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Reese (Justin Berfield) wakes Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) with a punch in the face, angry over having to attend the "Krelboyne Picnic," a misbegotten carnival which Malcolm describes as "a bunch of social misfits doing weird stunts to show how smart they are." Malcolm is terrified at the prospect of demonstrating his freakish intelligence in front of his family, and he gets the visiting Francis (Christopher Kennedy Masterson) to promise to help him sneak away before it's his turn to perform. An enthusiastic Caroline (Catherine Lloyd Burns) frightens Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan) when she greets the family dressed as a harlequin, and things go downhill from there. Francis has a whirlwind romance with Jodie (Katherine Ellis) and forgets all about Malcolm's escape plans. Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) comes into conflict with an overbearing mother. The show goes on, and as one kid after another bombs, Stevie (Craig Lamar Traylor) frets about performing after Malcolm ("Following...you...is like...following...Streisand"). Hal (Bryan Cranston) traumatizes some children by sneaking meat into their vegetarian barbecue ("My soy-burger is bleeding!"), and even Reese's simple plan to "kick Krelboyne butt" goes awry when Eraserhead's (Will Jennings) big brother turns the tables on him. Desperate to avoid doing his act, Malcolm uses Stevie's chemistry set to make a stink bomb, which turns out to cause more damage than he intended.