View Full Version : is it me or...
are there no black shows on tv? i'm not into watching many shows, but damn. i'm talking about good shows. sitcom, drama...
'Magic' Juan
10-09-2007, 11:51 AM
are there no black shows on tv? i'm not into watching many shows, but damn. i'm talking about good shows. sitcom, drama...
There have been quite a few shows targeting the African-American audience, but when was the last time there was a "good" one?
UPN doesn't count. (lol)
yeah. i guess you got girlfriends and stuff like that but none of it grabs me. there's that one show on the wb or whatever about the athletes and their lives. it seems like every episode is the same. "baby, when you gon' trust me?" "this is a contrat year!":jpshakehead:
Edith A. Giles
10-09-2007, 11:56 AM
I haven't seen too many GOOD shows on TV that have an African-American
as the main character or a group of African Americans as the focus of the show.
Johnnie Mo
10-09-2007, 11:58 AM
Flavor Of Love:rofl:
LadyA. Acacia
10-09-2007, 12:01 PM
hot ghetto mess
ive seen it two times. both times were enjoy.ing.able
the black characters are portrayed in the sterotypical roles or they're the only one in the cast.
Flavor Of Love:rofl:
reality shows don't count.
Edith A. Giles
10-09-2007, 12:02 PM
Flavor Of Love:rofl:
Reality shows don't count...(at least not in MY book.)
Armento
10-09-2007, 12:02 PM
If you see a big gap between supply and demand you should try to fill it. "mo money"
If you see a big gap between supply and demand you should try to fill it. "mo money"
http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/guinness_commercial.jpg
Perql8r
10-09-2007, 12:52 PM
Boondocks - yeah I know it's a cartoon, but I still love it. AND every episode has a point.
dj c-los
10-09-2007, 02:12 PM
Everyone hates Chris
liL Ray
10-09-2007, 02:14 PM
are there no black shows on tv? i'm not into watching many shows, but damn. i'm talking about good shows. sitcom, drama...
actually, it seems, when nobody was watching, all the shows have moved back to the "all White cast" agenda. I think this is why the reality shows are so popular.
well, we still got football.
SuzanneT
10-09-2007, 02:20 PM
are there no black shows on tv? i'm not into watching many shows, but damn. i'm talking about good shows. sitcom, drama...
There are no good black shows on tv. I hate that whinyass Girlfriends. I want to see shows with some more depth and imagination to them with an all black cast. I dont think Im asking for too much, how about some shows along the same vein as
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Law n Order Criminal Intent/ The Closer (Give me a superintelligent detective, the only one I can think of was Denzel in the Bone Collector and he was handicapped :frown:)
CSI Miami (film it in Detroit/Newark/Chi)
VanillaSexy
10-09-2007, 02:30 PM
There are no good black shows on tv. I hate that whinyass Girlfriends. I want to see shows with some more depth and imagination to them with an all black cast. I dont think Im asking for too much, how about some shows along the same vein as
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Law n Order Criminal Intent/ The Closer (Give me a superintelligent detective, the only one I can think of was Denzel in the Bone Collector and he was handicapped :frown:)
CSI Miami (film it in Detroit/Newark/Chi)
I trippin because it seems like the only two shows I ever watched since I have been on this earth that even remotely related to me as a black woman was The Cosby Show and Different World! I thought about becoming a movie director but I couldn't come up with a plot with an all black cast that was interested that didn't have anything to do with us selling drugs, being treated like shit by our black men, or slavery. Can anyone think of a good story plot that could be all black cast be really good?:thumbsup:
Chuck P
10-09-2007, 02:32 PM
Been looking at this for a minute, WB and stations alike were pushing black shows hard at first, I don't know what has happened, even the shows that are on now gear more towards a crossover audience as opposed to just the African American community......e.g. Half & Half.
VanillaSexy
10-09-2007, 02:34 PM
There are no good black shows on tv. I hate that whinyass Girlfriends.
I'm curious to know why you didn't like Girlfriends. My mother said she hated the show because Toni and those lips drove her crazy. I liked it alot more than other shows but some aspects were way out of my league. I never could stand the fact that alot of them where pretty much "high class whores"
Every season it was a different guy and even the married one had an affair. I was actually shocked that Kesley Grammer produced this sitcom. Maybe they need Debbie Allen as the director (she did alot for different world....getting rid of that tired ass Lisa Bonet)!:rofl5:
D J 1 3 8
10-09-2007, 02:38 PM
The Wire = best drama on TV, maybe ever IMO
jojaujae3
10-09-2007, 03:38 PM
Fuck what ya'll talking about....
I Love New York 2 :icon_rofl:
let's do a show based in the baltimore ghetto about drug dealers and gang bangers. a real winner.
don't get me wrong. i liked the wire too, but we can do better than that. and that tyler perry sitcom was a big dissapointment. shucking and jiving and buck-eyed. mom on crack. WTF?!?!
The Wire = best drama on TV, maybe ever IMO
D J 1 3 8
10-09-2007, 04:52 PM
let's do a show based in the baltimore ghetto about drug dealers and gang bangers. a real winner.
don't get me wrong. i liked the wire too. but we can do better than that. and that tyler perry sitcom was a big dissapointment,
I highly doubt anybody can do better than a show with great writing, great acting, and a blistering condemnation of civic politics, law enforcement, the courts, the welfare system, foster care, public schools, the war on drugs, the prison system, political corruption, etc etc.
The Wire is deep on many levels. Art as social critique at it's best. Much deeper than any WB/UPN drivel of the past, or any primetime network show for that matter.
You god damned right it's a winner.
djmarbll
10-09-2007, 04:53 PM
I think Boondocks was the best black sitcom on tv in years. Its a shame when a cartoon has more respect and is more realistic than shows with real people. Or maybe not, the Simpsons is the longest running tv show in history and still going strong.
VanillaSexy
10-09-2007, 04:55 PM
That tyler perry sitcom was a big dissapointment. shucking and jiving and buck-eyed. mom on crack. WTF?!?!
I think all black directors are kind of at a writer's block. I mean what happen with the Big Boom of black movies Malcom X, Mo Betta Blues, you know the Spike Lee Joints. Are directors (not just black directors cast all black actors)with the unusual plot?:thumbsup:
Fletch
10-09-2007, 04:58 PM
Man, I said it on the old board......the rise of Seinfeld meant the Blacklist of Black TV! But y'all wasn't listening!
but i'm not knocking the wire. on the surface it appeared as i stated. at first, i didn't give it a chance due to the overt subject matter. over time, i saw it as you describe and didn't miss an episode.
i agree.
I highly doubt anybody can do better than a show with great writing, great acting, and a blistering condemnation of civic politics, law enforcement, the courts, the welfare system, foster care, public schools, the war on drugs, the prison system, political corruption, etc etc.
The Wire is deep on many levels. Art as social critique at it's best. Much deeper than any WB/UPN drivel of the past, or any primetime network show for that matter.
You god damned right it's a winner.
let's do a show based in the baltimore ghetto about drug dealers and gang bangers. a real winner.
don't get me wrong. i liked the wire too, but we can do better than that. and that tyler perry sitcom was a big dissapointment. shucking and jiving and buck-eyed. mom on crack. WTF?!?!
i was the one arguing that there were no blacks on that show until nearly the final episode. then someone pulled that johhny cochran character out...
Man, I said it on the old board......the rise of Seinfeld meant the Blacklist of Black TV! But y'all wasn't listening!
simon b
10-09-2007, 05:53 PM
i was the one arguing that there were no blacks on that show until nearly the final episode. then someone pulled that johhny cochran character out...
Curb Your Enthusiasm has a black family now living with the Davids, their family name is "Black."
Larry David: "that 's like if my last name was Jew, haha get it?" :rolleyes:
Curb Your Enthusiasm has a black family now living with the Davids, their family name is "Black."
Larry David: "that 's like if my last name was Jew, haha get it?" :rolleyes:
you've got to be kidding me!
dekmusic
10-09-2007, 06:43 PM
money money money....folks are making movies and tv pilots (independent) some majors are letting a few continue ...
the question is are we supporting them or trashing them?
when we did have excellent shows example "rock" the show with tim reed as the owner of the local pub , hope street etc. when those shows got axed did folks write in and protest?
now we have TV oNe and black strarz channel always good for a re-run of old tv shows and movies geared towards the african american public, i gave up on BET along time ago...
never watched seinfield ,sex and the city ,friends or will and grace for the main fact that they did not have any lead characters of color and yes i e-mailed my displeasure to the stations in question, reply back of course not.....
i also have a problem with my turner movie classics and american movie classics,showing the same movies every black history month.. stormy weather,green pastures,cabin in the sky, carmen jones and only for that month (feb) like those were the only movies ever made ...porgy and bess has not been viewed in decades and that cast is phenominal.......
all we can do is keep the faith and trust that we will again get good solid story lines that have cross over appeal and black folks with the coins to own and call the shots as opposed to creating owning and selling tv stations (BET)
simon b
10-09-2007, 06:54 PM
you've got to be kidding me!
Full episodes are on youtube (in three parts). Search "Meet The Blacks."
DeesKo
10-09-2007, 07:08 PM
I thought about becoming a movie director but I couldn't come up with a plot with an all black cast that was interested that didn't have anything to do with us selling drugs, being treated like shit by our black men, or slavery. Can anyone think of a good story plot that could be all black cast be really good?:thumbsup:
A good story that could be an all black cast?
ANY story with good writing, good directing, good cinematography and some marketing money could be successful. Aside from the lack of real support to fill in any of those above roles from the majors, I think your question is important....
There seems to be an idea that this "thing" has to be written from SOME sort of "black" perspective, yet without succumbing to sterotypes when the reality of it is that any CSI, ER or Law & Order type show could be made using an all or predominately black cast if the above things were in place and when done right, be a success.
Again, this goes back to someone with the funding and interest required to push the project just as hard and in the same ways they push CSI et al.
I would think part of the discouragement from the mainstream in funneling those requirements into something like this comes from the belief that you have to "aim" the show at some specific segment of the population (buppies, bougie, ghetto etc) in order to have a chance, and in many cases, aiming at one is going to alienate the others.... so by even making the show, you're limiting your target audience precisely by trying to target your audience.
I mean.... and I ask this in ALL naivety and honesty...
Is "black america" still so predominately outside the norm of an everyday american's life that a show like CSI:Chicago cast with a predominately black cast could NOT be successful because "black america" couldn't get with the storylines?
I mean, wouldn't attempting to write a show specifically so as to target a "black" demographic mean playing up to certain stereotypes by it's very definition... and as an extension, force a sense of alienation for others... including others in the black community, from the very start?
I dunno, just rambling thoughts as I eat my dinner, maybe I'm wayyyyy off base.
Peace
shit. for me, the cast ain't got to be all black. we could start by having a black actor in a leading role portraying a positive image.
part of the problem lies in the current perception by white america, of who "black" america is. we are a gangsta rap listening, low-pants hanging, thug-life loving, low aspirations having, crystal drinking, short-money having class of people right about now. that's what's portrayed in media and film.
let's not forget, denzell won the oscar for playing a rogue cop. you know, a "real" black man!
A good story that could be an all black cast?
I mean.... and I ask this in ALL naivety and honesty...
Is "black america" still so predominately outside the norm of an everyday american's life that a show like CSI:Chicago cast with a predominately black cast could NOT be successful because "black america" couldn't get with the storylines?
I mean, wouldn't attempting to write a show specifically so as to target a "black" demographic mean playing up to certain stereotypes by it's very definition... and as an extension, force a sense of alienation for others... including others in the black community, from the very start?
I dunno, just rambling thoughts as I eat my dinner, maybe I'm wayyyyy off base.
Peace
lincoln heights.
nothing, however, on network television. you'll never see any black dramas on network tv unless it's on the news...the last one was "south central"...the last 75% one was "gideon's crossing".
BHouse
10-10-2007, 02:10 AM
I don't know if any of you remember Taye Diggs show called "Kevin Hill" on the UPN network... It was sort of like "Ally McBeal"... Could have been a good show if it was on a better network... Also, whatever happened to "Thief" with Andre Braugher...?
Some ideas I have for television shows would be:
Angela Bassett is a wealthy, overly ambitious, power hungry, unethical prosecutor and alcoholic who has a change of heart after wrongfully convicting an innocent man. Now she's a defense attorney using her skills and contacts to defend those who would be otherwise sentenced to jail. Her ex-husband is a judge in debt to the mob who has a conflict of interest with her new found morals.
Three black, wealthy, twentysomething children of celebrities dealing with the paparazzi, drugs, dysfunctional families and the stress of trying to themselves during their first year of college.
A middle class family hits the lottery and moves to a wealthy, gated community. (90210 meets the Bernie Mac show)
A thirty-something man is very depressed. He is divorced from his high school sweetheart. Unemployed. Unable to support his children and basically just down on his luck. One day while smoking marijuana with his buddies and reminiscing about the mistakes he has made in his life, he finds that he is able to travel back time to correct his mistakes. But the changes he makes have good and bad results in the future. (The Butterfly Effect meets Peggy Sue Got Married meets The 70's Show)
An undercover agent is sent to his hometown that he left during his senior year of high school to infiltrate the criminal organization of a drug kingpin who happens to be an old highschool buddy. During the course of the investigation, he falls in the love with the drug dealers girlfriend. The lines between love and loyalty become blurred. (Wiseguy meets State of Grace meets Donnie Brasco)
Just a few.
ngeso
10-10-2007, 05:30 AM
The best black TV show to have come out successfully in recent years IMO is Grey's Anatomy. With the exception of McDreamy, pretty much the entire support cast of the first two series is black and portrays senior hospital staff (Chief of Surgery [Richard Webber], C.o.S. "elect" [Chandra Wilson], Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery , Chief Resident [Sara Ramirez]), with the junior staff being predominantly female. The peripheral support cast also has a lot of minority representation, noticably including a lot of mixed ethnic couples and families among the patients.
In terms of race politics it's the most progressive show out there, because it simply includes race diversity as given, without stressing it programmatically or excludingly (*). When you watch it, you don't get the impression that it is a politically black show, rather than that it is just very good television.
(*) Unlike everything from [i]Good Times to Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Postscript:
Over here we've only seen the first two series, the third is currently airing. I am aware though, that the cast is getting...less black.
liL Ray
10-10-2007, 05:33 AM
you've got to be kidding me!funniest show on TV....hilarious!!
I bring the ruckus
fred da warrior
10-10-2007, 09:19 AM
The best black TV show to have come out successfully in recent years IMO is Grey's Anatomy. With the exception of McDreamy, pretty much the entire support cast of the first two series is black and portrays senior hospital staff (Chief of Surgery [Richard Webber], C.o.S. "elect" [Chandra Wilson], Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery , Chief Resident [Sara Ramirez]), with the junior staff being predominantly female. The peripheral support cast also has a lot of minority representation, noticably including a lot of mixed ethnic couples and families among the patients.
In terms of race politics it's the most progressive show out there, because it simply includes race diversity as given, without stressing it programmatically or excludingly (*). When you watch it, you don't get the impression that it is a politically black show, rather than that it is just very good television.
(*) Unlike everything from [I]Good Times to Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Postscript:
Over here we've only seen the first two series, the third is currently airing. I am aware though, that the cast is getting...less black.
I thought cats knew this......
Fletch
10-10-2007, 09:37 AM
funniest show on TV....hilarious!!
I bring the ruckus
I can't front....I was on the hate trail on "Curb" until I saw it.....bananas!
Same with "Booty Call". I thought, "this movie title is so degrading." But upon watching it, I had trouble keeping a straight face!
Bill Blake
10-10-2007, 09:54 AM
I wasn’t aware we were supposed to expect anything from networks that were good?
Ya’ll need to watch more PBS.
Edith A. Giles
10-10-2007, 12:00 PM
I wasn’t aware we were supposed to expect anything from networks that were good?
Ya’ll need to watch more PBS.
PBS is the ONLY thing I watch nowadays...
The best black TV show to have come out successfully in recent years IMO is Grey's Anatomy. With the exception of McDreamy, pretty much the entire support cast of the first two series is black and portrays senior hospital staff (Chief of Surgery [Richard Webber], C.o.S. "elect" [Chandra Wilson], Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery , Chief Resident [Sara Ramirez]), with the junior staff being predominantly female. The peripheral support cast also has a lot of minority representation, noticably including a lot of mixed ethnic couples and families among the patients.
In terms of race politics it's the most progressive show out there, because it simply includes race diversity as given, without stressing it programmatically or excludingly (*). When you watch it, you don't get the impression that it is a politically black show, rather than that it is just very good television.
(*) Unlike everything from [i]Good Times to Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Postscript:
Over here we've only seen the first two series, the third is currently airing. I am aware though, that the cast is getting...less black.
I thought cats knew this......
my frustration has caused me to shut things down before even giving them a a chance. sounds positive. i'll check it out.
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