| Review:
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Remember As "In Living Color" rolled into its fourth
season, the groundbreaking comedy series was experiencing
some growing pains. One of its breakout stars, Damon Wayans,
had left the show to pursue a film career, new star Jaime
Foxx was getting more airtime, and producer Keenan Ivory
Wayans was feeling the heat from Fox network censors. The
show was trying to stay sharp after becoming a huge hit.
With the release of season 4 on DVD, we get to see the good,
the bad, and the ugly (yup, there's plenty of Jaime Foxx's
Wanda character in this season) skits that ran in this season.***
Season 4 manages to stay mostly whip-smart and funny,
combining knife-edge satire with appearances from their
trademark characters. Notably, their season opener - one
of the best of this season - deals almost exclusively with
the 1992 Los Angeles riots, as seen by Fire Marshall Bill,
gossipy Bonita Bitrell, as well as some skits that didn't
have the old standards. But their best material doesn't
rely on new skits with their trademark characters (which
are just old jokes in new contexts), instead going for one
shot skits. That's what made the show such a hit in the
first place, those surprise new jokes that contained a little
bit of ugly truth to them. Unfortunately, this season relies
a lot on the old favorites, including a five-show stretch
where Damon Wayans shows up to reprise most of his established
characters (what, the film career not going so well, Blankman?).
While yet another Homey the Clown appearance is fun, this
is where the writers are getting lazy and resting on their
previous successes instead of keeping things fresh. ***
Fortunately, without Damon Wayans aboard the show,
the rest of the cast gets a chance to shine. Jamie Foxx
quickly became a breakout star and Jim Carrey solidified
his status as the best physical comedian at the time. But
all that envelope pushing took its toll on the show. Series
creator Keenen Ivory Wayans left the show midway through
this season after becoming frustrated with constant complaints
from Fox censors. The talented cast manages to keep "In
Living Color" funny for the rest of the season, but missing
some of the satirical bite it used to have. But it wouldn't
last long. After the fifth season, the show was cancelled.
Spiritual successors "Mad TV" and "Chapelle Show" picked
up where the Wayans family and friends left off. ---
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