"In Living Color" (1990) TV series 1990-1994

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Creator:

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

15 April 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

An afro-american focused comedy sketch show.

Plot Keywords:

Fire Marshal | Firefighter | Actor Playing Multiple Roles | Spoof | Satire

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 4 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh	...	Various (111 episodes, 1990-1994)
Deidre Lang	...	Fly Girl / ... (85 episodes, 1990-1994)
Keenen Ivory Wayans	...	Various / ... (72 episodes, 1990-1994)
Damon Wayans	...	Various (72 episodes, 1990-1994)
David Alan Grier	...	Various (70 episodes, 1990-1994)
Jim Carrey	...	Various (68 episodes, 1990-1994)
Tommy Davidson	...	Various (68 episodes, 1990-1994)
Kim Wayans	...	Various (61 episodes, 1990-1994)
Shawn Wayans	...	Various / ... (59 episodes, 1990-1994)
Kelly Coffield Park	...	Various (57 episodes, 1990-1994)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

KTTV/Fox Television Center - 5746 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Ugly Wanda, played by Jamie Foxx, was based on a character LaWanda Page played in a sketch on "Redd Foxx" (1977). The first sketch to feature Wanda, in which she gives an erotic massage to a man who hasn't seen her face, is a remake of the original sketch. The character was named after Page. Jamie took his stage name as a tribute to Redd Foxx.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Homey The Clown: Homey don't play dat.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Crush (#5.14)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

In Living Color

One of the best sketch comedy shows of all time

If you ask me, I think the show was underrated. "SNL" gets all the credit for being a great sketch comedy show, yet there are certain seasons (like the current one) where the writers seemed to have conjured up the sketches in their sleep. In the case of "In Living Color," the writing was always sharp. There are certain sketches that I don't find funny, like Jim Carrey as the female bodybuilder, but it's hard to make a show where "every" sketch is funny. I remember Tommy Davidson said the reason why the show turned out to be so great was because plain and simple, they worked so damn hard on it. Well, it absolutely shows. Throughout each season, the actors always seemed to give it their all, even if the sketches were weak. In a horribly PC society, it's refreshing to watch a show like this (luckily, I have Seasons 1-5 on DVD). A show like this couldn't be successful nowadays, because we live in a society where you can't say anything about anybody. Doesn't anybody know that political correctness is the enemy of comedy? What made the show so great was the writers' and actors' willingness to break boundaries and make fun of all these ethnic stereotypes, and do it in an intelligent and witty fashion. Though it wasn't one of the more popular sketches, one of my favorites was "The Dysfunctional Home Show" where Jim Carrey would play a drunken father. If you ask me, Carrey was the funniest when he was on this show. As far as his movies go, sometimes he's funny and sometimes he's just plain obnoxious (I can't, for the life of me, sit through either one of the "Ace Ventura" movies). In a sketch comedy show, his in-your-face comic style works. I also loved Damon Wayans as the homeless guy. I crack up so much every time I see that sketch. Of course, everyone on the show was great. I can't think of a weak link in the chain. I think one of the cool things about "ILC" was that despite its predominantly black cast, it was able to reach a universal audience. This isn't like some UPN sitcom. People of all races seem to enjoy it. I think that proves that there's no color when it comes to good comedy.