Ahhh, the care-free life of a young, starving artist, Wendy Watson ...

Well, OK ... not free of any cares. I mean ... there is the illegal sublet apartment you live in, the mundane temp jobs you have to work at, the recent boyfriend who dumped you, and the constant nagging calls from Mom. But hey, at least you don't have to fight big nasty monsters! ... oh wait ... I guess you do ...

Wendy finds this out the hard way, while working for her latest gig, when an experiment unleashes a genetic baddie. She defeats the monster, single-handed, and this catches the eye of The Middleman. Passed down throughout time, this secret organization has defended the planet from the forces of evil. And Wendy has proven she is the perfect candidate to become the next Middleman. As she learns her new trade, she gets access to all kinds of handy superhero gadgets ... like, the Middlemobile, the Middlewatch and the middle ... oh, you get the idea. At the Middleman HQ, MM is assisted by his faithful, yet cranky android, Ida. Ida has nothing but contempt for the Middleman's new apprentice, always coming up with some drug-related insult. But, she always does her job, and the foundation for all things MM.

When Wendy Watson isn't fighting off aliens, or studying the ways of the MM, she can always come home to close friends: her roommate Lacey, and neighbor Noser. They don't know what Dub Dub (Lacey's nickname for Wendy, due to her initials WW) is involved with, but Lacey is all dreamy for Wendy's new boss-with-no-name (who she has nicknamed, Pillow Lips). And that personal life spills over to her work, too, as the Middleman has a nickname for Wendy ... "Dubbie."

• Wendy Watson, Middleman apprentice - Natalie Morales
• The Middleman - Matt Keeslar (Scream 3, TV miniseries Dune, Stephen King's Rose Red, The Thirst, and Jekyll)
• Ida, cranky android - television veteran, Mary Pat Gleason (Children of the Dark, Evolution, The Island, Room 6)
• Lacey Thornfield, Wendy's roommate - Brit Morgan (Buried Alive)
• Noser, musician/neighbor - Jake Smollett
• Pip, spoiled young landlord - Drew Tyler Bell (Jeepers Creepers 2, Jake 2.0, The Seeker: The Dark is Rising)
• Tyler Ford, Wendy's new boytoy? - Brendon Hines (Angel, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)

My favorite episode ... The Obsolescent Cryogenic Meltdown, featuring Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) as Guy Goddard, retired Middleman #69, cryogenically frozen until his arch villain, The Candle, ever re-surfaced.

The Middleman is a cross between the old Batman series, and Men in Black films. The series is based on the Viper Comics series, by Javier Grillo-Marxuach (writer/producer LOST, Medium, Charmed, Jake 2.0, SeaQuest) and Les McClaine. I didn't think I find anything quite that campy on tv, save for NBC's Chuck and WB's Reaper, but ABC Family's The Middleman is pure cheesy goodness. I first began watching ABC Family, a couple of years ago, with a new scifi show called, Kyle XY. When the channel was touting itself, "A New Kind of Family," they weren't kidding! Television has matured, and this family network show's contained subject matter that normally would never be expressed, seriously or with humor, to younger viewers. And The Middleman is no exception ... it's just plain funny for all ages. And it's quick and snappy dialog ... there are a lot of pop culture themes and references, in each episode, that is a goldmine for trivia buffs. The Middleman airs Monday nights on ABC Family (be sure to play the build your own Middleman and figure out your codename ... mine is CUPCAKE, WTF!?!)

The Middleman (ABC Family):
http://abcfamily.go.com/middleman

Viper Comics (The Middleman comics):
http://www.vipercomics.com/features/the_middleman.asp

The Middleblog (for spoilers and the cool stuff):
http://themiddleblog.livejournal.com/