This article is about the TV series. For the comic book, see
The Middleman
.
American TV series or program
The Middleman
is an American television series. The series, which was developed for television by
Javier Grillo-Marxuach
for
ABC Family
, is based on the
Viper Comics
series,
The Middleman
, created by Grillo-Marxuach and
Les McClaine
. The series ran for one season in 2008.
Originally confirmed for an initial 13 episodes, the order was reduced to a 12-episode season due to low ratings. In February 2009, a
comic book
based on the unproduced 13th episode was announced, confirming the series' cancellation.
[1]
Billed as a "series finale",
The Middleman ? The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse
was released in July 2009. The complete series DVD set was released by
Shout! Factory
on July 28, 2009.
[2]
Premise
[
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]
Wendy Watson, a struggling artist, is recruited by a secret agency to fight against evil forces.
[3]
Wendy lives in an illegal
sublet
apartment with her young, photogenic, animal activist friend Lacey. The Middleman is a freelance fixer of "exotic problems", which include mad scientists bent on taking over the world, hostile aliens, and various supernatural threats, aided by Ida, a robot in the form of a grumpy schoolmarm. Because of Wendy Watson's coolness under pressure and photographic memory, the Middleman recruits her to become the next Middleman-in-training. Wendy struggles to balance her world-saving adventures with her friendships with Lacey and her neighbor Noser.
The series includes numerous
pop-culture
references. For example, in the first episode, Wendy calls herself "
Robin
the Boy Hostage", a quote from the comic book
The Dark Knight Returns
by
Frank Miller
; that same episode features a super-intelligent ape who murders several members of the Italian Mafia and spouts catchphrases from American movies about the Mafia, such as
Scarface
,
Goodfellas
and
The Godfather
.
Cast and characters
[
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]
Episodes
[
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]
Season 1 (2008)
[
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]
Unfilmed episode
[
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]
While the episode was never filmed, the show's cast have performed a live reading of the episode script during the 2009 San Diego ComicCon. They are planning to release the video of the reading online.
[4]
The script for this episode was later turned into a graphic novel published by Viper comics.
[5]
This graphic novel,
The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse
, is intended to act as the TV series finale.
Critical reception
[
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]
The A.V. Club
gave the entire series a A?.
[6]
Daily Variety
wrote that "this series could potentially work on any number of networks, and it's almost too smart for the room at
ABC Family
; nevertheless, this sprightly summer arrival should fit nicely into the evolving niche the channel established with
Kyle XY
."
[7]
TV Guide
had it as its "Mega Rave" for the week of June 15, 2008, and wrote that "It's loaded with clever banter – like
Men in Black
if
Will Smith
's character was a geeky girl."
[8]
UGO
gave it an A? overall and an A for story, calling it "fun to watch."
[9]
The Boston Herald
gave it a B? and wrote that "all that's missing are some onscreen blurbs like 'BAM!' and 'POW!'"
[10]
Newsarama
wrote that "stylistically, the current show this most resembles is
Pushing Daisies
, with its colorful sets and rapid-fire screwball dialogue" and that "it's about goofy ideas and having a good time, the kind of show you'll want to watch repeatedly to catch a line you missed the first time."
[11]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
'The Middleman': ABC Family TV Show Canceled, No Season Two
Archived
2009-02-23 at
archive.today
- ^
The Middleman lives on... in comic book form
- ^
a
b
Evil Meets Its Match on June 16! ABC Family's New Original Series "The Middleman" Is Here to Save the Day!
- ^
"Saying goodbye to The Middleman"
.
Geek Chic
. August 24, 2009
. Retrieved
August 26,
2009
.
- ^
Grillo-Marxuach, Javier; Beimler, Hans (July 2009).
The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse
.
ISBN
978-0980238587
.
- ^
Murray, Noel (July 29, 2009).
"Review:
The Middleman: The Complete Series
"
.
The A.V. Club
.
- ^
Lowry, Brian (June 12, 2008).
"
The Middleman
Review"
.
Daily Variety
.
- ^
Mitovich, Matt (June 15, 2008).
"Mega Buzz on Smallville, NCIS, Vegas and More!"
.
TV Guide
.
- ^
Emko, Todd (May 31, 2008).
"Middleman Review"
.
UGO
.
- ^
Perigard, Mark A. (June 16, 2008).
"
'Middleman' bridges gap between 'Batman' generations"
.
The Boston Herald
.
- ^
Smith, Zack (June 16, 2008).
"Television Review: The Middleman on ABC Family"
.
Newsarama
.
External links
[
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]
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