Show You Should Have Watched: "The Middleman"

"I'm as serious as a hefty bag full of rottweilers!"

One of the flaws of my TV addiction is that I tend to fall head-over-heels for doomed shows. Shows that are just a little too quirky for the general viewing public, or are mismatched with their network or time slot, or for some unknown reason just never pick up the audience they deserve. So I want to use a little of this blog space to highlight shows that are no longer on, but still deserve a view.

"The Middleman" probably fell mostly into the "too quirky for the general public" column. It wasn't particularly well-matched with ABC Family or the timeslot they stuck it in. To be far, ABC Family did a pretty great job of promoting it ahead of time, airing a series of cute, hilarious and slightly disturbing commercials that perfectly captured the show's tone. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to keep the show alive beyond a short first season.



Like many other favorites, "The Middleman" is largely great because of its characters, but this show also entertains an abundance of brilliant writing. The plot centers around Wendy Watson, a slacker artist working as a temp who stumbles into a job as Middleman-in-Training. The Middleman is a superhero, in a way, although he doesn't really have any special powers. He is, simply, an all-American, straight-laced kind of guy, who fights evil in his own wholesome way. He has the help of a snarky robot, Ida, and a host of gadgets and gizmos. And, of course, Wendy, who proves to be feisty and hero-ready, even while protesting she's a pacifist.

You could say that "The Middleman" is a scifi show. You could also say it's a comedy. Both would be true. Through the course of the series the Middleman and Wendy (lovingly referred to as "Dubbie") fight   a super-intelligent ape, a boy band who are actually fugitive alien dictators, vampire ventriloquist dummies and, of course, trout-eating zombies. The cast is solid and lovable, and the writing is rapid-fire and ridiculously clever.

Maybe "The Middleman" would have done better on a different network, at a different time, but I can't really think of any network it would have fit. Probably there just wasn't a big enough audience for a show this unique in style and tone. It's a shame, because "The Middleman" is smart, joyful, funny and a brilliant homage to the superhero and scifi genres. Personally, I plan to watch my DVDs of this show over and over again, until they wear out and I have to buy a new set. Join me. I don't think you'll regret it.