People love nostalgia. You only have to look at the simple charm of The Wonder Years and Happy Days or the fact that practically every other bloody programme on weekend telly over the past few years is either a compilation Best of show or a detailed theses as to why I Love the Seventies for evidence of that.
Well now top US comic Chris Rock is in on the action, and judging from the huge success his hilarious new show has become in the States, he’s doing rather well!
Everybody Hates Chris is a surprisingly warm and fuzzy sitcom, loosely based on Rock's childhood experience growing up in suburbs of Brooklyn during the 80's.
In an effort to provide their 13 year-old son with the best education and more opportunities than they ever had, Chris’ hard-working parents send him to a predominantly white middle school, Corleone High where he, shall we say, stands out a tad.
The show then follows young Chris as he tries to survive school by using his wit to keep under the radar from a load of Italian American kids intent on giving him beats.
If that wasn’t enough he has to manage his slightly obsessive, lunatic family. The oldest of three siblings, Chris is on the brink of full blown 'teenagerdom', but he has already sussed that becoming a teenager and growing up isn't all that it has cracked up to be.
This comedy series is a bit of a departure for one of the most confrontational and edgy stand ups working today, which is probably why, despite creating and producing the show, he only acts a narrator.
During his time on stage he has fired out more four letter words than your average gangster flick, not to mention dealing with controversial themes such as his now-legendary ‘Black people versus niggers’ routine.
It seems now that Rock wants to show he has mainstream appeal, and Everybody Hates Chris does indeed share that warm and fuzzy feeling with shows like The Wonder Years. Rock’s sharp script however, has an edge to it, as well as more than a little dark humour cutting through all the fluff.
This sets the show apart from previous comedies that have dealt with how much of a pain in the ass it is growing up. It doesn’t hurt of course that the cast are all excellent, particularly Tyler James Williams as the young lead.
Everybody Hates Chris? Far from it.
