Guest Star: Marsha Mason
You are viewing a list of Marsha Mason's 11 appearances on The Middle.
Mother's Day
Season 1, Episode 22 - Aired May 5 2010After a disappointing Mother's Day, Frankie and Sue spend the day with Frankie's mom. On the way Sue steals a motivational fridge magnet.
Appeared as Pat Spence
A Simple Christmas
Season 2, Episode 10 - Aired December 8 2010The Hecks count down the 12 days of Christmas with Frankie's parents, Pat (Marsha Mason) and Tag (Jerry Van Dyke), when they come to town to spend the holiday with the family - much to Mike's dismay. But when Frankie decides that she wants to take the focus off of the gifts and make it a simple Christmas, Pat and Tag have other ideas.
Appeared as Pat Spence
Major Changes
Season 3, Episode 4 - Aired October 5 2011After being mortifyingly humiliated and grossed out due to a family member's actions, Frankie has a meltdown and decrees to the family that major changes need to take place in every aspect of the Heck household - and then packs up and abruptly leaves. But Frankie's not gone for good, as she heads to her mother's (Marsha Mason) house for a little TLC and motherly advice to help her through the humiliation.
Appeared as Pat Spence
Thanksgiving III
Season 3, Episode 10 - Aired November 23 2011Frankie's parents, Pat (Marsha Mason) and Tag (Jerry Van Dyke), invite the Hecks to spend a few days at their house to celebrate Thanksgiving together. But the festivities begin to fall apart quickly when Frankie's sister, Janet (Molly Shannon), and her family also join in, and soon the siblings are at each other's throats over their widely differing parenting techniques. Meanwhile, Mike tries to offer some advice to Axl on how to pick up girls when he witnesses his son trying to impress a pretty mini-mart cashier - and fails miserably; Brick attempts to prove his innocence when he is accused by Janet of damaging her daughter's expensive toy; and Sue is stoked when Frankie, Pat and Janet invite her to take part in their gossip sessions.
Appeared as Pat Spence
Thanksgiving IV
Season 4, Episode 8 - Aired November 14 2012Frankie tries to do a good deed for Thanksgiving by inviting a couple of Marines to celebrate the holiday with her family. But with Frankie's parents, Pat and Tag (Marsha Mason and Jerry Van Dyke), constantly bickering, the good deed may not go unpunished. Meanwhile, while Axl grapples with his growing feelings for tutor Cassidy, he receives the good news that his foot is healed and he can play in the big game; Sue tries to track down the thief who has stolen the chicken head off of her school mascot uniform; and Brick becomes mesmerized by a book on the making of the film "Love Story".
Appeared as Pat Spence
Dollar Days
Season 4, Episode 20 - Aired April 10 2013After successfully graduating from dental assisting school, Frankie attempts to interview for a job but discovers that, when asked about herself, she doesn't quite know how to describe who she is. Meanwhile, when Axl gets his band their first paying gig at the Orson Dollar Days, Sue becomes a 'Yoko' to boyfriend Darrin's 'John' and begins to offer unwanted advice to the group; and when Brick informs Frankie and Mike that he has joined the Prairie Scouts, Mike ends up reluctantly having to lead his quirky troop's camping trip.
Appeared as Pat Spence
Thanksgiving V
Season 5, Episode 7 - Aired November 20 2013Thanksgiving finds the Heck family in turmoil when Axl tries to figure out the perfect time to tell his parents that he dropped three out of his four college classes. Frankie's dad, Tag, admits to Mike that he lost a lot of money gambling online and won't be able to take his wife Pat on a planned cruise. Sue is hiding a shocking secret from her discount shopping excursion with Frankie, Dr. Goodwin and Uncle Rusty's wife and kids show up unannounced for Thanksgiving dinner, and Brick goes to extreme measures to have lime green jello salad during the feast.
Appeared as Pat Spence
Mother's Day Reservations
Season 6, Episode 23 - Aired May 6 2015Tired of getting lousy Mother's Day Gifts year after year, Frankie informs Mike that she wants him to take her out for a proper afternoon tea. But Mike's ineptness at setting up reservations online could end in disaster. Meanwhile, Mike orders Axl, Sue and Brick to put some effort into choosing a great Mother's Day gift for Frankie; and Frankie doesn't get the answers she was expecting when she asks each of the kids what things they would do differently than her when they become parents.
Appeared as Pat Spence
Homecoming II: The Tailgate
Frankie is looking forward to taking part in the annual homecoming tailgate. But she begins to feel like the event will become an embarrassing disaster when her mom, Pat, decides to come out and join in the fun. Meanwhile, with Axl down with a bad case of the stomach flu, Mike turns his attention to Brick to help him win the tailgate cornhole tournament trophy that has eluded him for so long, and Sue volunteers to be the class liaison for Homecoming at the event.
Season 7, Episode 7 - Aired November 11 2015Appeared as Pat Spence
Not Mother's Day
Season 7, Episode 22 - Aired May 4 2016After enduring year after year of botched Mother's Days, Frankie declares that the family gets to take a pass on doing anything at all for her this year. But after a man offers to buy Frankie's groceries at the market when she discovers that she forgot her wallet - and tells her to pay the kindly gesture forward - she decides to have the family pull each other's names out of a hat and do something nice for that person, which doesn't go as smoothly as planned.
Appeared as Pat Spence
The Setup
Season 9, Episode 6 - Aired November 7 2017Frankie is tasked with being at her mom Pat's beck and call when she has to stay for a few days at the Heck house after coming down with an ailment. Meanwhile, just when it looks like Sean is about to ask Sue out on a date, Sue nervously blurts out that maybe they should both try to set each other up on a date with one of their friends; and Axl and Brick ponder what it is exactly that Mike does at the quarry.
Appeared as Pat Spence