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Wait ‘til they get to Girlfriends... https://twitter.com/SirMikeH/status/1289772651481690112
I already know how that’s gonna go from Being Mary Jane.
Hey, so guys, I would suggest NOT going into these ‘90s sitcom rewatches expecting them to work today. There are only a handful of shows that do - Black or white.
Watch for some laughs, for nostalgia, and try remember these are from 20-30 years ago.
Watch for some laughs, for nostalgia, and try remember these are from 20-30 years ago.
The idea of socially acceptable humor has evolved by leaps and bounds since the ‘90s (as begruged comics keep reminding us)
If y’all this anylytical anout Moesha, you’re gonna make youself miserable when Nikki Parker is harassing Professor Ogilvy all over campus
Or when literally EVERYBODY in the Girlfriends crew are trash friends except maybe Mya. And you realize Molly is legit just a Toni Childs redux.
(I’m really excited about revisiting. Joan Carol Clayton’s house and wardrobe though)
(I’m really excited about revisiting. Joan Carol Clayton’s house and wardrobe though)
For those who weren’t of age for Girlfriends the first time around, it’s gonna remimd you of Insecure. It was Gen X’s single Black crew figuring adulthood and love out show. Except Joan - awkward though she was -was the one with the illustrious job, money, and a fly ass house.
I’m saying the shows are what they are. They weren’t bastions of BlackTV storytelling (except maybe Girlfriends) then, either.
https://twitter.com/princexhermes/status/1289976869517844483?s=21 https://twitter.com/princexhermes/status/1289976869517844483
https://twitter.com/princexhermes/status/1289976869517844483?s=21 https://twitter.com/princexhermes/status/1289976869517844483
And for those who think I’m saying something like leave the shows alone, nah. I’m not saying the shows don’t deserve critique (anybody who was in the Black sitcom rankings knows that) - I’m saying they ALWAYS deserved crtitique. Nostalgia’s a helluva drug.
Joan was absolute trash. And I loved Joan. TRASH. And spoiled. She was growing up at the end; I hate we never got a finale.
https://twitter.com/mrd2you1914/status/1289980812121657344?s=21 https://twitter.com/mrd2you1914/status/1289980812121657344
https://twitter.com/mrd2you1914/status/1289980812121657344?s=21 https://twitter.com/mrd2you1914/status/1289980812121657344
What I AM excited about are Half n’ Half and One on One getting second lives. I didn’t watch Moesha or the Parkers regularly (I wasn’t a fan) but I watched those two, and feel like alot of ppl didn’t. They weren’t perfect, either, but VERY cute shows.
And it especially pulled me in because I have both a half and a step sister, and the evolving relationship dynamics between little Dee Dee and Monique reminded me of my stepsister and me when I moved back to NY.
https://twitter.com/jasminelwatkins/status/1289982694898556928?s=21 https://twitter.com/jasminelwatkins/status/1289982694898556928
https://twitter.com/jasminelwatkins/status/1289982694898556928?s=21 https://twitter.com/jasminelwatkins/status/1289982694898556928
Half & Half (I’m not sure why I spelled it like the dairy product) was, like Girlfiends, a victim of the writer’s strike. Left us hanging. So was All of Us - another delightful UPN (I think) joint I feel like deserves a second round. I rewatched it on TV One I think last year
Martin & Fresh Prince have never really gone out of syndication & you can usually find them on regular TV somewhere. Same periodically with Different World and Living Single.
TV One also reruns full Black sitcom series often.
https://twitter.com/armyvet_payne/status/1289985578633551873?s=21 https://twitter.com/armyvet_Payne/status/1289985578633551873
TV One also reruns full Black sitcom series often.
https://twitter.com/armyvet_payne/status/1289985578633551873?s=21 https://twitter.com/armyvet_Payne/status/1289985578633551873
But with ALLLLLLL THAT said - these shows coming to Netflix is good for the culture. Just...maybe nostalgia do what it do. The UPN era was a special moment in Black TV (literally nicknamed the “U People’s Network”). There WAS room for foolishness and shallow concepts.
I’ve seen maybe two full episodes of Moesha ever, but even not having first hand info, the call out on making CV the brunt of jokes bc of size is fair. I saw that, and also know there remains tension between the cast, but I didn’t mean that critique
https://twitter.com/mykalmonroe/status/1289987702578847744?s=21 https://twitter.com/mykalmonroe/status/1289987702578847744
https://twitter.com/mykalmonroe/status/1289987702578847744?s=21 https://twitter.com/mykalmonroe/status/1289987702578847744
I’m also honestly anticipating some of what’s coming - the Parkers definitely did *not* age well...
My very round about point - which I feel like we come back to here often - is that not all content was created to serve a higher storytelling purpose. It was just made with jokes in mind. And there was some critically BAD sh*t out there that folks loved. That’s ok.
Sometimes you want mindless entertainment. Like I think Martin is a TERRIBLE show in terms of character development and relationships. Horrible. I’ve mentioned it here. But I also understand why it endures and ppl love it (it’s terrible, though)
Going back to Kim Parker/Moesha a friend just pointed out we have a whole SLEW of fat-targeted punchlines to consider in Black sitcoms - it was more often about fat MEN, though. Bookman, Uncle Phil, “Big Shirley” even though we never actually saw her.
