ÉPISODE: While waiting in line at the power company to pay a late bill and dressed in her lab coat for her new dental assisting job, people mistake Frankie for a doctor and let her cut in front of them so that she can finish her business quickly and get back to saving lives. But when one of those people shows up at Dr. Goodwin's office for a dental checkup, Frankie tries to keep up the charade, which leaves her new employer completely perplexed. Meanwhile, Axl discovers that Sue has a perfect attendance record at school and convinces her to ditch a day to live life on the edge; Dr. Fulton tries to find out why Brick is so opposed to going to middle school; and Mike and Axl's fishing trip takes a turn for the worse when a distraction causes Mike to crash the boat he's towing, wedging it into a ditch.

Forget about athletes, movie stars and politicians. Parents are the real heroes - but we think Frankie Heck, must be some kind of superhero. A loving wife and mother of three, she's middle class in the middle of the country and is rapidly approaching middle age.Frankie and her husband, Mike, have lived in Orson, Indiana, their whole lives. A man of few words (every one a zinger), Mike is a manager at the town quarry and Frankie is the third-best used car salesman (out of the three) at the local dealership. She may not be a high-powered career woman, but when it comes to her family, she'll go to just about any length. And with kids like these, she had better. There's Axl, her semi-nudist teenage son conceived while under the influence of Guns N' Roses; Sue, the awkward teenage daughter who fails at everything... but with the utmost of gusto; and their seven-year-old son Brick, whose best friend is his backpack.Sometimes it seems like everyone is trying to get to the top, or struggling not to hit bottom, but we think Frankie and her family will find a lot of love, and a lot of laughs, somewhere in The Middle.

Patricia Heaton

Frankie Heck

Charlie McDermott

Axl Heck

Eden Sher

Sue Heck

Atticus Shaffer

Brick Heck

Neil Flynn

Mike Heck

Chris Kattan

Bob Weaver