The Parent 'Hood

One of my favorite shows! Those kids were hilarious.

I've seen almost all of this show's run in reruns on BounceTV. It's basically a mediocre Sitcom starring a Black Family. Yes, it's been compared to the Cosby Show, but it wasn't near as funny, or as well written. I've seen Robert Townsend's early movies, (Hollywood Shuffle was great), and I just expected more from him, but maybe he wasn't writing on the show. I'm loathe to mention over reviews in my review, but I wanted to say this: Just because a show stars a Black Family, doesn't mean it's groundbreaking, or that it will even be good. What this show is to me, is a knock off of the Cosby Show. Both have an Upper Middle Class American Family, where the two Parents both have very good jobs, I.e. Doctor and College Proffesor, wives were both Lawyers etc. But in TPH the jokes were all easy, and sometimes lazy, and yes, sometimes racist. 4 out of 10 ⭐️s

Robert Townsend, for some reason, felt the need to make a show that would uplift, present a positive model of a modern African-American family, etc, etc. Kind of a slightly more modern, slightly less establishment "Cosby Show." To this he added a few of his more anarchic comedy touches, like a couple of silly friends and brief fantasy sequences. Unfortunately, the writing and acting were often terrible, especially the actors playing the younger children. In later years, especially after older son Michael (Kenny Blank) left the show and troubled youth TK was taken in by the family after he mugged Geri, the show became dreadfully earnest, delving into "important issues" and sledgehammering the viewer with pathos. Any residual charm was gone after a year or two, and the fantasy sequences (the only unique element of the show) never rose above silly; every attempt at "hipness" and "street cred" failed miserably too. All involved deserve points for effort, but the show is often almost painful to watch.

This was one of several African-American sitcoms picked up by the newly formed WB channel. They staked their future in a sense on shows like "The Parent'Hood," "The Wayans Bros.," and "The Jamie Foxx Show."

I would've expected nothing less from Robert Townsend. He created a funny, positive sitcom starring Black actors. Anything less than that would've been a shock. He was already an established comedian and writer by the time he created "The Parent'hood."

Townsend played Robert Peterson, a stay-at-home dad who had to manage four children. His wife, Jerri (Suzzanne Douglas), rejoined the workforce which left Robert home to do his thing.

The children were largely unmemorable. They played an important part, but the show really rested upon Robert Townsend's shoulders--an rightly so.

This is the most untalented cast of characters I've ever seen! Nobody on this show could act, especially Kenny Blank who was eventually taken off the show. And what was especially annoying was Robert when we would go into his day-dreaming. Complete garbage!