MARTIN (TV SERIES)

'''Martin''' was an American television sitcom produced by HBO Independent Productions (a subsidiary of HBO, in turn a division of Time Warner) that aired for five seasons from August 27, 1992 to May 1, 1997 on FOX. The show starred comedian Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell.

Contents

Overview

Cancellation

Episodes

Recurring supporting characters

Special guest appearances

DVD releases

Catchphrases

Trivia

Television and movie connections

References

External links

Overview

The show revolved around a macho, stubborn, derisive twenty-something radio deejay/talk show host named Martin Payne (played by Lawrence), who worked at WZUP, an urban talk radio station in Detroit, Michigan for the first half of the series and the local cable-access TV station, Channel 51, for the second half until the series' end, when he was offered his own nationally syndicated talk show in Los Angeles, requiring him to move there. His girlfriend (and later, his wife) was Gina Waters (played by Campbell), an ad executive who could, on occasion, be as egotistical and badly behaved as Martin, but otherwise maintained a level head. Speaking of Gina's head, a common running gag was to poke fun at Gina for her oversized head. In the series finale^[1], she was promoted to Senior Vice President of the ad office in Los Angeles after the Detroit office ceased operations, necessitating her move there with Martin.
Martin's closest friends were Tommy Strong and Cole Brown. Tommy (played by Thomas Mikal Ford) was a friendly, exuberant guy who seemed to get the most irritated with Cole's stupidity out of everyone else in the gang, often commenting, ''"Cole... you stupid."'' Because no one ever knew what Tommy did for a living, a common running gag occurred whenever Tommy mentioned his job in a given situation- everyone exclaimed in unison, ''"You ain't GOT no job!"'' Cole Brown (played by Carl Anthony Payne II, who had previously played Theo's friend Cockroach on ''The Cosby Show'') was a loyal yet idiotic airport attendant who initially had a crush on Gina's sassy, attitude-having best friend and co-worker Pamela James (played by Tichina Arnold, who co-starred with Campbell in the theatrical adaptation of the off-Broadway musical ''Little Shop of Horrors''). Pam completed the circle of friends. She and Martin constantly insulted and belittled each other in every episode. Ironically, Arnold is one of Lawrence's closest friends in real life.
Later in the series' run, Tommy and Pam dated each other exclusively for awhile, then returned to just being friends. Cole's romantic interest for a couple of seasons was Big Shirley, a mountain of a woman who was seldom seen; when she was, it was only a shot of a portion of her huge frame, the joke - presumably - being that she was just too large to fit into the shot. Oddly enough in the episode "Baby, It's Cole'd in Here"^[2], she is shown as just a large woman. Nothing more as the show began to depict her as more of a monster later on. In the final season, Cole found a kindred spirit in Shanice (played by Maura McDade), a dimwitted but well-meaning girl. They became engaged in the final episode.

Cancellation

During the last two seasons of the show, Lawrence began abusing drugs, the effects of which very obviously affected his performance on the show, and he suffered numerous psychological effects as a result. Campbell sued Lawrence for sexual harassment, alleging that Lawrence acted inappropriately while he and Campbell taped scenes of Martin and Gina sharing a bed.
The episode in which the alleged harassment took place was 'Back in Trouble Again'^[3] (Season 5, Episode 2). It was the last bed scene between Campbell and Lawrence. During the end of the episode, there was a gag reel of outtakes of the two under the covers and they both seem to be joking around. This supports some of the doubts of the allegations.
Other allegations were that Lawrence threatened the cast with a firearm. Campbell also alleged that Lawrence would have outbursts during tapings. Campbell claimed that she feared for her life and that she began to install locks on her dressing room. She also claims she had spoken with the shows producers about installing a 'panic' button in her dressing room. None of the other cast members have made claims about how their work environment was.
Campbell's appearances in the show dwindled, often sharing screen-time only with co-star, Tichina Arnold, or in a split-screen with Martin, or not at all. She did not (and would not) appear in any scenes with Lawrence, save for a split-screen scene taped on separate sets. Campbell's disappearance from the show caused ''Martin'' to "jump the shark"^[4] in the eyes of many viewers: the show's ratings and popularity dropped. Despite Lawrence's problems, FOX showed interest in bringing back the show for a sixth season but Lawrence skipped out on a meeting to discuss (reported in the Hollywood blurb on the Atlanta-Journal Constitution in 1997.) As result, ''Living Single'' was brought back as a mid-season replacement. Meanwhile, FOX waited until things settled between Lawrence and Campbell. Lawrence even had suggested who would take over the role of Gina. Lawrence then made the decision to end the show and FOX agreed. To this day, Lawrence and Campbell are still personally feuding, although Campbell stated in a radio interview that she is still very grateful to Lawrence for giving her an opportunity to be a part of his show.
Some speculate that there had been a rift between Lawrence and Campbell due to Lawrence ignoring her ideas for the show. Others believe it was a ploy for Campbell to get out of her contract with the show.
It was also speculated that Martin Lawrence had plans to cast Regina King to take the role as Gina so that the show could continue.
Following the conclusion of the series, the stars went on to have successful careers. Lawrence has starred in several high-grossing comedy movies and Campbell recently starred on the sitcom ''My Wife and Kids'' with Damon Wayans. Ford and Payne continued acting in film, television, and theater while Arnold continued in film and television, recently becoming a main cast member of Chris Rock's semi-autobiographical CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris''.

Episodes

Main articles: List of Martin episodes

Recurring supporting characters

One of the trademarks of ''Martin'' was Lawrence playing multiple characters in the series, utilizing various costumes. The most notable of Lawrence's other roles on the show was that of Sheneneh Jenkins^[5], a stereotypical "Detroit ghetto girl" and owner/operator of ''Sheneneh's Sho' Nuff Hair Salon'', whom Lawrence played in drag. Though she's awkwardly tall and large, Sheneneh often characterizes herself as a ''"la-a-a-dy."'' She lived in an apartment across the hallway from Martin's, and factored into many of the sitcom's stories by picking fights out in the hallway. Her dialogue consistently makes use of popular smart catchphrases, such as "aw-awight" and "oh no you di-in't." Her character is generally portrayed as being very feisty and extremely mouthy. Sheneneh's especially antagonistic towards Gina and Pam. Oftentimes, Gina will end up having to break up fights between Pam and Sheneneh, only to get dissed by Sheneneh. Sheneneh has many girlfriends who appeared occasionally in some episodes. They included Bonquisha (played by Kim Coles), Keylolo (played by rapper Yo-Yo), and her loudmouth girlfriend Laquita, (played by actress Simbi Khali). At the salon, she was assisted by a fellow stylist, Rhodesia (played by Kelly Jo Minter).

★ ''Roscoe'': a 10-year-old kid with a consistently runny nose and a smart mouth. Lawrence played the role by standing still on his knees, and attaching shoes to his kneecaps.

★ ''Otis'': an old, overweight security guard usually depicted as being inept. Despite often screwing up and not seeming to have much knowledge about the real world, Otis is in fact very strong and has been known to beat up offenders, even if it sometimes is at the very last second.

★ ''Jerome'': a flashy Detroit pimp who makes big entrances, often yelling and singing variations of his own theme-song "Jerome in the house! I say Jerome in the house! Watch ya' mooooooouuuth", upon arrival. He runs a casino, wears a family gold tooth, often parties, and regularly hits on Pam. His nicknames for Pam are "Junk in the Trunk" (or just "Junk" for short) and "Bad Pamma Jamma". His nicknames for Gina are "Hi-Yellow" and "Red Bone" or just "red" for short.

★ ''Edna (Momma) Payne'': Martin's shrill, extremely frenetic mother, who is overprotective of Martin and dislikes Gina immensely. Ironically, this is one of the few roles in which Lawrence does not cover up his mustache with stage make-up. This is probably due to the fact that Lawrence thought it would be humorous to portray an elderly woman as having a thick mustache equal to that of her son.

★ ''Dragonfly Jones'': A martial arts "expert", who was beaten up in nearly every appearance. He always seemed to owe money to a real martial artist, who was actually a student of his named Kenji, who would then beat him up. He also warmed up for a long period of time.

★ ''Bob'': A white man who works in the marketing department of Gina's company who is best described as a stereotypical "surfer dude". He speaks in a Southern Californian accent mixed with a Texas twang and often uses words like "dude" and "man" even in professional settings. Lawrence achieves his appearance as this character with stage make-up and a prosthetic nose attachment to make him appear White, as well as wearing a long blonde wig to complete the look.

★ ''Elroy Preston'': The fictional "Godfather of Black Surf Music" who is now basically forgotten and washed up. Preston now works as an auto mechanic, and is best known for randomly breaking into song while performing his mechanical duties. This character often distracts himself and irritates others when reminiscing on things that involve his trademark song. The song consists of Preston singing "Don't you know no good!" over and over.
These characters were generally very popular with audiences, although Sheneneh was the most famous. Lawrence would later dress as alter-egos in his feature films, notably ''Big Momma's House'' and its sequel, ''Big Momma's House 2''. As much of ''Martin'' was taped before a live audience, the Martin Payne character very rarely shared screen time with Lawrence's costumed alter-egos. Periodically, however, split-screen filming techniques allowed Martin and Sheneneh or Martin and Otis to appear onscreen together.
There were also other recurring characters, such as Brother Man (pronounced "Bruh Man", played by comedian Reginald Ballard). Bruh Man lived on the fifth floor, directly above Martin, and often climbed down the "f-a-a-a-ah 'scape" to break into Martin's apartment, taking food, borrowing assorted items and generally lounging around as if he lived there. One memorable quote was in an episode where Martin had recurring dreams about Pam. Martin wakes up around 3 0'Clock and walks into his living room to find Bruh Man making a sandwich. After some words Bruh man says ''"What you doin up. I usually have the place to myself round' this hour."'' Another notable character was Ms. Geri (played by Jeri Gray), a tough trigger-happy senior who, regardless of her age and diminutive size, had no qualms about "whooping ass." Most of her physical confrontations were with Martin in mundane, everyday situations, such as standing in line at the DMV or at the unemployment office. Hustle Man (played by comedian Tracy Morgan), always came around to sell whatever crazy items he had from the 'hood, always greeting with his trademark ''"What's up, chief?"'' There was also Nipsey (played by Sean Lampkin), the rotund, good-natured bartender who owned Nipsey's Club, the group's favorite hangout.
In Seasons 1-3, Martin had a co-worker at the radio station named Shawn, played by Jon Gries. Martin always found himself having rather strange conversations with Shawn. Shawn usually did things that upset Stan and once even tried to get a record deal from Snoop Dogg. Shawn was later fired, along with Martin, when Stan sold the radio station. Stan, played by Garrett Morris, was Martin's and Shawn's boss and the owner of WZUP radio station. He always had on bad cologne and outdated clothing from the 1970s. Martin knew Stan to be cheap and somewhat untrustworthy, and just when Martin didn't think Stan could sink any lower with his schemes, Stan always surprised him. Furthermore, Stan got into trouble with the IRS due to unpaid taxes, so he sold the station and fled. He came back later on to start a partnership with Martin to help him open a restaurant Marty Mart's Meatloaf and Waffles. Their venture together wasn't successful. Stan left and was never mentioned again on the series.

Special guest appearances

★ Ernest Thomas ★ Snoop Dogg ★ Marla Gibbs ★ Thomas Hearns ★ Coolio ★ Antonio Fargas ★ Salt-N-Pepa ★ Johnnie Cochran ★ Tommy Davidson ★ David Alan Grier ★ Charles Barkley ★ John Witherspoon ★ Method Man ★ Tommy Davidson ★ Yo-Yo

★ Rudy Ray Moore ★ Notorious B.I.G. ★ Pam Grier ★ Kim Fields ★ Mark Curry ★ Lisa Leslie ★ Gary Coleman ★ Teresa Edwards ★ Dawn Staley ★ Rebecca Lobo ★ Chris Rock ★ MC Hammer ★ Kelly Jo Minter ★ Kim Coles

★ Richard Pryor ★ Little Richard ★ Keith Washington ★ Brian McKnight ★ Bebe Winans ★ Cece Winans ★ Jodeci ★ Fred \"Rerun\" Berry ★ Randall Cunningham ★ Tyrese Gibson ★ Anthony Johnson ★ Keith Sweat ★ Wendy Williams ★ Kenneth \"Babyface\" Edmonds

★ Sheryl Swoopes ★ Kid (Kid & Play) ★ Billy Dee Williams ★ Clifton Powell ★ Jackie Chan ★ Outkast ★ Lou Rawls ★ Bushwick Bill ★ Will Smith ★ Shaquille O'Neal ★ Phil Morris ★ Kristoff St. John ★ Charlie Murphy ★ John Amos ★ Reggie McFadden ★ Johnny Brown ★ Lark Voorhies ★ Kelly Coffield ★ Jodeci ★ Halle Berry

DVD releases

HBO Home Video has released the first two seasons of ''Martin'' on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.

DVD Name	Release Date	Ep #	Additional Information
The Complete First Season	January 2 2007	27	Bonus features include bloopers and Martin Lawrence commentary on his favorite scenes. [6]
The Complete Second Season	May 15 2007	27	Bonus features include a gag reel. [7]
The Complete Third Season	November 6 2007	27	N/A [8]
The Complete Fourth Season	2008 (estimated date)	27	N/A
The Complete Fifth Season	2008 (estimated date)	24	N/A

Season 3 is going to be released on November 6, 2007 [1], official date from the studio. It is unknown if the remaining two seasons will be released at some point.

Catchphrases

This show introduced a plethora of catchphrases including:

★ ''"Get ta steppin!"''

★ ''"Somebody done told you wrong!"''

★ ''"Damn, Gina!"''

★ ''"You ain't GOT no job!!"''

★ ''"Wazzuuppp!"''

★ ''"Aawww hell naaawww!"''

★ ''"Woooowooowooooo!"''

★ ''"Talk to the hand!"''

★ ''"You go girl!"''

★ ''"You go boy!"''

★ ''"Just Chillin!"''

★ ''"Daaayyyuuuummmnn!"''

★ ''"Don't go there!"''

★ ''"You ain't all that!"''

★ ''"Cut the corner!"''

★ ''"You wanna stomp with big dogs!"''

★ ''"Gimme love!"''

Trivia

★ Campbell had a key role in the Spike Lee film ''School Daze'', while Lawrence was in ''Do the Right Thing''.

★ A trademark/running gag on the show was the fact that it was broadcast before a live audience, and the cast would sometimes stumble or improv things or reference the audience, which isn't edited out of reruns.

★ Tommy was the only character whose place of residence was never shown in the series. Pam too, although her apartment (Gina's old apartment) was shown.

★ The show was originally to be a Detroit version of ''Good Times'', which was based in Chicago.

★ Martin Lawrence's sister can be seen as one of the women at Gina's bachelorette party.

★ Cole and his mother's apartment was the Evan's apartment on ''Good Times''.

★ One episode had Gina and Pam held up by a stalled car. A mechanic who sings "Don't You Know No Good" offers to fix the car for free, but only if they will listen to his rendition. Although secretly annoyed, they drive out out of the car shop singing it to themselves. The credits to that episode show Gina and Pam wearing sequin dresses with big bouffant hairdos singing it as in a concert. This is reference to ''Little Shop of Horrors'', which Tichina Arnold and Tisha Campbell both appeared in.

★ The door next to Sheneneh's apartment, which was a trash chute, sometimes read "Incinerator", and other times read "Trash."

★ In April 2007, a song titled "Just Like Tommy" by Brandy was leaked to the internet. The song makes reference of Tommy not having a job.

★ Brian McKnight has appeared alongside Tisha Campbell twice in wedding related scenes. First when Martin porposed to her the second time as he sang acapella and then again as she walked down the aisle of her wedding renewal ceremony as Janet Kyle on ''My Wife and Kids''.

★ In the episode, "All I Need", when Gina was complaining about Martin ignoring her at the dinner with the Bozacks. Pam asked Gina how Mrs. Bozack was and Gina said she was so beautiful she could be Miss USA. This is a reference to the actress that played Mrs. Bozack, Kenya Moore, being Miss USA in 1993.

★ The show broke the 4th wall in the episode "Baby Its You." When Martin says after taking the baby "Man, it don't need no umbilical cord. This is T.V."

Television and movie connections

★ Martin Lawrence starred in ''House Party'' and ''House Party 2'' with Tisha Campbell and Christopher "Kid" Reid. However, while Campbell also appeared with Reid in ''House Party 3'' (a small "special appearance" role), Lawrence did not.

★ Tisha Campbell starred in ''Little Shop of Horrors'' with Tichina Arnold.

★ Kid (from Kid 'n Play) guest-starred in episode ("Forever Sheneneh"), Kid also starred in ''Class Act'' with Thomas Mikal Ford and Reginald Ballard.

★ Tichina Arnold made an appearance in ''Big Momma's House'' and ''Wild Hogs'', which both starred Martin Lawrence.

★ Tichina Arnold and Carl Anthony Payne II at one point each appeared in separate episodes of ''The Cosby Show''; Payne had a recurring role as Walter "Cockroach" Bradley from 1985 to 1987, and Arnold appeared as one of Theo Huxtable's college classmates in an 1989 episode.

References

1. California, Here We Come (2)
2. Baby, It's Cole'd in Here
3. Back in Trouble Again
4. Jump The Shark - Martin
5. http://valdefierro.com/martin08.html
6. http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6474
7. http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6863
8. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7767

External links

★

★ ''Martin'' at TV.com