In the House

LL Cool J in his first TV show? Who would've thought that such a combination can be so successful. Not the least of which is that it has some of the best comedy antics from recent years such as Kim Wayans, one of the funniest characters on the show. Although the first season was good, but not funny, the second and subsequent seasons were by far the best. Sadly, it was canceled after six seasons. It was good while it lasted;hey I watched not just for the laughs, but also the scantily clad babes that would(quite often) permeate throughout the show. But in the end, it's all good and I'm glad to had have the opportunity to watch it while it was on the air because by far and large, In The House is one of the funniest shows that ever came out on the small screen.

I really enjoyed watching the first few seasons of In The House when it was just Marion Hill, and the Warren clan Jackie, Austin and Tiffany. It was very funny and enjoyable to watch.

I found the mother Jackie played by veteran actress Debbie Allen (of Fame, erm fame!) hilarious to watch at times, especially as I thought she had great delivery and comic timing, as well as the funnier lines.

Her constant barracking of her ex-husband and the mickey taking of his bald head had me in stitches.

To many people, especially the elder generation, Debbie is best known for her associations with 'Fame','A Different World'. For those of us who were born after 1980 and too young to remember either of those shows and of whom are fans of Debbie Allen, it was this show 'In The House' in 1995 that first introduced us to her as an actress, producer, director.

Of course it is never easy for a show such as 'In The House' to carry on from where it's so called 'predecessor'the Fresh Prince had left off. Although the only comparisons I can draw from both sitcoms is that Debbie Allen was the executive producer of the first two seasons of The Fresh prince and In The House, and in that in both sitcoms the lead roles were played by then famous rappers in Will Smith and LL cool J. Not forgetting also that Alfonso Ribeiro appeared in both shows, so a lot of similarities can be drawn between the pair.

However, as soon as Jackie and Austin- who for me wasn't a bad sitcom kid- departed, this sitcom was never the same as it was, afterwards. As in their place were Kim Wayans and Alfonso himself. Kim played Tonya, of whom was at first a crazed, obsessed stalker of Marion's and she was just funny. Eventually she had mellowed down afterwards and wasn't as much the same crazy Tonya as she was a few seasons ago. Alfonso played Dr maxwell Stanton and whilst his role was supposed to be a far cry from his Fresh Prince days as Carlton Banks, in truth he was basically another version of Carlton- only slightly more arrogant. Both Kim and Alfonso are very talented actors, but i felt that their talents had been wasted when they became regular characters from season 3 onwards.

In all, I preferred it when it was just Jackie, Marion, Austin and tiffany... and so by the time the mother and her son went, In The House was no longer as funny as it was when they were around. If the show had retained those two characters and not added Maxwell, Tonya and the gym, then maybe perhaps In The House would've had a slightly longer run.

But In The House was good, i really liked it... up until the changes were made in the show.

I enjoyed watching "In The House" because it was a really funny show which was NOT only cool but it was also entertaining. My favourite character from this sitcom was Marion Hill (he was portrayed by LL Cool J) because he was so spiritual, cool, nice & really reasonable. I even like how much he was a good role model for Tiffany & Austin during the show's first 2 seasons alongside a really fair landlord for them & their Mom Jackie until season 3 when Jackie & Austin moved to Nashville & Tiffany stayed in Los Angeles so that she could finish High School. I also liked the character Tonia because she was so funny especially with her somewhat crazy personality. What I like the most about this sitcom was the theme song which was used during the time UPN picked up "In The House" during season 3 when the show's original Network NBC cancelled it due to low ratings after the first 2 seasons aired. I like both the family oriented & adult oriented versions of this show as they were really cool. I even liked the colourful opening sequences which were used during the first 3 seasons as it was so artistic & beautiful looking.

Nothing was actually bad per se about any of the four seasons of this show (well, maybe the fourth season), but looking at it from a casting point of view, it was all over the place. The first season revolved around the Warrens--mother, Jackie (Debbie Allen); daughter, Tiffany (Maia Campbell); and son, Austin (Jeffery Wood)--who lived in a duplex alongside the landlord, a retired football player named Marion Hill (LL Cool J). Tonia Harris (Kim Wayans) changed from chasing Marion to becoming his best friend--as well as changing from a recurring character to a permanent character--as the season changed. Also, at the end of the season, Jackie and Austin moved away, leaving Tiffany to live with Marion. In order to afford to take care of her, Marion opened a health clinic with Tonia.

Several new characters popped up in the second season. The main new character was Dr. Maxwell "Max" Stanton (Alfonso Ribeiro), a conceited clinical doctor who also became part owner of the clinic. Also, Tiffany was given some friends, Carl (Ken Lawson) and Raynelle (Gabrielle Carmouche), who popped up here and there. But the most unnecessary character was a kid named Rodney (Deejay Daniels). He came out of nowhere and nobody ever bothered to ask whose kid he was. He didn't bring much to the show, which is probably why he was gone by mid-season.

Things were going fine until the beginning of the fourth (and final) season. The only people that were left were Marion, Max, and for some reason Carl and Raynelle. Because Carl and Raynelle were still merely recurring characters, the fourth season had more guest stars than regular cast members (the beginning credits only listed LL Cool J and Alfonso Ribeiro). The plots were very bland and uninteresting, particularly because the funniest characters and jokes were brought out by actors that were no longer there.

Overall, In The House was a good show, but it would have been better if the producers could make up their minds about the cast.

I loved watching the show when we had the single Mom and her kids living in a mansion with Marion. Lots of the humor derived from Debbie and her interactions with her kids and navigating life, wrangling in her daughter and dealing with a boss that was a stereotype but done well enough to enjoy her character

Austin was an Urkel lite character that I feel didn't overstay his welcome and was a good balance

Then came Season 3 and no Jackie. I felt Jackie was the heart of the show and grounded it

After Season 3 I lost interest and it seemed like a carbon copy rather than the fun romp it used to be dealing with two headstrong leads that learned to respect one another.

I feel Kim Wayans was added to fill the Jackie void and why Tiffany stayed was just a massive plot hole, and adding Alfonso Ribeiero was just Carlton personality with another name.

I simply watch to Season 2 and leave it. I've watched some of the later episodes but it just feels a massive letdown from the earlier gold seasons.