I enjoyed the College Recruiters episode as a stand-alone 22-minute block, but found it lackluster as a follow-up to Ida's Bride. Ida's Bride was a substantial episode for MITM because it saw a potentially big break for Dewey and a huge life change for Reese. The episode created a huge chance for a follow-up that no one anticipated because the producers managed to keep the fact that it was indeed a two-part episode under wraps quite well.
Like the Houseboat/Emancipation series, however, it made for a quality second episode, but a poor follow-up to the first part. It's implied that Dewey lost in the piano contest, but we don't really know for sure. We're not shown any of Lois' first impressions of Raduca, and for some reason, Malcolm is suddenly inundated with calls from college recruiters. If all of this happened as quickly as it should have, Malcolm should have been on the phone through all of Ida's Bride.
Putting my concerns with the lack of continuity aside, I thought College Recruiters was a decent episode. Raducca is yet another stab at an impersonation of Lois. Sometimes these have worked in the past, and sometimes they haven't. This season, I feel they're getting rather old, since we've already seen Abby back in Army Buddy. I fully expected some other sort of twist, and was rather disappointed that it was never delivered. Raducca seemed so eager to please in Ida's Brides, but exceedingly bossy in College Recruiters. I still don't understand what Reese likes about her so much, but I guess that is his perogative. At one point, it was pretty much confirmed, as some of us had speculated, that indeed since Reese was now 18, there was nothing Lois could legally do to overturn the marriage. And as powerful as Lois is, Reese Comes Home revealed that she can not face the federal government, which means Reese's marriage should have come to an end by the next episode. And with the lack of continuity from the new writers, (which I've been pointing out since the beginning of the season ) we'll probably never hear from her again.
Turning now to Francis and Dewey, we've had quite a few ideas about what may have become of the eldest Wilkerson sibling since his last lengthy performance in Reese Joins the Army. We've seen him appear in a few episodes since then, but very few have given any clue as to what he's done with his life since it was revealed in Hal's Christmas Gift that he was fired from the ranch. From what we know, we can infer that he started enthusiastically looking for a job (Buseys Take a Hostage) but never was hired or found anything worthwhile, and eventually lost interest and grew depressed, now living in a shanty, probably buying the few things they have off of Piama. One wonders why his wife allows this. One could raise the question of whether Piama is indeed still his wife, but I believe that was confirmed in Blackout. She has never been a working sort of person, however, and even on the ranch her duties were limited, so I doubt she has been able to attain a high-paying job. I found it good to see Francis again, but the storyline grew rather boring by the end of it. It was a bit too predictable; in fact, I think it would have been more entertaining if Dewey didn't visit.
The title storyline of this episode was, of course, Malcolm's choice of colleges. I know it can be tough--there's just so many. And I can imagine that when you have an IQ of 165 and am the smartest kid in your school by, to quote Malcolm's girlfriend from Malcolm Dates a Family, "like, a lot," it's even more difficult. I wonder whether it even crosses Malcolm's--or Hal's mind--as to how they are going to pay for such a prestigious school. Harvard is about $25,000 a year, which is probably 75-85% of what Hal and Lois make in a year. Malcolm is probably smart enough to win a few scholarships, but does he have the patience, pride, or common sense he needs? Back on track, I think that this storyline was classic for two reasons. First and most obvious, it was Bryan Cranston at his best. He always manages to play Hal's obsessions in a weird, but believable, way that have become such a hallmark of the show. Second, it, like some of the earlier episodes conceived by Linwood, represents, in an exaggerated manner, what really goes on in homes across the United States. I'll bet 95% of parents want to choose--or at least do what they feel is helping--a college for their kid. I know my parents are. And it can become annoying and old. Hell, I think it's one of the biggest decisions a person makes in their life. It's a decision that's reversible, sometimes, with a lot of work, and a lot of money. But more often than not, where you choose to go to college will decide where you live for the next four or more years, who you hang out with, what jobs you'll be able to do, etc. I saw a statistic somewhere that 85% of people live within 100 miles of where they go to college following their graduation. So you're choosing where you're going to spend the rest of your life and the sorts of people you're going to spend it with. And that's a big choice that a person really has to make for themselves.
Throughout season seven, we've seen Hal really struggling with seemingly bizarre and different things. But it seems like somehow Malcolm's always there to try and comfot and control him. As happy as Hal seems that his boys are all growing up, I'm inclined to think that really he's worried and scared and struggling with the fact of losing yet another, in this case, two of his sons. We know that he's very attached to his sons and loves them more than just about anything in the world. He's always just trying to do what's best for them. And for that he should be commended. He is a good, if slightly zany, father.
I apologize for writing such a long synopsis, but I really thought there was a lot to say about this episode. I look forward to hearing your thoughts as well.
Like the Houseboat/Emancipation series, however, it made for a quality second episode, but a poor follow-up to the first part. It's implied that Dewey lost in the piano contest, but we don't really know for sure. We're not shown any of Lois' first impressions of Raduca, and for some reason, Malcolm is suddenly inundated with calls from college recruiters. If all of this happened as quickly as it should have, Malcolm should have been on the phone through all of Ida's Bride.
Putting my concerns with the lack of continuity aside, I thought College Recruiters was a decent episode. Raducca is yet another stab at an impersonation of Lois. Sometimes these have worked in the past, and sometimes they haven't. This season, I feel they're getting rather old, since we've already seen Abby back in Army Buddy. I fully expected some other sort of twist, and was rather disappointed that it was never delivered. Raducca seemed so eager to please in Ida's Brides, but exceedingly bossy in College Recruiters. I still don't understand what Reese likes about her so much, but I guess that is his perogative. At one point, it was pretty much confirmed, as some of us had speculated, that indeed since Reese was now 18, there was nothing Lois could legally do to overturn the marriage. And as powerful as Lois is, Reese Comes Home revealed that she can not face the federal government, which means Reese's marriage should have come to an end by the next episode. And with the lack of continuity from the new writers, (which I've been pointing out since the beginning of the season ) we'll probably never hear from her again.
Turning now to Francis and Dewey, we've had quite a few ideas about what may have become of the eldest Wilkerson sibling since his last lengthy performance in Reese Joins the Army. We've seen him appear in a few episodes since then, but very few have given any clue as to what he's done with his life since it was revealed in Hal's Christmas Gift that he was fired from the ranch. From what we know, we can infer that he started enthusiastically looking for a job (Buseys Take a Hostage) but never was hired or found anything worthwhile, and eventually lost interest and grew depressed, now living in a shanty, probably buying the few things they have off of Piama. One wonders why his wife allows this. One could raise the question of whether Piama is indeed still his wife, but I believe that was confirmed in Blackout. She has never been a working sort of person, however, and even on the ranch her duties were limited, so I doubt she has been able to attain a high-paying job. I found it good to see Francis again, but the storyline grew rather boring by the end of it. It was a bit too predictable; in fact, I think it would have been more entertaining if Dewey didn't visit.
The title storyline of this episode was, of course, Malcolm's choice of colleges. I know it can be tough--there's just so many. And I can imagine that when you have an IQ of 165 and am the smartest kid in your school by, to quote Malcolm's girlfriend from Malcolm Dates a Family, "like, a lot," it's even more difficult. I wonder whether it even crosses Malcolm's--or Hal's mind--as to how they are going to pay for such a prestigious school. Harvard is about $25,000 a year, which is probably 75-85% of what Hal and Lois make in a year. Malcolm is probably smart enough to win a few scholarships, but does he have the patience, pride, or common sense he needs? Back on track, I think that this storyline was classic for two reasons. First and most obvious, it was Bryan Cranston at his best. He always manages to play Hal's obsessions in a weird, but believable, way that have become such a hallmark of the show. Second, it, like some of the earlier episodes conceived by Linwood, represents, in an exaggerated manner, what really goes on in homes across the United States. I'll bet 95% of parents want to choose--or at least do what they feel is helping--a college for their kid. I know my parents are. And it can become annoying and old. Hell, I think it's one of the biggest decisions a person makes in their life. It's a decision that's reversible, sometimes, with a lot of work, and a lot of money. But more often than not, where you choose to go to college will decide where you live for the next four or more years, who you hang out with, what jobs you'll be able to do, etc. I saw a statistic somewhere that 85% of people live within 100 miles of where they go to college following their graduation. So you're choosing where you're going to spend the rest of your life and the sorts of people you're going to spend it with. And that's a big choice that a person really has to make for themselves.
Throughout season seven, we've seen Hal really struggling with seemingly bizarre and different things. But it seems like somehow Malcolm's always there to try and comfot and control him. As happy as Hal seems that his boys are all growing up, I'm inclined to think that really he's worried and scared and struggling with the fact of losing yet another, in this case, two of his sons. We know that he's very attached to his sons and loves them more than just about anything in the world. He's always just trying to do what's best for them. And for that he should be commended. He is a good, if slightly zany, father.
I apologize for writing such a long synopsis, but I really thought there was a lot to say about this episode. I look forward to hearing your thoughts as well.