1.9 "Malcolm in the Middle" - "Lois vs. Evil" Quiz

Answer: Beer

The episode starts with Hal apparently working with some wood and a drill outside the house. He comes into a chaotic scene: Dewey lying over the washing machine repeating "I hate my brothers, I only like me", Malcolm and Reese fighting on the floor, and Lois splashing them with water and ordering them (unsuccessfully) to stop. Hal takes a beer bottle out of the fridge and when an exasperated Lois asks when he will be done, he says "as soon as I can".

Answer: Crossword

Upon taking a beer from the fridge, Hal returns to his workstation outside and turns on the drill. However, it seems like he is using this time as an excuse to get away from the family's chaos inside the house. While the drill is on and his back is turned on Lois, he pretends to be working when he really is doing a crossword puzzle.

In February 2017, The New York Times published an article about the history of their iconic crossword puzzle. According to the article, the paper initially regarded crosswords as a waste of time in the 1920s, but changed their mind after realizing that they could serve as a source of entertainment for people going through World War II. Since 1950, The New York Times has published a daily crossword puzzle, and has had editors like Margaret Farrar, Will Weng, Eugene T. Maleska, and Will Shortz.

Answer: Condoms

Craig Feldspar is one of Lois's coworkers at the Lucky Aide store. Throughout the series, Craig fantasizes about having a love life with Lois and even confesses his love for her in a later season, but nothing ever materializes because Lois doesn't feel the same way. While the two employees were restocking a shelf with condoms, Craig points out that the two of them restocking that shelf together "is a little intense". Lois doesn't understand what Craig means, so he immediately retracts the comment and walks away.

Malcolm, Reese, and Dewey then go into the store. Lois warns them not to touch or do anything before her shift ends in five minutes, but the boys quickly realize there is a steam cleaner with "hyper foaming action". Lois immediately realizes that she didn't specifically tell them not to touch the steam cleaner, and then finds her children covered in foam.

Answer: Cognac

While Malcolm and Reese were playing with the steam cleaner, Dewey was upset about his brothers calling him a "baby" and mocking him. When Hal gets home, he finds his youngest son hiding outside because "he took something from Mommy's store". Hal tells him that is very serious but assumes he stole something small, like a candy bar. Lois and Hal are shocked to discover Dewey actually took a $150 bottle of cognac! She takes Dewey to the store to apologize to the manager, Mr. Pinter, and face the consequences. However, the visit doesn't go too well since Pinter fires Lois after the incident. Before leaving, Lois tears off Pinter's velcro toupee.

Cognac is an alcoholic beverage named after the eponymous commune in France where it originates. Cognac is generally made from grapes and their juices that are fermented and then go through a double distillation process. This is what gives cognac (and other types of brandies) a higher alcohol content than wines.

Answer: Sweet Home Alabama

Francis and Stanley are at rehearsals for the Miss Mobile competition, since they volunteered to participate as an honor guard in the pageant. Francis is thrilled to be in a place full of "beautiful girls with self-esteem issues". Later, we see Francis playing "Sweet Home Alabama" on the piano while one of the girls sings (albeit not very well). Marlin Academy, the military school Francis and Stanley attend, is in Alabama.

"Sweet Home Alabama" was first released by the American band Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1974. The song's lyrics pay tribute to the state of Alabama. Part of the lyrics also criticize Neil Young for his song "Southern Man", which according to Lynyrd Skynyrd, implied that everyone in the south of the U.S. was to blame for slavery.

Answer: Rice and macaroni

Malcolm says that after Lois lost her job, all the family has been eating is macaroni and rice (which are significantly cheaper than some of the other answer choices). Dewey is also forced to drink milk despite the beverage being "lumpy". Malcolm then asks why his mom hasn't applied for unemployment, but Lois explains that she is considered to work "part-time" because she "only" works 38 hours.

This technicality implies that she would get unemployment benefits if she worked 40 hours a week. This is one of the many times in the series where the day-to-day struggles of many American families are reflected.

Answer: Caramel popcorn

The next day at school, Malcolm complains to Steve about not being able to do laundry and not having cable at home. Stevie, however, responds by mocking his "love life". This is because earlier in the episode, it is implied that Malcolm and his classmate Julie Houlerman have crushes on each other. At the beginning of the episode, she says "hi" to Malcolm, but leaves after Malcolm takes too long to think about what to say back. The conversation between Stevie and Malcolm is interrupted by Julie, who wants to share her lunch with Malcolm. Malcolm only has leftover eggs, while Julie has a much better lunch made of Chinese chicken salad, a tangerine, and Jordan almonds.

Malcolm then leaves and complains about how he hates his life with Stevie, without realizing that Julie was standing behind him.

Caramel popcorn, which is a sweet version of the classic snack, was not one of the items in Julie's lunchbox. Julie was portrayed by Landry Allbright, who also appeared in other TV shows like "Will & Grace" and "The West Wing".

Answer: Organize a can drive

Caroline (Malcolm's teacher) tells Malcolm that she spoke to Julie and thinks she is a "special little girl". Malcolm now is embarrassed because he thinks Julie told their teacher about her "crush". However, Malcolm then finds out that Julie organized a can drive to help his family in their time of need.

The school came together and gave Malcolm, Reese, and Dewey, bags of canned food. The brothers thought this was humiliating because, they say, people just donate whatever they don't need after cleaning their garage.

Answer: Olives

Hal encourages his family to be positive about their situation and try to make the best out of the canned food donation. When he eats the last "olive" (a black circular item that somewhat resembled an olive) out of a can, Lois is alarmed because Hal was actually eating a can of peaches! Hal is taken to the hospital and the doctor assures them he will be fine, just like when Dewey ate half a frog!

Answer: Yes

Hal's hospital bills are so high that Lois is forced to put her pride behind her and ask Mr. Pinter for her job back. Pinter agrees but only if Lois signs an apology letter written by him. She refuses and tells Pinter that she is better than him; after all, she didn't tell on him after finding out that he had a suspicious bag of "herbs" in his drawer and slept with the district manager's wife. Unfortunately for Pinter, all other employees were eavesdropping on the conversation, and minutes later, we learn that Pinter quit and Lois got her job back.