Hal asks Malcolm to shave his back hair at the breakfast table, immediately establishing the family's lack of boundaries.
The hot-tempered, uncompromising matriarch who rules the house with an iron fist. PilotMalcolm in the Middle : Season 1 Episode 1
The episode establishes the irony of Malcolm’s intelligence; being "smart" is presented as a social burden rather than a privilege. Hal asks Malcolm to shave his back hair