Kids' names on The Middle

Barry Margolin

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Oct 23, 2014, 6:19:49 AM10/23/14

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Has "The Middle" ever explained how the two boys got such unusual names
Axl and Brick, while Sue got a perfectly ordinary name? The parents are
such normal, conservative people, why would they name their kids so
strangely? And why just the boys? The only weird thing about Sue's name
is that it's both her first and middle names.

The Wikipedia page suggests that Axl was named for Axl Rose. The Hecks
don't seem like heavy metal rock and rollers, though.

--
Barry Margolin
Arlington, MA

Stan Brown

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Oct 23, 2014, 7:09:54 AM10/23/14

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Not now, I agree, but maybe 18 years ago when they named him. Or
maybe it's a family name.

I can't account for "Brick" at all, though.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...

Rhino

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Oct 23, 2014, 9:46:12 AM10/23/14

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On 2014-10-23 7:09 AM, Stan Brown wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Oct 2014 06:19:46 -0400, Barry Margolin wrote:
>>
>> Has "The Middle" ever explained how the two boys got such unusual names
>> Axl and Brick, while Sue got a perfectly ordinary name? The parents are
>> such normal, conservative people, why would they name their kids so
>> strangely? And why just the boys? The only weird thing about Sue's name
>> is that it's both her first and middle names.
>>
>> The Wikipedia page suggests that Axl was named for Axl Rose. The Hecks
>> don't seem like heavy metal rock and rollers, though.
>
> Not now, I agree, but maybe 18 years ago when they named him. Or
> maybe it's a family name.
>
> I can't account for "Brick" at all, though.
>

There's a character named Brick Breeland on Hart of Dixie. Perhaps it's
a nod to that character?

Also, a real longshot guess: we have a chain of furniture stores in
Canada called "The Brick". (And no, I don't know why they chose that
name.) Perhaps it's product placement for them? They may have US
operations.

--
Rhino

Stan Brown

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Oct 25, 2014, 7:16:16 AM10/25/14

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On Thu, 23 Oct 2014 09:46:23 -0400, Rhino wrote:
> On 2014-10-23 7:09 AM, Stan Brown wrote:

> > [quoted text muted]

> > maybe it's a family name.
> >
> > I can't account for "Brick" at all, though.
> >
>
> There's a character named Brick Breeland on Hart of Dixie. Perhaps it's
> a nod to that character?
>

Since /The Middle/ debuted two years earlier, it seems unlikely.

Tony Calguire

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Oct 25, 2014, 9:38:43 PM10/25/14

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It's 11:59 and 59 seconds. This happened in rec.arts.tv today:

They explained it in the first five minutes of the pilot episode. It's been
a long time, so I don't remember the details. But Axl is definitely Axl
Rose.

benjamin

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Oct 25, 2014, 10:40:58 PM10/25/14

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I think it was to show them to be lower class who wold pick such names.

hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com

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Oct 25, 2014, 11:51:33 PM10/25/14

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On Thursday, October 23, 2014 6:19:49 AM UTC-4, Barry Margolin wrote:
> The Hecks
> don't seem like heavy metal rock and rollers, though.

If memory serves, they were early in their marriage.

Hunter <>

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Oct 26, 2014, 2:12:37 AM10/26/14

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On Thu, 23 Oct 2014 06:19:46 -0400, Barry Margolin

----
They did when they were young presumably, not now that they are in
their late middle ages leading a nice middle class life.

------>Hunter

"No man in the wrong can stand up against
a fellow that's in the right and keeps on acomin'."

-----William J. McDonald
Captain, Texas Rangers from 1891 to 1907

Stan Brown

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Oct 26, 2014, 7:50:52 AM10/26/14

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On Sun, 26 Oct 2014 01:38:35 +0000 (UTC), Tony Calguire wrote:
>
> It's 11:59 and 59 seconds. This happened in rec.arts.tv today:

It's a clever line, but in future please include the name of the
person who wrote it.

> > Has "The Middle" ever explained how the two boys got such unusual names
> > Axl and Brick, while Sue got a perfectly ordinary name?
>

> They explained it in the first five minutes of the pilot episode. It's been
> a long time, so I don't remember the details. But Axl is definitely Axl
> Rose.

Thank you for this. It reminds me that I started watching during
season 2, and I don't think I've ever seen season 1. That will be a
nice binge-watch for some upcoming weekend.

Stan Brown

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Oct 27, 2014, 8:43:24 PM10/27/14

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On Sun, 26 Oct 2014 07:50:48 -0400, Stan Brown wrote:
>
> On Sun, 26 Oct 2014 01:38:35 +0000 (UTC), Tony Calguire wrote:
> >
> > It's 11:59 and 59 seconds. This happened in rec.arts.tv today:
>
> It's a clever line, but in future please include the name of the
> person who wrote it.
>
> > > Has "The Middle" ever explained how the two boys got such unusual names
> > > Axl and Brick, while Sue got a perfectly ordinary name?
> >
> > They explained it in the first five minutes of the pilot episode. It's been
> > a long time, so I don't remember the details. But Axl is definitely Axl
> > Rose.
>
> Thank you for this. It reminds me that I started watching during
> season 2, and I don't think I've ever seen season 1. That will be a
> nice binge-watch for some upcoming weekend.

Surprisingly, Amazon has neither /The Middle/ nor /Raising Hope/ free
for streaming to Prime members. Even season 1 costs $1.99 an episode
for viewing in standard def.

Fortunately, the discs of both are available on Netflix.

smc...@meditech.com

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Dec 13, 2017, 11:07:42 AM12/13/17

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I too want to know the origin of the kids names. How about for Brick from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof? I don't know anything about that play, just heard the character's name. Sue is an ordinary name but so outdated for someone born in the 1990's.

Susan McCabe

shin...@hotmail.com

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Oct 9, 2018, 12:48:51 AM10/9/18

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And Cat on a hot tin roof also has another relevant character that ties in with Brick... "Big Daddy". It kinda fits.
I came here looking for any other references to Cat on a hot tin roof to see if anyone else had made a connection.