1.16 "Malcolm in the Middle" - "Water Park Part 1" Quiz

Answer: Hal

The episode starts with Reese and Malcolm doing homework in their room while Dewey brushes his teeth. Suddenly, their father Hal enters the room in a panic and asks the boys if someone is willing to take the fall for him in exchange for $5. As we hear Lois scream "oh my god!", Hal tells Malcolm that he needs a yes or no answer with no questions asked. Malcolm asks for $10 instead and Hal agrees.

Then, Hal drags Malcolm out to the hallway after telling him he's a good son. Unfortunately, we never find out what Hal did that made Lois so angry!

Answer: Shaving him

Reese and Malcolm run into the kitchen with mirrors so that Hal can check if his back is fully shaved. Hal says he feels ten pounds lighter, after which Lois applies something on his back that makes it sting. According to Malcolm, Hal got them free tickets to the water park through work, and it takes two days to prep his father. Apparently, this process includes shaving all the hair on Hal's body.

Answer: He had an ear infection

Dewey catches his family talking about their outing to the water park after Lois shaves Hal. Next, we see a truly heartbreaking scene of Dewey uncontrollably crying because he never gets to go on these trips. Though this time the reason was an ear infection, Lois acknowledges that Dewey has also missed their trips to Disneyland and a chocolate factory tour.

While she encourages him to stop putting things into his ears and Reese tries to tease Dewey, Hal is on the phone trying to find a babysitter. According to Malcolm, the Wilkerson boys have always had trouble with babysitters.

Answer: Bea Arthur

Lois thanks the babysitter, Mrs. White, and her agency for giving their family a second chance. Dewey asks the intimidating babysitter if she wants to play something, but she says no.

Bernice Frankel, who is better known by the name of Bea Arthur, was born in New York City in 1922. She studied drama in New York City and soon began being cast for musicals like "Mame". Arthur appeared in "All in the Family" as Maude, a character that was so well-received that it got its own show in 1972. "Maude", starring Arthur in the main role, would have a total of six seasons between 1972 and 1978. Arthur won two Emmy Awards during her lifetime, both for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She was also nominated for the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series award for her performance in this episode of "Malcolm in the Middle".

Answer: Nose plug

The Wilkerson family is excited about their trip to the water park. In the car, Hal asks Malcolm if he would go on the Liquidator ride this time. Lois immediately tells Hal not to pressure Malcolm, who is apparently scared of the ride. In an effort to bother Malcolm, Reese reminds their mother that Malcolm needs to wear a nose plug to protect his sinuses from the water. Malcolm says he forgot it, but Reese is one step ahead! Since he brought the nose plug with him, Malcolm is forced to wear it when they arrive at the water park.

Also known as a nose clip, the nose plug helps stop water from entering the nose and therefore protects a person's sinuses. It is sometimes used by swimmers and divers, though Malcolm clearly found it embarrassing. Malcolm thinks Reese crossed a line by doing this and tells Reese that he will get back at him. He does so a few minutes later by embarrassing Reese in front of April, the girl he likes.

Meanwhile, Lois finds out that Hal snuck rum into the water park by hiding it in a lotion bottle. Hal tells Lois that they can treat this outing as the vacation they never went on because they had children. Unfortunately, they have to interrupt their fun to go after their mischievous sons.

Answer: Pool

When the episode starts, Commandant Spangler wins a game of pool against Francis and mocks the cadet because he's been defeated multiple times. Later, however, the Commandant finds out that Francis has actually been letting Spangler win. He learns of this because people tell Spangler that someone who looked just like Francis had been winning games of pool in local bars.

The Commandant asks Francis why he's been letting him win, to which Francis responds that Spangler would have been humiliated and would've tortured the cadets as payback (this entire scene takes place while Spangler smokes a whole piece of corn, which makes the scene even more entertaining).

Answer: Hamster

Dewey's relationship with Mrs. White doesn't start off well, as she refuses to play with him or let him watch TV and play video games. Dewey then asks: "what can I do?", to which the nanny responds "something quiet". Dewey starts playing with a toy car, but the babysitter thinks even that is too noisy. The next activity we see Dewey and the babysitter doing is sorting buttons by number of holes and color. When she sees him put a button in his mouth, Dewey says he was saving it because he liked it. That prompts her to ask: "what are you? A hamster?" Dewey says he wanted to save it because it was his favorite, and it turns out that Mrs. White also liked that one. They begin to bond out of their mutual taste for buttons.

In another scene, Dewey tells Mrs. White how Reese once hit him for talking to his imaginary friend. The babysitter then says that "Reese is a horrid little boy" as Dewey nods and eats a cookie. She also says that she talks to "her Harold", presumably her late husband, all the time.

Hamsters are rodents that are commonly kept as pets. Many hamsters have exercise wheels in their cages that allow them to engage in physical activity and stay healthy.

Answer: Band-Aid

At the water park, Malcolm gets in line for The Liquidator, thinking he can finally be brave enough to go on the ride. When he is next, however, he hesitates and leaves the line as everybody laughs at him. One of the people laughing at him turns out to be Reese, who proceeds to hit Malcolm with his own nose plug. Hal and Lois, on the other hand, seem to be having fun despite swimming in a pool full of candy wrappers, men sneezing, and children playing. The couple is seen kissing, only for Hal to briefly stop to cough up a used bandage/Band-Aid that he had almost swallowed.

Later, Malcolm sees Reese splashing water uncontrollably, which gives him an idea. He tells a lifeguard that his brother doesn't know how to swim and is drowning. The lifeguard pulls Reese out of the water and a man then attempts to give Reese CPR. Malcolm says "now we're even" to a visibly shaken Reese.

Answer: Fernando

This is a fantastic scene for so many different reasons: it has the legendary Bea Arthur dancing, the timeless music of ABBA playing, and the charming humor of Erik Per Sullivan (whose mother was born in Sweden). The song starts with the lyrics "can you hear the drums, Fernando?" as Mrs. White paints a fake mustache on Dewey's face. Dewey then gives the nanny a flower and they both energetically dance for a while. In my opinion, this is easily one of the funniest scenes of the season and one of the best of the show overall.

This amazing scene sadly ends with an ambulance taking Mrs. White to the hospital, implying that all this dancing was too much for the nanny's body. Dewey waves goodbye to the ambulance and then starts following a red balloon he found on the street. The balloon leads him to the Chinese part of town, and when the balloon pops, he starts following a brown paper bag.

"Fernando" was released by the Swedish band ABBA in 1976 as part of the album "Greatest Hits". It was originally released by ABBA's Anni-Frid Lyngstad as a solo in 1975, but Björn Ulvaeus modified the lyrics inspired by two fictional fighters in the Mexican Revolution. This is why the song contains references like "the fateful night we crossed the Rio Grande" and I'm not ashamed to say the roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry".

Answer: Yes

At the end of the episode, Malcolm gives up and decides to lie down and enjoy the sun. Reese then throws underwear to his face, so Malcolm gets back at him by pantsing his brother in front of everyone. He is chased by Reese, who ends up spilling the food and drinks that Hal and Lois had just purchased. Malcolm knows that he might have gone too far and apologizes to Reese as he keeps running. Behind both of them is an enraged Lois trying to catch up with them.

In an effort to escape his brother, Malcolm ends up standing in front of the Liquidator. Reese prepares to punch him in the face, but Lois stops him and asks the boys if they think their family is wealthy. Lois explains that wealthy people can afford to "buy fresh pasta" and have their vacations ruined, but they can't. As she continues screaming, Malcolm looks at Lois's feet planning his next move: to throw her into the slide. Reese doesn't want to go through with it, but Malcolm pushes her in any way. Reese tells Malcolm that was the bravest thing he's ever done, and that he's probably going to die. Then, Lois pulls both of the boys into the slide and the three of them go through the long ride! When they land, they splash water all over Hal and ruin his nachos.

"Water Park (Part 1)" was the season 1 finale of "Malcolm in the Middle". The conclusion of the story is told in the first episode of season 2, "Traffic Jam (Part 2)", which is also a wonderful episode and brings back many memories from the first time I watched this show.