1.12 "Malcolm in the Middle" - "Cheerleader" Quiz

Answer: Thanks!

The Krelboynes are the gifted children at Malcolm's school who are placed in an advanced class. Malcolm was very unhappy when he learned he would be placed there, but throughout the season he somewhat learned to accept it. This episode starts with the Krelboyne class and their teacher Caroline singing a capella.

The twist is that they were doing so during recess! When the bell rings, Malcolm comes back into the classroom holding a basketball. Caroline asks if there's anything he wants to say since his classmates stayed inside while he played ball. Malcolm pauses for a minute and then simply says: "Thanks!"

Answer: 15 minutes

After the show's theme song plays, we see that Malcolm is struggling to wake up and get ready for school. He explains that he doesn't understand why his mom, Lois, makes him wake up so early at 8:00am, when school doesn't start until 8:15am! Presumably, Malcolm's house is not too far away from his school.

Answer: Pancakes

Malcolm is shocked to find that Reese has showered and is well-groomed. At breakfast, Malcolm's parents join him in blankly staring at Reese, trying to understand why he suddenly became interested in his appearance. Hal even asks Reese if he's "doing drugs".

While Lois holds on to a big pan with pancakes, she asks her son whether his showering will be "a daily thing" that will interfere with their shower schedule.

Answer: Frogs

Francis is the eldest of the Wilkerson brothers. Due to his questionable discipline, he has been sent to a military academy in Alabama. The first time we see him in this episode is when he is questioned by Commandant Spangler about why he stole two hundred frogs from the biology lab. Even worse, Francis then proceeded to set the frogs loose onto the highway! Francis explains that he did it to save the frogs from being "inhumanely" used for science, but apparently, Spangler is most upset because it caused a two-and-a-half-hour delay on his commute.

Answer: Buy her flowers

Malcolm comes back from school to find Reese crying in the bathroom. Though Reese tries to hide the fact that he's crying, he soon admits that he is crying about a girl he likes, Wendy Finnerman. Reese explains that he has made every effort to get her to like him, to no avail. Soon, though, it's not hard to find out why Wendy doesn't like him.

We see a collection of times when Reese has been mean to Wendy, for instance, by throwing a paper ball at her during lunch, stealing her book and making her reach for it, or even pushing her face against the water while she was drinking from a water fountain. While this is happening, Reese laughs in an almost maniacal way (which is quite funny, indeed one of my favorite scenes of the season!) He was also planning to "toilet paper her house" in what would be another bad idea to be close to her, but Malcolm stops him.

Answer: Wildcats

Malcolm convinces Reese to find something that Wendy likes to do. At school, Reese finds out that Wendy is an important part of the cheerleading squad, so he joins the team to be close to her. When Malcolm comes back from school, he is horrified to find Reese in a Wildcats cheerleading uniform! Malcolm can't believe that Reese didn't choose to become a football player instead, since being a male cheerleader is supposed to be "the lowest of the low".

Answer: Superman

At the beginning of the episode, Dewey turns on the TV, which is currently on the news channel. Dewey imagines the newscaster saying "I'm incredibly boring" so he quickly changes the channel. Then, he watches a commercial for a blue stuffed animal called Herbie. Dewey imagines Herbie telling him that he can make him happy, make his brothers be nice to him, and even get him out of school!

Later, Dewey is now watching a Superman cartoon on TV when he again gets distracted. This time, he imagines that he is eating a delicious plate of cookies and muffins from underneath the couch (unfortunately, what he was actually chewing on was a filthy toy). Then, he imagines Herbie again, this time telling him that if he doesn't buy the stuffed animal, Dewey will die!

Answer: Q

Reese's first cheerleading practice doesn't go well, as he has trouble getting the moves right and even steps on Wendy accidentally at one point. Later, Malcolm gets home and finds Reese in a very odd position. Reese asks if he looks anything like the letter "Q" (arguably, he did not). Malcolm insists that Reese should stop further embarrassing himself and quit, but Reese refuses.

"Queue" is a word that can be used to describe a line of people waiting.

Answer: Peru

After watching Malcolm try to help Reese with cheerleading moves, their parents realize that Reese is acting this way because of a girl. Hal decides to give "the talk" to his three children, including little Dewey. With the help of two dolls, Hal tries to explain that when a boy likes a girl, "normal, healthy people" develop chemistry. Unfortunately, Hal says, the situation is different if the boy comes from their family. That is because their "insane neediness" makes them want a girl who doesn't like them even more. Reese and Malcolm realize that Hal's pantomime is quite similar to what Reese has experienced.

Hal then says that this is "hereditary" and goes back for generations, with Francis, their Uncle Pete, and their great-grandfather having seen the same fate. Hal adds that this is the reason their great-grandfather moved to Peru to work in an oil rig. The capital of that South American nation, home to Machu Picchu, is Peru.

Answer: Yes

After Hal gives him "the talk", Reese is resigned to a life where girls will continue to reject him. Malcolm, who worked hard to help Reese practice cheerleading, now refuses to let him give up and throw all that work to waste. Malcolm convinces Reese by asking him if he'd rather marry someone like their mom.

At school, the cheerleading team is making a giant human pyramid when Reese decides to tell Wendy how he feels about her. Wendy replies that she also likes him, and actually liked his "bad boy side". Reese and Wendy then hold hands, which makes the whole pyramid lose balance and collapse! Surely, Reese must have thought it was worth it.