Everybody Hates Chris: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
| Line 66: | Line 66: | ||
*[[Jason Alexander]] as Principal Edwards, the eccentric new principal of Corleone, who tricks Chris into confronting Caruso, and in a later episode, is stuck indoors with Chris during a snowstorm. |
*[[Jason Alexander]] as Principal Edwards, the eccentric new principal of Corleone, who tricks Chris into confronting Caruso, and in a later episode, is stuck indoors with Chris during a snowstorm. |
||
*[[Jacqueline Mazarella]] as Ms. Morello, Chris' teacher. She's racist against blacks and stereotypes them, while making it look like she's sweet, kind, and supportive. |
*[[Jacqueline Mazarella]] as Ms. Morello, Chris' teacher. She's racist against blacks and stereotypes them, while making it look like she's sweet, kind, and supportive. |
||
*[[Lynda Scarlino]], as Mrs. Milone, the school monitor, who is often |
*[[Lynda Scarlino]], as Mrs. Milone, the school monitor, who is often seen disciplining someone, usually Chris when he hasn't done anything wrong. |
||
*[[Sam Mandel]] as Fisher, who helps forge Chris's report card. He later helps Chris retrieve Chris's father's ''[[Playboy (magazine)|Playboy]]'' magazine from Mrs. Milone. |
*[[Sam Mandel]] as Fisher, who helps forge Chris's report card. He later helps Chris retrieve Chris's father's ''[[Playboy (magazine)|Playboy]]'' magazine from Mrs. Milone. |
||
Revision as of 01:18, 24 May 2007
| Everybody Hates Chris | |
|---|---|
| File:EverybodyHatesChris.jpg Everybody Hates Chris | |
| Created by | Ali LeRoi Chris Rock |
| Starring | Tyler James Williams Tichina Arnold Terry Crews Tequan Richmond Imani Hakim Vincent Martella |
| Narrated by | Chris Rock |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 44 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Single camera |
| Running time | 20 mins |
| Original release | |
| Network | UPN (2005–06) The CW (2006—) |
| Release | September 22, 2005 – present |
Everybody Hates Chris is an American sitcom on The CW Television Network. It is inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock (who narrates the show), while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The title of the show is a play on that of the hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. Unlike other CW sitcoms, Everybody Hates Chris does not use a studio audience laugh track.
On September 22, 2005, the series' premiere achieved higher ratings than NBC's season premiere of Joey, giving UPN its third highest rating in history. With seven million viewers, it was fourth highest-rated program at the 8 p.m. ET time slot. It is also the first TV show to be available for free preview on Google Video.
On January 24, 2006, it was confirmed that Everybody Hates Chris would be part of the CW's fall 2006-2007 TV lineup. UPN ceased operations in September 2006. The second season began October 1, 2006. The show is the most watched comedy on the CW. Because Everybody Hates Chris is doing so well, there was an early full-season renewal for 2007–08, which will be the show's third season.[1].
Cast
While the fictional family is loosely based on that of the real-life Chris Rock, its surname has not been revealed.
- Tichina Arnold as Rochelle, the very censorious, strict, sassy, and frantic mother. Aside from being intimidating, Rochelle's vividly expressive and never without her antics. Among her quirks, she makes exaggerated threats, cares too much about what others think, obsesses over Turtle chocolates, recommends Robitussin for every ailment, and makes sure her children aren't making babies—for her to raise anyway. Although Rochelle will try to help out, she often proves to be bad at it. For example, she offers to mail a letter for Tonya and forgets, she gets jobs and quits, she's tutored Chris on math but made it harder on him and she's come to Chris' school for a book fair and was kicked out after telling the teachers they should be arrested for holding book fairs for students who can't read.
- Terry Crews as Julius, the very worrywart, level-headed, and penurious father. Although his wife has most of the control in the family, no one has more control over the money than Julius. He delivers newspapers for a living and has a second job. Julius once had a job as a fisherman; although it paid well, the bad smell he brought home forced the family to make him quit. A running gag through the show is that Julius is able to tell exactly how much something is worth. For example (not an exact quote): "That's 78 cents' worth of spilled milk on my table! Somebody's gonna drink that milk," or "That's eleven cents' worth of electricity!"
- Tyler James Williams as Chris, the ambitious, innocent, but hapless, scapegoat, vulnerable eldest child. He wishes he were cool and popular but it's always quite the opposite.
- Tequan Richmond as Drew, the mischievous, cool, talented middle child, who always has girls chasing after him but is too young to be very concerned with them.
- Imani Hakim as Tonya, the sensitive daughter and the antagonist of her older brothers. As the youngest and the only girl, she is able to get anything out of her father.
- Vincent Martella as Greg Wulliger, the white, nerdy best friend of Chris, who assists him and is bullied almost as much as Chris is.
- Chris Rock as the narrator (voice), an older Chris looking back at his youth, à la The Wonder Years.
Recurring characters
Bedford-Stuyvesant residents
- Mike Estime as Risky, a black market dealer who sells items that are always faulty or stolen. He also once had a job as a paper boy.
- Antonio Fargas as Mr. Harris (a.k.a. "Doc"), the local grocery store owner.
- Todd Bridges as Monk, Mr. Harris' nephew, who also works at the grocery. Monk used to be part of the military.
- Kevontay Jackson as Jerome, a neighborhood bully who robs small kids, like Chris, on the block. His catchphrase is, "Hey! Little dude from across the street, lemme hold a dollar."
- Keesha Sharp as Sheila Ridenhour, the family's neighbor and a good friend of Rochelle's. Julius usually feels uncomfortable around her because she's an attractive woman who is attracted to him, which Rochelle does not know about.
- Aree Davis as Keisha Ridenhour, Sheila's daughter and Chris's dream girl, who unfortunately fancies Chris' younger brother Drew.
- Ernest Thomas as Mr. Omar, who lives above Chris and his family. He is seen throught the series with a different lady, because their husbands are dead.
- Ricky Harris as Malvo, a crook who robs Chris at Doc's and threatens to kill him if he snitches. Later after he gets out of jail, he forces Chris to chain-snatch a gold medallion.
- Myzel Robinson as Fat Mike, who protects Chris from local thugs and makes friends with him.
- Whoopi Goldberg as Louise Clarkson, the antagonistic neighbor, who insults Chris and infuriates Rochelle.
- Paige Hurd as Tasha, Louise's granddaughter who lives with her grandmother and sees Chris frequently. According to Chris, she is the only girl who doesn't hate him.
- Jeris Lee Poindexter as Kill Moves, an insane crackhead who once taught Drew some karate moves at the laundromat.
- Jackée Harry as Vanessa, Rochelle's bubbly, wisecracking girlfriend and one of the gossipy workers at the local beauty salon.
- Tasia Sherel as Pam, another of Rochelle's girlfriends at the local beauty salon.
Corleone Junior High School staff and students
- Travis T. Flory as Joey Caruso, the school bully who routinely picks on Chris. He's racist against blacks.
- Jude Ciccolella as Dr. Raymond, the principal at Chris's school.
- Jason Alexander as Principal Edwards, the eccentric new principal of Corleone, who tricks Chris into confronting Caruso, and in a later episode, is stuck indoors with Chris during a snowstorm.
- Jacqueline Mazarella as Ms. Morello, Chris' teacher. She's racist against blacks and stereotypes them, while making it look like she's sweet, kind, and supportive.
- Lynda Scarlino, as Mrs. Milone, the school monitor, who is often seen disciplining someone, usually Chris when he hasn't done anything wrong.
- Sam Mandel as Fisher, who helps forge Chris's report card. He later helps Chris retrieve Chris's father's Playboy magazine from Mrs. Milone.
Memorable guest stars
Chris's extended family
Just as wacky and memorable as Chris's immediate family, they turned up in the episode "Everybody Hates Funerals". However, Mike and Maxine have been the only family members to appear in more than one episode
- Jimmie Walker as Gene, Rochelle's father, who dies of a heart attack at the dinner table on his first appearance on the show. However, he reappears to comfort Rochelle as a ghost later on in the same episode. In "Everybody Hates Gambling", Rochelle says that Gene gambled on just about anything
- Loretta Devine as Maxine, Rochelle's soft-spoken, helpful, sometimes very troublesome mother. She and Rochelle don't always get along because she's critical of Rochelle and likes to take over, which Rochelle doesn't take it well at all. She also caused chaos when she visited for her husband's funeral. In a later episode Rochelle tries to set her up with a date, but it didn't go well. Maxine is also a mathematician and taught Rochelle everything she knows about math and helped out Chris with his math.
- Monica Calhoun as Aunt Charlotte "Grievey", one of Rochelle's sisters who only appears at funerals and cries a lot.
- Ikonastarr as Aunt Mousey, another one of Rochelle's sisters who is so named because she talks like a mouse and only speaks when spoken to.
- Wayne Brady as Uncle Louis, Julius' successful, highly skilled, and charismatic younger brother, of whom Julius is very jealous.
Others
- Gary Basaraba as Art, Greg's divorced father who never lets him have friends over.
- Orlando Jones as Mr. Newton, the substitute teacher, who's exacting towards Chris because he wants him to get A's.
- DJ Quik as Hilly Hill, the DJ, who takes over Chris's DJing duties at a party.
- Richard Lewis as Kris, a mysterious man whom Chris befriends at the hospital.
- Michael Spellman as Magician the Magician, a magician who once scared Julius with a rabbit.
Recurring themes
- Much like the comedy series Family Guy and Scrubs, Everybody Hates Chris will often make a joke, then cut to a clip that enacts what was said—whether it be a hypothetical
(and always humorous) situation, or an exaggeration of a situation the family is said to have experienced in the past.
- Each episode title begins with "Everybody Hates" (excepting the first episode, entitled "Everyone Hates the Pilot").
- Every episode ends with the words "Everybody Hates Chris," heard in song.
- The show has a Cold Open-2 Act format, with varying ABC(D) storylines.
- Jokes about race relations almost always occur when Chris is in school.
Running gags
Although an episodic sitcom, in which characters' situations change from episode to episode, there are several character tendencies, thematic elements, and sayings that continue throughout the series. These include:
- Drew, Chris's younger brother, is taller and looks much older than Chris does.
- Whenever Uncle Mike refers to Julius, he'll holler "BIG MAAAAN!!!"
- Whenever Vanessa visits, she and Rochelle are usually excited in their wild fashion about something, often tickets to concerts.
- Julius, being very frugal, will always know the exact monetary value of anything being wasted by the family.
- Robitussin is the cure for every—and any-family injury or illness, according to Rochelle. This is a reference to a joke Chris used during his Bigger & Blacker comedy special.
- Rochelle is always making sure that no one thinks of her or her family as poor. ("Girl, whatchoo talkin' 'bout food stamps? Who's sellin' food stamps? I ain't sellin' no food stamps!"), yet she judges everyone else because she is a "ghetto snob."
- Rochelle uses a range of vibrant and colorful threats. ("I'll slap the caps off your knees!")
- Whenever Chris is in trouble, especially with Caruso, Greg runs away.
- Whenever a girl talks to Chris, Greg always tells him "You are so in there."
- Whenever Rochelle leaves a job, her last words before actually going are always "I don't need this. My man has two jobs."
- Rochelle loves chocolate pecan turtles candy.
- Tanya never resists the opportunity to get her brothers into trouble.
- Julius and other characters buy various items from Risky that are always faulty and most understood to be stolen.
- A neighborhood troublemaker essentially robs Chris and other kids on the block by saying "Lemme hold a dollar."
Awards and nominations
- Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy (nominated)
- Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series — Tyler James Williams (nominated)
- Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series — Tichina Arnold (Won)
- Outstanding Comedy Series (Won)
- Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series — Ken Whittingham (nominated)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series — Terry Crews (nominated)
- New Series, Television — Aron Abrams, Rodney Barnes, Chris Rock (nominated)
Episode list
Notes
- Occasionally, bits of Rock's stand-up routines are referenced in the scripts. For example, in at least two episodes, Robitussin is requested for purposes other than cough, referring to a bit on Rock's Bigger & Blacker album in which he hails it as an inexpensive panacea. Also, the first episode has a focus on 'the big piece of chicken' something that was also mentioned on Bigger and Blacker.
- Everybody Hates Chris is one of five successful sitcoms that carry the tradition of being produced two decades later than the time period in which they are set. Everybody Hates Chris takes place in the 1980s and was produced in the 2000s. Others shows following this pattern include M*A*S*H and Happy Days, which began production in the 1970s and depict the 1950s; The Wonder Years, which was produced in the 1980s and depict the 1960s; and That '70s Show, which began production in the 1990s and depicts the 1970s.
- There is a discrepancy between Chris Rock's actual age and the age of the "Chris" character. Having been born in 1966, Rock would have actually been 16 in the 1982/83 setting of the first season.
- While the character Chris has two younger siblings, Rock has five younger siblings (including actor/comedian Tony Rock) and a half-sibling. None of them are named Drew or Tanya. However, his father is in fact named Julius but his real mom's name is Rose.
DVD releases
Season Releases
| DVD name | Cover Art | Release date | Ep # | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | File:EHC S1.jpg | October 10, 2006 | 22 | Commentaries by the cast and crew, Everybody hates the making of Everybody hates Chris, Everybody hates the set, Everybody hates video cameras, bloopers, deleted scenes, cast auditions. |
Some of the music found in the show has been replaced by alternate songs and/or covers of the songs in the DVD release. This is mentioned on the back of the DVD packaging and is due to copyright issues, which has affected many DVD releases of television shows.
U.S. broadcast history
- September 2005 – May 2006: Thursdays 8:00pm/7:00pm
- September 2006: Sundays 7:00pm/6:00pm
- October 2006 — : Mondays 8:00pm/7:00pm
International broadcasts
| Country | Alternate title/Translation | TV Network(s) | Series Premiere | Weekly Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
UPN (Season 1) and The CW (Season 2-) | September 22 2005 | Monday 8:00pm ET | |
 Australia |
Network Ten | March 5 2006 | ||
 Austria |
Alle hassen Chris | ORF | Saturday 2:50pm | |
 Brazil |
Todo Mundo Odeia o Chris (Record)/ Everybody Hates Chris (Sony Entertainment Television) |
Rede Record & Sony Entertainment Television (cable) |
November 8 2005 | Fridays 8:00pm |
 Croatia |
Svi mrze Chrisa | Nova TV | March 25 2007 | Sundays 1:00pm |
 Denmark |
TV2 Zulu | September 16 2006 | Saturday 8:00pm | |
 Finland |
Lapsuuteni luuserina ("My childhood as a loser") |
Nelonen | February 27 2006 | Monday 8:30pm |
 Germany |
Alle hassen Chris | Pro 7 | September 16 2006 | Saturday 2:00pm |
 Hong Kong |
阿傑出少年/Everybody Hates Chris | TVB Pearl | February 19 2006 | Sunday 8:00pm |
 Ireland |
TV3 | April 2006 | Monday 8:00pm | |
 Italy |
Everybody Hates Chris (Paramount Comedy Channel)/ Tutti odiano Chris (Rai Due) |
Paramount Comedy Channel (pay tv); Rai Due | May 8 2006 | ---- |
 Israel |
Bip | 2006 | Sunday 11:30pm | |
| Latin America | Sony Entertainment Television | November 2005 | Friday 8pm Ven// 7pm Col | |
 Malaysia |
8TV | September 27 2006 | Wednesday 9:30pm | |
 New Zealand |
TV3 | April 2006 | Wednesday 7:30pm | |
 Norway |
Alle hater Chris | TV2 Zebra | Sunday 10:05pm | |
 Philippines |
Jack TV | 2005 | Thursday 9:00 pm | |
 Portugal |
Todos Contra o Chris ("Everyone's Against Chris") |
2: | September 2006 | Weekdays 8:40pm |
 Saudi Arabia and Arab World |
Showtime Arabia, Paramount Comedy Channel, Paramount Comedy Channel +2 and MBC 4 |
|||
 South Africa |
SABC 1 | July 2006 | Friday 7:00pm | |
 Spain |
Todo el mundo odia a Chris | Cuatro TV | 2007 | Saturday 9:30pm |
 Switzerland |
Alle hassen Chris, Tout le monde déteste Chris |
SF2, TSR1 | Sunday | |
 Thailand |
True Series | April 18 2006 | ||
 Turkey |
ComedyMax | 2006 | Monday to Friday at 8.30 pm | |
 United Kingdom |
Five (first run), Five US (re-runs) and Paramount Comedy 1 (syndication) |
March 19 2006 | Sunday 6:00pm (2 episodes until 7:00pm (second season-) | |
 Zimbabwe |
ZBC, ZBC Comedy, Joy TV, RTZ, TeleTwo, ZBC Family |
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to Everybody Hates Chris.