My Favorite Blassic Sitcom: Vol 9.30 The Jamie Foxx Show: "Give Me Some Credit"
Your daddy's rich and your ma is good lookin'
I sweat right through the Autumn Equinox and never stopped using my electric blanket. It’s how I multitask, purging impurities while I sleep. All so I can be in tip-top shape to analyze media that happened decades ago. Thusly:
Featured Sitcom - Season 4, episode 8 of The Jamie Foxx Show (November 5th, 1999)
Streamed on Max
Y’all Take Context Here, Right?
Folks with a visceral memory of writing checks gon’ love this one. Pre-cashless establishments, you could still get your card declined. Especially if you had three figure line of credit. But let’s not spoil too much before cracking into some references:
Junior said Helen’s feet look like she’s been valeting cars for the Flintstones.
The Flintstones was a 60s eras animated sitcom that depicted a “modern Stone Age family.” The series made history as the first animated sitcom nominated for a Primetime Emmy. One of the classic features of the show was the anachronistic inclusion of “cars” that people manually drove with their feet. We can infer what the comparison means for Helen’s feet.
Slauson’s swap meet - an LA institution in its twilight years.
99 cent store
A tale of radical access that’s been spun into tragedy, 99 cent stores (and dollar stores for that matter) used to actually mean what they said. You could buy whatever you wanted for a dollar or less and then come buy it again after it broke a week later. Now? The nothing is still a Dollar Tree has just taken over, putting the final nail in the 99 cent store coffin. But what a time it was.
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. guest star as Fancy’s parents
Black entertainment royalty, McCoo and Davis have been married since 1969. They’re perhaps best known as original members of psychedelic soul group, The 5th Dimension. They became the first African-American married couple to host a network television series, titled The Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. Show, on CBS in the summer of 1977. That same year, 5th Dimension’s hit single, "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)" won a Grammy. As a treat, the show ended with McCoo singing another 5th Dimension hit, “Wedding Bell Blues.”
The Zany Premise
I got the “card declined” blues
Jamie meets Fancy’s parents, who are convinced he can’t provide the kind of charmed life Fancy is used to. It’s pretty true actually, but Fancy’s parents are shown what money can’t buy.
Mr. and Mrs. King need to cut personal expenses to afford their Hawaii vacation, and they both take aim at the other’s hobbies to make it happen.
Lesson learned
Living within your means does extend to the choice of how and who you date
Braxton was caught in the middle of the Kings’ marital tiff as the person assigned to find ways for them to save. Helen and Junior took turns bribing and badgering him until he couldn’t take it anymore. As a result, Braxton cut everybody’s expenses including Junior’s beloved golf lessons and Helen’s aspirational pedicures. And he learned not to get between a couple unless they buy you dinner first.
Jamie and Fancy wound up helping her dad buy cheaper, more sentimental gifts like a hug and kisses coupon book. Fancy explained to her parents how Jamie does simple things like that all the time to make her happy. This led to them being more accepting of Jamie’s financial malnutrition.
They say laughter is the best medicine. Which works out cus it’s all this Jamie can afford.
What’s it like from the future?
Still looking for swap meet deals
Ain’t nothin’ wrong with gender roles if you feel perfectly cast. The trouble is, these set roles are often well-outpaced by the ever-shifting realities of the human condition. Wage stagnation, mass incarceration, and the seemingly nonstop proliferation of debt associated with modern finance has complicated the provider role.
If you were like me in college, you might have attempted to provide within laughably meager means. One night, a college gf asked me if we could go to Dave & Buster’s and Olive Garden. Knowing I would have to pay, I very explicitly chose the cheaper option, much to the chagrin of my young paramour. She suggested I expedite graduating so I could secure a job to provide her with the finer things. I was just quiet after that cus I knew civil rights didn’t pay. So we hitting up the OG or what?
I don’t believe it’s wrong to desire a certain lifestyle. It’s even possible to compromise in situations where all parties are open to giving in within reason. The problem comes when varied expectations meet poor communication and everyone winds up dissatisfied. We all have unique rearing situations that shape our idea of what’s “normal” and what’s “nice.” Understanding where and what a person comes from can help soothe these typically thorny topics.
Perception can also trump reality. My mama made it clear to us growing up that she couldn’t afford to miss a check, AND a lot my hood friends thought we were rich cus we had stairs in our house. I offered to get my partner what I thought was a nice hotel for a past birthday, and she was like “Oh… a chain?” Beats me I guess. That’s why it’s good to level set around this stuff, no matter how daunting or shallow it feels, so no ones’ left feeling unsatisfied or inadequate.
Favorite Jokes
Fancy’s mom: “Nice suit…Prada?”
Jamie: “Nada… This is from the suit shack. It’s 100% rayon and… something else.”
Fancy’s dad: “Just closed the deal on another strip mall.”
Jamie: “Oh man, they got stripping at the mall now? How much for a table dance?”
Braxton: “Mr. King, are you suggesting I cut Mrs. King’s pedicures?”
Junior: “Hell yeah, man cus that stuff is a waste of money. I mean her feet look like she been valeting cars for the Flintstones.”
Jamie: “My limit on that card should be at least $350. If I call it’s $375.”
Cashier: Sir, there’s nothing in this store under $400.
Jamie: “Well that explains why nobody’s here. Your prices are too damn high. Now Slauson’s swap meet is cracking right now.”
Fancy’s dad: Honey, I would love to take the credit for making you happy, but this was all Jamie’s idea.
Jamie: Hey, Big Time, don’t put that all on me now. Don’t give me all the credit. Unless you want to. You know I need some.
Lowbrow Lowdown
When we Fall in…
Fall is quickly becoming one of my favorite seasons. In the south, in the last 5-10 years, Fall is like a reasonable summer. Winter is like a dry Fall, save for a few extreme events. Spring is late and short, and Summer is Hell or Purgatory. Here’s how I started my African-American Autumn:
I’m just a man, and I do love football. Also, the Falcons are looking not terrible this year. Hope springs ephemeral…
Listened to an insane lore dump I won’t repeat when I took my younger sister her expensive birthday gift.
Let KAOS reign.
It’s playoff time in the W! The Dream were crushed, but I lowkey wanna see Big ’Ja and the Aces three-peat.
I slept through a therapy appointment after work thinking, “Wow, that 50 minute nap sure felt like a 100…” It was more than a feeling.
Acknowledgment
I don’t want a lot, but there are few things I desire more often with more intensity than being left alone. Less than hating people, I’m kinda just a sensory-sensitive dude who gets overwhelmed easily.
That’s why, brand-agnostic, I love my noise-cancelling headphones. It’s a way to self-regulate while also appearing like a creative luminary when I’m probably just listening to brown noise. They’re much more effective at signaling I want to be left alone than miniscule AirPods. It’s also hard to overthink when you surround sound your cranium.
I’m doing my best, y’all.
Be easy…
Every last Monday. Helping you push through. Vol. 10.28 coming soon.