We have a couple of "kid" fish out of water in this series. Bobby, (Robert Ri'chard) and his family The Walkers, moved to New York City from Los Angeles because Dad, Andre (Rondell Sheridan) was a music producer and needed to be in The City for his clients. His wife Vanessa (Angela Means) was a successful lawyer. Bobby, being an only child and in a new location, felt pretty much alone, but was trying to take everything in stride.
Cousin Skeeter (performed by Muppeteer Drew Massey and voiced by Bill Bellamy) was a puppet boy who originally lived in Georgia, but who moved up north to New York City stay with his cousins, to help tutor Bobby in Algebra, since he was a nerd and a math whiz.
This being a Nickelodeon show, of course the focus was on the two boys, who had the typical scholastic challenges, with schoolwork, bullies and friends, like Nina (Meagan Good), who lives in his high-rise, gets with Bobby and they start a mutual crush thing going on.
One of the unique elements of the program is that even though Cousin Skeeter was a puppet, no one treated or reacted to him any differently than any of the other characters. Eventually another puppet, Nicole (voiced by Tisha Campbell) appeared at school for a few episodes, to give Skeeter someone to play off of as well. That style choice might have helped set the stage for "LazyTown" just a few years later, where a bunch of puppet kids populated that program, and no one ever acknowledged that's who they were, either.
Plots of "Cousin Skeeter" focused on Skeeter's playful, rambunctious but good-natured personality and how that got him and sometimes got Bobby into trouble. Skeeter had a continuing mock feud with the building's doorman Ned (Floyd Levine), and Bobby's parents were counting the days till Bobby and Skeeter go to college so they can have some quiet time on their own. And Skeeter was fine with anyone and everyone, as long as you never commented on his height (or lack thereof).
New York plays a part because Skeeter claimed to be friends with some celebrities, like Shaquille O'Neal, Dennis Rodman and MC Lyte. Plus hanging out in Central Park, attending school, commuting around town, and finding that diner that serves up the best pancakes for breakfast are all key factors.
"Cousin Skeeter" was, for its time, another good example of representation of Black Americans on television, especially for younger kids to see. The show featured all the things you would want in a kids' sitcom, with the elements of fun, reason, intelligence, morality and understanding. And it featured a roster of guest stars, like Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell who turned up at a Dude Ranch that the kids attended, Downtown Julie Brown who played herself, and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who was another student in school.
This show deserved a lot more attention than the standard viewers on Nick gave it. It was popular with the demographic, but it probably would have been a fun watch for the parents and maybe some who weren't parents!
