Roc

The fact that this show wasn't showered with awards is a crime. I was a pre-teen white kid from the pine barrens of New Jersey, probably not their targeted demographic and still I was riveted to the screen with every episode. If memory serves me right most of the episodes were filmed live unedited. The actors were so in tune that it felt more like theater or better a very real look into the living room of a family so different and also not so different from my own experiences. For a show that only had a few seasons they really put out a ton of episodes. I wonder if anyone in Hollywood has the chops to pull that off these days.

This was an excellent show. It was like watching a play every week, as the cast members interacted perfectly with each other. It was free of the buffoonery and racial stereotypes that have permeated many other sitcoms with predominately African-American casts. In fact, the series premiered around the same time "Martin", another FOX sitcom did. Star Charles Dutton was very vocal about how it appeared that FOX promoted the buffoonery in the "Martin" show, while not giving enough attention to "Roc". "Roc" was one of few shows that focused on the lives of working class African-Americans.

Just like the equally excellent "Frank's Place" on CBS, "Roc" received critical praise but disappeared way too soon due to low ratings. It is not shown in reruns often, but please catch the episodes when they are. This is a real gem.

When this show came out in 91, I couldn't wait to watch the next one and I was only 6 years old. I watch it with my own children now. The best episode was when the drug dealer came to Roc's house. That performance from Roc was heartfelt and greatly needed!

I would watch right now if I could. I followed the careers of the actors and actress since. Charles S Dutton was so funny.

Roc, in my own opinion, was one of the great shows of FOX's past. Pitting the gritty garbageman Roc (Charles S Dutton) vs. his worthless, mooching (and sometimes unscrupulous) brother-in-law Joey (Rocky Carroll), kept viewers watching week after week. The cast proved their weight when the show taped live week after week (near the end of their run) nearly flawless. I'd like to think of the show as a more intelligent "Sanford and Son"

Memorable moments include Roc facing down a neighbourhood crack-dealer who seemed unintimidated by the girth of Roc, but left the neighbourhood anyways toting "If it's not your neighbourhood, it will be someone else's"