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'My Wife and Kids' was an American sitcom which ran on ABC from March 28 2001 until May 17 2005, starring Damon Wayans and Tisha Campbell-Martin.

Contents

Premise

Production

Cast

Main

Episodes

Running gags and character quirks

Michael Kyle, Junior

Michael Kyle, Sr.

Jay

Claire

Franklin

The Wayans influence

Behind the camera

In front of the camera

External links

Premise

The show is set in Stamford, Connecticut and focuses on the affluent Kyle family: Michael Richard Kyle (played by Damon Wayans), his wife Janet "Jay" Kyle (Tisha Campbell-Martin), and their three children, Michael "Junior" Kyle (George O. Gore II), Claire Kyle (Jennifer Freeman), and Kady Kyle (Parker McKenna Posey).

Production

The show was created by Don Reo and Damon Wayans. Reruns air in the US on various local stations and in the UK on Trouble. The series will begin airing on ABC Family in 2008. The series also airs in Europe, Latin America, South Africa, India and Australia.
In May 2005, ''My Wife and Kids'' was officially canceled by ABC after 5 seasons. ABC executives said the show was canceled because it was "played out".
In the season five finale, "The V Story", it was revealed that Jay was apparently pregnant. The cliffhanger was answered by ABC that if they had picked up the series for another year, Jay would not have been pregnant - her pregnancy test results would have been wrong.

Cast

Main

★ Damon Wayans as Michael Kyle

★ Tisha Campbell as Janet 'Jay' Kyle

★ George O. Gore II as Michael Kyle Jr.

★ Jennifer Freeman as Claire Kyle

★ Parker McKenna Posey as Kady Kyle
Jazz Raycole (the original Claire) was replaced after season one. Raycole was pulled from the series by her mother who was concerned about a storyline in the second season premiere, in which Claire and her friend Charmaine (Raven-Symone) discovered Charmaine was pregnant. Jennifer Freeman was then cast in the role. Because Freeman bears no resemblance to Raycole, the premiere of season two, "Mom's Away", makes reference to the change: Claire comes down the stairs and Michael notices something different about his daughter, "I don't know what it is, but you look like a whole new person."
In season three, Meagan Good was introduced as Junior's new girlfriend Vanessa Scott. In the first episode of season four, for unknown reasons, Good was replaced with Brooklyn Sudano, daughter of popular 1970s singer Donna Summer. Unlike the change in the role of Claire, there was no reference made to this change.

Episodes

Main articles: List of My Wife and Kids episodes

Running gags and character quirks

In addition to humorous scripts, ''My Wife and Kids'' created humor in physical comedy, insults, and running gags:

Michael Kyle, Junior

★ Junior is a recurring gag as many of his physical, personal and mental traits are mined for comedy on the show.

★ In season one, Junior's ascent into puberty is a recurring theme. In the pilot, Junior has Michael Sr. notice that his moustache is filling in. Michael then jokingly looks directly and closely at Junior's chin. Junior then tries to show his dad that he has hair growing everywhere and tries to show Michael his "man bush". In season one's "Breaking Up and Breaking It", Junior locks himself in the bathroom repeatedly, bringing along some unusual reading material like ''Field and Stream'' (but actually porn magazines, though the hidden magazines are never shown in the episode). While in the bathroom, Junior accidentally "breaks his joystick" and ends up in the hospital. He's a little embarrassed to find out that he suffered a muscle spasm.

★ One of his greatest ambitions is to have sex.

★ From season two onwards, the size of Junior's head becomes the object of jokes by the family.

★ From the third season on, Junior is usually portrayed as an imbecile. In one instance, Michael Sr. suggests to Junior that he should name Junior's impending baby son after him. Junior responds, "Why would I name it 'Dad'?"

★ Junior is often slapped on the back of the head for his idiocy.

★ It is also noted that Junior can't spell his name right. He loses points on his SATs by misspelling his name as 'Junyor' instead of 'Junior'.

Michael Kyle, Sr.

★ "Ah, Nah" (said in a nasal voice) is a catchphrase used by the Kyles during the third and fourth seasons. Different variations of this phrase have been used by the Kyles. For instance, in one episode, Michael would say "Ah...", leave Claire's room, run around the hallway and a few seconds later invariably completing the phrase by saying "... No!".

★ When faced with something he doesn't want to hear Damon's character often says "Ah, phoooey".

★ When Jay or someone else from the family says that Michael can't do something, he often takes that as a challenge. In one episode Jay insists she calls an exterminater when there is a mouse in the house. Jay says that Michael "can't" get rid of the mouse by himself, so he tries real hard to get rid of the mouse. In other words, Michael doesn't accept the word "can't".

Jay

★ Jay often has a devilish laugh when she has a plan or when she thinks something is funny. When the other Kyles witness her laughing at something that's really not funny, they give her a "not funny" gesture to make her stop.

★ Jay frequently says "You're gonna miss 'all o' this'" with a suggestive dance when Michael doesn't want to do what she says. The quote is later used by other cast members for the same reason in subsequent episodes. When compared by her husband to Halle Berry she once stated: "Halle Berry ain't got nothing on me and in ten minutes neither will I." She often refers to other women with whom she is in competition for something as "heifers".

★ Jay also frequently mimics Claire in a light, stupid voice, has a high, nasal laugh when she is flirting, and often says "what kinda foolishness is going on here?" when her kids are up to something.

★ When Jay and Claire had their periods at the same time during a family outing and were bickering endlessly the situation is referred to by Michael Sr. as "DefCon Two", even correcting a sympathetic policeman who has pulled him over but ends up asking "DefCon One?".

Claire

★ Claire is the victim of a running gag consisting of her running into things, falling down stairs and generally being ditsy. For example, when Michael did the "Ah, Nah" routine, Claire runs into the doorway on the way out of her room. Claire's frequent falling down the stairs from season two is frequently commented on by other characters and replayed in show teasers.

★ Claire behaves in a superficial and vain way, but she is never vicious or mean, but actually as an innocent and naive young woman.

Franklin

★ Franklin's smart jokes are another recurring gag. When he tells a joke, no one gets it. He even makes a note of this in one episode saying "Hey brother, I know when my joke bombs."

★ Whenever anyone makes a joke that bombs, especially Franklin but sometimes Michael Sr. or Jay, he or she changes the subject by saying "any-who".

★ In earlier episodes, Franklin often says dreamily, when referring to Kady, "Isn't she Great?!?"

★ He is proficient in many languages, and often challenges others who aren't mindful of it. For example, in one episode, Claire makes a joke about a chicken. When the realization occurs that it isn't funny, she states, "it's funnier in Latin". Franklin then recites the phrase in Latin, followed by a chuckle.

The Wayans influence

Many members of the Wayans family have worked in front of the camera or behind the scenes on ''My Wife and Kids''. In some cases, careers were accelerated. For instance, Damien Dante Wayans was a supervising producer in season three, a producer or co-producer in season four, and an executive story editor in season four and in season five.

Behind the camera

Midway through season two, Kim Wayans, who had acting experience starring in ''In Living Color'' and ''In the House'' became a regular writer for the series after writing a few season-two episodes. She became executive story editor in season three, producer in season four (skipping co-producer) and supervising producer in season five. Kim never made an on-camera appearance on the show.
Damien Dante Wayans wrote and directed several episodes of the series from seasons three through five. Damon's look-alike son, Damon Wayans, Jr., wrote a season four episode and became a regular writer in the fifth season. Elvira Wayans also wrote a couple of episodes in the fifth season. Damon's cousin Craig Wayans began as a writer and executive story editor on the show in the second season, and then became supervising producer without skipping a position.

In front of the camera

Keenen Ivory Wayans appears once as Michael's brother Ken in season one's "A Little Romance".
Damon's own kids, Cara Mia, Michael and Damon Jr. appeared in episodes during the first four seasons. Michael and Damon Jr. played Junior's friends Mike and John, respectively while Cara Mia played Claire's friend Bre in "Of Breasts and Basketball". Cara Mia's character was renamed Shante in her season two appearances.

External links

★

★ ''My Wife and Kids'' at TV.com