The Middle — S01E20 — TV or Not TV
2010 · 20 MIN · IMDB 7.5 · 317 VOTES · DIR. Lee Shallat Chemel
Overview
After failing to pay the electric bill on time, the electric company shuts off the Heck's power. This leads Frankie and Mike to cut down on their unnecessary expenses, including their cable TV. The kids take up other activities to fill the void, but Frankie and Mike have a hard time figuring out what to do. Meanwhile, Brick and his other socially-challenged friends have to go outside for recess when the school library shuts down.
Dialogue Timeline — 405 lines
A SAMPLE ACROSS THE RUNTIME — EVERY LINE IS SEARCHABLE
00:00:06 FRANKIE: It's a great American tradition to believe anything's possible.
00:00:59 and they are not that great.
00:01:57 You have one grab and you eat what you get.
00:02:38 Please hold for our automated customer satisfaction survey.
00:03:28 Bonus grab.
00:04:16 BOY 1: Hey, wait. I got it.
00:05:20 Okay, okay. Category is unnecessary expenses.
00:06:01 Go ahead, add that, Steve. Add the beer.
00:06:56 We just gotta manage our money a little better...
00:07:40 Yeah. It's a safety issue.
00:08:24 He's been hit.
00:09:22 Let's rock.
00:10:24 We're pathetic.
00:11:16 B-13.
00:12:02 Let's collect that prize and go.
00:13:17 Or was it a test from God?
00:14:05 - Ah! I can get modeling classes. - Whoa, I need a new amp.
00:14:44 Look, I think we're getting away from the point here.
00:15:48 and I have a plan to get us back into the library.
00:16:37 BRICK: This will cause him to freak out and drop the four-square ball.
00:17:49 And my sock.
00:18:40 This morning when you said, "Given our situation..."
00:19:34 We just won $1000. How much luck do you think we're entitled to?
00:20:31 You just gotta believe and keep spinning, because you never know.
Cast & Characters
Patricia Heaton
Frankie Heck
Neil Flynn
Mike Heck
Charlie McDermott
Axl Heck
Eden Sher
Sue Heck
Atticus Shaffer
Brick Heck
Beau Wirick
Sean Donahue
Michael Kostroff
Steve
Frances Bay
Aunt Ginny
Devan Leos
Henry
Aramis Knight
Mitch
Jeanette Miller
Aunt Edie
Dierk Torsek
Reverend Hayver
John Gammon
Darrin
Mason Cook
Corey
Andrew J. Fishman
Zack
Will Matthews
Mr. Seifried
Parker Contreras
Eric
Piper Mackenzie Harris
Rayna
Dialogue Record
Lines indexed405
Dialogue density20.3 lines / min
First line00:00:06
Final line00:20:31
Production Record
DirectorLee Shallat Chemel
LanguageEnglish
IMDb votes317
Factoids
Episode
The Middle, season 1, episode 20: TV or Not TV.
https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1422/season/1/episode/20
Rating source
IMDb rating preserved from the supplied subtitle archive; it may differ from the current IMDb rating.
Local subtitle archive