Guest Star: Jerry Van Dyke
You are viewing a list of Jerry Van Dyke's 7 appearances on The Middle.
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 Tag 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 Tag 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 Tag Spence
From Orson with Love
Season 4, Episode 21 - Aired May 1 2013After discovering that Sue's life, as defined on Facebook, is pretty pathetic, Frankie creates an online alias (or two or three) and tries to make her daughter as popular as possible. Meanwhile, after reading Tuesdays with Morrie, Frankie's healthy dad, Tag (Jerry Van Dyke), coerces Mike into listening to his long-winded life stories on a weekly basis; and Axl and Brick attempt to garner interest in getting a bunch of baby bunnies and kittens adopted by producing a viral video starring the animals in a James Bond knockoff.
Appeared as Tag 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 Tag Spence
Flirting with Disaster
Season 6, Episode 16 - Aired March 4 2015Frankie finds herself innocently flirting with Axl's hot friend, Finn. But when she makes a not-so-innocent remark about him to her sister, she fears that both Finn and Axl may have overheard her conversation. Meanwhile, Sue is forced to take Brick to a "Planet Nowhere" sci-fi convention, and Frankie's dad, Tag, asks Mike to secretly help him study and pass his driver's test so that he can keep his license from being taken away.
Appeared as Tag Spence
Two of a Kind
Season 6, Episode 21 - Aired April 22 2015Frankie and Mike find themselves caught in the middle of a long standing family feud when Frankie's Uncle Dutch contacts her dad, Tag, in an attempt to reunite and bury the hatchet with his estranged brother. Meanwhile, a fearful Sue receives her first detention ever for being caught going off campus for lunch and seeks advice from Axl on how to survive the ordeal unscathed.
Appeared as Tag Spence