The Middleman (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = The Middleman


caption =
genre = Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi, Dramedy
creator = Javier Grillo-Marxuach
Les McClaine
developer = Javier Grillo-Marxuach
presenter =
starring = Matt Keeslar
Natalie Morales
Mary Pat Gleason
Brit Morgan
Jake Smollett
voices =
narrated =
theme_music_composer = Tree Adams
opentheme =
endtheme =
country = USA
language = English
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 12
list_episodes = List of The Middleman episodes
producer = Shane Keller
Sarah Watson
Ron McLeod
executive_producer = Javier Grillo-Marxuach
John Ziffren
location =
camera =
runtime =
network = ABC Family
picture_format =
audio_format =
first_run =
first_aired = June 16, 2008
last_aired = present
preceded_by =
followed_by =
related =
website =
imdb_id = 1122770
tv_com_id = 75211

"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.

Plot

A struggling female artist is recruited by a secret agency to fight against evil forces. [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20080506abcfamily01 EVIL MEETS ITS MATCH ON JUNE 16! ABC FAMILY'S NEW ORIGINAL SERIES "THE MIDDLEMAN" IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!] ] The pilot episode features a super-intelligent ape who escapes captivity, murders several members of the Italian Mafia, spouts a half dozen catch phrases from American movies on the subject including "Scarface", "Goodfellas" and "The Godfather", before being revealed as the pawn of the true villain.

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. Because of Wendy Watson's coolness under pressure and photographic memory, Ida, a robot in the form of a grumpy schoolmarm, and the Middleman recruit her to become the next Middleman. The series includes various pop-culture references, including many comic books, such as when Wendy calls herself "Robin the Boy Hostage," demonstrating how Robin was often kidnapped or held at gunpoint by The Joker and other villains.

Wendy lives in an illegal sublet apartment with her young, photogenic, animal activist friend Lacey, across the hall from lyric-spouting Noser, and had a boyfriend in film school named Ben.

Cast

* The Middleman - Matt Keeslar
* Wendy Watson - Natalie Morales
* Ida - Mary Pat Gleason
* Lacey Thornfield - Brit Morgan
* Noser - Jake Smollett
* Tyler Ford - Brendan Hines

References to pop culture

*Every episode thus far has used the Wilhelm scream in some way.
*The screenwriters often choose for each episode an overall theme or reference to a particular work of pop culture, especially those related to geek humor. For example, in episode two, many names were taken from Frank Herbert's "Dune", and in episode four, the names were taken from the "Back to the Future" series. The fifth episode, which was about zombies, contained numerous references to the band The Zombies. The eleventh episode, which involved an alien threat, contained many references to classic Doctor Who characters, and a "pan galactic gargleblaster", a drink from The Hitchhiker's Guide is mentioned. In "The Ectoplasmic Panhellenic Investigation", many references were made to Ghostbusters. "In The Clotharian Contamination Protocol" a theme used very frequently were paraphrased or directly taken dialog fragments from the "Die Hard" movies. Also, the Clotharian message sent to Earth was written in Aurobesh, the Star Wars alphabet, specifically the one created by Boba Fonts, this is revealed by the number system unique to the font. Additionally, in "The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome," references are made to the John Carpenter film "Escape From New York," such as The Middleman and Wendy taking the undercover names of "Van Cleef" and "Russel" respectively. Also, the alternate Middleman is a tribute/Parody of Snake Plissken, the aforementioned film's protagonist. In the same episode, numerous references are made to the classic Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror", specifically the Mirror Fatboy Industries logo and the fact that every man in the alternate universe seen is sporting a beard, in honor of Spock's mirror counterpart in the aforementioned Star Trek episode.
*Further references to in-jokes in the various episodes can be taken from the creator of the series himself in the Middleblog. [http://themiddleblog.livejournal.com/]

Reviews

*The 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"." [cite web | writer = Brian Lowry | title = The Middleman Review | publisher = The Daily Variety | date = 2008-6-12 | url = http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117937411.html?categoryid=32&cs=1]
*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." [cite web | writer = Matt Mitovich | title = Mega Buzz on Smallville, NCIS, Vegas and More! | publisher = TV Guide | date = 2008-6-15 | url = http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Smallville-Ncis-News/800041297]
*UGO gave it an A- overall and an A for story, calling it "fun to watch." [cite web | writer = Todd Emko | title = Middleman Review | publisher = UGO | date = 2008-5-31 | url = http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=18645&sectionId=7]
* The Boston Herald gave it a B- and wrote that "all that's missing are some onscreen blurbs like 'BAM!' and 'POW!'" [cite web | writer = Mark A. Perigard | title = 'Middleman' bridges gap between 'Batman' generations | publisher = The Boston Herald | date = 2008-6-16 | url = http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/general/view.bg?articleid=1100842]
* 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." [cite web | writer = Zack Smith | title = Television Review: The Middleman on ABC Family | publisher = Newsarama | date = 2008-6-16 | url = http://www.newsarama.com/tv/060816-MiddlmanReview.html]

Episodes

:"See List of The Middleman episodes."

References

External links

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*
* [http://themiddleblog.livejournal.com/ The Middleblog] written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach