The Middleman

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.

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.

I found The Middleman when a friend suggested it to me, he said "It's your kind of comedy". He was right. The Middleman is the kind of show for fans of The Tick or Mel Brooks movies, lots of quirky jokes some of which take a minute to register because your brain needs time to process them. For those seeking plot info the basic premise is Wendy Watson, struggling artist gets hired by a temp agency and finds out her boss (The Middleman) actually solves problems and protects the citizenry against hostile creature para-, extra-, and juxta-terrestrial. It's kind of a 'men in black' thing without the memory eraser. There are running gags in every episode, sometimes its the fake names, sometimes its about song titles, sometimes its even the info that pops up X-Files style on the screen. All in all, it's my favorite show to come from ABC in many years and I hope it will return for many season to come.

I was a little hesitant at first to watch this show, there's just not enough time in my busy life to waste watching a lame show. But I recorded it on the off chance I might get a moment of free time. It just so happens that I did get that moment and I'm glad I did. So much so, that I watched the 2nd episode right after the first, and if there was another, I would have watched it too. I really enjoyed the show.

I don't need to go into details that were already covered, but if you like Eureka or liked Wonderfalls or any other light, entertaining fictional show, then this is the show for you. Besides the great reviews it received from the NY Times and the TV Guide, it's just fun to watch. There is so much going on that I'm going to watch them both again tonight just to see what I missed.

Odd, Weird, Strange and Campy........but the more you watch it the more it grows on you and you begin to love it. An snappy, well written comedy that's unlike anything on TV now. Watch it for that reason alone. It's different and highly entertaining. Don't know if it will carve out an audience sufficient enough to stay on the air long, but it will surely gathered a devoted audience, like other offbeat and short lived shows (The Tick, The Dresden Files and Wonderfalls for example). The comic acting is spot on and the supporting cast is extremely strong. I promise you, if you watch it, you WILL be hooked, if you have any imagination at all.