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!!!"(****)

"In Living Color" was a training ground and launching pad for many young people, and with good reason - it was a terrific show. Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, David Alan Grier, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Ann Inaba, Rosie Perez, Chris Rock, Molly Shannon, Alexandra Wentworth, Kelly Coffield, not to mention the Wayans family, all had early starts here. Most of the people who participated in this show are still working as actors, writers, directors, and/or producers.

"In Living Color" was a series of skits with no boundaries. How could there be, with a restaurant called Chez Whitey, a physically challenged superhero, Handiman, and two gay reviewers, Blane Edwards (Damon Wayans) and Anton Merriwether (David Alan Grier) who covered film, TV, and vacations where they kept returning to Greece. There was absolutely nothing sacred, including Martin Luther King Day and bonfires on black people's lawns in Arizona.

Hands down, my favorite characters were Homey the Clown ("Homey don't play dat") and Anton and Blane as reviewers (who were disappointed in "Die Hard" because the title suggested a love story). The episode where Blane is hit on the head and becomes straight was hilarious. Kelly Coffield did the old film heroines a la Bette Davis beautifully. And Jim Carrey showed the brilliance that would make a film star.

Not all of the skits were successful, but the ones that were more than made up for them.

Two snaps up for this one.

This show was guaranteed to make you laugh from beginning to end. Though I feel I may have outgrew this type of humor, it was nonetheless the funniest thing ever to watch for me, as a 10-year old!

Who could forget Carrey as the Firemarshall, a female bodybuilder, or the dorky schoolkid named Parnell; Damon Wayans as Homie the Clown, Men on Film, 'Mo Money(the thieves w/their own TV show), and the homeless dude who carries a pickle jar as a toilet and uses big words to sound smart! What about the gossip queen, who always ends with something like..."so you 'aint heard nothing from me."

The 3 best: Firemarshall Bill, Men on Film, and Homie the Clown.

Not sure what happened to Keenan, but I thought Scary Movie sucked. The material has gotten more crude(to get shock value) than anything else.OK, I'm not saying I don't like crude humor (I loved Kingpin and Mary), but somehow either its timing was off or there was too much of it, almost like it was forced. Either way, it made a lot of money.

"In Living Color" has always been great to watch.

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.

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.