I was very excited to hear that TV One had picked up Tatyana Ali’s new sitcom “Love That Girl” which has Martin Lawrence as its executive producer. Bentley Kyle Evans produced, wrote and directed this series without any studio support and for that alone the brother gets props. But I am sad to say that so far I’m more ‘in like’ than ‘in love’ with this new sitcom. For the record I really want to love this show. One of the reason I haven’t been won over yet is the show is more like “Martin” and less like “Girlfriends” or “The Game”. (Even the title sequence reminded of a vintage “Martin” opener sans the wassup voiceover.) In other words, the comedy is not subtle or sophisticated it’s in your face. And some of you may love that more than I did.

I saw the first two episodes of the show, which centers around Tyana (Ali) a young divorcee who’s starting her life over with a new career in her Daddy’s (Phil Morris’) real estate office—where the receptionist reminds you of the loud sister with an attitude that makes you want to cringe every time you see her. Tyana’s freeloading brother Latrell (Alphonso McAuley) hangs out on the couch between his stand-up comedy gigs (and trips to the strip club) and her flaming gay neighbors drop in often. Her best friend, Nefertiti (Kendyl Joy) runs a salon and is as likable as Ali but the assorted characters that round out the salon staff may have come straight from central casting under ’stereotypes’.

But even with that said, there was a definite improvement of the show from the first episode to second. Perhaps because the second installment was firmly focused on Tyana and her love life—with a guest appearance by a more grown-up Wesley Jonathan thrown in to boot. I am hoping that the third and fourth episodes will have more opportunities for Ali to shine. In other words a little more story a little less gimmick would be my hope for the show. Plus I think there’s a lot to mine in getting her groove back in both her career and her love life.

I think Evans should be given the chance to make it better. In the “Jaime Foxx Show”, which he worked on, there was a nice mix of broad comedy and good storytelling. And even shows we love like “Girlfriends” had to work out some quirks after its initial season. Remember when they thought it was a good idea to have Joan speaking directly to the camera in an inset? Once that got dumped the show found its rhythm. Maybe “Love That Girl” can too.

The WE network ran back-to-back episodes of “Girlfriends” (seasons 6 and 7) this weekend and I got a little nostalgic for that quartet of sisters who mostly supported one another while each was in search of her own version of perfection. Diana’s middle daughter (aka Joan Clayton) was out at Women In Film’s Crystal & Lucy Awards looking quite fly. Here’s to hoping she’ll land another long-term project that keeps her in our living rooms.

Although Christian Bale is set to reboot the “Terminator” franchise in theaters any day now, Fox had decided to ax “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” the sort of midquel (okay that’s not a word) that follows John Conner in his teen years before he becomes the leader of the resistance —and sends one of his men back in time to warn Sarah. While the franchise is mildly interesting and Summer Glau, Shirley Manson and Lena Headley are some  badass chicks, I really tuned in for one reason: Richard T. Jones.

Although he did a great job of play a supreme a@#hole in “Why Did I Get Married?” (which made me despise him for the length of the film) for the most part of will follow this brother wherever he goes. (Well, not literally—I’m not a stalker—but you know what I mean.) Anyway, I can’t even say that it was “The Wood” that peaked my interest—I probably didn’t see it until it came on cable. It was actually his six year stint as Bruce Van Exel on “Judging Amy” that was destination televison for me. I guess that black man being all about his daughter was quite sexy (until they toyed with pairing him with Amy Brenneman and it got all complicated).

After that show ended, I was delighted when he gave me a reason to tune into “Girlfriends”. I wasn’t happy when Jill Marie Jones departed and I wasn’t sure the show could regain its umph. Well it didn’t  but Aaron was a great distraction and helped create a satisfying love story for Joan—until he left unexpectedly for “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and the show struggled to recover. The CW pulled the plug before it could.

Now I have to think about who I can turn to for my weekly dose of chocolate eye candy. Richard T. doesn’t seem to have a new gig lined yet. Plus, y’all know brothers are few and far between on television. But perhaps I just need to order a box set of “The Wire” and be done. A dose of Stringer Bell will do a sister good.

It seems like black folks no longer fit in on the network that is home to “Gossip Girls,” “One Tree Hill” and the revamped “90210.” In case you didn’t know it the two remaining comedies that feature folks that look like us, “Everybody Loves Chris” and “The Game,” are still on but have been relegated to Friday nights, when you probably aren’t even home. But the network has no plans to renew the shows. The reasons: comedies are no longer their thing. My take: they really have found success with shows featured the young, white and dramtically oversexed.

This should come as no surprise after the way the network said goodbye to “Girlfriends”—put it on hiatus and then cancelled it leaving no chance for a series finale. (They may give one to the Chris Rock series though.) But Mara Brock Akil, watched one series go down without a fight she’s isn’t about to let that happen again.
The Hollywood Reporter’s website says that Brock Akil has a plan to switch the format of this well-done series featuring Wendy Racquel Robinson and Tia Mowry from a sitcom to an hour-long dramedy. She plans to pitch the idea to the network soon.

This idea could work because the series has handled serious topics as well as the ones that make us chuckle ably already. But it often left us wanting more. And the ensemble cast could handle the challenge too. But word is that the network may pass because they still consider the concept “too urban” (translation: black). Let’s hope that Brock Akil can make a winning play anyway.

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Girlfriends became collateral damage when the writer’s strike came to an end. The CW announced that it would only concentrate its resources on shows slated to return for another season. We secretly knew Girlfriends had already run out of steam a couple of years ago. But it still could have gone out on a high note at the end of last season with Joan’s long-awaited marriage proposal. Creator Mara Brock Akil and most of the cast chose to soldier on anyway perhaps because of the absence of successful or middle-class black women in series television. I am talking about sisters who play roles beyond the occasional doctor, cop, maid or the ever-popular goldigger.

I wonder if we held onto Girlfriends so tightly towards the end because we still loved the characters or because it was all we had. Sure we can see a plethora of sisters looking for their shot at stardom in just about every reality show on the air. But as we see more and more of them behaving badly (also known as the Flava Effect), we yearn for some better choices.

TV One has tried to help out by getting syndication rights to some things we haven’t seen in a long time but I can’t exactly say that Thelma on Amen screams out successful black woman when all she did for about 75% of the series run was chase after a man who cringed when he saw her. That goes double for Mo Nique’s character on The Parkers. Nick at Nite and TV Land have brought back The Cosby Show, A Different World, Good Times and The Jeffersons but I have got to ask the question: why has anyone thought about Julia?

This groundbreaking series, which debuted 40 years ago actually had a leading character, played by Diahann Carroll who was professional and exuded dignity, grace and class. It is sad to say that modern interpretations of Julia have been few and far between on the small screen.

Back in the day those critical of the show thought that Ms. Carroll wasn’t black enough in part because she wasn’t sassy, loud, angry or helpless without a man. It makes me wonder whether me longing for some sisters of substance would be enough. If it were a late night option, would anyone besides me even watch? Or have we been so numbed by the Flava Effect to find a single, working mother remotely entertaining? I hope I get the chance to find out. While I am waiting, I am putting out this classified ad to the powers-that-be in Hollywood and the black women who have made it up the ladder so far they can run their own shows (Mara, Shondra, Yvette, I am talking to you)—give us more of what we want and need. Let me make it plain, how about images that truly reflect the length and breadth of our experiences. We have enough of the bad, it is time for the good.
Diahann Carroll Talks About Julia