![]() Comedy aside, Martin is about imperfect people navigating their lives the best way they know how, making it oddly sincere for such a slapstick show. ![]() There was no question that Lawrence and his supporting cast had undeniable comedic timing, often improving scenes and leaning into the absurdity of the comedy. Each of these recurring characters, from his next door neighbor Sheneneh Jenkins to the loudmouth pimp Jerome, were ridiculous yet hilarious. The biggest staple of Martin was Lawrence's ability to play multiple iconic characters, which made the sitcom feel like a sketch show at times. Lawrence's stellar comedic performance leaves no doubt why he was such a staple of the 90s. Martin's best friends, the somewhat dim-witted but kind-hearted Cole Brown ( Carl Anthony Payne) and the perpetually unemployed Tommy Strawn (the late Thomas Mikal Ford) rounded out this hilarious cast. Martin (Lawrence) worked as a radio DJ, with Gina working at a PR firm with her best friend, and Martin's mortal enemy, Pam James ( Tichina Arnold). Staring Martin Lawrence in his first sitcom leading role, Martin centered around a fiery couple, Martin Payne and Gina Waters ( Tisha Campbell), and their loyal friends living in Detroit. In a lot of ways, Martin felt like a modern throwback to old black-and-white rom-com shows like The Honeymooners or I Love Lucy. The strong bond between these friendsshows that once people leave the nest, their friends are like their family. Its stories and humor perfectly reflect when people start their professional careers and finally begin living independently. It also infused popular hip-hop music fashion as an expression of its characters. However, its snappy dialogue and trendy characters appealed to audiences of all backgrounds. ![]() The 90s classic is one of the first black sitcoms to focus primarily on a predominantly female cast and also highlights young black business professionals inspiring its viewers. Ironically, it's produced by the same production studio as Friends on the same lot, with almost identical characters, and had the same name, leaving some to think that Friends was just a ripoff of this sitcom. Staring Queen Latifah, this sitcom about a co-ed group of friends living in the same building supporting each other through their careers, relationships became a staple of primetime television in the mid-90s. Family Matters was built on that same foundation, but with the different purpose of showing that the black family could thrive even in the inner-city, and with a young mad scientist living next door. Craziness aside, this show taught kids right from wrong and allowed the Winslows to be a semi-normal suburban family never defined by their race, which harkens, back to The Cosby Show, the sitcom that changed the way suburban America view the black family. This includes Urkel coming up with his own theme song and dance, machines that turn people cool, and even time travel. As the seasons go by, it just gets crazier and more fun thanks to Steve's increasingly unhinged antics. This iconic sitcom revels in its campiness and its over-the-top main character, who's essentially a mad scientist. While this show was initially about the family, Jaleel White's break-out performance as Steve Urkel turned him into the leading man, for better or worse, as Urkel was basically carrying the series in the sitcom's later seasons. TGIF's legendary show about a middle-class family and their wacky neighbor was a staple in every house with children. Even 23 years after the final episode ended, Kenan and Kel is a comedy that has aged gracefully, and will still make viewers laugh out loud. The way the pairs effortlessly bounce jokes back and forth is even more impressive because of how young they were so it was no surprise both were asked to audition for SNL, with Kenan eventually joining the show. Keenan Mitchell and Kel Thompson's dynamic chemistry harkens back to legendary comedy duos like Abbot and Costello or Martin and Lewis. The sole purpose is to make fans laugh using their signature irrelevant style of comedy from All That, but more focused on a narrative. In short, it was a comedy built on laughs, and laughs alone but that's what makes Kenan and Kel so great. Unlike a lot of classic 90s kids' shows, this sitcom about a scheming teenager and his dullwitted friend, he always ropes into his plans and is not trying to teach moral lessons or be deep. After their undeniable chemistry on skits like Good Burger, the two All That alumni were given their own show, once again showing their comedic genius.
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