Les Stubbs

In one of the first of "The Simpsons"'s annual Halloween specials (incidentally, why is each episode referred to as "Treehouse of Horror" everywhere but in the on-screen credits?), we see a graveyard with tombstones for "Fish Police," "Family Dog" and "Capitol Critters," extremely shortlived shows that came up as a result of the first wave of animated shows in the wake of The Greatest TV Show Ever. "The PJs" would probably be included if such a stunt was to be tried again, but while many short-lived prime time cartoons deserve it ("Gary & Mike" and "Stressed Eric," anyone?), this one was more worthy of praise than most.

Set in the Hilton Jacobs Projects (the very name suggests the writers know their TV) in an unnamed city, this series focused on building superintendent Thurgood, wife Muriel, and the tenants - of which there seemed to be surprisingly few for such a big building; the series was fairly high on stereotyping with its characters (although one can't help noticing that one tenant, a Jamaican never clearly seen because of all his marijuana smoke, was soon dropped) and in the later episodes suffered from trying to emulate "The Simpsons" a bit too closely, and from shows like the spoof of season finales "Cliffhangin' With Mr Super" (that format doesn't really suit this show) ... the episodes where co-creator/executive producer Eddie Murphy didn't supply Thurgood's voice also suffered when Phil Morris subbed (it's impossible to not hear him and think "Jackie Chiles!").

But Will Vinton's Foamation technique, plus the simple fact that many of the shows actually were very funny, made up for a lot; the characters of Thurgood - loud, a couch potato ("Jack Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want to turn him down!"), lazy, but still somehow likeable - and the others, plus the fact that every character got at least one story of their own, made up for the rest. (It's interesting that the most intelligent character on the show is Smokey, a homeless recovering crack addict.) The series may have been weighed down by the promise of its credits (former "Simpsons" writer Steve Tompkins co-created the show with future "The Bernie Mac Show" creator Larry Wilmore; Ron Howard was one of the show's eight (!) executive producers), but it was better than many similar live action shows; an underrated pleasure.

"NEXT!"

We in the UK seem to come across little gem's like this years after our American friends, what with the show already cancelled in 2001 over there.

They have only recently started putting this on two episodes at a time on C4 in UK at 2am, and next week it sadly disappears from the schedules.

I have to say I love this programme as much as "The Simpson's", it's Eddie Murphy back to his best, as funny as he used to be back in his old standup shows in the 80's.

I only hope they bring this out on DVD, Sadly, they probably won't.

Interesting combination of claymation and unapologetic urban humor a la "In Living Color." A great combination to Fox's clever line-up of "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill," and "Furturama."

I really liked the PJs also. It was a short-lived series that became the victim of the overzealous NAACP and the need for too many people in our society to be "politically correct". These days they give Oscars out for movies that portray much worse than the PJs - yet for some reason because its in a movie, and people pay for it, that's OK. Go figure. The PJs was one of the best pieces of work Eddy Murphy has produced, well-written, very funny, and the claymation style fits in perfect with the story concept. The part I remember most is when the HUD lady lists all her kid's names. Does anyone remember all of them? I only remember 3 - Chevron, Lasagna, and Doritos. I thought there was more of them. Thanks!

This is a great show. I love Eddie Murphy's role as Thurgood, the superintendant of the apartment building. I think the people who produced this show capture the life of minority groups living in urban project housing. It is also a wonderful use of clay animation. It may be slow, but it's certainly worth it when complete. FOX took it off the air for awhile quite some time ago, but it looks like it's going to be making a comeback.