The Middle: Paying Attention

I laughed at the idea that Mike didn't know where Sue worked. As far as the other examples of his ignorance toward his only daughter, I almost became offended. As someone who had no father during those formative teenage years, I can relate to Sue's desire to have attention and assurance that only a male role model can give. Sue is a strange individual by almost any definition, and it often seems like Frankie and Mike are lost upon how to parent any of the Heck children, so it is sensible that Sue would crave more time with the hard-shelled Mike. Now that she has his attention, and Axl has learned to pay attention to his studies, the family would be in for a positive shift if only Frankie could master paying attention to her responsibilities - like getting kids to school!

The Middle "The Carpool" (S05E12): The bus drivers go on strike, so the middle school parents need to form carpools. It's a mad rush, and Frankie only lasts a week or two as a driver before she's asked not to drive because of her constant tardiness. [ha! I'm surprised that she didn't ask Mike to help! (of course, that would have messed with the storyline, but still...]

ABC/Richard Cartwright

Axl sneaks into an astronomy class to tease a friend, but when he gets a question correct, a girl hits on him and he decides to start learning the science. Soon, his other classes are suffering, and he winds up admitting to the girl that he was only helping her to be with her. She turns around and says she was only pretending to like him so he'd help her, so it became a lose-lose. [awww, that was sad. but, maybe it'll pay off?]

Mike received basketball tickets from corporate, so he needs to find someone to take. His employees all volunteer, but he decides that Sue would be a better pick. [wouldn't it have made more sense to go with coworkers if it was a work thing?] However, when someone else becomes available at the last minute, he goes with him instead, disappointing Sue, who had been excited about spending time with her dad. [awww!] Frankie points out that Mike doesn't spend much time with Sue, so he takes her out to dinner, where they have a great time. [that was cute... and just in time for a daddy-daughter dance in February...]