City Guys

Perhaps like many of you, I grew up with Zack, Kelly and the gang on "Saved By the Bell." However, following the disappointment of "SBTB: The College Years" and "SBTB: The New Class," as well as graduating from not just high school but college as well, I decided I might just be a little too old for TNBC. Then, following a recommendation from a friend, I turned on the TV one Saturday to "City Guys," and changed my mind altogether. "City Guys" has all the right ingredients for a perfect TNBC comedy: Chris and Jamal, the girl-chasing troublemakers, L-Train, the humorously "slow" one, Cassidy, the pretty actress, the requisite couple Al (the wisecracking schemer) and Dawn (the smart activist), and Ms. Noble, the wise but fun principal who takes no guff. Hilarious hijinks ensue!

Unlike... certain other shows we all know and love... "City Guys" does not resort to stereotypes about nerds and cheerleaders. The gang at Manhattan High "keeps it real" with "special" episodes (Dawn's mom battles alcoholism, L-Train learns he has dyslexia) as well as wacky plotlines (L-Train, Al and Jamal join the ballet club, Chris, Jamal and Cassidy compete to see whose diet strategy will help Ms. Noble lose the most weight in time for her high school reunion). What more could you ask for in Saturday morning entertainment?

i recently began watching this show, and much to my dismay, it concluded a few weeks ago. its a shame, because i feel that it never achieved the notoriety that its cousin "saved by the bell", did, probably because it seemed formulaic. but this show was, in my opinion, way better than its forerunner, the characters and issues were more diverse, and although the comedy was similar, it was delivered in a more funny manner. also, i personally felt that the show was uplifting for minorities, something i think is rare and much needed in television programming. i guess i'll just have to catch up with the show in syndication.

city guys is like an updated version of saved by the bell. its about 6 people who go through highschool and deals with problems highschool students go through such as drugs, sex, etc.

the first 5 or so episodes featured a lot of jamal and chris and them getting into problems, however, the other cast members started havong their own episodes.

one of the funniest characters, named L-train, made recurring appearances and finally was made a regular during the 1st season.

the last episode, which was shown in 2001, showed all 6 students leaving and going on to college.

Like many of my generation, I grew up with Zack, Kelly and the gang on "Saved By the Bell." However, after the disappointments of "SBTB: The College Years" and "SBTB: The New Class," as well as graduating from not just high school but college as well, I decided I might just be a little too old for TNBC. Then one day I tuned in to "City Guys" on the recommendation of a friend, and changed my mind altogether.

"City Guys" has all the best elements of a classic TNBC show. Filmed before a live studio audience, it features Jamal and Chris, the troublemaking, girl-chasing duo; L-Train (Lionel), the humorous dim bulb of the group; Cassidy, the pretty actress; the requisite couple (Alberto, the wisecracking schemer and Dawn, the honors student/activist), and Ms. Noble, the wise but fun principal who takes no guff. Hilarious hijinks ensue!

Seriously, "City Guys" covers the gamut from "very special episodes" (a student with a shaven head is accused of being a skinhead) to wacky plotlines (Jamal, L-Train and Al join Dawn's ballet troupe). It is safe to say that "City Guys" is why I drag myself out of bed at 11am on a Saturday morning.

Personally, I think that "Saved by the bell" sucked. Especially "The college years" and "the new class". But "City Guys" is way better and isn't as fake. The only problem with it is it never got as much play as "saved by the bell". In fact, I couldn't even watch it until AFTER it went off the air. That Sucks!