A Very Special Episode...

[ChitHappens]

OMG! That was absolutely hilarious!

[alphanguy74]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab9plpNU3tE

[ChitHappens]

LMAO!

Ned The Whino? Woodrow? Same character, really.

[SFK]

Basically! He is a perfect example of an actor playing the exact same character but with two different names.on two different shows.

[VirginiaHamilton]

My issue with the new class (save for Gina, who the writers cared enough about to flesh out beyond the fun-loving and partyhopping chick who debuted in Season 4) was the fact that they were stock renditions of better characters are taken too far in a certain direction.

I found Dorian to be a bootleg version of Dwayne without the humor that the latter character had, while Terrell was a bootleg version of Ron (who I never liked). While I did like Lena in Season 5 (and still have a special place in my heart for Jada because of that role, as well as the burgeoning movie career that she sadly set aside to be Mrs. Will Smith), I thought that the writers reinvented her as a Sister Souljah stereotype to the detriment of whatever natural growth the character could've had. Charmaine was my favorite of Pam's gang of friends on The Cosby Show (I seem to be the only one who not only liked the later seasons, but appreciated the kids from the hood) and I hated how the ADW writers turned her into a screeching stereotype.

On the subject of the original gang, while I agree that Season 1 was a mess in part because of Denise Huxtable being such an unengaging lead (as opposed to Whitley from Season 2 on forward), I loved her character in general because she was the first Black female character of her kind (an artsy chick who wanted to 'discover the world' and wasn't afraid of falling flat on her face while figuring things out).

[All My Shadows]

Damn. Sister Souljah has entered the building. Haven't heard of or thought about her since I was a kid watching talk shows in the mid 90s.

[Khan]

Didn't Sister Souljah make a cameo appearance in "Honeymoon in L.A."?

[Khan]

Echoing what I've said before, VH, I definitely can see where you're coming from on all counts.

Meanwhile, I'm surprised no one has brought up the episode S6 (of ADW) where Tupac played Lena's ex-boyfriend from the 'hood. Do y'all think that ep qualifies as a VSE?

[DRW50]

I liked Pam and her friends. I have a certain limit for the amount of cute kids and Bill Cosby funny faces, and some of the relationships started to push my buttons in a bad way (like Sandra/Elvin, which seemed to become some marathon of, "Let's point out how unenlightened Elvin really is"). I guess I could see where Pam felt grafted onto the show, but I didn't mind a new perspective and I thought Erika Alexander did well enough with the role.

I mostly missed Denise. Vanessa was so high-strung and as she got more airtime I missed seeing Denise as some type of balance.

[alphanguy74]

The Family Ties episode you are talking about is yes... where Tom Hanks plays elyse's brother, and he has a really big drinking problem, they remove all the liquor from the house to help him sober up, and he gets desperate and downs a whole bottle of vanilla extract. I'll never forget watching that, as I watched it at the Sears store in Columbia, Mo... when I was on a field trip for FFA state contest.

[alphanguy74]

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[alphanguy74]

(Edit) found the eppy in one piece instead of 4.

[London]

Oh.... was she the one that was taking Whitley to Church with her comments regarding the riots? Well.... the more you know.

[alphanguy74]

Nell Carter was mentioned earlier in this thread... and words can't describe how much I adore that woman. Such comedic timing, just incredible talent in so many arenas. And Gimme A Break was my favorite show as a teenager, but I got to say... did anyone else find this episode disturbing as hell?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM8DLIeCJsI

[Y&RWorldTurner]

No idea, but Roseanne and Tom Arnold did. I guess it was the Carsey-Werner connection?