In Living Color

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.

I just wanted to say.. I agree so much with you guys.. first of all .. it is now 2010 and I must say... I still miss In Living Color. It was fresh.. it was these fresh comedians take on things and with the little hints of reality that we all see.. on the streets and in our lives.. it was refreshing to laugh about that stuff. Is it Politically correct .. I am so FReakin tired of Politically Correct (PC) PC is for politicians. Its not real. Its not real life. We should all be accepting of each other but forget the being PC all the time..we need to be real.. we need to laugh at each other some and at ourselves but still be OK and realize basically life is just funny and its OK to laugh at those things we are wondering about in our heads.. that these comedians bring up.. we need to laugh while we can. We need more stuff like this. Unfortunately In Living Color is STILL fresh comedically. We really need some fresh new talent and views with a new show developed from a comedic point of view. Their way of presenting things in a fun and lite hearted and ACCEPTING but still poking fun way... and the style in which they did it.. its still much better than all the things being presented so far. Yes I liked MADTV for awhile...Sat. Night Live is not even funny anymore. Lets pick up some raw, breaking the "rules" (whatever they are.. who knows since its changing all the time) talent. And the fact that they were black.. some people mentioned that white people didn't want to watch it.. well they had preconceived notions about what it was. I think I actually did too (embarrassed here) but once I watched it IT was SO not about that. and it was AWESOME.

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.

In contrast to the previous review, I beg to differ with the comment about Kelly Coffield. In my opinion Kelly Coffield was one of THE most talented actors on the show. I felt she was very passionate and even moving at times. One episode in particular showed off her passion when she played a 1940's or 1950's (I'm really not sure) black & white scene waiting for her Johnny. If you are lucky enough to see this episode, didn't actually air until later seasons (Sorry I forget), you'll understand what I mean about conviction and passion.

As for the vulgarity of later episodes/ seasons, I would have to agree they did push the envelope a bit but I believe America was more than ready for the drastic change in entertainment. I mean Mad TV is basically the same thing but with a quieter roar is all. Let's face it they can only attempt to be what In Living Color was. Thanks to syndication we can all enjoy the sweet past of hilarious comedy.

The Wayans are pioneers of great comedy and truly paved the way for some of the talent we are all seeing today.