He rides his skateboard off the roof, plays in the neighborhood sewers, and gets trapped with tigers- all while dealing with three squabbling brothers, a goofy father, and a mother who acts like a drill sergeant. Welcome to the wacky world of teen-genius Malcolm, the main character in TV's hit comedy series "Malcolm in the Middle." Who comes up with the show's off-the-wall story lines? Meet writer Michael Glouberman. As co-executive producer of "Malcolm in the Middle," Michael spends most of his workday developing hilarious stories and jokes that keep viewers laughing. Even though he understands that spreading laughter is only a small part of helping others achieve true happiness, Michael says that raising people's spirits can be a first step in helping them live a life of simhah (joy and happiness). He lifted our spirits when we spoke with him recently.

BABA: Hi, Michael. What's it like to work on "Malcolm in the Middle"?

MICHAEL: It's fantastic. It's such a fun job. I sit in a room with ten of the funniest people around, and we crack each other up all day long. We come up with story lines, and then we come up with jokes for the stories. I spend half the day laughing until I cry.

BABA: What's the secret to the success of "Malcolm in the Middle"?

MICHAEL: I think viewers find the show funny because it's partly based on real-life scenarios, such as being angry with your parents or feeling neglected by your friends. Although each character's personality is magnified for effect, everyone watching the show says, "I know someone like that," and that helps viewers find the humor in their own lives. If you can laugh at the lighter side of life's challenges, then it's sometimes easier to deal with the more difficult curveballs that life throws you.

BABA: Where do you and the other writers come up with the ideas for the funny plots and jokes?

MICHAEL: A lot of it is based on things that happened to us as children. For example, one of the jokes that I wrote into an episode was something that happened to my younger brother. My parents put him in a corner when he was 5 or 6 because he wasn't behaving, and they left him there- all night. He fell asleep in the corner. My parents woke up in the morning and realized, "Oh my, what did we do?"

I now have four kids myself- ages 8, 7, 4, and 1 1/2- so I have lots of ammunition from my own family. I'll come to work saying, "You won't believe what my son did."

BABA: Did you always enjoy entertaining people and making them laugh?

MICHAEL: Yes. As a kid, I was the wise guy and the class clown at both Emek Hebrew Academy and Yeshiva University High School in Los Angeles. None of the teachers ever thought that would pay off for me, but I guess it did. I always loved writing stories. In creative-writing class, the teacher would assign a two-page story, and I'd come in with nine or ten pages and have everyone laughing.

BABA: Why do you like bringing enjoyment and laughter to viewers?

MICHAEL: There's no greater feeling than having your idea for a story end up on television and watching people laugh at the lines you wrote. It's important to bring a sense of happiness to others. The happier people are, the better they treat others and the more willing they are to help others. A cheerful frame of mind is more conducive to fulfilling mitzvot.

BABA: Thanks, Michael. By the way, if you want some really juicy material for the show, come visit our crazy office.

Jewishful Thinking
Long before Michael Glouberman’s TV scripts began tickling viewers’ funny bones, the great Jewish scholar Maimonides recognized how rewarding it can be to spread Hj5m4c1(simh. ah, joy). More than 800 years ago, Maimonides wrote that bringing happiness to the hearts of those who are unhappy is one of the greatest things a person can do. Michael agrees wholeheartedly with Maimonides’ philosophy. “It feels good,” he says, “knowing that something I do can make people happy and forget their problems for half an hour.”