THE FAMILY IS ON BOARD WITH FRANKIE'S DECISION TO SKIP GOING TO CHURCH AND WATCHING A CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE AT HOME ON TV, BUT A STRING OF EVENTS MAKE THEIR EVENING ANYTHING BUT PEACEFUL, ON ABC'S "THE MIDDLE"

"Not So Silent Night" - Dreading the fact that they are always late to church and end up in the overflow room, Frankie makes the decision to have the family watch a Christmas Eve service on TV from the comfort of the Heck house. But a string of events make their evening anything but a peaceful, silent night, on "The Middle," WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

"The Middle" stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Charlie McDermott as Axl, Eden Sher as Sue and Atticus Shaffer as Brick.

Guest starring are Jen Ray as Nancy Donahue and Dierk Torsek as Reverend Hayver.

"Not So Silent Night" was written by DeAnn Heline & Eileen Heisler and directed by Melissa Kosar.

"The Middle" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format with a 5.1 channel surround sound. A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to the airdate.