2.4 "Malcolm in the Middle" - "Dinner Out" Quiz

Answer: Picture frame and flowerpot

The episode starts with Malcolm and Reese playing wiffle ball (a variation of baseball that uses plastic bats and balls) inside the house. Predictably, when Reese bats the first time, he hits and breaks a picture frame with a photo of the family. The boys first get nervous about getting in trouble, but since they haven't agreed on the winner, they decide to continue playing. On Reese's second turn at bat, he once again hits the ball and now breaks a flowerpot. Meanwhile, poor Dewey is laying on the floor, serving as the home plate.

Answer: Applesauce

Malcolm is friends with Stevie Kenarban, another boy from school. His parents are very overprotective, which is why they don't let Stevie play any video games with violence in them. According to Malcolm, Stevie has all his favorite video games but from when he was four years old. Ms. Kenarban then enters the room and makes both children use hand sanitizer.

She then offers them some applesauce, an objectively unappealing snack to a child, accompanied with some cinnamon in case they're "feeling a little crazy". Malcolm doesn't get to eat it because his mom is there to pick him up. Lois honks and yells very loudly so Malcolm comes out quickly.

Answer: Seals

In the middle of dinner, Lois receives a call from Ms. Kenarban inviting the Wilkerson family to dinner. Hal smiles and says it's great for Lois before realizing they all have to go, about which he isn't as happy. Malcolm says he doesn't think that's a good idea because the Kenarbans are boring and the families wouldn't get along, but Lois believes they are refined and maybe their manners will rub onto her children.

Lois then wonders why the family doesn't get invited to go out as much. Then, Hal starts throwing food at his children as if they were seals, while they all make seal-like noises.

Answer: His mother is visiting

Commandant Spangler is the authority figure at Marlin Academy, the military academy where Francis (the eldest of the Wilkersons) is at. Spangler tells the cadets that his "demanding" mother, whom he hasn't seen in a long time, will be visiting him this weekend.

Therefore, he will have no time for any problems or vandalism that may distract him from being with his mother. The cadets say they understand, but Francis takes this as an opportunity to have a party. He then invites some girls who were standing at the fence of the academy to come inside.

Answer: The fish tank

Earlier at Malcolm's house, we saw him introduce us to the "circle game", where one person gets to punch the other in the arm if they look when the former is making a circle with their hand below the waist. They keep playing it when they arrive at the restaurant, but Lois scolds them and asks them to behave in a civilized way. Meanwhile, Dewey was choosing which fish he wanted to eat from the fish tank. We then see water dripping out of his hand, suggesting he stuck his hands into the tank.

Answer: Cotton Eye Joe

The next scene we see at Marlin Academy is a group of girls dancing and drinking as Rednex's Cotton Eye plays loudly. Finley tells Francis that the girls are being too loud and they may get caught. Francis asks them to lower their volume a little but his pleas go unnoticed.

The song playing in the background is "Cotton Eye Joe", a very popular country-style song by the Eurodance group Rednex. The song was inspired by the American country folk song "Cotton-Eyed Joe" and is often played at parties and nightclubs, especially in the American South.

This was one of Rednex's most popular singles, peaking at number 5 on the US Dance Club Songs Billboard charts.

Answer: Hot tea

Lois warns her children to behave as they split up into two tables: one for the children and one for the adults. Stevie also wants to play the "circle game", and while Malcolm has some reservations about letting him play, Reese doesn't think twice and punches Stevie in the arm as soon as he can.

Meanwhile, the four adults are visibly uncomfortable in each other's presence. When it comes to ordering beverages, Lois orders a diet soda for her husband, who seemingly wanted something else. Abe orders a lemonade and Kitty wants an iced tea, but the waiter says there is no more iced tea. Lois pushes back by saying she can see someone else with hot tea, so it would be very easy for him to just use hot tea and put it on ice. Ms. Kenarban doesn't want any issues so she settles for hot tea. Hal and Abe then pretend to go to the restroom so they can grab a drink at the bar.

Answer: The Bad Touch

Francis and his fellow cadets are still unable to control the girls they invited. Since they refuse to be quiet, Francis takes away the speaker that was playing "The Bad Touch" by Bloodhound Gang. That doesn't deter the girls at all as they continue to sing even without music. Francis tells the cadets that he "promised girls, not quality girls".

"The Bad Touch" is arguably the most famous song released by the American group Bloodhound Gang. The song has a catchy tune and is full of double entendres, which makes it quite humorous. The band released an equally funny music video in 1999.

Answer: Butter

Hal and Abe successfully escape from the table to get a drink at the bar. They commiserate about how their wives won't let them do many things they want to do. For instance, Abe gets scared and hides his drink when the thinks Kitty is coming over. Abe complains about Kitty not even allowing him to have butter with his bread for ten years. Rebelliously, Abe decides to no longer abide by his wife's demands and eats whole butter pads as Hal watches.

Answer: Yes

Francis decides there's no other way to control the situation but to speak to Spangler. When they knock on his door, he tells them to go away because he's speaking to his aunt (despite previously saying he was with his mother). Spangler comes out horrified by the prospect of the "local girls" being inside the academy and says they should treat the situation as an oil fire: they have to "let it burn itself out".

Lois and Kitty start to get along, but the interaction is no longer pleasant when Lois discovers that rather than this being a friendly dinner, the Kenarbans wanted to "check them out" to make sure Malcolm was a good influence on Stevie. Lois calls her "uptight and repressed" and does what she can to elicit a reaction from her.

Meanwhile, Reese says he is getting bored because Stevie falls for his tricks every time (and therefore, Reese gets to punch him). Stevie cries and leaves the table, making Reese feel bad and go after him. To Reese's surprise, Stevie was waiting for him making a circle with his hand through the fish tank, finally giving Reese a taste of his own medicine. Stevie says that his skill of crying on command helped him get a cable modem. Stevie hits harder than Reese might have expected, and not satisfied with that first punch, Stevie continues to hit Reese repeatedly while other diners watch. Finally, this chaotic situation is enough to make Kitty break and for once in her life, yell at Stevie, the waiter, Lois, and even her husband. From all this, Malcolm concludes that his family is "contagious" because now the Kenarbans are behaving like them.