In the spirit of Halloween, on The Middle episode “Tick Tock Death,” every member of the Heck family finds themselves in scary situations. Like The Twilight Zone but funnier. One of the characters that Frankie (Patricia Heaton), Mike (Neil Flynn). and the kids encounter is suburban mom Rita Glossner. She is an over-the-top character meant to epitomize white trash – bad haircut (short in front, long in back), too much makeup, too much skin, and too much I don’t give a f–k attitude. She answers the door in her bra in one scene. She steps into the inflatable kiddy pool wearing a barely-there, cut-out bathing suit in another.
Rita Glossner is portrayed by Brooke Shields. The model-turned-actress has over the years revealed that she knows comedy and she knows how to be funny. But is this character too far over the top, even for Suddenly Susan? The Middle airs Wednesdays at 8pm on ABC.
