What happened to the Black T.V. Family?

The Game. Everybody Hates Chris. House of Payne. Meet the Browns. These are the only Black sitcoms on television right now and House of Payne and Meet the Browns are shown on cable (reruns of House of Payne are shown on My 9). Of these four Black shows only two of them involve a traditional family with two parents and their children. Let me say that I applaud shows that show the friendships between singles in the city and those that focus on single parents making a living for their children. But... I liked The Cosby Show and I'm proud of that. I think we have gotten so caught up in making sure everyone is represented, that the Black family has been left out.

I applaud Everybody Hates Chris because it shows two hardworking parents, Rochelle and Julius, taking care of their children, Chris, Drew, and Tonya. Their children go to school to get an education and their father works two jobs to make sure they have more than enough to get by. Rochelle always goes to bat for her children while always keeping them in line. There's always a message that isn't shoved down your throat and is delivered with humor. They deserve an Emmy or a Golden Globe. At least an honorable mention.

And then we have Tyler Perry's House of Payne. A family of four, C.J., Janine, Malik, and Jazmine, is forced to move in with their aunt and uncle after Janine burns down the family's house to collect the insurance money. Besides the fact that this show is very mildly amusing at its best and unbelievably not funny at its worst (which is usually the case), Janine burns down the house because she has put the family in dept because of her crack addiction. Crack, as in cocaine, as in drugs, as in she has a serious drug problem. Now usually a drug problem is a very special episode of a sitcom followed by a public service announcement delivered by the cast at the end of the show. But not House of Payne, its main storyline revolves around the drug use and eventual rehabilitation of a wife and mother of two. The rest of the family slowly moves on, but not without jokes at her expense and occasional tripsto the crack house. However, if the show were funny this would be a guilty pleasure, but since it's not I have the pleasure of complaining about it.

I, like most people, watch television and hope for a glimpse of myself. I grew up with two parents, neither of whom were on drugs, so I admit to hoping to watch a family somewhat like mine. This is why I love Everybody Hates Chris. As for House of Payne, well don't take my word for it, it comes on TBS on Wednesdays at 8pm and on My 9 on Mondays-Fridays at 7:00pm and 7:30pm, so watch for yourself. But don't blame me when you find yourself getting restless and doing something more interesting, like watching paint dry.

And in an update on the Queen Pen/Rocsi altercation: apparently Rocsi had been sleeping with Premier Michael Misick. Misick is married to actress LisaRaye. LisaRaye and Queen Pen are friends, so I guess Queen Pen took it upon herself to deal out justice. Good for you Queen Pen.