I would not say Chris Rock's brand of stand up is original. I did go to a comedy event a few weeks ago and I noticed that a lot of the young comedians seemed to be influenced by his type of comedy.
This first episode is a nostalgic coming of age sitcom, a lot like The Wonder Years. It combines that with Rock's wisecracking narration culled from his stand up act.
Set in 1982, a 13 year old Chris has left the projects to a better area of Brooklyn. One that is going to be the centre of the crack epidemic. He goes to an all white school rather than the one near his new house because his mum does not want him to be a hoodlum who sticks up a liquor store.
At least this is not a warm glow nostalgic show. The young Chris encounters racist bullying, guns that go off at the school near his house and the previous principal of his new school was chased out by the police for reasons the network censors will not allow. At least Chris's father is one of four fathers on the block. He might count the cost of everything but he has two jobs and comes home.
There is a hard edge to the pilot, a reworking of Rock's various stand up gigs. It shows a lot of promise and contained a few good jokes.
This first episode is a nostalgic coming of age sitcom, a lot like The Wonder Years. It combines that with Rock's wisecracking narration culled from his stand up act.
Set in 1982, a 13 year old Chris has left the projects to a better area of Brooklyn. One that is going to be the centre of the crack epidemic. He goes to an all white school rather than the one near his new house because his mum does not want him to be a hoodlum who sticks up a liquor store.
At least this is not a warm glow nostalgic show. The young Chris encounters racist bullying, guns that go off at the school near his house and the previous principal of his new school was chased out by the police for reasons the network censors will not allow. At least Chris's father is one of four fathers on the block. He might count the cost of everything but he has two jobs and comes home.
There is a hard edge to the pilot, a reworking of Rock's various stand up gigs. It shows a lot of promise and contained a few good jokes.