Creators:
John Bowman
Topper Carew
Martin Lawrence
Cast:
Martin Lawrence ………. Martin Payne
Tisha Campbell ………. Gina Waters
Tichina Arnold ………. Pam James
Carl Anthony Payne II ………. Cole Brown
Thomas Mikal Ford ………. Tommy Strawn
Garrett Morris ………. Stan
Jon Gries ………. Shawn
The Show
Martin Lawrence has starred in some “big” movies over the years. First, there was Bad Boys with Will Smith. Then, there was Bad Boys II with Will Smith. And then there was, well that’s about it but Martin has been in some “classic” films such as Big Momma’s House I and II, Black Knight, Blue Streak, and National Security. Before all of his movies, though, there was a show that made Martin Lawrence a household name in the world of comedy. That show would be called Martin.
Martin was about a guy named Martin Payne, who was played by Martin Lawrence. You knew that already, though. Martin Payne is a disc-jockey for a local radio station. He has a girlfriend named Gina (Tisha Campbell), who he loves a lot. The only problem with her is that she has an annoying best friend named Pam (Tichina Arnold). Martin and Pam do not get along at all and they enjoy cutting each other down all the time. Lucky for Martin, he has the support of his friends, Cole (Carl Anthony Payne II) and Tommy (Thomas Mikal Ford).
When you talk about Martin, you have to first talk about Martin Lawrence. This guy just doesn’t play Martin Payne, the lead character. Martin Lawrence is 100 other characters on this show as well. Whether it be the infamous Sheneneh Jenkins or a spoiled kid or Mama Payne or the wanna-be player Jerome or whatever Lawrence can think of, he is all of them. Eddie Murphy made this famous in A Nutty Professor when he was 6 or 7 characters at once, but Martin Lawrence originated it during this show. It’s always interesting to see what form Martin Lawrence will show up next on your TV screen.
In addition to the crazy characters Martin Lawrence played on the show, Martin was also known for the memorable lines from Lawrence and the rest of the cast. One popular saying in the late 90’s was “Wazzzup!”. Well, Martin Payne was saying that back in 1992 during the first season of this show. There are too many to list here, but what of my favorite is a joke directed towards Pam from Martin. Martin said “Take a step back. Cause yo breath is kickin’ it like Van DAMN!!!” There is at least one line from every episode in this first season that can get quoted later and often is.
The only negative to this show is that sometimes it can get too “over-the-top” or the subject matter can go right over the heads of some people. It’s not a comedy that everyone can universally relate to, but those who do “get” the show will be laughing non-stop. Of course, not every character that Martin plays is funny. Most of them are, but some characters are only mildly amusing. Still there are lot more “hit” characters than “miss” ones.
Martin Lawrence followed the path that many comedians have gone down. He starred in a TV show about himself that made him a household name. Although, the show is not for everyone, you can’t help but laugh at Martin and the wacky characters he created and played. Out of all of the memorable lines from the show, the one that best sums up the first season of Martin is “he sooo craaaaazzzy!”
Episodes:
Disc One:
Episode 1 – Beauty and the Beauty
Martin has an argument with Gina after she listens to Martin’s radio show, and hears his womanizing remarks.
Episode 2 – The Gift Rapper
Martin accidentally forgets to get Gina a gift for their anniversary.
Episode 3 – Things I Do For Love
Tommy’s new relationship with his new girlfriend prompts Martin to take Gina out for a romantic evening at a dance club, called the “Savoy Club”.
Episode 4 – Boyz ‘R Us
When Martin finds out that Gina makes more money than he does, he becomes irrate and has major ego problems once the entire city of Detroit finds out.
Episode 5 – Dead Men Don’t Flush
Martin’s toilet gets clogged, and Gina persuades Martin to call a Plummer to fix it. But the guy dies in the bathroom while on the job.
Episode 6 – Forever Sheneneh
When Sheneneh wins a date with Christopher “Kid” Reid on Martin’s radio show, Martin soon fears that Kid’s career is over. Kid arrives at Sheneneh’s apartment and learns that she is his biggest fan.
Episode 7 – The Parents are Coming, the Parents are Coming
Gina wants Martin to meet her conservative parents but Martin’s feeling nervous.
Disc Two:
Episode 8 – Woman with a Past
Martin becomes jealous after learning that his recent radio show guest, Keith Washington, once dated Gina when they were younger.
Episode 9 – Baby, It’s Cole’d in Here
Cole’s mother interrupts Cole’s evening with his girlfriend and demands back rent from her son. Following Martin’s advice, Cole stands up to his mother but finds himself homeless when he is thrown out of the house.
Episode 10 – The Night He Came Home
On Halloween, Martin and his friends gather at his apartment to share scary ghost stories.
Episode 11 – The Great Payne Robbery
When Martin’s elderly neighbor’s apartment is robbed, Martin holds a neighborhood crime watch meeting. But then his apartment soon becomes the next target. So he devises a plan to catch the burglar.
Episode 12 – Three Men and a Mouse
When Gina is in Martin’s house sleeping, she hears noises in the middle of the night, but Martin insists that he hear nothing. Gina still thinking it’s a robber, she begs Martin to go and look what the noises are. Martin tells her it’s a mouse.
Episode 13 – Radio Days
Stan decides to hire a new female talk show host and place her as co-host of Martin’s show, to boost the station’s ratings.
Episode 14 – I’ve Got a Secret
Martin reveals secrets that Gina tells him on his radio station. Things become a big mess when their friends hear.
Disc Three:
Episode 15 – I Saw Gina Kissing Santa Claus
Martin reluctantly agrees to dress up like Santa Claus for Tommy’s “Big Brother” program.
Episode 16 – Do the Fight Thing
Martin’s radio fans love it when Gina and Martin have arguments on the show. Stan sees how things get better when Gina is on the show.
Episode 17 – Blackboard Jungle Fever
Martin returns to his elementary school to participate in Career Day. He discovers his favorite 3rd grade teacher, Ms. Trinidad, is still teaching there. They decide to go out to eat and catch up on old times.
Episode 18 – Break Up (Part 1)
Martin and Gina fight over Gina’s unusual Valentine’s Day gift, and escalates out of control until they finally break up. When they try and reconcile they discover that maybe they are just too different from each other.
Episode 19 – Break Up (Part 2)
With Martin & Gina now broken up, Pam sets a lonely Gina up with her cousin Leon, who is a minister struggling to keep his fleshly desires under control. Meanwhile, Cole and Tommy take a despondent Martin to a nightclub hoping to cheer him up.
Episode 20 – Break Up (Part 3)
Martin and his new girlfriend Nicole realize that they both are still in love with their former lovers, and break up. Billy Dee Williams guest stars Martin’s radio show.
Episode 21 – I’m Not Your Superwoman
Martin gets the flu and he expects Gina to stay at home and take care of him. But Gina gets fed up with him acting like a baby and comparing her with his mother.
Disc Four:
Episode 22 – Credit Card Blues
Martin and an old friend get arrested for committing credit card fraud. So Gina and the gang quickly scramble to come up with bail money.
Episode 23 – Jerome’s in the House
After Pam gets dumped by her boyfriend, she decides to go out on a date with somebody ‘different’ out of sheer desperation. She decides to go out with Jerome, the player, even though Cole is trying to ask her out.
Episode 24 – Your Arms are Too Shot to Box with Martin
Tommy’s new girlfriend Shannon has an ex-lover that can’t seem to let her alone. Eventually he and his gang of thugs confront Tommy and beat him up.
Episode 25 – Variety Show
Martin is chosen by his radio station manager to be the producer of a charity variety show for Aids. But in typical Martin Payne fashion, he lets the job go to his head, acts like a tyrant on the set, and alienates everyone around him, even Gina.
Episode 26 – Baby You Can Drive My Car
Everybody pools together to get a raffle ticket from Roscoe the snot-nosed kid, and wind up winning a brand new SUV. They decide to share it, by assigning each of them to drive on a different day of the week. Tommy ends up giving a ride Sheneneh, and her 2 friends, Bonquisha and Keylolo.
Episode 27 – Checks, Lies, and Videotape
Martin and Gina try to expose a crooked preacher, Reverend Leon Lonnie Love, as a fraud, after he cons thousands of dollars from his church members, including Mama Payne. To do so, they decide to have Gina lure him to her apartment so she can elicit a confession out of him and then capture it on videotape.
The Video:
The video is given in fullscreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Transfer is good with minimal distortion. The quality is about as good as you can get for a TV show from the early 1990’s. No need to watch it on your new HDTV, though.
The Audio:
The audio included is available in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French. Again, it’s pretty standard quality for a TV show.
The Extras:
Favorite Moments Commentary –
Martin Lawrence talks about his favorite moments from this season of Martin. This is excellent. It’s great to list to Martin talk about the funny characters he played. Which ones he liked the most, etc. He also talks about the other membes of the cast and how the show came about.
Blooper Reel –
This is where all of the mistakes and blunders from the first season can be found. This feature is always good for laugh, especially when Martin Lawrence is involved.
Martin Lawrence is hilarious on this show. Any fan of his will want to run out and buy this set. Even if you are not a fan, though, this is still a funny show. It may get old for some, though, but it’s definitely worth a rental to see if it’s funny to you or not. Most likely it will be.
