Halloween is the fourth episode of season seven of Malcolm in the Middle and the second Halloween special.
Synopsis[]
Hal freaks out when Malcolm gives him the details of a grisly mass murder that allegedly occurred in the house years ago. Lois gets stuck working on Halloween and catches a shoplifter as everyone else at Lucky Aide throws a wild party. Reese and Dewey lose track of Jamie as they flee from an old man after egging his house.
Plot[]
In the cold open, Dewey enters the bedroom telling Malcolm and Reese that Lois found out he destroyed the oven and, since he's about to be punished anyway, offers to take the blame for anything the other two might have done for $5 each. Malcolm and Reese jump at the chance, with Malcolm confessing he broke Hal's camera while Reese admits he was responsible for the hole in the bathroom wall. At this point, Lois suddenly emerges from around the corner revealing she and Dewey were working together to get Malcolm and Reese to admit their own misdeeds. She tells Dewey he's off the hook for the oven and drags the other two away to be punished. Dewey is upset Lois didn't wait until they gave him the money.
Malcolm, Reese and Dewey are going on the annual death tour guide in the neighborhood. The owner of the funeral hearse drives the kids around to the grisly site of murders and suicides. The trio are later shocked when the driver in the tour hearse stops over at their own home and learn about a grisly murder that took place.
The next day, Hal freaks out when Reese and Dewey tell him about the grisly murder that took place in their house. When he attempts to confront Lois about it, she points out that he always freaks out over the smallest things. She mentions that years ago, they passed up on the house that she wanted just because Hal had a problem with the defective doorbell and claiming it sounded gay and refuses to move out just because the boys heard rumors that it was a site of a murder.
In the master bedroom, Lois later apologizes for being angry at Hal and admits she's been stressed out all morning because her boss has just called her into work at Lucky Aide, despite having asked for time off 8 months ago. She complains she now has to cover for her coworker Mary Beth, who became Wiccan and is claiming Halloween as a religious holiday. Hal tries to reassure her that there will be other Halloweens for her to celebrate. Lois is insistent this is the only Halloween that she actually looks forward to because it's a small window of opportunity she has to celebrate the holiday; The kids are still well-behaved and can be dressed up in costumes, whereas later the night will always end with trips to the police station. She announces her plan to leave work during her break to meet up with the boys for some quick trick-or-treating. Her thoughts are interrupted when she sees Hal installing a nightlight by his side of the bed. She asks about it, and he claims it's for Jamie. When she follows up that it should be by the crib, he claims Jamie wants it by the bed instead. Lois rolls her eyes and turns back to the mirror.
Malcolm lies in bed, sick, as Dewey asks why he'd fake being sick on Halloween. He replies he's actually sick, and likely got it from the Death Tour driver. Reese chides him that he should have chewed used gum from under a seat to keep his immune system strong. Lois enters and reminds them they're taking Jamie, before giving a long list of pranks not to pull tonight. Reese happily agrees with them, until she finally reaches "no ladder, no compressor, no soup". Reese accuses Dewey of snitching about the plan, which he denies. Lois continues, reminding them she'll be off work to meet them later, and is non-specific on the time so they keep in line and stay safe.
Malcolm can't sleep, so does research with the PC in the dining room. He reads off grisly details of the murders to Hal, who is spooked, and doesn't want to sit where anything violent happened. He's upset to learn that that includes everywhere in the house.
Lois prepares to go on break at Lucky Aide when she catches a shoplifter. She's chagrined to learn her Craig and another coworker won't take the crime seriously, and rants that without laws, there'd be chaos. She drags the shoplifter away.
During Trick-or-Treating, Reese and Dewey misbehave again by accidentally egging an elderly neighbor named Mr. Sheldon in their attempt to egg his house. The old man retaliates by taking out his walker and chasing after the two boys, causing them to run. In their attempt to escape from him, Reese picks up a child wearing a similar tiger costume, leaving Jamie him at Mr. Sheldon's house alone.
Hal sits alone trying to read, afraid. He prepares to attack the crinkling noise from his chair, only to find an old candy bar wrapper. He greets the next group of trick-or-treaters and berates one child for their violent costume. Malcolm cuts him off and distributes the candy in his place, then asks if Hal will be alright on his own. Hal answers that he will, but immediately follows Malcolm to avoid being alone. They sit on Malcolm's bed, and he confronts Hal about his belief in ghosts. As Hal argues that they could exist and the house is clearly haunted, Jamie enters the front door. They both pause as they hear the door slam. They investigate the kitchen just as Jamie crawls into a nearby vent, which makes a creak as it closes, scaring Hal further.
In Lucky Aide's break room, Lois yells into the phone about the police's poor response time. She hangs up and yells at the shoplifter for wasting her whole break. A clearly drunk Craig enters and says he supports Lois trying to have the shoplifter arrested. He explains they're drinking and having a party on the clock, causing Lois to yell that no one cares about rules and laws. She decides she doesn't either, and punches out for her lunch break early so she can finally join her kids trick-or-treating.
Dewey and Reese see Mr. Sheldon in the distance, still chasing them at his slow pace. They mock him for how easily he can be outrun.
Jamie sits in the vent at home, eating all his candy and smearing his goopy hands all over his shirt. Meanwhile, Hal and Malcolm sit in the car outside. When trick-or-treaters ring the doorbell, Hal calls them around to the car instead, briefly stopping to have a kid in a full mask reveal his face to prove he's a human.
Reese, Dewey, and "Jamie" leave another house to see Mr. Sheldon is still after them. Reese mocks him again just before Lois shows up. She goes on about her day and how she couldn't get out sooner as Reese nervously eyes Mr. Sheldon creeping closer and closer. He manages to break in and convince her to start trick-or-treating, leaving barely in time to avoid being caught.
Hal sleeps in the car as Malcolm calls him into the house. He's been doing more research and explains that no murders happened there. It seems a lot down the street was split sometime after the murders, changing the house numbers. Hal is overjoyed to think it's their neighbor's problem. He grabs the paperwork to see more details as Malcolm tries to stop him. Hal's face drops as he recognizes features of the house, asking Malcolm what this is about. Malcolm admits he faked it to stop Hal from freaking out so much. Fed up, Malcolm calls upon any and all ghosts to come and attack them as Hal gets squeamish. A new group of trick-or-treaters ring the doorbell, and before Malcolm can hand out candy, a terrified Hal yells for them to run away before slamming the door. The kids are impressed with his seeming commitment to the spirit of Halloween.
Reese and Dewey sit on a bench enjoying their candy, when Mr. Sheldon catches up to them. Reese scoffs that he's too slow to be dangerous as the boys hop a nearby wall. Seeing a convenient mattress, they jump down onto it for a safe landing. They realize that their feet are now stuck in place as Mr. Sheldon rounds the corner to confront them.
At Lucky Aide, Craig peruses a customer's very personal pictures. Lois enters with "Jamie" and berates Craig for invading people's privacy. A policeman walks up to her, but not about the shoplifter: a mother enters and points to the costumed kid, who shouts "Mommy!". Lois is arrested as Craig promises to be a character witness for her...and promptly throws up behind the counter.
Mr. Sheldon gets his revenge by throwing eggs at Reese and Dewey, pausing to ask if they've learned their lesson. A defiant Reese states that'll never happen. Dewey stares at him as the egging resumes.
Hal sits at the kitchen table and apologizes for getting out of hand. Malcolm starts to accept the apology when Hal turns and answers that it wasn't directed toward him, returning to asking for the ghost's forgiveness. Malcolm tries one more time to get through to him that he can't live in fear like this. Jamie continues to eat in the vent, spilling red syrup from wax soda bottle candy all over himself and pulling his shirt up. He begins to moan, scaring Malcolm, who tries to insist there must be a rational explanation for the scary noise. Jamie enters the kitchen moaning and appearing headless thanks to the raised shirt. Both Hal and Malcolm scream, and the latter dives out the front window. Hal quickly realizes it's Jamie and starts to comfort him as Malcolm calls weakly asks if that it was just him and not a ghost.
Cast[]
- Jane Kaczmarek as Lois
- Bryan Cranston as Hal
- Christopher Masterson as Francis (Credit Only)
- Justin Berfield as Reese
- Erik Per Sullivan as Dewey
- Frankie Muniz as Malcolm
Guest Stars[]
Recurring[]
- David Anthony Higgins as Craig Feldspar
- James and Lukas Rodriguez as Jamie
Cameos[]
- Jack Axelrod as Mr. Sheldon
- Alex Weed as Karl
- Rob Elk as Devon
- Rose Abdoo as Margie
- Reggie Jordan as Police Officer
- Margarita Franco as Distraught Mother
- Brooke Ingraham as Allison
- Justin Rios as Axe head Kid
- Daylon Reese as One Kid
- Preston Shores as Utility Player
- Trevor Shores as Utility Player
- Johnny Knoxville as Hearse Driver on the Death Tour (uncredited)
Trivia[]
- Second Halloween special. (Halloween Approximately)
- This is the fifth and final time Lois gets arrested during the series. The previous four times are Traffic Ticket, Book Club, Monkey and Reese Comes Home.
- Her only joint arrest with Hal is Halloween Approximately.
- Reese's antagonism towards old people came back to haunt him when Mr. Sheldon chased after him and Dewey.
- This is the first time Malcolm got sick on Halloween.
- Malcolm is wearing Francis' military sweater from Marlin Academy, implying that Francis handed it down to him over the years.
Quotes[]
- Dewey: I'm toast. Mom found out I'm the one who broke the oven.
- Malcolm: Aw, man. You're going down.
- Dewey: I know. So, if you want me to take the fall for anything, it's $5 a pop.
- Reese: I'm in, the hole in the bathroom wall.
- Malcolm: Me too, dad's camera.
- [Lois walks in the boys' bedroom]
- Lois: All right, Dewey, you're off the hook.
- [This confuses Dewey as Lois faces Malcolm and Reese in anger, causing the two boys to be confused]
- Lois: [grabbing Malcolm and Reese's arm] You two!!!
- [She takes Malcolm and Reese away to punish them for their admitted guilt.]
- Dewey: You're supposed to wait until I've got my money!
- Dewey (to Reese): Hey, you're right. The candy you steal off other kids really does taste better.
- Reese: I'm telling you, it's the fear.
- Lois: I cannot believe they called me into work. I requested Halloween off 8 months ago, and suddenly, Mary Beth becomes a Wiccan so she can take it as a religious holiday.
- Hal: There will be more Halloweens... barring some tragic event.
- Lois: But this is the good one, you know? There's such a tiny window where the kids are so sweet and adorable and you can dress them up however you want. Every year after that, Halloween's just another trip to the police station.
- Hal:(whispering to Lois) You knew we were buying a death house and you didn't tell me?!
- Lois: I didn't tell you because I knew you'd have this reaction.
- Hal: Well, of course I'd have this reaction. I don't like murder. Maybe that's something you should know about me.
- Lois: Hal, it's always something with you. You passed on that one house because you thought the doorbell sounded gay. You can't have a perfect house.
- Hal: It would be nice to have a murder-less one.
- Lois: Well, you should just drop it because there's nothing, we can do about it. Death and mold are two things you can expect to find in any house and we are not moving!
- Hal: There's mold?!
- Mr. Sheldon:(being accidentally egged) Oh no, you don't!
- [Unfolds his walker.]
- Reese: RUN!
- Hearse Driver: And after the autopsy on the victim, the coroner himself went completely insane.
- (creepy laughter)
- Malcolm: This is so cool. This guy started this death tour showing people in town where all the grisly murders took place. He paired it with a couple of suicides, but come on, close enough.
- Hearse Driver: And now coming up to your left is the site of one of the gruesome multiple murders in the state took place. Look if you dare at the house of pure evil!
- [Everyone is shocked by this, more so with Malcolm and Reese because they are living in that house.]
- Lois: All right, you know the plan. You two are taking Jamie. No Eggs. No Stink Bombs. No Matches. No Catapults. No Mace.
- Reese: Fine.
- [Lois eyes Reese and Dewey, not believing them for one second]
- Lois: No explosives.
- Reese: Of course not.
- Lois: No Water Balloons. No Spray Paint. No Gasoline. No Shaving Cream. No Toilet Paper.
- Reese: Wouldn't even think about it.
- Lois: No ladder, no compressor, no soup.
- Reese: [to Dewey] You told her!
- Dewey: I did not!
- Mr. Sheldon:[egging Reese and Dewey] Have you boys learned your lesson?
- Reese: Ha, you stupid old man. I'll never learn my lesson!
- [Mr. Sheldon continues to egg Reese and Dewey.]