Color Comedy | Retro Junk

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eddstarr88 2 months 9 days ago Posts: 6883	Well gang, ABC is ready for another go at the oldest game in American television, the "Perfect Black Sitcom" with the premiere of "Black-ish" on 9/24/2014. I bring this up because every sitcom with a black cast since 1970 has to go through the "Goldilocks Test": not too black or not too white, but Just Right. This is a difficult test now that every show gets compared to the gold-standard of television, aka "The Cosby Show". Cosby is a very high standard for any show to reach but the previews for "Black-ish" look very good so far. All the talk about comedy and color reminds me one of the most unusual TV shows that appeared back in 1970, a black version of the Neil Simon classic, "Barefoot in the Park" starring Scoey Mitchell and Tracy Reed. The outcry from the public over turning a Broadway favorite play into a black TV comedy was too much for some people. Here's the only clip I've found for the intro. I will never forget Scoey and Tracy riding through the streets of NYC in the back of a Hansom Cab passing out glasses of champagne along the way. I can still hear Tracy shouting, "We just got Married!" Or, how about "Roc" starring Charles S. Dutton on FOX back in 1991. My personal standard for a sitcom is "does it make me laugh?". Well I really enjoyed Roc sine the show never took itself too seriously. I hate it when a show of color feels it necessary to act as an example for people of color, everywhere.
	The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
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bassman21 2 months 7 days ago Posts: 4553	I DVR Blackish and I'm going to watch it after I get off work this morning. Looks like it has potential. I never knew Barefoot in the Park existed. Yeah 1970 was a little early for Americans to accept show with a mostly black cast much rather one based on a Broadway play. It took shows like All in the Family to set the stage for such shows in coming years. People soon realized Black actors offered a sense of humor and story lines that Whites couldn't pull off.

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eddstarr88 2 months 7 days ago Posts: 6883	Hey Billy! Most people don't believe me when I mention Barefoot in the Park, the TV series. At least that low quality clip exists of the intro. The backlash for ABC was unexpected. Barefoot in the Park was test screened before the network buy-in and the first episode premiered in a special edition of the late night ABC comedy anthology series, Love, American Style. Both Tracy Reed and Scoey Mitchell had appeared twice on Love, American Style and had garnered quite a fan following as a result. But ABC didn't want all the negative press and Scoey Mitchell hated the poor quality of the scripts the shows writers were turning in and he walked-off the show. My real problem with color comedy started with the 1968 TV show, "Julia" starring Diahann Carroll. My standard for all comedy shows is: They Must Be Funny. Julia was almost depressing to watch, no joy in the show on some episodes. Personally, I enjoyed "The George Lopez Show", he sure pushed back on the network not to cancel the show too soon. I still enjoy the reruns.
	The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
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bassman21 2 months 7 days ago Posts: 4553	Hi Eddie. I watched Blackish. Great chemistry with the characters and great production. Hopefully the writers can develop the characters and storyline. Color comedy has honestly been overplayed and this new generation doesn't see race the same way previous generations did. It can still work, but there has to be more substance. Oh and when I saw his gayish co-worker on Blackish I rolled my eyes. They have to put a gay guy in every show now.

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eddstarr88 2 months 2 days ago Posts: 6883	Yeah, I liked the first episode of Black-ish. I recommend more emphasis on funny and less on color. As a new show goes through its shake-out period, characters change or are dropped. I'm hoping Black-ish will hit that comedy sweet spot. Remember "The Hughleys"? I really wanted to like the show but it never got a laugh outta me. It all seemed flat, stale. The show had no spark of funny in it. D.L. Hughley seemed to be trapped in his TV family with all the laughs smothered out. The promo was funnier than the show itself:
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Ghost of Vapor 2 months 2 days ago Posts: 359	I was a big fan of The Jeffersons. That show always cracked me up. Yeah, George was a hyperactive stereotype sort of character, but there is no doubt there was a good combination of writers and chemistry with the actors. Any show that can make a white person crack up when they make fun of the white guy all the time has something going for it.
	The fun doesn't end here. www.retro-daze.com
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thecrow174 2 months 1 day ago Posts: 9804	Good Times is a good one. The scene in the episode "The Dinner Party" always cracks me up. The neighbor brings meatloaf, which the family suspects is dog food.
	There is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil and the other one is good. Which wolf will win? The one you feed the most. http://unbelievableyou.com/a-native-american-cherokee-story-two-wolves/
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eddstarr88 2 months 1 day ago Posts: 6883	Wildly popular, The Jeffersons ran for 10 years and its popularity was actually helped by the sudden cancellation by CBS. When a TV show becomes a weekly standard networks usually end it with a "farewell episode". Yet CBS has a history of ending shows like "The Jeffersons" without notice, not even with the show's producers! It is my opinion that the absence of a farewell episode in reality aids many TV series to become forever beloved, almost "transcendental", in an entertainment kinda way. Just like "Gilligan's Island", "Lost in Space" and even the original "Star Trek"; the open-ended felling of a sudden cancellation seems to give a TV show a kind of second life - devoid of closure. Btw, did you guys know that the theme song for The Jeffersons was performed by Ja'net DuBois, the next door neighbor on "Good Times" named Willona? Long after "Good Times" left the air, Ja'net's voice sang out for years in the Jeffersons' intro. Crow, did you know that the "dog food" episode of Good Times was my favirote? All these years later I still hear J.J. saying, "the lord is my German Shepherd", lol.
	The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
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thecrow174 2 months 1 day ago Posts: 9804	eddstarr88 wrote: Crow, did you know that the "dog food" episode of Good Times was my favirote? All these years later I still hear J.J. saying, "the lord is my German Shepherd", lol. Really? That one and my favorite is the "Lunch Money Ripoff." Whipping a kid may be wrong, but Eddie the bully had it coming. Especially for acting like a jerk in the Evans' home. Nowadays, if you whip someone and it makes the news, people will point at your picture on TV and say "That's the bad guy!"
	There is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil and the other one is good. Which wolf will win? The one you feed the most. http://unbelievableyou.com/a-native-american-cherokee-story-two-wolves/
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eddstarr88 2 months 1 day ago Posts: 6883	That's a good clip, the show ran during my high school years and J.J. was very quotable as you can imagine. Did you know that when Esther Rolle was approached by Norman Lear Productions for the lead character "Florida", she was to be a single mom raising three children? Esther went directly to Norman Lear and asked, "where is the children's father?". Lear said there is no man-of-the-house for this series. Esther Rolle told Norman Lear, "if you want me to continue as Florida, find my husband". She was fed-up with black families tagged as fatherless. Esther had a good laugh watching Lear Productions begging John Amos to agree to the hastily comprised part of "James Evans". The two of them kept the writing staff very busy as Norman let everyone know that these two actors must be happy with the material, or they will be knocking at my door! As you know, John Amos is not to be toyed with either.
	The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
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bklynbren 2 months 1 day ago Posts: 866	Martin is probably my favorite Black show, I also enjoy Good Times; both stand the test of time, I can still watch them and crack up. A lot of other shows were good in their time, but I get bored if I watch them now.

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thecrow174 2 months 1 day ago Posts: 9804	Sanford and Son Love the zany relationship between Fred and Lamont Sanford. And Fred and Esther's feud.
	There is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil and the other one is good. Which wolf will win? The one you feed the most. http://unbelievableyou.com/a-native-american-cherokee-story-two-wolves/
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bklynbren
2 months 18 hours ago
Posts: 866
Can't believe I forgot Sanford and Son, that's another one I can watch till this day.
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thecrow174 2 months 16 hours ago Posts: 9804	So could I.
	There is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil and the other one is good. Which wolf will win? The one you feed the most. http://unbelievableyou.com/a-native-american-cherokee-story-two-wolves/
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bassman21 2 months 16 hours ago Posts: 4553	I like these episodes too. Whipping a kid isn't wrong though Crow as long as it's for the right reasons and isn't excessive. especially when their behavior is out of control or they do something really bad or have little remorse for what they had done. That kid on Good times had it coming. Poor Penny however didn't deserve what her mother was doing. The show showed both sides. Esther Rolle started off as a housekeeper on the All in the Family spinoff Maude. Her character on Good Times was based on it. It was changed slightly (less attitude) and her husbands name was changed. The general storyline however was the same (poor black family living in Cabrini–Green projects). The story was based on the childhood of Mike Evans who played Lionel (one of several) on All in the Family. He was JJ in his real life family. Speaking of All in the Family and CBS. CBS abruptly cancelled the continuation series Archer Bunkers Place. Carroll O'Connor outraged that they didn't allow a farewell episode vowed to never work for CBS again. Overall I tend to prefer a show to end without the goodbyes though. I do like to see some loose ends get resolved. This way we can leave it to our imagination how they ended. Too often the writers and creators screw the ending up for shock value or their own personal agenda.

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bklynbren 2 months 14 hours ago Posts: 866	Just remembered another one, "What's Happening". It was one of the only live action shows I would watch at a time when cartoons ruled my life.

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thecrow174 2 months 13 hours ago Posts: 9804	@bassman21: As long as they don't take it too far. @bklynbren: One good What's Happening episode I've seen involves Rerun joining an organization where he shaves his head and the leader happens to be a cabbage. That's how I remember it.
	There is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil and the other one is good. Which wolf will win? The one you feed the most. http://unbelievableyou.com/a-native-american-cherokee-story-two-wolves/
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eddstarr88 1 month 24 days ago Posts: 6883	You guys just killed me with Fred & Esther at war, lol. The show really took off when LaWanda Page joined the cast. Redd Foxx was waay cleaner on television than his Vegas live shows back in the 60's. Guess I need to call on my friend Martin! I'm with bklynbren, "Martin" was a true keeper for me. Like all good series, "Martin" got better as new characters were added. Imagine how difficult it was for the cast to keep in character when Martin Lawrence let-it-all-out with his "troupe of silliness" - like Sheneneh. Watch how Tichina Arnold tries not to laugh in this first scene:
	The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
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thecrow174 1 month 24 days ago Posts: 9804	I haven't seen the Martin series that much. I've seen Lawrence mostly in movies. Examples include: Life A Thin Line Between Love and Hate Big Momma's House Black Knight. Yes, even the not so popular Black Knight Family Matters This show was doomed for cancellation in the first season, but thanks to the iconic Steve Urkel and his wacky antics and personality, it didn't have to suffer that fate. It actually aired for 9 seasons. Yeah, Steve was great, but there were some other great characters too. Like the clueless Waldo Geraldo Faldo. He's the only guy who will dance fast during a slow dance! That's Waldo for ya.
	There is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil and the other one is good. Which wolf will win? The one you feed the most. http://unbelievableyou.com/a-native-american-cherokee-story-two-wolves/
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eddstarr88 1 month 24 days ago Posts: 6883	OMG that is so funny! Thanks Crow. I always felt for Laura. In every scene she looked like she was looking for a nearby window, to jump through.
	The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
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