Martin (1992-1997)

Starring: Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold, Thomas Mikal Ford, Carl Anthony Payne II, Garrett Morris, and Jon Gries
Grade: B

I understand why Martin was such a big hit. It definitely had its moments but due to some inconsistencies, somewhat lack of actual joke telling, and the misfire of the final season makes it a lot more troubling as a whole than what you may have remembered about it.

The story centers around Martin Payne, a radio show host that lives in his beloved Detroit. He’s loud, selfish, aggressive, insecure, will start a fight over anything with anybody (which will always be funny to me), and he’s a bit of an asshole. Being a local celebrity, he’s got a bit of an ego too, and if you poke holes into it, he’ll launch an all-out verbal assault on you if he needs to. Some of it is unprovoked, as he makes fun of his friends and gives everyone around him shit. Other times, he just gets triggered because of his own personal sensitivity regarding how he carries himself or how his life is. Now, Martin does love his best friends Tommy and Cole, but he deals with it how men deal with it: criticize and makes jokes about each other until you’re last dying breath or until you see you’ve accidentally struck a nerve. This is how Martin Payne operates. He’s very old school and sometimes, it doesn’t mesh well with his friends who tolerate a lot of verbal abuse he throws at them on a consistent basis. What makes this type of mean-spirited-on-the-surface character work for comedic purposes is the comedic sensibilities of star Martin Lawrence. His energy is infectious. He goes all out in every episode trying to get a laugh and when a joke doesn’t land, he saves it with some sort of physical comedy or overacting to keep the energy up. You can tell how much he overexerts himself to try and make every episode a memorable one.

Even when the writing isn’t as good as it could be, the actors always try their best to make things funny and true to the characters’ personalities. Tichina Arnold is just as good with this as Lawrence is. Another important trait of Martin’s is his overprotectiveness of his girlfriend in the show and later wife, Gina (Campbell). Anytime she’s with someone that isn’t him, Martin exudes anger and jealousy in an instant.

It becomes the type of relationship where you wonder, “How the hell does she put up with his shit?”.

Gina is just as important to the show’s success as the titular character, something very few people would like to admit. She balances out Martin’s hateful antics with her ability to calm him down and be the level-headed one of the two. She’s funny, a very successful businesswoman, loving, fun to be around, and incredibly forgiving. You have to be when you’re in a relationship with someone like Martin Payne. Gina has her fun in her own right but is usually chastized by Martin for having too much fun it seems. Always there to help is her best friend Pam (Arnold), a “ride or die” type of friend anyone would be lucky to have on their side. Sometimes, she can be a little too abrasive and is borderline a female version of Martin in terms of personality. Funnily enough, she hates Martin and vice versa. It’s a very funny dynamic and some of the best lines of the show can be traced back to their hysterical insults towards one another to the point where they almost come to blows. They never miss an opportunity to say something. Anytime Pam has a new boyfriend in a new episode, Martin will be there to let her know why the last relationship failed every single time. When I think back on it, I don’t think there is a single instance where Martin and Pam don’t open their conversation by insulting each other first. This is something that never gets old to me because their ruthlessness towards each other is always laugh-inducing.

Pam has a sweet side too, but it’s only seen with Gina and Tommy (Ford). Otherwise, she keeps her guard up. This is mostly because Gina is her best friend, and Tommy always acts like a gentleman to her. Tommy is the smart, tall, bald-headed best friend of Martin. He tends to be the voice of reason for Martin, but it usually falls on deaf ears because we know how Martin can be. Tommy works at…

Well, nobody really knows where he works. In fact, it becomes an ongoing running gag of the show. It gets to the point where you see the punchline coming from a mile away, but you still end up laughing. The last person to round out Martin’s crew is Cole (Payne II). He’s the lovable idiot of the group that virtually every sitcom has (Joey in Friends, Eric in Boy Meets World, Oswald in The Drew Carey Show, etc.). He lives with his mom and has an on-again, off-again relationship with Big Shirley. Nobody in the group gives him a pass for being stupid either, which is pretty funny. It’s also deserving too, because after a while, Cole starts to piss you off with some of the decisions he makes. He’s one of the very few “idiot” sitcom characters whose shtick isn’t endearing as the show progresses. He just starts to anger you more and more. In certain episodes, he fucks stuff up beyond repair to the point where if I was friends with the character in real life, I would flat-out stop talking to him (Cole on Ice and COUNTLESS OTHERS).

Later in the show, Cole gets a girlfriend and eventual fiancée in Shanise (Maura McDade), but she’s so fucking stupid and annoying that she brings him down even more.

There are also a lot of memorable supporting and recurring characters to the show. My personal favorite being Bruh-Man (Reginald Ballard). Every time he would inexplicably show up in Martin’s apartment or wherever else, I would already start laughing. His timing was so bad it was funny, and you can’t wait for Martin to (rightfully) flip out on him. They never had a good reason as to why Bruh-Man does things, he’s just random. Martin always asks what the hell he’s doing, and Bruh-Man’s nonchalant response would be the same every time with, “Nothing, just chilling”. This is some of the chaos that Martin does so well with. There’s a lot of randomness in the show and sometimes it works. Bruh-Man is a great example of this. It makes no sense at all, but it’s funny. Maybe it’s something you have to watch to understand it because just typing it out doesn’t do it justice. Former SNL member Garrett Morris and future Uncle Rico, Jon Gries are also welcomed members of the cast as Martin’s boss and co-worker respectively. Unfortunately, as Martin switches jobs and progresses in his career, we never see them after Season Two (with one lone episode in Season Three being an exception). Along with these guys, we get several key players and appearances by Hustle Man (Tracy Morgan), Bro Fo’ Real (Charlie Murphy), Reverend Leon Lonnie Love (David Alan Grier), and that son of a bitch Varnell Hill (Tommy Davidson).

Martin, especially in the earlier seasons, seems to be a showcase of Martin Lawrence’s ability to pull the Peter Sellers/Eddie Murphy gimmick of playing multiple, vastly different characters throughout the show’s run. These characters include the beloved Sheneneh Jenkins, Mama Payne, Otis, Jerome, Roscoe, Dragonfly Jones, Bob, Elroy Preston, and King Beef. Though Martin does a great job pulling off each character and their differences, a majority of them weren’t very funny.

This may be a controversial statement for fans of the show, but I have to admit it.

It pains me to say it too because I’m a huge Martin Lawrence fan, but this show wouldn’t have been nearly as funny without him or the physical humor he brings so effortlessly for the show and these characters. The writing for them isn’t that good. It’s all the performer making it work to the best of his ability. A lot of the times these characters open an episode or have an elongated segue in a show, it takes away from the momentum of the story and a lot of times has nothing to do with what’s going on. The only character that does illicit some laughter was Jerome and Sheneneh. Even so, they aren’t consistently funny. It only works from time to time because Lawrence uses every ounce of his physicality and energy into making us think he’s a completely different person. Other than that, none of the side characters are funny. They stick to their catchphrases and buzz words and once the studio audience laughs, we move onto the next thing. For example, Jerome would stroll into a scene out of nowhere and start obnoxiously singing, “I said Jerome in the house!”. By the third appearance, it’s pretty funny, and you just get used to it. The same routine can be applied to each individual character Lawrence plays, but it wears thin for everyone else because again, none of the other characters are worth a shit.

I’ll give credit where it’s due. Martin Lawrence has very underrated range as an actor. Martin has proved this. I just have to admit nostalgia has made me turn a blind eye to the actual content of the show. Many won’t admit it, but Martin isn’t nearly as good as it’s remembered to be.

I don’t want things to sound too negative either because there’s a lot of Martin that is so much fun, with a litany of memorable episodes and moments in the series such as my personal favorite episode when Martin refuses to let a speeding ticket go, so he represents himself in court (No Justice, No Peace). Then, you have the classic episode where Martin’s Walkman is stolen, so he interrogates everyone (Suspicious Minds). At one point, he even uses a stuffed toy dog to scare them, and it’s hilarious. Along with this, you have Martin flipping out on everyone at the DMV (D.M.V. Blues), the gang trying to run a restaurant on a budget (C.R.E.A.M.), the very funny pilot episode (Beauty and the Beast), Martin refusing to pay his rent because of it increasing significantly and the power getting shut off during the winter (Ain’t Nuttin’ Goin’ on But the Rent), Tommy and Cole fighting over a woman (Beat It), Pam’s crazy twin sister escaping a mental ward (One Flew Over the Hoochie’s Nest), Martin’s disastrous high school reunion (Really, Gina’s Not My Lover), Martin and Gina going on a vacation to a resort where everything was lied about in the brochure (The Romantic Weekend), Martin setting up a fight with real-life boxer Tommy “The Hitman” Hearn after Hearn flirts with Gina (Guard Your Grill), Gina getting her head stuck in a headboard after Martin fucks her and she has to go to work (Headin’ For Trouble), and the hilariously underrated episode where Martin and Gina go on a “couples retreat” (Arms Are for Hugging).

If everything worked out the way it should have, Martin could’ve gone on for a few more seasons, but after a highly publicized feud between Tisha Campbell and Martin Lawrence became known, it was over. Tisha accused Martin of sexual harassment among other things and refused to be in the same room with him.

As a result, despite being the most important character in the show not named Martin, Gina wasn’t in ten episodes of the final season. It was obvious too. I thought it wouldn’t be too bad, but when you’re that invested in these characters, and Martin and Gina were the most important and entertaining part of the show, Season Five falls flat and leaves a bland taste in your mouth as a fan. In the series finale (California, Here We Come), the closest we come to seeing Martin and Gina interact is on the phone, but it’s obviously faked. The whole show is centered around their relationship, but she’s gone for most of the final season. In the finale, they never share the same room at the same time, and it hurts. As Martin says goodbye to the audience (indirectly) in the closing moments, it’s supposed to be this emotional ending, but there’s a hole you can’t ignore. You’re still thinking why we didn’t see one final kiss between Martin and Gina or something between the two, and it’s just aggravating. Obviously, legal ramifications couldn’t let it happen, but that’s just it. The success of the show will always be tied to the fact that one of the most important cast members on the show couldn’t stand to be in the same room as the star because of his behavior. As good and as funny as the show is, this damper of an ending will always be a part of its legacy.

It also gets you thinking about the reality of the situation. Many clamor to have that “Martin and Gina” relationship, but the sad part is that onscreen Martin was a total dick to her. The real Martin Lawrence was too, but I’m just talking about the character here. Martin Payne was an asshole to Gina on a consistent basis. He was constantly insecure about their relationship, was domineering, selfish, and would question her at every turn. He was fucking toxic as a character. The only saving grace for Martin was that he was funny as hell. This is also an interesting reason to watch Martin. This may be the first sitcom where the main character we’re supposed to get behind is an annoying, egotistical, immature, and insecure child. There’s nothing like it, and oddly enough, I think that’s what drew me to the show. Usually, the main character of a show is the sympathetic, funny, voice of reason for his group of friends, but Martin Payne is the cheap, inconsiderate asshole that will flip out and fight someone if he doesn’t get his way, no matter if it’s his friends or girlfriend. It’s really an underrated part of the show. I’m not saying it’s a good thing, but it’s just something different. Because of this stark contract from fellow sitcoms, I definitely welcomed it.

It does beg the question though as to why people romanticize the Martin and Gina relationship considering how it was a mess onscreen, and in real life it was worse.

Regardless, the final season hurt the show heavily. I also hated the decision to not let Tommy and Pam be together by the end, as I thought this would’ve been the natural conclusion to both of their characters. Unfortunately for us, the episode “Going’ For Mine” was supposed to set up a spinoff for the Pam character, but it never materialized. Because of this, it ruined the concluding character arcs for TWO key characters, not just one. Tommy deserved better. Why does the only good-natured, smart person of the group get nothing as the show ends, while idiot boy Cole gets an equally stupid wife, and they live happily ever after? That doesn’t sit right with me.

Martin will always be looked at fondly as one of the great sitcoms of the 1990s, as it definitely has its moments. I understand why there are so many diehard fans of the show. The memorable characters, catchphrases, and zaniness make it one of the more fun sitcoms, never taking itself too seriously. However, as I took a closer look, I couldn’t help but think that it’s a little overrated in terms of overall show quality. Don’t get me wrong, it’s funny, but it wasn’t that funny. Most of the show’s humor in general comes from Martin Lawrence’s manic energy and overacting. Once the main core of the cast establishes their characters and catchphrases, the scripts from then on kind of rely on this damn near every episode. Yes, it’s still funny, but the writing gets lazy, and it’s noticeable.

The show starts off with a bang, but by Season Five, it went out with a whimper.