Reviews

This show was one of the things that defined my adolescence. I hadn't thought about it until I had heard that the first season of the show was going to be released on DVD. I was so excited and the most memorable and quotable sketches from the show immediately came back into my head. I picked up a copy the day that it was released and I was quite pleased with it aside from its skimpy special features. It only featured David Alan Grier, Tommy Davidson, and Rosie Perez (the choreographer of the Fly Girls) in its commentary. Neither any of the Wayans family members nor Jim Carrey was featured in the commentary and that was a bit of a let-down. Anyway, this is not solely about the DVD.

The show itself, in my opinion, was way ahead of its time as far as the jokes were concerned. I find that even though this show began its four-year journey 14 years ago, the jokes remain as fresh today as they did then. However, the Fly Girl dancing sequences are really dated because of their Afrocentric and Day-Glo costumes as well as the dance moves (think the Running Man and the Roger Rabbit) and music such as Digital Underground and Kid N' Play. Its original cast (before most of the Wayans family left by its final season) was superb in every sense of the word. The strongest players, however, were Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier, and Jim Carrey. Those guys evoked the most laughter for me.

Some of the most memorable sketches include "Homey the Clown" (Damon Wayans), "Fire Marshal Bill" (Jim Carrey), "Men on ___" (Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier), "Anton" (Damon Wayans), "Funky Finger Productions" (David Alan Grier and Tommy Davidson), "Calhoun Tubbs" (David Alan Grier), the Homeboy skits (Keenen Ivory Wayans and Damon Wayans), "Hey Mon" (Damon Wayans, Tommy Davidson, T'Keyah "Crystal" Keymah, and Kim Coles), "Benita Butrell" (Kim Wayans), "Vera DeMilo" (Jim Carrey), and the many various parodied music videos from the likes of Vanilla Ice, M.C. Hammer, Michael Jackson, and Crystal Waters.

This show ultimately gives a cross-section of the politics, the fashion, the trends, and the happenings of the time in comedic form. Keenen Ivory Wayans most likely did not know how much of a phenomenon his show would become in 1990, but I think that he knew that his show would reach some people. Boy, did it ever.

I stumbled across this little gem when my mom shouted up the stairs to me to come downstairs and check out what was on TV. She (along with everyone else who knows me well) knows that I'm a huge fan of '80s culture and insisted that I would love it. Right she was. I'm quickly approaching my 25th birthday this year (in a little over a month); therefore, I lived through my childhood years and two of my preteen years during the '80s. I believe that the first episode that I saw of this series was the 1986 episode; I found myself fixated on the witty commentary and reflections of the good and the not-so-good trends and happenings of that year. I knew that I wanted more. Luckily, there was another episode following that one, and I was so excited. I've taped every episode since and I still catch them if they're on when I'm hanging out at home.

The series is divided into ten hour-long episodes for 1980 - 1989. There is a wonderful cross-section of interviewees that range from '80s icons to some of today's stars. My one teensy-weensy gripe about the show is that a few of the interviewees are, in my opinion, too young to wax nostalgia on the '80s (Raven-Symone & LeAnn Rimes, for example). However, Raven-Symone was on the most popular sitcom of the '80s (The Cosby Show), so maybe that's the reason that she was interviewed. VH1 also may have decided that they wanted some young stars integrated into the mix to reach a younger viewer demographic as well. Anyway, it's too small of a turn-off to be bothered with, I suppose.

I found myself laughing and gasping at some of the things that I could relate to owning, remembering, wearing, and admiring from those years. It's how I sum up childhood and beginning to come of age; those years remind me of what my life was like before the onset of my teenage years and being stressed out over silly things. It was truly a happy time and this series captures the cultural aspects of that time.

9/10

There is a handful of reality TV home (room) improvement shows on the air lately, but this has to be my favorite of the bunch. It features Teresa Strasser as the dry-humored girl-next-door host, Andrew Dan-Jumbo as the hunky yet timid carpenter, and Leslie Segrete as the efficient and cutesy seamstress/carpenter. The designers vary according to the different episodes (as well as the homeowners' tastes); Stephen Saint-Onge is the traditionalist, Chayse Dacoda is experimental, John Bruce is innovative, and Mayita Dinos and Peter BonSey are the theme-oriented backyard/patio designers.

The premise is usually one person surprising another person (a spouse, roommate, etc.) with a complete room makeover while the person being surprised is kept out of the house for the two-day duration (that's the sole similarity to Trading Spaces; the two days of work). The budget for each room/backyard/patio is $1500-$1800 (the outdoor makeovers usually require $1800). The WYWO staff has a camera person following the person being surprised in the guise of a market researcher or something similar on their trip. The footage is used for three quizzes during each show for the homeowners to try and win prizes that add to the decor of the spaces (some of the booby prizes for the wrong answers are a hoot).

The team seems to get along really well for the most part; however, they've managed to run into occasional snags in some episodes and had some personality conflicts (particularly Andrew and Chayse). I think that there's much less shock value when it comes to the designs and complying with the homeowners' wishes; however, because of some of the obstacles that arise with the carpentry or whatever, it's still reality TV.

Anyway, this show is very entertaining because of its witty host, there aren't any annoying designers (well, Chayse can be a bit annoying at times), and it's enjoyable to watch the surprise makeover recipients have no idea about what's going on during their candid video footage. It also makes redecorating look so darned easy! Oh, if only I could find the motivation to repaint my mauve-pink bedroom walls and rip out my '80s magenta wall-to-wall carpeting (sigh...).