Battle of the Black sitcoms? Which is your favorite? [Archive]

DWEarhart

07-21-2006, 10:56 PM

Here's an article on the evolutioin of the term "urban."

What Does "Urban" Mean To You? (http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2006-05-02/friedman-urbanmeaning)

I've always seen it as a very sensitive authorities way of saying "black"; trying to be overly p.c. and all that, so as not to ruffle any feathers.

My favorite show was Sanford & Son. That takes me back to when my grandfather and I would sit down and watch it together. It made us laugh for hours. Red Foxx was one of the greatest comedians.

SnowTrooper

07-21-2006, 11:07 PM

Fresh Prince
Cosby Show
Family Matters

Patient Boy

07-21-2006, 11:21 PM

but i'd say urban.

That's really not any better and it's a little condescending I think that you can't say "black" or even "Afro-American" when that's what you're referring to. Most sitcoms are "urban" comedies anyway. How many sitcoms were set on farms or such? Green Acres? Gilligan's Island?

In any case, I was too young to experience anything pre-80s firsthand, so I will show love for the Fresh Prince. I still love that show.

Eliseu Gouveia

07-21-2006, 11:38 PM

Definitelly Fresh Prince, Hillary Banks is teh hawtest babe to grace my tv set for quite a while. :D

Ontir

07-21-2006, 11:50 PM

Good Times was an amazing show. Esther Rolle's "Florida Evans" was spun off from Maude, where she was the scene-stealing housekeeper:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0070991/ The show was about a real family, with real problems, who faced them head-on, and dealt with them. I think they were the last functional family on TV until Roseanne!

Later on, Ja'net Jackson was added to the cast, as Penny, which began a groundbreaking and intense story arc of an abused little girl, and a neighbour who risked pretty much everything to save her. Jackson's foil, was the then half-pint sized Gary Coleman.

The show was amazing, and it had a fantastic finale! While everybody was making their way out of the projects, J.J. had been rejected in his attempt to sell his comic book character Dyno-Man. He seemed lost and hopeless, but surprised everyone by taking inspiration in his sister, who had been his arch-nemesis their entire lives, and re-worked the character into Dyno-Woman, modeled on Thelma, which gave him the success he'd long sought.

berk

07-22-2006, 12:11 AM

Not even close: Sanford & Son.

Ontir

07-22-2006, 12:51 AM

Sanford & Son was amusing, but it didn't make you laugh and think the way Good Times did!

Motormouse

07-22-2006, 01:36 AM

I like two that didn't make your list:

"Everybody Hates Chris"

&

Bernie Mac Show:eek:

Cash Lone

07-22-2006, 08:54 AM

Girlfriends! followed by Sanford & Son!

Karl J. Barnes

07-22-2006, 09:08 AM

The Jeffersons...Weezie and George were great characters.

Leslie Lee III

07-22-2006, 09:14 AM

I've always seen it as a very sensitive authorities way of saying "black"; trying to be overly p.c. and all that, so as not to ruffle any feathers.

But there are plenty of things that are better referred to as "Urban" simply becaue it's not JUST black people involved.

Lord of Denial

07-22-2006, 09:15 AM

Cosby Show!

Not the outright funniest but was very important in dispelling alot of stereotypes that TV in the past had presented America.

Pinball

07-22-2006, 10:50 AM

But there are plenty of things that are better referred to as "Urban" simply becaue it's not JUST black people involved.
Yeah, there's also "latin" people.

...can i say Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids?

Super Samurai

07-22-2006, 11:22 AM

Fresh Prince was awesome, so was "The Wayans Brothers" as well as "My Wife and Kids".

rick

07-22-2006, 11:41 AM

Sanford & Son was amusing, but it didn't make you laugh and think the way Good Times did!

Hate to argue about it, but Good Times was just about the least funny comedy in the history of television.

The show suffered form the worst problems of 70's comedy in that every single stinking episode had to either preach to you or depress you.

And worse yet when it did try to be funny, it suffered from some really serious white sterotypes of how black people acted and felt.

Heck, both John Amos and Esther Rolle quit the series because they thought it was turned into what Rolle once described as a "minstral show", with the focus on JJ's antics.

At the very least Redd Foxx on Sanford managed to keep the edge to his personality as well as his humor.

Aggie

07-22-2006, 11:43 AM

Cosby Show!

Not the outright funniest but was very important in dispelling alot of stereotypes that TV in the past had presented America.

i wouldn't go that far...the cosby show...geez how do i put this...let's just say it didn't depict the norm when it came to most black families...my family and most of my friend's family were more bundy than huxtable...i think that's what i like about everybody hates chris...it's a more accurate depiction of black urban life during the 80s than the cosby show and i can totally relate to the situations you find on the show...having said that, i couldn't relate to living in the project either, but i knew what it was like to go w/o stuff...so while the cosby show, as you said, was important for dispelling stereotypes, it's also guilty for presenting a spurious venear of racial progress...

as for the poll...the jefferson's is w/o peer...in fact it's one of the best shows of all time.

Alex Dragon

07-22-2006, 11:59 AM

Hate to argue about it, but Good Times was just about the least funny comedy in the history of television.

The show suffered form the worst problems of 70's comedy in that every single stinking episode had to either preach to you or depress you.

And worse yet when it did try to be funny, it suffered from some really serious white sterotypes of how black people acted and felt.

Heck, both John Amos and Esther Rolle quit the series because they thought it was turned into what Rolle once described as a "minstral show", with the focus on JJ's antics.

At the very least Redd Foxx on Sanford managed to keep the edge to his personality as well as his humor.

I totally agree with you. I find/found it annoyingly depressing to watch on many levels. There was far too much "We're stuck in the ghetto", "We'll never get ahead..." , "We poor black folk..." themes/stories for my tastes. Most of the humor seemed to come from JJ being a big dumb clown and uttering his very his annoying catchprase waaaaaaay too often. The series just came across as a huge downer.

I guess when it orginally aired it might've been considered "ground breaking" because there wasn't another black series like it and a series with an all black cast was fairly uncommon but I don't think back on GOOD TIMES fondly at all (Other than thinking Thelma was hot).

Of the sitcoms named here SANFORD AND SON delivered the most laughs for me.

Aggie

07-22-2006, 12:02 PM

Hate to argue about it, but Good Times was just about the least funny comedy in the history of television.

The show suffered form the worst problems of 70's comedy in that every single stinking episode had to either preach to you or depress you.

And worse yet when it did try to be funny, it suffered from some really serious white sterotypes of how black people acted and felt.

Heck, both John Amos and Esther Rolle quit the series because they thought it was turned into what Rolle once described as a "minstral show", with the focus on JJ's antics.

At the very least Redd Foxx on Sanford managed to keep the edge to his personality as well as his humor.

and see there's the rub...during the 70s there wasn't a lot of "minority" visibility, so you had to take whatever crumbs you could get...good times started off well enough and i think it had good intentions in the as ontir said...it was somewhat a spin off of "maude" and florida was a very solid character, but as in most things something else on a show sparks w/ the views and before you know it...the pandering begins...if i'm not mistaken, sanford and son was the only show of that era that actually had black writers, so a lot of what you saw during that time was the white interpretation of what black life was like...now i'd to think we were beyond this, but as evident from shows like the wayans brothers and the parkers, we're not...because even though you have more black writers on shows, you still have to contend w/ network execs. and their focus groups and all around apathy.

drwho

07-22-2006, 12:06 PM

Would different strokes be considered a black comedy or interracial comedy?:rolleyes: I voted for Good Times. I always thought the whole cast had the greatest chemistry. I didn't know Good times was an offshoot of Maude. The past 10 years beside that Joey cr@p have any new comedies come from another show?

Alex Dragon

07-22-2006, 12:09 PM

i wouldn't go that far...the cosby show...geez how do i put this...let's just say it didn't depict the norm when it came to most black families...my family and most of my friend's family were more bundy than huxtable...i think that's what i like about everybody hates chris...it's a more accurate depiction of black urban life during the 80s than the cosby show and i can totally relate to the situations you find on the show...having said that, i couldn't relate to living in the project either, but i knew what it was like to go w/o stuff...so while the cosby show, as you said, was important for dispelling stereotypes, it's also guilty for presenting a spurious venear of racial progress...

as for the poll...the jefferson's is w/o peer...in fact it's one of the best shows of all time.

Another great post. THE COSBY SHOW was great that it slammed the previous sterotypical black sitcoms into the ground but it really didn't reflect the "average" black family. That said I think it was wonderful to show that a very successful black family could exist and still have their own share of problems in a fun way. But.....For me personally I loved the first season of COSBY but from the second season on I felt they became way too "preachy" for my tastes.I think it was probably a good thing in a way for Bill Cosby and the show to tackle some of the themes they did but I didn't find it particularly entertaining or funny.

theflyingfrogunderdog

07-22-2006, 01:11 PM

Sanford & Son was amusing, but it didn't make you laugh and think the way Good Times did!

I couldn't disagree more. Sanford and Son is right up there with Three's Company on my laugh-o-meter.

theflyingfrogunderdog

07-22-2006, 01:22 PM

The show suffered form the worst problems of 70's comedy in that every single stinking episode had to either preach to you or depress you.

Yeah, and they ate oatmeal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I know the show was about a poor family struggling to get by, but what about beans and rice for a change??

Aggie

07-22-2006, 05:35 PM

Another great post. THE COSBY SHOW was great that it slammed the previous sterotypical black sitcoms into the ground but it really didn't reflect the "average" black family. That said I think it was wonderful to show that a very successful black family could exist and still have their own share of problems in a fun way. But.....For me personally I loved the first season of COSBY but from the second season on I felt they became way too "preachy" for my tastes.I think it was probably a good thing in a way for Bill Cosby and the show to tackle some of the themes they did but I didn't find it particularly entertaining or funny.

it was the perfect example of a reagan era family.

EZMOHR

07-22-2006, 05:49 PM

Gots to go with Sanford and Son over The Jeffersons. Just because I laughed anytime I ever watched Sanford and Son....especially when Grady rolled on by.

vertigo_phreeze

07-22-2006, 06:55 PM

on that list, i would go with the Jeffersons, but i agree that Everybody Hates Chris and Bernie Mac got snubbed.

i like Sanford and Sons, but Mr Foxx was nuetered on that show.

The Cosby Show was ok, but i think sometimes it tried to be too anti-stereotype, which can be as bad as stereotyped.

as for the whole black/urban/afro-american thing, i am black and i like watching black shows. i am not urban, and i am not from Africa (not personally). when you say PC bullshit like that you sound like you feel i need to be talked down to or that being black is a bad word i should be ashamed to be called. when white people talk to other white people they dont refer to people as caucassion or euro-american, so just talk to us like we are normal people.:D

blackdragon6

07-22-2006, 07:50 PM

martin,that giant rat episode was funny as hell.i'm gigling right now just thinking about it.

choptop

07-22-2006, 09:10 PM

as for the whole black/urban/afro-american thing, i am black and i like watching black shows. i am not urban, and i am not from Africa (not personally). when you say PC bullshit like that you sound like you feel i need to be talked down to or that being black is a bad word i should be ashamed to be called. when white people talk to other white people they dont refer to people as caucassion or euro-american, so just talk to us like we are normal people.:D

yes but people dont call ty show's wh white people in it white show's

so y call um black show's? sorry but i have a black GF and wen people call

um black show's or black movie's she get's mad.

SAMAS

07-22-2006, 09:15 PM

martin,that giant rat episode was funny as hell.i'm gigling right now just thinking about it. "That ain't no damn puppy!" :p

I also liked the "sequel" scene where Martin and Pam were lost in the wilderness and encountered its relative... then killed and ate it.

drwho

07-22-2006, 09:15 PM

yes but people dont call ty show's wh white people in it white show's

so y call um black show's? sorry but i have a black GF and wen people call

um black show's or black movie's she get's mad.

Well maybe if the above shows had some white people on them on a regular basis they wouldn't be called black shows. It amazes me how people these days claim to be offended by everything.

spoon_jenkins

07-22-2006, 09:34 PM

I liked "What's Happening?" as a kid.

rick

07-22-2006, 10:19 PM

I liked "What's Happening?" as a kid.

Actually I really liked that one too.

Even though Rerun was pretty goofy, on the whole the three boys did something pretty rare for television and actually acted like normal teenagers.

spoon_jenkins

07-22-2006, 10:51 PM

Actually I really liked that one too.

Even though Rerun was pretty goofy, on the whole the three boys did something pretty rare for television and actually acted like normal teenagers.
Yeah, I've heard "What's Happening!!" labeled as offensive, but I didn't find that to be the case. Like you said, Raj and Dwayne were normal teenagers. In fact, Raj was really a nerd and Dwayne became a computer programmer in the spin-off "What's Happening Now!!" Hardly vicious anti-black stereotypes. Now, Rerun was an over-the-top goofball and Dee was a smart aleck kid, but I think those personas show in sitcoms with actors of all different races.