My unsolicited review:
It was okay, but not great. The lighting and camera work was unimaginative, the acting was always a little off (especially Malcolm). This contributed to a general “fakeness” that was probably the worst part of the show.
Too much fan service, but understandable if this was a one-off thing.
The story was good. The tone was more serious, which wasn’t a problem, I think it’s great they don’t just try to remake the original, but the jokes that are there often fell flat. In general I didn’t laugh much.
The original characters were all enjoyable, except I felt Jamie (which technically isn’t a original character) was a little underdeveloped. In general I thought the cast was too large for the runtime, but if they do produce a full series (about Malcolm running for office?) this could be resolved.
Overall a nice little addendum for the fans, but nothing too exciting. I do think there is some meat for a sequel show here.
Some shows I haven’t seen since I was a kid, but I remember being high quality, and haven’t seen mentioned yet: