Amen

Amen was a good sitcom. It was set in a Protestant Church led by Sherman Hemsley's character. The show had a stellar cast including Jester Hairston, Roz Ryan and Barbara Montgomery as sisters which was truly believable, Clifton Davis as the new pastor and the love of the head minister's daughter played by Anna Maria Horsford. After a while, you began to believe that this environment existed. It was set in Philadelphia which was a change of pace from New York City. Amen and 227 were usually aired on Saturday nights before Golden Girls. Amen was a well-written, acted show. It was the kind of church that I wished I belong too at times. It also showed that Sherman Hemsley was talented to hold his own show as well besides being best known as George Jefferson. He will always be George to us but we have to acknowledge that the Jeffersons did move on and prospered as well and rightfully so.

This show is great for a few laughs. Sherman Hemsley is the funniest character on the show. I think this show is fun, but not as much fun as "Martin". If you are "religious" you might enjoy this show even more.

My rating: 8 out of 10

Great show that was about black people, but appealed to people of any race. It's real easy for shows with ethnic minority characters to appeal only to that minority. Instead this show had an exclusively black cast but didn't pander to racial stereotypes and people of any race could relate to the stories and jokes it used. A great cast headlined by the great Sherman Hemsley and featuring a great cast, including Jester Harrison as the cantankerous old man with the best one liners. Always loved the fact that Deacon Ernie J Frey was a rather self absorbed jackass but also a likable character as well. Also liked the fact that it was about a Christian church and didn't turn into a bunch of right-wing propaganda.

This was a hilarious late 80's sitcom set in an African American church. While the setting (and atmosphere) seem to lead to all the trappings of religious cliches, this show was actually funny. Maybe it helped that Sherman Hemsley (The Jeffersons) lead a strong, multi-talented cast. This included Jester Hairston (Rolly), Roz Ryan (Sister Amelia), Clifton Davis (Reverend Gregory) and my favorite, Anna Maria Horsford (Thelma Frye). She goes down as my favorite supporting actress in an 80's sitcom. Too often shows where religion is an underlying theme come off as preachy. "Amen" proved you could be truly funny while also being religious. Now THAT'S a faith-based initiative.

When this show premiered I was 8 yrs. old. I remember my family and I would sit down together and watch this great sitcom. It had great comedy, a good message about faith, and a great cast! If you catch the reruns of this show I suggest you sit back and watch it.