South Central

Because of Hollywood's apparent unwillingness to give quality shows with predominantly African-American casts a chance, I have developed a habit of videotaping every episode of a new Black show, if it seems that show will be decent. It's a very good thing that I did this with "South Central", for this was an excellent show that many people did not give a chance. Modern-day heartthrob Larenz Tate shined here in a difficult role, and comes across as a serious actor. If you can ever get a chance to see it, do so.

I remember this show, and how different it was from any other show before and after it's time. It was funny, but had a dramatic edge to it which made it real and believable. The actors were excellent and the storylines were compelling, but at the same time some humour would be thrown in, which set this show apart from the rest. This was another Fox Network show that I was really sorry to see cancelled. Fox Network seemed to be willing to try new and different things in the late '80s, early '90s, but as the cancellation proved for this show, they just became another "homogenized" network in a TV world filled with mediocrity.

It's as simple as this--FOX was scared of this show, which is why it didn't last a full season. It would appear that they thought this sitcom with dramatic undertones was too raw for audiences to deal with. The South Central area of L.A. was in the news a lot during that time. Rap musicians were always referring to it in their songs, and it had a nationwide reputation for being a violent neighborhood. I guess FOX saw something it could captialize on, but the heat was too much for them to take. This was another failed sitcom for Larenz Tate, a good actor who had previously appeared on "The Royal Family". Hopefully, the few show that were produced will show up on video or DVD one day. It was worth watching.

I used to watch this show back in the day. Miss it.

This show was one of the great moments of TV, when a show went beyond the obvious and focused on the goal of curing problems instead of causing them. It did for TV what the movie "Boyz in the Hood" did for film... it showed the world that everything isn't perfect everywhere. What it also did, though, was show that environment didn't produce animals, but people with purpose and morals. Larenz Tate did his thing, and ever since shows like this one and "Roc" went off the air, it has been downhill for black television.