman" was a delightful, campy series that faithfully brought beloved comic book characters to life. It was full of quirkiness, enjoyable predictability, and good old down home humor that was refreshing amidst the doldrum selection of TV viewing currently available to viewers who just wish to be entertained. Kudos to the writers, creator, special effects crew, and the talented actors that made this series so full of happy moments and tongue-in-cheek humor. The story lines were full of surprising variety interspersed with unexpected twists and turns. The dialog was sharp, witty, and included the right amount of clever references to past sci-fi classic shows that gave even the nerdiest viewer a satisfying taste of nostalgia throughout this top notch series.

I do hope it will return for a second season since the 1st season finale left us wanting more,more,more!

Unfortunately this got a short run, it was a really good series, very weird sci-fi, strange characters, unusual cases, but above all wonderfully weird, fun and entertaining.

This was really one I had hoped would go on, but maybe it was the time (many shows didn't continue) or maybe it was the weirdness of the series that didn't give it enough viewers, maybe not a typical ABC show in many ways actually :)

I loved it for the weirdness, the strange characters and the insane spectacles and scenery, it was kind of a low budget setting and what you in movie sense would call a b-genre one. But it worked and really incorporated that spirit into the series.

I just stumbled over a DVD with the full session 1, it was not broad casted in Germanistan,like most good TV-shows. I bought it mostly for the nice screen shots on the back and was totally surprised. This show was not only really funny, it had (I'd never believed to find this in a US serial)esprit. It's what 'Austin Powers' and the unspeakable 'Avengers' movie tried to be and failed, a parforce ride through popcultur. I love it because it is made by people who love their characters and their world. They took every superherostereotyp, from marvel comics, over Kung Fu flicks,up to Mexican wrestlers added a dash of MIB, Avengers, shook (not steered)and added a cherry of good sitcom figures. They make fun on all this, but it's obvious, that they always keep their sympathy for this figures and the values they represented, as they have been a part of their childhood and are still a part of the western collective sub-conscience. It's like rereading Your old comic books and realizing, that they had formed Your view of the world. Some other IMDb-users wrote, that they had missed a background story . . . I have to say to this, that they didn't make the step the scriptwriters did. A background story is just a McGuffin. So it is only consequent to do, as Sir Alfred Hitchcock did,in "Nort by Nortwest", just skip it. It is sad the serial was discontinued, but it was foreseeable. Only a minority would see the hidden anarchistic humor behind the slick surface.