In researching and preparing for the recording of my Family Matters podcast, I ran up a list of 90s sitcoms surrounding Black families, so this is as good a time as any to speak to each of the ones that I watched, at least a little bit.
The Parent ‘Hood – The WB
This was one of the shows I watched the least, but it made a deep impact on me, in particular the fact that the main character / patriarch was shot. It exposed me to the differences within the Black community that economic status created. And it starred Meteor Man, so how bad could that be?
Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper – ABC
I watched a lot of this show, and I never understood how Mark Curry didn’t become a superstar at least of the same caliber as his contemporaries Jamie Foxx, Martin Lawrence, Steve Harvey, and so on. Coincidentally I was reminded of this show recently when an actress who was on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers posted a clip from the show’s lone Very Special Episode, in which she was killed in a drive-by.
Sister, Sister – ABC, The WB
Go home, Roger. (Speaking of which, you’ve got to admire the way they got around the actor being a successful R-n-B singer by having that be his cousin so that he could retain his goofiness but bring some teenage sex appeal to the show in later seasons.)
Smart Guy – The WB
This was probably the show I watched the most and the one I’d most stand by today. It’s broad and silly, but it never stretched beyond the realms of reality (that I can remember). I can’t say the same for many of its contemporaries or its Nickelodeon and Disney Channel successors. I can’t say the same for Family Matters, now that I’ve seen it. And I’d watch Smart Guy a dozen times before I saw Family Matters again. Except I wouldn’t, because I’m not.
The Wayans Bros – The WB
This I watched mostly to quote with my lone troublemaking co-conspirator in the advanced seventh grade math class. “Help me! Help me, please!” we’d fire off at unpredictable intervals. The show was fine.
Alex Diamond 