Blogcritics

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

TV Review: Everybody Hates Chris - "Everybody Hates Father's Day"

Matthew Milam — Fri, 12 May 2006 16:04:05 EDT

Last week, Rochelle (Tichina Arnold) went out on the town and got a chance to cut loose. For the season finale, Julius (Terry Crews) had the house to himself while the kids and Rochelle went to the museum as a Father's Day present. Chris (Tyler James Williams) still wanted to give his father a present, but the question still remained -- What could you give a man who never wanted much? The result is something that had to be seen to be believed.I said once before that I would have liked "Everybody Hates Corleone" to be the season finale, but I sensed that would seem anti-climatic. We all knew Chris would never leave the school -- it would have changed the premise of the show too much. For this episode, it was nice to get a small and simple story without a lot of big gags and what not. The most interesting change for this episode was the more relaxed Rochelle.For most of the earlier part of the season the laughs from her character where more from her over-the-topness. After the Christmas episode, the tone of her character changed bit by bit with each show. Now for this episode she responded with the same control and aggressiveness, but not with the high volume level performance of the earlier episodes.Tyler James Williams also came into his own as the young Chris Rock. Many would cite the fact that he never cracked jokes or talked smart to everyone. Had that been the idea of his character, the transformation to the older Chris Rock would have been more obvious. Here, he's a normal everyday kid surrounded by unusual circumstances and situations. In the history of black television, an observer of life was introduced rather than one who tries to get in the middle of it. Considering Chris Rock intended to change the show away from the already altered timeline of his real life after this season, the biggest question is: where can they go from here? Rock has a lot to say -- just watch any of his HBO specials. It's also "inspired" by his life as a kid, not as a literal context to it. If he had chosen to do so after this year, I'm sure the laughs won't be less. After all, That '70s Show was never really about the '70s.Here's to hoping that the CW Network takes the show for the fall.

Matthew Milam lives in Chicago, IL.

TV Review: Everybody Hates Chris - "Everybody Hates Playboy"

Matthew Milam — Tue, 2 May 2006 05:44:15 EDT

Julius (Terry Crews) had a Playboy magazine in his toolbox. No one, not even his family, knew of its existence. When Chris (Tyler James Williams) went to get a tool for his father, he discovered the magazine. What isn't a big deal these days was still a controversial item of choice during the time period of this show, which is what "Everybody Hates Playboy" focuses on.I used to pay people to read my books. I thought it was an easy way to make money without working too hard. Little did I know that my stuff would be stolen, which is what also happened to Chris. As he and Greg (Vincent Martella) go about sharing the magazine with students for a $1, Joey Caruso (Travis T. Flory) steals it from him. Back at the house, Julius went on a frantic search for the Playboy and instead came upon $500 in one of Rochelle's (Tichina Arnold) shoeboxes. The problem with being poor is that a dollar is gold. When it's found, it's cherished. This ideal caused a bit of mistrust between Rochelle and Julius as everything is meant to be shared between the two of them. I must admit that it's kind of hard to save everything you make - it's almost a sin to do so if you are in a family. Sometimes though, you need to have a little spending cash for the things you'd like to have. Chris well understands that as he tries to purchase another copy of the magazine at a newsstand - of course, the cashier takes the money, but doesn't give him the Playboy.Chris managed to steal the Playboy back at one point, only to run into the vice principal - now he had to get it from her office. With Greg in tow as a lookout, Chris attempted to try and steal it once again. Not only did that fail, but now the vice principal knows who owns the magazine. Rochelle and Julius are called upon for a rather intense scene of "Who's on first?" with Julius signaling via facial expressions not to say that it was his. I would have loved to have seen what happened if Chris had said it was his.At episode's end, Chris learns the value of never taking things that aren't his and Rochelle learns not to hide money from Julius. I don't exactly agree with either outcome, but families sometimes have to agree to disagree just to get along. This had to be the saddest ending yet with Julius taking the money Chris made from the magazine. If that had been me, I'd have blackmailed him into giving me the money back.

Matthew Milam lives in Chicago, IL.

TV Review: Everybody Hates Chris - "Everybody Hates Drew"

Matthew Milam — Mon, 1 May 2006 13:18:29 EDT

For most of the season, Drew (Tequan Richmond) had been seen as the dumber little brother to Chris (Tyler James Williams). Despite this, he somehow surpassed Chris in everything. He was better at sports, he was better at getting girls, and he was master of karate. Finally, tired of being second best to his brother, Chris signed up for karate classes to be equal to Drew at something he was good at. The episode also marked another adventure for Tanya (Imani Hakim) who, after months of fighting with her mother Rochelle (Tichina Arnold), finally decided to take her to the beauty shop, a place known for adult conversations. Both plots were funnier than expected and also provided some character depth into Chris' older brother and sister.Tanya always confided in her father Julius to consider her a favorite, while Rochelle was usually fair with everyone. As she begins to see what her mother and her girls talk about in the shop, she decides to share it with the family at dinner. While this startled Rochelle, she found that Tanya started to share some of her mother's personality with her. She got all the good gossip that might have slipped Rochelle's ears. Of course gossiping isn't good, Rochelle explained to Tanya, but if she's gonna do it, keep it in the shop. Meanwhile, Chris learned his lesson -- the hard way. As he took the classes, he began to learn moves that looked cool on the sliver screen to Drew, but actually were painful as hell in real life. During a play fight between himself and Drew, Chris twisted Drew's arm. Julius, in all of his wisdom, sat down with Chris to tell him it was okay not to be good at some things. However, Chris wasn't quite off the hook yet; he still had to apologize to his brother. In doing so, he discovered that Drew admired Chris for taking responsibility for the house when his parents aren't around, among other things. The two made up and became friends to each other again, but not before Drew twisted Chris's arm.The rest of the episodes after Christmas may have toned down the language, but the laughs are still there. This is one of those to come since the Christmas episode last year caused the network to pay a bit more attention to the content of the series. This episode also showed, yet again, that you can put all three kids in the same episode without having to have them together in the same room.

Matthew Milam lives in Chicago, IL.

TV Review: Everybody Hates Chris - "Everybody Hates Corleone"

Matthew Milam — Mon, 1 May 2006 11:20:15 EDT

Did I just see a cliffhanger? I must have, because that's what "Everybody Hates Corleone" felt like. For this episode, Chris (Tyler James Williams) got fed up and decided to find a way out of Corleone Junior High. The plot felt big enough to be a season finale, but it felt like it was re-written half way through because it seemed anti-climatic.Chris got bullied everyday by everyone -- that included Joey Caruso (Travis T. Flory). If your kid was bullied that much, there would be only two options: either the school does something about it, or the parents will. The choice given to him by Chris's parents is that he must learn to deal with it. Julius (Terry Crews) even used black leaders and heroes of the past to cement his reasoning. It would have seemed like a smart-mouth line, but I would have said, "Not everyone is Martin Luther King, Jr" in response to his parent's suggestion. I guess those frustrations are nothing compared to ones I had about the episode's sub-plot.Julius finally got a new job during the day working at a local fish market. The only problem -- he comes home smelling like his work. His children and his wife Rochelle (Tichina Arnold) can't stand the smell. The situation becomes so bad they nearly kick him out of the house. This is comedy and it was a funny plot, but there's something strange about kicking a man out because he takes a good job during the day.I used to work a night job -- that's why I'm up all hours of the early morning writing. I hated it, and I hated being tired at the end of it only to then have to take the bus all the way back home. Five years of sore feet and a sore personality took its toll on me, so I quit. Then in sheer brilliance, I took another night job -- full-time! I've eventually come to the conclusion it wasn't for me. If I was gonna work, I might as well do it to suit what I like -- Me? I like sunshine and normal sleeping hours.The episode concluded with Julius quitting his day job and going back to working two jobs -- the one at night and the one in the morning. Chris ended up staying at Corleone after he visited a school closer to home. Like at Corleone, he was bullied there, too. I believe leaving his previous school would have meant the end of Greg (Vincent Martella) and his relationship with Chris, which was probably the whole point of toying with Chris leaving. Greg was his partner -- or victim -- in crime and made him feel like he wasn't the only one dealing with the bullies in school. Although Everybody Hates Chris was primarily made for an African-American audience, the show has never been afraid to ask questions of the community that aren't asked a lot. Do we leave schools that don't want us? Do we work jobs that suit us more than those jobs that suit our needs? Do we do what's right for our families? No television show will get credit for answering all of these questions. That being said, I like Everybody Hates Chris for asking them.

Matthew Milam lives in Chicago, IL.

TV Review: Everybody Hates Chris - "Everybody Hates Funerals"

Matthew Milam — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 16:29:30 EST

This episode begins when Rochelle's father (Jimmy Walker) stops by to kick it with the Rock family. No sooner does he gets there than he dies from a heart attack at the dinner table. It seemed a rather cold way to start an episode, but the laughs warm it right up.Soon Rochelle's mother (Loretta Devine) makes a visit with the rest of her family. Right away, she takes charge of the funeral arrangements and reduces Rochelle to the role of servant. For the first time in his life, Chris (Tyler James Williams) watches as his mother is reduced to a small child.In her state of shock over her father's death, Rochelle (Tichina Arnold) finds herself unable to take control of her household. Chris steps up to the plate and puts his brothers and sisters to work keeping the house and Rochelle's family in order. Eventually she snaps out of it after her mother eats her favorite snack. She regains control of the house and all is well once again, and Chris ends up back as the servant with his mother as the boss once again.As the episodes go on, Tichina Arnold's Rochelle becomes more down-to-earth. In the earlier episodes, the humor of her stereotypical personality was played up for good laughs. In these newer episodes, that side has calmed down a bit to allow for more character development. I love this show so much that I'm impatient to know what its fate will be. They've already gone about their business renewing America's Next Top Model and Veronica Mars; they'd be smart to renew Everybody Hates Chris. If UPN doesn't bother, then I suppose I could settle for the DVD box set.

Matthew Milam lives in Chicago, IL.

TV Review: Everybody Hates Chris

Matthew Milam — Fri, 3 Mar 2006 08:23:30 EST

The key to comedy, the best comedy, is the small stuff. This week's Everybody Hates Chris asks the question: What if Rochelle (Tichina Arnold) found out Chris (Tyler James Williams) got an F in a class at school? The result is one of the funniest episodes of the season.The episode opens up with the older Chris explaining how his younger self used to get by in his classes. Since black folks apparently all know and love Martin Luther King, Jr, he used that to his advantage to pass his classes. He couldn't pull that off in his weakest subject; math.Chris gets an F in that very subject on his report card. Knowing his mother Rochelle would find out about it, he tells her that he never received it. Meanwhile Greg (Vincent Martella) gets him help with Fisher, the local forger. In exchange for a book report, he agrees to take the real report card and put his mother's signature on it while making another copy of the report card with an A as the grade. Back at home, Julius (Terry Crews) develops the gout and is unable to work. Not able to do much in his condition, he is given a chance to do one of his favorite past-times; watching The Young and The Restless. Checking in on him is Keisha's mother Shelia (Keesha Sharp), who also loves the Young and the Restless. This creates a bit of Jealousy in Rochelle knowing that Julius is attracted to Shelia, which doesn't help matters when more of her friends come over to talk soaps.Chris's math teacher, Mrs. Morello, calls on Rochelle to come to the school and handle the business with Chris's grade. At first she uses kindness to get him (fixing him his favorite food at breakfast) to admit to changing the grade; that doesn't work. This means only one thing; going to Corlone and sitting in on Mrs. Morello's math class.Mrs. Morello (Jacqueline Mazarella) asks a question with Rochelle present. Chris gives the wrong answer and heads outside with his mother to tell her the truth. This time around her threats are minimal and she doesn't whoop him, she does however make him aware that he can come to her with the truth. At episode's end, Julius recovers from the gout and develops a new ability; he can now converse with Rochelle on something as normal as soap operas.This episode marks a turning point; it's one of the first times Rochelle has to go to Chris's school. For awhile, he's has been able to deal with problems at school by himself. With her getting invovled in this episode, it breaks the wall between his house life and his school life. This should provide interesting conflict later on in the season.Tichina Arnold's Rochelle has improved a lot from the earlier episodes. Lately, she's become a bit more decisive in how she handles the kids and her husband. Rather than blow up in their face with threats and become over-dramatic, she figures out psychological ways; this is a different twist on the stereotypical image of black women, while still being funny.This episode marks another change for Terry Crews' Julius character; he begins to click better with Rochelle. While the soap opera interest between them may seem rather silly to some folks, it does make life easier when you have more then bills and kids to talk about. In earlier episodes it seemed they either were battling each other, or trying to one up each other. With this episode, they actually might love each other.During the first few episodes before the Christmas break, I thought that EHC was going to be toned down. To an extent it has in the way they use foul language; now it's just lesser and lesser than it used to be last year. I suppose the network (UPN) felt that since the main characters are mostly kids, the respective audience would be as such.Let us hope that Drew (Tequan Richamond) and Tanya (Imani Hakim) get an episode that makes them more than mischievous kids.

Matthew Milam lives in Chicago, IL.