In Living Color
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Season One (1990)
Rate:
1 out of 5
Viewed:
12/24
12/24:
I saw In Living Color back then and probably caught every episode when it aired on Fox.
Because of the show, I already knew who Jim Carrey, Jennifer Lopez, Damon Wayans, Jamie Foxx, and Marlon Wayans were before
they hit big. Ironically, in spite of it featuring a mostly black cast, Jim Carrey, a white guy, ended up being
the biggest star of them all.
Because more than 95% of the skits aren't funny the least bit, I've had a hard time deciding on which rating to
give ('1' or '2') and ultimately went with the former, but there are several good ones, especially with
Damon Wayans. I know a lot of people prefer Jim Carrey, but
Damon Wayans is the one who did it for me because of Homey D. Clown, Anton Jackson, Tom, variations of
"Men on...," and the Homeboy Shopping Network which eventually led to Mo' Money.
If not for him, the show will have been unwatchable.
If there's a number one reason why In Living Color was canceled sooner than expected, it's because of how
highly offensive and racist the show was while making fun of so many black celebrities (take that, Spike Lee,
because you fucking suck!). Today, nothing will have made past the heavy scrunity, but I agree that the show was
groundbreaking for the time. I'm sure the seeds were planted after the release of
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka because of Keenen Ivory Wayans. Anyway, the Fly
Girls are just laughably bad with the same thing over and over which isn't a hard thing to do.
Here's my analysis for some of the following episodes:
The Wrath of Farrakhan: Marion Barry was a notorious mayor of Washington, D.C., who was caught on video by the FBI for
smoking crack cocaine. He eventually served time in prison. There were tons of other things that he should've been arrested
for but ended up getting away with pretty much everything. On the other hand, Milli Vanilli was an easy target for
obvious reasons: they were fake and had lip-synched all of their songs, even in live.
Lean on Me Beautiful: As Joe Clark, Keenen Ivory Wayans parodies Morgan Freeman's performance from
Lean on Me. Damon Wayans is hysterical in "Oswald Bates for The United Negro
Scholarship Fund." It's true that these idiots used ten-dollar words without understanding what they meant.
Transitions: This is the funniest episode of the season. Got to love the skit about that stupid, fraudulent
Oprah Winfrey who's always eating during the show and then blowing up sky high. Where's the "Bolt 45" skit
which is obviously a date rape commercial? Of course, Fox started to censor the show, taking away what In Living Color
could come up with. Many, many skits have been cut out of the DVD as well, so you'll have to go on YouTube to find them.
A Date With Grace Jones: It's perfectly the reason why I hated Grace Jones back then. "Hefty World Condominium
Estates" is smart. Imagine the uproar today given that over 60% of the United States is made up of really, really fat people.
Jheri's Kids: "Oppression for Black Men" is based on the terrible perfume commercials that Calvin Klein ran
during the 80's. Jheri Curl...yeah sure, but I'm pretty sure that black people don't know this: a white guy invented the
hairstyle. Now, that's funny.
Don King: The Early Years: "Ted Turner's Very Colorized Classics—Casablanca"
reminded me of the controversy that happened back then. He showed a lot of great movies in color,
ruining the extra black-and-white character they had. If he did the same thing to films noirs, the genre would've been effectively
killed off. It's a good thing that the whole hubbuboo is completely forgotten today.
Introducing...Homey D. Clown: Damon Wayans makes his first appearance as the clown; he's the best character of the
whole series. By the way, no matter how many episodes I had seen, Kelly Coffield could never make me laugh.
Anton In The People's Court: Finally, a good one, thanks to Damon Wayans. There have been a lot of duds for a long
time. "The Brothers Brothers" is one of the better skits. It's true anyway, and I'm looking at you, Will Smith.
Homey D Clown Returns: That's the end of a truly awful season, and the finale episode punctuates it.
Season Two (1990-91)
Rate:
1 out of 5
Viewed:
12/24
12/24:
At first, Season Two seemed better, but it gradually got worse and was back to the same as it was.
I guess they just figured out what worked and kept them but came up with more terrible stuff. At the same
time, the Fly Girls may look improved, but what's the significance to all of their dancing?
Here's my analysis for some of the following episodes:
Big Brother: I wouldn't mind it if they aired "Men on Films" in every episode. It's one of the few
funniest skits on the show.
Anton at the Recruiter: That's cute when the kid confused Keenen Ivory Wayans with his other siblings.
In one of the skits, Roseanne is made fun of because of what she did on July 25, 1990, when she sang
"The Star-Spangled Banner" off-key before the commencement of the baseball game between San Diego Padres
and Cincinnati Reds. Homey D. Clown needs to come back in every episode, truly the best. In fact, he's the only
character in the entire series history to have his own video game.
Spike's Joint: A couple of movies are parodied:
The Untouchables and
Do the Right Thing. Hey, Spike Lee...take that, you fucking fraud.
Laquita Meets Billy Dee: It's nice to see Billy Dee Williams who recreates a memorable scene from
Mahogany. As a matter of fact, they should have celebrity guest stars
on the show. On the other hand, Kim Wayans is unbearable.
Men on Vacation: The "Dinner with Millie" skit was cut out from the DVD, probably because of music rights.