Man ya’ll there is an injustice going on. One of the greatest shows in the history of television (besides A Different World) is STILL not on DVD. Yes I’m talking about Martin. The best show ever on the Fox network to this day.
You all have Leon aka Hustleman to thank for this. And I’mma get in trouble, but I want to dedicate it to the one person on Earth who knows more about Martin than me. The person I KNOW can instantly recall everything from the name of Shenehneh’s Beauty Shop to her main competitor. Please stop being mad at me!!! Let this be our peace offering! After all what was Martin without Pam?? He could get along without Gina, but the show woulda been nothing without Pam and Martin’s sparring! You know who you are! This is dedicated to you!
Anyway….this is the Martin Appreciation Entry!!! I will be pointing out my five favorite Martin moments and my twenty (I had to up it from 10) favorite Martin episodes….
First the 5 Funniest Moments (in chronological order)
5) From Episode 4: I knew this was going to be a great show when they showed a clip from a movie Martin and crew were watching. That movie….Soul Jungle starring King Beef of course!
King Beef: Ladies….I’d love to rock, each and every one of your wooooooorlds! But first….I must dance!!!
Background Dancers: Go Beefy, Go King Beef!!!
HEE LARRY US!!
4) From Episode 17: When Martin’s old teacher and first crush Miss Trinidad makes a move on Martin and Gina discovers it and tries to fight her. It’s PRICELESS!!! Who knew Gina’s bougie ass could get buck like that? We did after that!
3) From Episode 30: Gina is out of town with her coworkers including White Bob. Martin calls to check on her and well…
Martin: Where is Gina?
Bob: Gina??…she’s ripping the pants off of some stripper! She’s out of control, I’m out of control! The whole damn parties out of control!!!!!
2) From Episode 42: The first time we meet Miss Geri, one of the funniest non-Martin played recurring characters (only surpassed by Hustleman in my opinion). She’s one tough old lady man!! I don’t mess with old ladies at the bus station to this day because of her!
1) From Episode 105: There are alot of great Hustleman moments. But him playing Pick Up The Pieces on a Kazoo is my favorite single one.
And my 20 Favorite Overall Episodes (which was VERY difficult to compile I might add, even after I upped the number….once again in chronological order)
20) Episode 3: This is the episode where they go to the Savoy Club. It marks the first appearance of Jerome who spits the CLASSIC line, “If you wanna ride in the benzo you gotta get rid of your friendzo!!!”.
19) Episode 5: When the toilet goes out, Martin has to hire a plumber. The plumber appears to die, comedy ensues. It’s a CLASSIC still!
18) Episode 9: This is the episode where Tommy and Cole move in with Martin. Tommy shaves headchips in Martin’s sink. Cole cuts a toenail that hits Gina in the head.
17) Episode 11: (Lots of great episodes in the first season man!!!) In this episode Martin gets robbed. The crew takes a self defense class from Dragon Fly Jones who gets his ass beat by his faithful assistant KENJIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!
16) Episodes 18, 19, and 20: The Martin and Gina break up episodes! Martin dates Lark Voorhees, Gina dates Rev. Leon Lonnie Love (in his first appearance!!!), Billie Dee Williams helps Martin get his woman back! You gotta love it man!!
15) Episode 23: Pam is fed up with the men she’s meeting and finally gives a playa a chance. The playa…..FROM THE HIMALAYAS!!!! Jerome is in the HOUSE!
14) Episode 24: Tommy has some problems with his new girl’s ex. He’s a gangsta named Ice Trey and he’s no small problem despite being a midget! Bushwick Bill gueststars, but the little guy who says, “I don’t know, why don’t you go ask yo MAMA” is the real star!
13) Episode 26: The gang wins a car and most of Martin’s recurring characters do their best to mess it up. My favorite is Otis slamming the bodybuilder into the car after saying, “Getn ret ta take ya down boy! Getn ret ta take ya down!”
12) Episode 29: Eight Words: Ricky Fontaine. Pretty Ricky what they call em! Gina’s good looks go WAY south on the worst day possible as Martin tries to win Man of the Decade. Plus we find out what happened to Tommy’s afro.
11) Episode 31: Martin throws a fight party, but the REAL fights are in the hallway (Pam and Shenehneh of course) and in Martin’s bedroom (Cole and Tommy). This is also the first appearance of Bruh Man *holds up 4 fingers* from the fifth floor.
10) Episode 34: Gina has to work at Shenehneh’s beauty shop to get some Piston’s tickets after throwing away Martin’s. I still die to this day when they sand down Myra’s corns!
9) Episode 36: Gina kills Martin’s mama’s bird. Hell I would have to if it called me an Applehead Heffer. Of course Gina didn’t MEAN to, but try explaining that to Mama Payne.
Episodes 38 and 39: Martin goes to Hollywood to star on the Varnell Hill show (Tommy Davidson). Jodeci appears in the height of their fame (before Mr. Dalvin became a crackhead). But the best part to me is when Martin gets that ass beat by Michael Jackson! Look Tito!!!!!! *whap*
7) Episode 41: Martin and Gina try not to have sex, with HILARIOUS results. And DAMN, Tisha Campbell (who ordinarily didn’t do much for me) was KILLING that blue dress, good grief!
6) Episode 44: When Bruh Man “borrows” Martin’s discman without his knowledge, he’s forced to go Nino Brown with his friends. Complete with a stuffed rottweiller.
5) Episode 48: Martin gets that ass beat by Tommy “Hitman” Hearns. The “big swollen head” Martin dancing was both scary and funny.
4) Episode 64: The episode that is DEVOTED to finally finding out what Tommy’s job is? It appears he’s a stripper!!! Is he? We find out the answer to ONE of these questions.
3) Episode 70: In a dispute over a rent increase Martin’s landlord turns off the heat on the coldest day of the year. Hustleman’s free-range chickens on a stick are the highlight of this episode!
2) Episode 78: Chilligan’s Island. The rat-possum-puppy-evil thing attacks! Many people’s absolute favorite episode!
1) Episode 93: In my opinion, the last TRULY great episode (more on that later in the entry…if you are still reading!!). Gina’s head gets’s stuck in a brasshead board and she is forced to give a presentation with her boss Mr. Whitaker with a scarf trying to cover it.
Man that was HARD to compile. I had to leave alot of great episodes off, and I’m sure that whoever reads this is going to name a few that deserve mention. Go ahead and do so, I understand.
The last couple of seasons were still good, but honestly I think they couldn’t top themselves after Martin and Gina got married. Between guest stars and the show moving time slots several times the show just wasn’t the same (with exception to the episodes where Martin and Tommy are beefing). Don’t get me wrong, the WORST Martin episode (the one about Pam working for Keep It Real records, a poor attempt at a spin off) is better than most of the pitter on TV now, but the truly GREAT episodes happened in the first few seasons.
Unfortunately Martin is only on select UPN stations and TVone. Nashville’s UPN affiliate doesn’t show it and the cable company doesn’t carry TVone. So until HBO (which produced it) and/or Fox decide to come out with this on DVD I’ll have to rely on my memory and various websites to get my Martin fix.
Let me know which episodes/moments I left off.
April 19th, 2005 at 4:05 am
gotdamn… this mans memory is fucking impecable!
the title of your fucking blogger should be called “FlashBack”
April 19th, 2005 at 10:02 pm
Calvin,
The first episode I watched was the dead plumber, so I remember that fondly. I have to agree with you on the number one episode as well. However, when Martin uttered the words…”FINE GINA, I WILL MARRY YOU…” several thousand cynics were born. So for that, it’s number one overall on my list. You truly have a gift…the Kavorka of tv trivia knowledge…But, you can’t breakdown Boomerang like the kid.
JSC
April 19th, 2005 at 10:47 pm
Great list! I would have included “The Love Doctor” one where Martin inadvertently hooked up Tommy and Pam…Also, the Mad Dog episode. If for nothing else, just the part where Nipsey is like “Mad Dog’s a-comin…I SAID MAD DOG’S A-COMIN!!!
Oh yeah, the court one where Martin starts yelling out “The day of the geechee is here!” LMAO
It’s too many funny episodes to choose from.
April 20th, 2005 at 10:02 am
Oh my gracious. I been lurking here for a minute, but I had to comment on this one. Thank you! I was about to do this same post, because I thought nobody shared my pain about Martin (and Different World). Your list can’t be topped though (lol! at White Bob. “Party!”), so I’mma have to come up with something different.
But I agree with Hustleman about the court episode, “Do the jackknife! Do the jackknife!” and Mad Dog No-good. Also, what about the episode wit Monique Taylor. Pam and Martin teaming up to expose her phony behind, and end up pulling out her 6 foot long weave. LOL. And Wallace making Martin go with Gina to the shoe store. And the origin of “HEE LARRY US,” when Gina takes money out their bank account to get a boot off her car, and ends up having to run across town for a daggone waterhose! And “Rent ‘Em Spoons!” And the one where Shenene becomes Biggie’s backup singer…ok, let me stop or I never will. Thanks for this post dude.
April 20th, 2005 at 10:30 am
@Mothersister, he said “Do the Pocketknife” lol and Leon he said “The day of the geechee is OVER” lawd ya’ll!
Calvin you’re fuckin up! How you gonna forget the episode when Martin tried to go on a diet and Gina was eatin a big ass plate of soul food right in front of him.
AND When Sheneneh dated Kid from Kid n Play
AND the first halloween episode with Old Man Ackerman. fuckin CLASSIC.
AND the episode when martin was hosting the talk show on Xmas and they got held up by Big Red from 5 Heartbeats and the midgets were performing
AND when Martin was suckered into hosting that wack ass Baby Shower and that chick shot her baby out across the damn room
AND when Martin and his old friend get locked up in jail and go thru all kinds of bullshit with that big ass dude who needed a “tic tac”
AND when martin thought he had a 10 year old son. “can i keep my barber shop name?”
SHEEESH!!! i wont name anymore cuz you’re clearly not all there. MY MY MY you’re fuckin up big time!
April 20th, 2005 at 10:32 am
last but not least, the episode with Jerome at the Players Ball. *smh* fuck up.
April 20th, 2005 at 10:50 am
I just thought of a brief, but VERY funny, moment from the final season. It was at the beginning of the Halloween episode, and Gina was dressed up as Tina Turner. Martin was dressed as none other than Ike Turner, wearing a silky bob wig. Gina’s singing and dancing and talking like Tina and then, out of nowhere, Martin comes out as Ike and starts chasing Gina around the apartment waving his shoe at her and yelling Ike-isms.
Okay, I just thought of two more…
1. The episode where Cole gets his own janky apartment. Nina pointed out the fact that he hung up every hat he owns around the pint-sized apartment. My favorite part is when Gina opens the refrigerator to find weeks-old Chinese food, and screams, “I say, got-damn!!!”
2. Myles from Moesha shows up as Martin’s long lost son, and looks/acts JUST like Martin. Hilarious!
April 20th, 2005 at 10:51 am
I’m sorry, I had to come back with 2 more.
Homeo and Juliet. “Mamasan done burnt up the sushiii!” And “Juliet, Juliet give me one mo chance, Juliet, Juliet give me one more chance!”
And of course, the ep where Pam gets hypnotized by the dentist and she ends up acting like Martin at Gina’s bougie friend’s art show. LOL. I’m through for real now.
April 20th, 2005 at 11:22 am
@OJ, man I wish I had a memory for important stuff like the Krebbs cycle like I do for this kind of thing!
@Joe, I STILL can’t believe you got me on that Boomerang line! But yeah, on TV trivia, I’m a juggernaut!
@Leon, Both of those are funny as hell man….it was hard narrowing down….Mad Dog was Gary Coleman right????
@MotherSister, glad to see you coming out of lurkerville!! Where is Da Mayor? We need his leadership!
@Resha, I KNEW you would come through with some good ones!!!! I told you at the beginning that I don’t have TVone or a good UPN (ours shows Elimidate 8 times a day like it’s Saved By The Bell or Sportscenter or something!)….your comment made my day though!!! Even if I’m fucking up!
@Che, you and Nina need to tape or TiVo some episodes and find a way to get them to me!!! I’m fiending if you can’t tell!!!
Thanks for reading ya’ll!
April 21st, 2005 at 12:40 am
I love this post… martin was and still i the show… no dvd an then they don’t even play his re-runs here..at least not while anybodys still awake. I liked the episode with the song, “don’t cha know know gooooood! ” Episode 30 was funny to me too. I like how martin played so many character…versatile and cheap all in one..oh and when gina’s big hread get’s stuck in the bed rails(39- u got it posted). lol! o my gosh episode 29 was so funny…her face was hideous… what website talks about the show?
April 27th, 2005 at 2:08 pm
LMAO!! THANK YOU KILLA..i am a MARTIN fanatic!!i talk about the show so much, i found out the pastor of my church loved old otis (this is when it was still on the air, she also wasnt the pastor then) …so our running joke with each other is “i’ll take ya down ,you know old otis aint been taken down since 69!!”
i almost forgot about that hustleman and the kazoo episode..
“how you gonna come in here with a kazoo taped to a saxaphone…talking bout some…pick up the pieces!!”…that shit was classic!!!
April 28th, 2005 at 3:32 pm
Hey,
Great post
I loved-ed me some Martin. Especially “Jerome in da house!” Classic