A young boy named, Malcolm is found to have a genius IQ. He is placed into a gifted class though he would much rather remain with the normal kids. Now he must deal with the fact that he is now shunned and bullied because of his intelligence.
Lois finds her red dress destroyed before her anniversary dinner and demands to know which of the boys destroyed it. While waiting for Lois, Hal gets to know the staff at the restaurant where he booked their dinner.
Francis is in charge of the house and his brothers while Lois and Hal are gone. Malcolm convinces everyone to be good since there might be a chance that Francis will be able to stay. Meanwhile Lois faces hardships with Hal's family.
Malcolm feels overwhelming guilt when he attacks a seven year old bully and tries to find various ways to repent. Meanwhile, Francis tries to fix up the sex education program at military school and Hal, Reese, and Dewey become obsessed with a wood-chipper.
While Malcolm's house if being fumigated he gets to babysit for the perfect family. All goes well until he finds out that he doesn't have as much of their trust as he thinks. Meanwhile Hal and Lois can't stop arguing and Francis discovers a corpse at military school.
While sleeping over Stevie's house Malcolm convinces him to sneak out. While they are out at the arcade, Stevie's wheelchair gets lost. At military school Francis deals with a group of bullies.
Francis runs away from military school and returns home to see his girlfriend - but she turns out to be a thief who doesn't seem the slightest bit interested in him after all. He takes refuge in the backyard, while Malcolm is faced with the task of covering for him.
When the entire family attends a picnic for Malcolm's class, they each get into disastrous situations. Lois gets into a fight with another mother, Hal gets in trouble for cooking real meat, Francis gets in a fasted-paced relationship with a girl, Reese's plan to beat up Krelboynes backfires, and Malcolm goes as far as to make a chemical bomb to get out of his performance.
When the boys destroy a steam cleaner at Lois's job, she is fired. This causes Lois to restrict as much money spending as possible in the family which leads to a food drive and Hal being sent to the emergency room. Meanwhile Francis is excited to to guard the Miss Teen Alabama Beauty Pageant.
Hal lets the boys skip school in order for them to go to the stock car races with him. While Hal watches the race, Dewey gets lost, and Malcolm and Reese get taken away by a security guard. Meanwhile Lois turns the house upside down finding things that can get all the boys in trouble, and Francis gets on bad terms with the rest of the cadets.
Malcolm passes up his aunt's dreary funeral in favor of a date with a beautiful girl - but she surprises him by arriving early, catching him half-dressed.
Malcolm helps Reese become a male cheerleader in the hope of attracting a girl, Francis confides in headmaster Spangler, and Dewey becomes increasingly demanding.
Malcolm suffers his father's roller-skating tutelage and Lois is put out of action by a back injury.
Malcolm and his brothers decide to build a robot while Lois is out of town visiting Francis, only for their dad to take over the whole project.
Malcolm and his brothers take advantage of Lois's illness by persuading her it's Sunday so they don't have to go to school, while Hal goes in search of a sports car.
Malcolm and Reese fight it out at a water park, Spangler challenges Francis to an unusual variation on the game of pool, and Dewey spends the day with a peculiar babysitter.
Malcolm finally meets his match in the form of an intriguing girl and Reese attempts to break into an ice-cream truck. Meanwhile, Francis makes a bold bet at military camp and Dewey wanders off into the countryside.
Malcolm and his brothers set about creating the ultimate stealth weapon with a little help from Francis, who is on leave from the military academy. Lois and Hal tackle a dangerous driver terrorizing the neighborhood by building their own speed ramp.
Lois runs away from home after the boys ruin her birthday, and it proves difficult to persuade her to return.
The family has an ill-advised dinner date with the Kenarbans and Francis regrets inviting local girls to a party at Marlin Academy.
Hal is banned from gambling at a casino during a family holiday, so he takes Malcolm and Reese on a disastrous trek into the desert instead.
Lois is amused when an old rival brings out Hal's fighting instincts. The boys get a shock when the new babysitter arrives - instead of being old and boring she's extremely attractive, and soon they're all rushing round the house vying for her attention.
Lois and Craig find themselves in a hostage situation when the Lucky Aide store is held up by robbers. Hal comes home with an old wardrobe, but soon discovers it isn't the anniversary present he planned when a swarm of bats fly out and invade the house.
Reese decides it would be a good idea to join his sibling when Malcolm attends therapy sessions in a bid to get out of schoolwork. Meanwhile, Hal and Lois try to clean out a closet stuffed with junk.
Hal and Dewey build a private Utopia from plastic blocks. Malcolm lands the lead role in the high-school play, but lets his new-found celebrity status go to his head.
When Reese relinquishes his position as school bully, Malcolm suffers at the hands of his successors. Meanwhile, Francis dreads his forthcoming birthday, fearing the traditional pranks that run rife through Marlin Academy on such occasions.
Dewey swaps his backpack for a purse, Malcolm finds himself in hot water with an elderly neighbor, and Francis's lazy friend enrolls at the academy.
Francis tries to avoid punishment for his latest prank, Dewey overreacts to Lois's lecture and Malcolm experiences his first crush as a confusing mixture of love and hate.
The neighbors from hell move in next door and Hal insists on making friends with them, while the Marlin Academy cadets prepare for a visit from `the last great hero', Oliver North.
Hal decides to quit his job to become an artist and Francis wades through a week's worth of inventory work at Lucky Aide, leaving Malcolm to question what his own future career might be.
Lois's disapproving parents come to stay, and initially make a generous offer - but then renege on the deal at the last moment. Meanwhile, Francis gets struck down by food poisoning at Mardi Gras.
Lois disputes an accusation of reckless driving, and orders Francis to pay off the $750 in motoring fines he has accumulated in her name.
Malcolm goes into hospital to have an operation for suspected appendicitis, while Francis stages a hunger strike at Marlin Academy.
Reese discovers he has a gift for cooking, Malcolm urges his classmate to call off a party and Francis is forced to write a term paper.
Malcolm helps Reese make the grade with his schoolwork, while Francis is banished to a friend's house for defying Lois's order to patch the roof.
Malcolm and Reese go to a bowling party where Hal and Lois watch them compete for the attentions of a cute girl.
Francis sets up a contest between Malcolm and Reese to win a coveted wrestling-match ticket, and Dewey loses Craig's cat while its owner is away at a comic-book convention.
Hal and Francis attend an enlightening father-and-son weekend at the military academy, while the younger boys put pressure on Lois in their quest for mini-bikes.
The boys sneak out to the county fair, but a drunken security guard locks them inside the grounds.
Hal accidentally causes a toxic chemical spill that forces the entire neighborhood to evacuate - and even within the confines of an emergency bunker, Malcolm has to deal with the eternal problem of being grounded.
Lois has a pregnancy scare which sparks tension in the household and reminds the couple how much their lives have been affected by their children.
When Malcolm and Stevie's families go on a houseboat holiday together, nothing seems to go to plan. The brainy troublemaker is forced to go fishing, Dewey is left hanging for hours on a rope swing and a friendly game of Scrabble turns into a slang match. Meanwhile, Francis decides to quit school so he can go to Alaska and earn a fortune on an oil rig.
The liberated Francis encourages Lois to let him come home, while the Krelboynes and Malcolm do battle with a difficult new teacher.
Lois joins a book club to escape the horrors of her home life and Hal frets about how to make the boys behave in her absence. Meanwhile, Francis hitch-hikes through Canada.
Malcolm's schoolwork suffers after he gets a girlfriend and Francis holes up with a mad bomber in a remote Canadian cabin.
Malcolm and his brothers gain personal profit from doing charity work for the church, and Francis discovers what life is like in a logging camp.
Dewey babysits a hamster, Francis is challenged to a fight and Hal discovers a lump during a medical check-up.
When Malcolm, Reese, and Dewey finally go over the edge, Lois does the extreme, and takes away Christmas. The boys must behave for the whole day to get Christmas back.
Hal and Abe fall out over a poker game, Francis gets trapped in a remote cabin during a blizzard and Reese trips the light fantastic at a dance class.
Reese is accused of stealing by his devious boss when he takes a job flipping burgers to pay for his car insurance. Malcolm is disgruntled when a genius joins his class, and Dewey must prove he can keep a goldfish alive before he gets the chance to own a puppy.
A secret shopper evaluation leads Lois to make dramatic changes to her personal appearance and in the process causes some unintended consequences. Meanwhile, the boys engineer a way to finally beat Hal at basketball and Francis becomes Alaska's premier rat catcher.
The works picnic proves tricky for the whole family as Hal tries to avoid his new boss, a girl ties Malcolm in knots, and Lois clashes with an obnoxious woman.
The picnic causes chaos for the family as Malcolm humiliates himself further and Hal can't face admitting his real identity to his boss. Meanwhile, Francis regrets his bet against the loggers' hockey team and Reese bonds with his scavenger hunt partner.
Reese's first driving lesson takes a dangerous turn, while Francis haggles his way out of debt.
Dewey helps Hal overcome his fear of kites, Malcolm reveals Cynthia's big secret, and Francis finds a totem pole unusually interesting.
Francis brings his new wife home, while the boys get fed up with Lois shouting at them and decide to fly the nest.
Dewey is appalled when Hal takes over as coach of the soccer team, and Malcolm gets more than he bargained for when he sets his computer to act out the lives of his family. Reese resorts to blackmailing his neighbor Ed, and things get heated during an ice-fishing trip.
Hal's planned night of romance with Lois is put on hold when she has to cover for Craig, who is sick, and ends up infecting both of them with his sickness. It's then a game to see who can pretend to be healthiest the longest.
Meanwhile, Dewey brings home a dog, and with his brothers ratting him over wanting to keep it, he trains it to attack Malcolm and Reese.
Malcolm, Reese, and Stevie are stuck in the boy's room, with beautiful girls, while Hal plays poker with his new buddies.
Hal forces the boys to see a psychiatrist after they refuse to admit to damaging the family car
With Lois on jury duty, Hal decides to solve the murder case he thinks she's working on. Meanwhile, Reese reveals a hidden talent when the boys get lost in a storm drain.
The Krelboyne whiz-kids are forced to integrate with various posers, goths and other cliques in the general school crowd, while Hal and Reese race to knock down Dewey's dominoes.
Craig is held captive in his wheel chair by his new caretaker - a capuchin monkey - and Reese takes control of the neighborhood watch after apprehending an intruder.
A family trip to the local zoo turns into, what else, chaos. Malcolm, who's depressed, gets trapped with Dewey in the tiger habitat, Hal gets jealous of Lois and Reese begins a fued with a goat.
Meanwhile, Francis and Piama's travels hit a snag when they're car breaks down. But as luck would have it they break down and into a new job.
Malcolm suffers extreme humiliation in his first week as a high-school freshman. Francis surprises everyone by becoming the responsible one at work and Dewey revels in being a latchkey kid.
Lois finds herself repeatedly insulted at a family reunion, so the youngsters plot revenge and Hal is prompted to stand up to his father.
Hal hires a steamroller and becomes obsessed with crushing things, while Malcolm puts on an act to attract the attention of a non-intellectual girl.
Malcolm is grounded on his birthday once again when his vengeful battle with Reese gets out of hand. Hal sets out to buy a comic for his son, but has an unfortunate run-in with the shop assistants.
Malcolm dates a girl whose father dislikes him. Francis becomes chief mediator in a dispute between Otto and his cowboy neighbors, and Dewey discovers a boy who looks just like him.
Reese has a date with his girlfriend, but when Hal can't drive them, he has to resort to asking Craig for a ride. Also, Malcolm finds that holding his tongue proves to be highly effective but in the end he's needs medical assistance.
Meanwhile, Hal discovers the sport of race walking.
Hal and the boys are destined for disappointment as they visit Francis and Piama at the ranch, where they assume plenty of mischief will be planned - but are saddened to discover their brother is now a responsible grown up.
Grandma Ida trips on garden debris outside the Wilkersons' home and decides to sue her daughter and son-in-law for compensation, while Lois receives momentous news from her doctor.
Exasperated with the unruly boys, a pregnant Lois dreams of what life would be like if she had daughters instead - but it turns out that the imaginary Mallory, Renee and Daisy would have been even more of a handful than her sons.
Reese goes to prison for the day, Francis is unnerved by a calamity on the ranch and Malcolm feels uncomfortable when Lois insists on giving him a lecture on sex.
Hal reaches the end of his tether over Malcolm's misbehavior and throws him out of the house - but Reese takes advantage of the situation to play a dirty trick of his own.
Jessica, the boys' sixteen year old babysitter, tricks them into doing chores around the house, even Malcolm is fooled. Hal gets a job as a salesman.
Hal catches up with an old school buddy, while Malcolm tries to liberate Dabney from his domineering mother, and Francis spends a night in the company of Otto.
Lois puts Reese in charge of the family garage sale and Hal rediscovers his anarchic side when he starts broadcasting on his pirate radio station under the name Kid Charlemagne.
Reese takes desperate steps to avoid attending a dance, Hal tries to get Dewey to admit he loves him, and Malcolm becomes infuriated by the eagerness of his academic octathlon team-mates.
Classic clips are shown, while Hal and Lois discuss how they are going to handle the new baby.
Reese throws a party at home when Hal and Lois take a romantic break, but Francis's delinquent friends spoil the fun when they gatecrash the shindig and take the boys hostage.
Malcolm meets a chess-playing layabout who could be an older version of himself, Lois can't understand why she is piling on weight and Francis objects to Piama posing nude in an art class - but eagerly signs up himself when he finds out how much the job pays.
The arrival of Lois's baby coincides with a less inspiring surprise in the form of a visit from grandma Ida.
Lois is going to have the baby, while Hal, who is desperate to get home, crashes the car.
Hal and Lois search in vain for a day care to take their newest arrival but find nothing. Until they stumble upon an idea that's just inspired. Spiritually inspired it seems as the family joins a local church for the free co-op day care service.
Hal has a dream that leads him to Vegas in search of his fortune, a giant slot machine. Also, Reese and Dewey enter their giant rabbit in a contest in Sin City and Malcolm tries to make up his insulting Lois by taking her to a concert.
A night of babysitting for an exhausted Lois spins in ways no one could have predicted. First, Hal gets stuck at Lucky Aid when he's accused of shoplifting by Craig. While Reese and Malcolm abandone Dewey (who babysits Jamie) for a couple of girls.
Abe refuses to tell Stevie that his mother isn't coming home as he had promised. So Reese takes it upon himself to deliver the news. Also, Reese finds the diary of what he thinks is his dream girl.
Meanwhile, Francis and Otto must contend with their duties as "real" ranchers when a horse needs to be put down.
Reese finds that making Thanksgiving dinner is harder than he thought, and Malcolm ditches the dinner to go to a party.
Malcolm's teacher, Mr. Herkabe, tricks him into filming Reese on his most tender moments, and then humiliates Reese and makes Malcolm seem like a monster.
Malcolm gets a job at the super market where Lois works, Hal enters Jamie in a baby competition, and Dewey runs away to the ranch to live with Francis.
Hal and the boys sell Christmas trees, but must outsell the church to make a profit. Francis celebrates Christmas with Otto and his family, and watches while they argue.
When the Wilkersons came back from their vacation they found out that the whole block was making a huge party to celebrate that they were gone. While Lois and Hal join a sausages-eating contest, Reese and Dewey start to make money by torturing younger boys and Malcolm, without knowing it, helps a thief to steal everything in the garage of an innocent family.
Malcolm tells the A.C.L.U (a group that's against the unfair censorship) that they are censoring the almost inoffensive school magazine which is just defending people's rights. Meanwhile, in order to get his old salary back, Hal attempts to flirt with the woman who's responsible of the salary cutbacks.
Jamie's babysitter asks Malcolm to do a small job for her. He accepts without knowing that this "task" involves messing up with Jamie's babysitter ex-boyfriend and a huge family problem. Meanwhile, Dewey's new friend leaves him and befriends Reese while Francis encourages Otto to face an old enemy who almost stole Gretchen from him.
Malcolm gets a tongue piercing. In a month, he'll be able to take off the piercing while he's at home; however, he has to wait that long. Unfortunately, he notices that he can't pronounce letter "S", making obvious that something is happening. Furthermore, his tongue becomes infected. Meanwhile, Ida announces that she'll marry a rich Chinese man that she met on a cruise, but Lois and Hal find out that she's drugging him.
Lois makes Malcolm play softball, but he ends up doing a terrible job because Lois doesn't let him play well. Meanwhile, Hal accidentally became a CIA's agent, Reese tries to beat a very stupid record and Francis becomes an annoyance for Lois.
Lois younger sister, Susan, visits the Wilkersons and gives expensive and cool presents to the boys while she ignores Lois and Hal. Lois and Susan have been enemies since they were very young girls. Their relationship becomes especially bad when Susan gives Malcolm and Reese a luxurious Mustang. However, when Lois finds out that her sister is very sick, her thoughts about Susan change and now she feels that she should help her.
Lois gets incredibly angry because they charged 15% more to their bill at their favorite pizza restaurant. Meanwhile, Malcolm started to date a girl, Angela. She tells him that her family is strange and usually hates her boyfriends; however Malcolm's intelligence fascinates them. He ends up going to see Angela's family, but he forgets about her in the end....
Reese rents an apartment after being thrown out of the Wilkersons' house - but finds it difficult to avoid debt. Malcolm helps a football player write an essay to get him into college. However, when the sportsman turns out to be even stupider than he thought, he is faced with a dilemma.
Lois accompanies Malcolm on a visit to his new college - and insists on seeing his dormitory. Dewey starts stealing items from around the house to get his own back on Hal, and Reese has an unfortunate encounter with an undercover police officer.
Hal plans a blind date between Polly, Jamie's babysitter, and Abe. The date is very successful, but he finds out that Lois also planned a blind date between Polly and Craig!
Dewey is about to make an I.Q. test that will determine if he'll be in the normal class, the Krelboyne class for smart children or the "special" class. Since Malcolm knows that Krelboyne's are always annoyed by their normal classmates, he convinces Dewey to get horrible results. However, the results are really awful and he is sent to the special class for Emotionally Disturbed Kids.
When Lois and Hal force a reluctant Dewey into the humiliation of door-to-door candy bar selling, Dewey adopts underhand tactics to get through the unbearable task. He tells each one of his neighbors all profits will go to good causes - and sales go through the roof.
Meanwhile, Malcolm and Stevie are wracking their brains on an impossible science experiment.
Lois discovers that her dad had another family. She goes to visit his "other wife" and learns some shocking secrets about her dad.
Hal is falsely accused of a crime involving his company. Lois goes crazy, and Reese runs away when he sees Malcolm with his girlfriend. Francis and Piama must take care of the house and Lois.
Reese continues to serve in the army, Lois is still insane, and Malcolm is trying to prove Hal innocent. When Malcolm finds out a shocking secret that can prove Hal innocent, everything could be fixed.
Reese parachutes into Afghanistan to begin his Army career and immediately decides life in the military is not for him - and deserts disguised as an Afghan woman. Hearing the news, Lois flies east on a rescue mission while Malcolm commits a random act of destruction in honor of his brother.
Dewey quits his special-needs class and the Buseys are nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Hal launches his own bodybuilding group, with a bunch of numbskulls as his subjects.
Hal and Reese get into a trash-dumping war with the trash man, while Lois gets her job back, and fights with Malcolm over an offensive billboard.
Hal gets in a fight with his neighbor over holiday decorations and Malcolm and Reese are convinced that the other is gay.
Kitty Kenarban returns and asks Lois for help in winning back her estranged husband Abe. Francis comes home and puts Dewey through the torturous `brotherhood initiation'.
Broke, Hal and Lois decide that all the Christmas gifts must be homemade. When Hal realizes Lois and the boys have made bigger and better gifts, he fibs about the fabulous present he has in store for them and takes the family on a wild goose chase. Meanwhile, Malcolm feels like his brothers are alienating him and Francis returns home with startling news.
One of Dewey's plans is foiled after his friend Hanson, suffers a bout of Tourette's syndrome. Meanwhile, Reese takes advantage of his discovery that Hal becomes highly suggestible whenever he starts sleepwalking.
Baby Jamie knocks over a shelf and nearly crushes Lois. She concludes that the infant is out to get her and decides to bring Francis home to remind her how she conquered him when he was little.
The boy genius uses the profits from his illegal gambling to buy an old banger, but soon finds the car taking over his life, while Hal discovers he has a talent for hairstyling.
Lois is furious when she catches the boys ogling a poster of a stripper, but Malcolm convinces her they are genuinely concerned about the exploitation of women, prompting the family to start a full-scale protest.
Dewey is moved to tears by an opera on television, and decides to write his own masterpiece based on his parents' arguments over their new bed.
Hal is named executor of his neighbor's living will, and must decide whether to keep him on life support or pull the plug. However, he soon realizes that Lois always makes decisions for him.
Meanwhile, Malcolm, Reese and Dewey teach Craig how to fight dirty.
Hal talks about his deepest thoughts with Lois, but is upset to learn she doesn't believe in life after death. Meanwhile, Malcolm takes part in a charity event, but things get out of hand when he becomes too engrossed in his role.
Grandma Ida saves Dewey from being run over by a lorry, but damages her leg so badly that it needs to be amputated. The boy is so distressed about the accident that he decides to hold a funeral for the severed limb, but a misunderstanding at the hospital stands in the way of his plans.
Hal forbids Dewey from inviting his friend Chad round for a sleepover, but Dewey soon discovers the reason behind his dad's warning. Meanwhile, Malcolm and Reese find they're not as popular as they once thought and plot revenge on their classmates
Hal goes against Lois's wishes when he takes Francis on a wild motorbike road trip in celebration of his son's 21st birthday, honoring a promise he made to him as a child - and confessions start to flow with the help of a bottle of vintage whiskey. Meanwhile, Malcolm, Dewey and Reese are held captive in their own home by a bully.
Malcolm is given the graveyard shift at the shop and makes an unusual discovery among the aisles. Meanwhile, Reese befriends a bunch of caterpillars.
Malcolm fails a music appreciation course and reluctantly turns to Dewey for help, while Lois and Ida get dressed up in silly outfits in honor of the St. Grotus Day celebrations.
It's business as usual in the chaotic Wilkerson household, as Reese gets covered in chicken poop following a misadventure in the hen house, and Dewey pawns his bike and keyboard to get a tattoo across his chest after Lois is upset at finding him with another mom.
Hal accidentally calls a premium-rate phone line, which uses up a large part of the family budget - and his attempts to rectify his error only make things worse. Malcolm gets a new job carrying out promotional work as a stilt-walker, and Reese enlists in a slew of medical drug tests at a local university.
When Hal is encouraged to become president of the Neighborhood Association he starts to get a little too serious about his new role - much to the annoyance of Malcolm, who comes up with some fun ideas to enliven the community. Meanwhile, Dewey's classmates take their teacher, principal and janitor hostage.
The boys decide to enter Lois in a beauty pageant as a joke, but when they overhear the other contestants saying their mother doesn't have a chance, they plot to help her take the crown.
The Wilkerson boys plan to sneak off to a New Age festival in the hope of seeing some naked women, but when their parents find out, the trip becomes a family affair. Malcolm falls for an older woman, while Lois goes topless after discovering the joys of hemp.
Hal forgets to pay the family’s health insurance and when the company won’t reinstate them until Monday, he panics and locks the boys in their room so they won’t get hurt. But the boys try to escape, Jamie gets in harm’s way and Hal is the one who needs a doctor. Meanwhile, Lois and her coworkers discuss unionizing at the Lucky Aide and she hits her 10-year anniversary at the store.
When Hal catches Dewey smoking, he makes a pact with him that he'll stop drinking coffee if Dewey kicks the habit, but after a few unsuccessful attempts to beat their addictions, they both start sneaking around. Meanwhile, Reese picks a fight with Stevie and their confrontation gets heated
Malcolm and Reese go on a tour of the neighborhood for Halloween, but get scared when their own house is the first stop on the tour.
The neighbor's daughter, Jessica, stays with Malcolm and the family for a week. She soon shows Malcolm how to manipulate Lois to get what he wants. Also, Reese gets into a fued with his foreign penpal and Hal tries to avoid a confrontation with a...bee!
When Malcolm gets paired with a dimwitted beauty as his chemistry partner he thinks it’s going to be a bad combination, but then she reveals her feelings for him and sparks fly. They agree to keep their romantic experiment under wraps until Malcolm finds that she is embarrassed to be dating him. Meanwhile, Lois demands that Reese get a job and kicks him out of the house to prove it.
Francis decides to surprise the family by coming home, but he catches Jamie off-guard and ends up knocking the lights out in the house. Meanwhile, it’s Lois who’s in the dark when Hal decides to cancel their anniversary dinner and forces Reese to cook them a romantic feast at home, and Malcolm who ends up in hot water when he sneaks three Swedish girls into the house.
Hal enjoys pampering an aching and exhausted Lois, but all that changes when she buys orthotic inserts for her shoes and has renewed energy – so Hal plots to destroy the orthotics and get his weary wife back. Meanwhile, Reese’s Army pal pays a visit, but she gets defensive when Reese thinks they’re more than friends.
Lois finds a new babysitter for Jamie who is wonderful until she opens her mouth and starts to drive Lois crazy. Meanwhile, Malcolm and Reese are in the same class, but Reese is the one being picked on by the teacher – until Malcolm stands up for him.
Malcolm gets a check for his college fund but never sees it as Hal and Lois intercept. A debate soon erupts over what they should do with it (new water pipes or a boat) until someone else wants in. Meanwhile, Reese gets into (and causes) trouble when he starts hanging out at the nursing home.
When Lois and Hal take Dewey out of town for a piano competition, they enlist Grandma Ida to watch over the boys. Ida thinks that Reese needs to become a man, so she forces the two brothers into a competition and if Reese wins he takes Raduca as his bride.
Meanwhile, when Lois and Hal return home they're shocked to find out Reese has run off to Vegas.
Dewey visits a broke and disheveled Francis and just as he talks him into getting a real job, his rocker friend shows up and gives him a cool gig as tour manager of the band. Meanwhile, Malcolm refuses to meet with college recruiters, so Hal takes over and treats each one as a suitor – until Malcolm chooses Harvard, which ruins everything for Hal.
Lois finds out that she has Mono when she goes to the doctor's office, and ends up giving it to Malcolm. Malcolm and Lois have to spend a whole day in the same room together, and end up bonding.
Hal gets a devastating phone call that his father has passed away, but since Hal never met his father, he doesn't feel sad. In an attempt to overcompensate with his kids, Hal takes the boys shopping, lets them miss school. Hal even offers to buy Malcolm a new car until Lois steps in. Hal's buddy Abe thinks that a visit from George Takei will cheer him up.
Lois and Hal visit Francis to help him celebrate one year of sobriety, but when they attend his A.A. meeting they find out that Lois was the one who drove him to drink. Meanwhile, Dewey finds the spare key to Hal's car, but when Malcolm and Reese refuse to drive him to the arcade, it takes them more than 12 steps to find it.
Lois decides to get revenge on four popular high school girls who play a mean prank on Reese. As she plans her revenge, Hal builds his own pitching machine in the garage.
When Hal looses his tooth during a poker game, his buddy Trey tells him to come to his dental office, but Hal really feels the pain when he's hit with a $2,000 bill that causes a rift between the two friends. Meanwhile, Reese teaches Lois how to ride a bike and Malcolm and Dewey find their new favorite pastime of sleeping.
Malcolm joins a dancing class to impress a girl, but starts to regret it when Dick, a rival student, challenges him to a dance-off. Meanwhile, Hal discovers an underground bachelor pad.
Stevie goes to the hospital, while Malcolm makes up every excuse in the book because he can't face the truth about his best friend's illness. Meanwhile, Hal gets competitive with his remote control boat and Lois thinks she's losing her mind.
Reese heads back to work at the meat plant and meets Carrie, a cute vegetarian. He pretends to go along with her politics, and he almost pulls it off until he's caught red-handed with a pork chop. To get Carrie back, Reese goes to the plant and sets all of the cows free. Meanwhile, Malcolm tries to pull the wool over Lois' eyes and sneak off to a rock concert.
Reese gets paid to take a girl named Janice to the prom, but only after she gives him a makeover. Malcolm and the unpopular kids untie and make their own party during the prom called, "Morp".
Recently elected valedictorian of his graduating class, Malcolm struggles with his speech, but Lois refuses to hear his complaints and reveals her plans for him to become President of the United States. Meanwhile, Reese will do anything to get a permanent job as the high school janitor, even concocting the most disgusting mess of all time, which explodes all over the family. At home, Hal struggles with Malcolm's Harvard tuition and Francis lands a "real" job working 9 to 5 in a cubicle and enjoys every minute of it. Grandma Ida returns for the family festivities, and they all bid farewell to Malcolm when he leaves for college.