My Wife and Kids

I like Damon Wayans (a lot). I also like Tisha Campbell. I expected to really like this show, too. But despite the talent involved, My Wife And Kids is a large disappointment. The Family Sitcom is a limiting, oversaturated market even in the best of times. In our ironic era, it's also almost impossible to succeed in. This show doesn't even come close, however. It's as if they went out of their way to make it boring and unimaginative. The kids are nondescript, the laughs are sparse and undernourished, the plots are instantly forgettable. Now they've even added their own version of Urkel (though this kid is much more self-aware than Urkel). Because of the talent involved, the show is always watchable, but it's a lot like spending 20 bucks to get a frozen pizza: you might eat it, and even enjoy it--but you sure do feel gypped.

Network: ABC; Genre: Family Sitcom; Content Rating: TV-PG (for scatological humor and implied sexual content); Available: Syndication; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Seasons Reviewed: Complete Series (5 seasons)

I was a big supporter of "My Wife and Kids" in its first season. An ABC mid-season replacement, "Kids" felt like a refreshing and real family sitcom without the obnoxious strains to be "edgy" or a slavish following of the man-child husband, nagging wife, cute kids formula that runs most CBS comedies. It was an unlikely star-vehicle turn for "In Living Color" alumni Damon Wayans.

Wayans constructs the show as a living homage to "The Cosby Show": a happy affluent African-American family with a father who spends most of his time at home, a strict but game wife, a dim-bulb son and adorable little daughter. Tisha Cambell-Martin (Janet) plays Michael (Wayans) Kyle's wife as a partner in his adventures instead of a constant adversary. The new Theo is George O. Gordon as Junior, the butt of constant jokes about the size of his head from dad, the new Rudy is the a quintessentially scene-stealing Parker McKenna Posey. "The Cosby Show" is highly regarded for a positive portrayal of its characters in the 80s when TV was seen as going down the moral tubes. "Kids" benefits from a similar swing of the pendulum and got some deserved praise for its ability to resist being smarmy in a sea of garbage.

But as the show wore on, Wayans' scatological impulses begin to overtake him. It starts with season 2's "Table for Too Many", a one-hour juggernaut where Wayans faces off with Larry Miller at a Benihana-type restaurant and the "pee pee" jokes begin to fly. A few seasons later, "Wife" makes a spectacular and unexpected leap off the ramp and over the shark when Junior actually impregnates a girl and we're supposed to believe that a character played to us as nearly mentally retarded is becoming husband and father material.

From season 2 forward the show gets lazier and lazier. The show is charming and pleasant enough – and would have been a perfect fit for all the conservative crusaders who want all TV to be about nice, happy people who nothing happens too but the show begins to stock itself more routinely with sex jokes that are less clever and less implicit. As when applied to any family sitcom, it's a little creepy.

I like that the show doesn't try to gross us out; it doesn't try to be edgy or contemporary (though there is a memorably clever "A Beautiful Mind" homage re-casting Junior in the John Nash role). Not to mention, the show has the benefit of truly wretched ABC family comedies like "Full House" and "Family Matters" still in our memories to make it look better. Wayans does everything he can with what he has and within the limits of the genre (as well as his own self-imposed constraints) and gets a few good laughs along the way, but he alone can't keep the show afloat. The "Cosby Show" comparisons are a distant memory now as "My Wife and Kids" fell into the network family sitcom rut.

* * / 4

"MY WIFE AND KIDS," in my opinion, is an absolute ABC classic! I haven't seen every episode, but I still enjoyed it. There are many episodes that I enjoyed. One of them was where Junior (George O. Gore II) got his driver's license. If you want to know why, you'll have to have seen it for yourself. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that everyone always gave a good performance, the production design was spectacular, the costumes were well-designed, and the writing was always very strong. In conclusion, even though it can be seen in syndication now, I strongly recommend you catch it just in case it goes off the air for good.

Love Damon Wayans and Trisha Campbell in this show, they have great chemistry and comedic timing.

I can't believe they got Lou Rawls to play the Doctor for the colonoscopy episode. It is PERFECTIION and will make you laugh till your face and sides hurt. The song is the cherry on top and gotta give that dancing, sassy nurse a shout out too. Wonderful retro show to rewatch during this pandemic if you wanna laugh for a change. :D.

This is the modern take on the Cosby Show. While this isn't as successful it is funny. The thing with the Cosby show was that it was quite realistic. This show has some realism but is generally exaggerated and overplayed for more overt humour. It has more daring portrayals and deeper situations too, with the Kyle's young son taking drugs and also impregnating his girlfriend throughout the series of the show.

The key thing that works here is the cast, much in the same way they did in Cosby. This is predominantly a far more modern family, younger parents and wilder children. Damon Wayon's is the father, Michael and he is hilarious. Damon is all about his delivery and is also a great physical comedian. I love Tisha Campbell as Jay, the mother of the household. She looks way to young to have two adult children but you soon forget that. She is vivacious and infectious. Then there is George O Gore as Junior the idiot son. The part is very over the top but funny, with Gore playing the dullard superbly. Jennifer Freeman is very good as the eldest daughter too, and not to mention sexy. The stars for me though are the child cast. Firstly Parker Mackenna Posey as Kady, the cutest sitcom creation since Rudy and the other little kid in the Cosby show. She's a great little actress and some of the lines she has a classic. I laugh almost every time she's on screen and she says something. Kids in these shows can often not have much charisma or can deliver lines well, but she does it excellently. The one that really makes me laugh though is the young genius and future husband of Kady, Franklin played by Noah Gray-Cabey. Every line he is given is superb, because generally he is given lines to say that you would never hear from someone that young. He's also the maestro pianist who serenades his girl with concerto pieces. The trademark line `Anyhoo!' is a gift for the audience that Franklin must utter at least once an episode. It's all funny stuff and lots of running jokes such as the ever more imaginative deliveries of the words `yes' and `no' with dances and palpitations resulting in an answer to a request from the kids. I have found myself doing the same, on one occasion taking a whole 2 minutes to tell my brother that I wouldn't buy him a takeaway.

This is a very good comedy show and something I regularly watch. It's been done before but not like this.