The fifth season of '' Malcolm in the Middle'' premiered on November 2, 2003, on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, and ended on May 23, 2004, with a total of 22 episodes.

Frankie Muniz Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award ...

stars as the title character Malcolm, and he is joined by

Jane Kaczmarek Jane Frances Kaczmarek (; born December 21, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Malcolm's mother Lois on the Fox television sitcom '' Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned her three Golden Globe nominat ...

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...

, Christopher Kennedy Masterson,

Justin Berfield Justin Tyler Berfield (born February 25, 1986) is an American former actor, writer, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Malcolm's dimwitted older brother, Reese, on the family sitcom '' Malcolm in the Middle''. He also played Ross ...

and Erik Per Sullivan.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

as Malcolm *

as Lois *

as Hal * Christopher Kennedy Masterson as Francis *

as Reese * Erik Per Sullivan as Dewey

Recurring

Craig Lamar Traylor Craig Lamar Traylor (born March 19, 1989) is an American actor and artist. He made his acting debut in an episode of '' ER'' in 1996 and portrayed Stevie Kenarban, the asthmatic, one-lunged boy in a wheelchair and the title character's best frie ...

as Stevie Kenarban *

David Anthony Higgins David Anthony Higgins (born December 9, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Craig Feldspar on ''Malcolm in the Middle'', Joe on ''Ellen'', and Reginald Bitters on ''Big Time Rush''. He also had a recurring role as H ...

as Craig Feldspar *

Julie Hagerty Julie Beth Hagerty (born June 15, 1955) is an American actress. She starred as Elaine in the films ''Airplane!'' (1980) and '' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982). Her other film roles include ''A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy'' (1982), ''Lost in Am ...

as Polly *

Kenneth Mars Kenneth Mars (April 4, 1935 – February 12, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in '' The Producers'' (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in ''Youn ...

as Otto *

Emy Coligado Emy Coligado (born June 5, 1971, in Geneva, Ohio) is an American actress known for her role as Piama Tananahaakna on the sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle''. In 2001, Coligado landed a recurring role as Emmy, the medical examiner's assistant, on t ...

as Piama *

Meagen Fay Meagen Fay is an American actress known for her work in television. Best known as Roxy in '' Ohara'' (1987-1988), Principal Halloron in ''Life With Louie'' (1995-1998), and Gretchen Mannkusser in ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2002-2004) and Loot on ...

as Gretchen

Production

In April 2003,

renewed ''Malcolm in the Middle'' for a fifth season. Main cast members

, Christopher Kennedy Masterson,

and Erik Per Sullivan return as Malcolm, Lois, Hal, Francis, Reese and Dewey respectively. The season reveals that Hal and Lois' fifth child Jamie is a boy. Though it was initially reported that the episode "Lois' Sister" would serve as the series' 100th episode, that honor instead went to the episode "Reese's Apartment".

Release

Broadcast history

The season premiered on November 2, 2003 on Fox, and ended on May 23, 2004 with a total of 22 episodes.

Home media

The season was released on

Region 2 DVD DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...

on April 29, 2013, and on

Region 4 DVD DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...

on September 4, 2013.

Reception

Josh Wolk wrote for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'', "The inevitable reality of aging child stars is unfortunate, as ''Malcolm'' still amazes with vibrant comic creativity." Scott D. Pierce wrote for '' Deseret News'', "It's not exactly the same show, and viewers may have gotten used to it, but there's still magic there. It can still make you laugh." ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'' was critical of "Reese's Apartment", saying, "No one's saying this boisterous sitcom has to slow down with age. But Malcolm's 100th episode hurts itself by hopping from story line to story line instead of sticking with the strong central situation." The episode "Dewey's Special Class" won the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography. With the exception of 2013, the award is given at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony. Starting in 2019, separate awards are given for scripted programs and ...

. In 2019, Angelo Delos Trinos of '' Screen Rant'' included the episode "Malcolm Films Reese" in his list, "10 Episodes Of Malcolm in the Middle That Aged Poorly". He wrote, "The way privacy is belittled by the characters involved simply won't fly well today, especially in a school setting." He added, "The subplot about Francis dealing with a critic also aged terribly. Here, the newspaper critic is depicted as a vindictive bully who uses his profession to rain bile on everybody. The problem he presents is solved when he's repeatedly beaten senseless."

References

2003 American television seasons 2004 American television seasons 5 {{Malcolm in the Middle