TV review: Empire

Mid season/winter premieres for new and popular shows are often very exciting. Thus far, one of the best new television dramas is Empire on FOX.

One would think at an initial glance that this is another cliche' music drama. Heck in the past we have had flops such as Platinum, and current shows such as Love and Hip Hop. However, this show stands head and shoulders above all those before it. Empire is compelling, with great singing, acting and crisp storylines.

The show centers around music mogul Lucious Lyons (Terence Howard) and his family which includes his fiery ex wife Cookie (Tarajji P. Henson) and their three adult sons. Just as his record label is set to go public, Lucious is diagnosed with a terminal illness and must choose one of his seed to run the empire. His eldest, Andre, is your straight laced, preppy, business type. The middle son, Jamal (Cookie's favorite) is homosexual and has a smooth voice similar to Maxwell or John Legend. The baby boy, Hakeem, is a rambunctious, controversial rapper.

All of this is a good formula for an hour drama. It seems people can't get enough of these types of shows and I can see why. When you follow them from the beginning, they are easier to appreciate and keep up with because all of the storylines unfold in front of you and you're not playing catch up.

So do yourself a favor, give ABC's Wednesday night comedic lineup a break and tune into Empire, 9pm on your local FOX station. There can definitely be something about this show that you can love.

Back "In The Flow": Urban Sketch Comedy is Back!!!

Sketch comedy has come a loong way in the past 40 years. George Carlin hosted the pilot of the classic SNL (Saturday Night Live). This show not only spawned several careers, but other sketch comedy shows. Those of note are MAD TV, In Living Color, Chapelle's Show, and Mind of Mencia. You can now add In The Flow With Affion Crockett to that list. This new sketch show on FOX has gathered plenty of positive reviews in just its first two weeks on the air.

Affion Crockett became notable 6 years ago on Nick Cannon's hip hop comedy show "Wild 'n' Out" on HBO. Other comedians such as Katt Williams, DeRay Davis, and Corey Holcomb earned notoriety from that short-lived series. It was now Affion's turn at stardom.

At first, I thought it was gonna be lame and coonish. Quite frankly, I've never been a big fan of Affion's. Now, he cracks me up with each skit and impression. He has inpersonated President Obama, Russell Simmons, Michael Jackson, Drake, Jay-Z, and Tiger Woods just to name a few people. He is filling a void that has honestly been missing in sketch comedy since Dave Chapelle abruptly left Chapelle's Show in 2004.

Now since then Mind of Mencia and Tosh.O have been broadcast on Comedy Central in an effort to keep the laughs going. Mind of Mencia did well until Carlos Mencia started stealing jokes from other comedians, including George Lopez. Tosh.O could not satisfy this appetite either, as it was a second rate version of "The Soup"."In The Flow" delivers and not a moment too soon.

I know Comedy Central is kicking themselves for somehow missing out on Affion's show. However, I hope FOX realizes just what they have. Better yet, they need to take care of Affion and his staff and give them creative control. Comedy Central failed to do that with Chapelle and perhaps lost their best show outside of South Park.

If you're not watching In The Flow, I highly recommend giving it
a try, especially if you're into sketch comedy. He has some fresh, clever, and on point skits. Affion is a talented young man and it seems folks are receptive of him. I hope this continues.

Far as longevity, that ultimately depends upon Affion. Many throw away an opportunity, or take a long break like Chapelle. It's up to him as to how he makes his mark. Either way, the sky is the limit.


Tune in to his show, Sunday nights, 9:30pm, FOX. Perhaps you will get a good laugh.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4