In Living Color

With all the talent that was honed on this little skit show, it's no wonder that it has spun-off many different smash hit careers. The 'skits' tackled some different issues, that were not made by some of the past predecessors, maybe harder than they were hit in the past as well. But the stars it created was many, for example, Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, David Allan Grier, All the Wayan's Brothers and sister Kim, Jennifer Lopez, now J-Lo, and on and on.

The shows were fresh, sometimes frantic and always whacked-out humor that sizzled with wit wisdom and a sometimes serious comedic slap in the face! It built up speed, then by the fifth season... it shut down. The problem became, the disagreements with the exec.s at Fox, from what I remember hearing from Keenan Ivory Wayans in a frank interview.

Saturday night live had hit the skids, as far as I'm concerned, and I'm sure millions of other people, who had grown out of that show. This was up and coming, and I think by all rights should still be running as, SNL is still going. I can't figure why it is though, anyway, I love the wit and cynicism, that this show brought out as well as crossing various ethnic and moral and mental lines in it's path. For this was a superb comedy fix that burned the airwaves at night, but 'Cancelled' way too soon. Very sad.

Viva "In Living Color!!!"(****)

Amongst the many sketch comedy shows of recent years, "In Living Color" stands out as one of the best. In it's first three seasons, it was unbeatable, featuring comics and actors who would go on to distinguish themselves in film and other TV (James Carrey, Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier, Keenan Ivory Wayans). However, after Damon's departure, the show took a pretty swift nose-dive (though Damon was by no means the only reason to tune in). Interestingly, Carrey stayed on the show through it's entire run, even in it's awful final season. There was nothing revolutionary about the show's format, it was just damn funny and extremely well-cast (Kelly Coffield being excellent, as well; the weakest member being Kim Wayans). Along with the recent seasons of "Saturday Night Live," "Mr. Show," "Exit 57," and "The Kids in the Hall," "In Living Color" will stand the test of time for all comedy lovers.

When this show first premiered it was a runaway success. Not only did it have great writing, but as with Laugh In and Saturday Night Live it proved to be the springboard for several comedians who would make their mark in film and television. Damon Wayans and Jim Carey may have been the most brightest star, but comic talents like Tommy Davidson, David Allen Grier as well as later additions Shawn and Marlin Wayans and Jamie Foxx all got their big breaks by appearing on this show. Unfortunately, like its forerunners when the best talent left, the show lost momentum and went downhill. However, this show will always be fondly remembered as the show that launched so many of the great talents of the 1990's as well as the next century.

If you ask me, I think the show was underrated. "SNL" gets all the credit for being a great sketch comedy show, yet there are certain seasons (like the current one) where the writers seemed to have conjured up the sketches in their sleep. In the case of "In Living Color," the writing was always sharp. There are certain sketches that I don't find funny, like Jim Carrey as the female bodybuilder, but it's hard to make a show where "every" sketch is funny. I remember Tommy Davidson said the reason why the show turned out to be so great was because plain and simple, they worked so damn hard on it. Well, it absolutely shows. Throughout each season, the actors always seemed to give it their all, even if the sketches were weak. In a horribly PC society, it's refreshing to watch a show like this (luckily, I have Seasons 1-5 on DVD). A show like this couldn't be successful nowadays, because we live in a society where you can't say anything about anybody. Doesn't anybody know that political correctness is the enemy of comedy? What made the show so great was the writers' and actors' willingness to break boundaries and make fun of all these ethnic stereotypes, and do it in an intelligent and witty fashion. Though it wasn't one of the more popular sketches, one of my favorites was "The Dysfunctional Home Show" where Jim Carrey would play a drunken father. If you ask me, Carrey was the funniest when he was on this show. As far as his movies go, sometimes he's funny and sometimes he's just plain obnoxious (I can't, for the life of me, sit through either one of the "Ace Ventura" movies). In a sketch comedy show, his in-your-face comic style works. I also loved Damon Wayans as the homeless guy. I crack up so much every time I see that sketch. Of course, everyone on the show was great. I can't think of a weak link in the chain. I think one of the cool things about "ILC" was that despite its predominantly black cast, it was able to reach a universal audience. This isn't like some UPN sitcom. People of all races seem to enjoy it. I think that proves that there's no color when it comes to good comedy.

This show was truly a smorgasboard of talent. They pushed the limits and almost crossed the line with their raunchy,crude humor. That's what made this show so wonderful. They poke fun at EVERYBODY no matter what race. It's nice to see that some minorities can poke fun at their own stereotypes without getting so sensitive about the issue. Jim Carrey is a GENIUS. His roles as Fire Marshall Bill,Parnell the super nerdy dorky schoolboy , and the female beauty queen were hystical. And you cant forget Homie Clause and the 2 hoods who steal things then sell them on their own shopping network. I was sad to see this show get discontinued but I still constantly watch the reruns on FX.