In Living Color: Season Five

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre television series Starring Keenen Ivory Wayans, Jim Carrey, Kelly Coffield, Kim Coles, Tommy Davidson Directed by Terri McCoy, Paul Miller Publisher 20th Century Fox External Links Official Fox Home Entertainment Website

For several years, "In Living Color" was the preferred sketch comedy alternative to the slowly staling "Saturday Night Live". Initially aired in 1990, "In Living Color" provided a form of comedy that focused primarily on African American social commentary and subject matter. The show was fearless, it set standards and it helped bring this fresh comedic emphasis to the mainstream. Above all, "In Living Color" is best remembered as being the career launch pad for Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, David Alan Grier and Jennifer Lopez (who got her start as one of the show's "Fly Girls").

Then something happened. Keenen Ivory Wayans, the show's creator, producer and head writer, left the show after a fallout with the network. Thus, the rest of the Wayans family (who were a majority of the cast) followed their big brother out the door. Leaving only Carrey, Foxx, Grier, Tommy Davidson and T'Keyah Crystal Keymah to fend for themselves. With a new writing team and an extensive set of new cast members, "In Living Color" would give it another go and attempt to emulate the success it had in the previous four seasons. Sadly, the effort was all for naught. The fifth season would be the last season of "In Living Color".

With the Wayans clan gone, along with writer Peter Mooney (who helped create some of the show's more memorable characters such as Homie D. Clown) gone, the brand of humor changed from the cutting edge, politically incorrect agenda it was known for to a more generic style that relied heavily on celebrity spoofs and shock value. Many of the usually funny recurring sketches like Carrey's "Fire Marshall Bill" and Foxx's "Wanda" come off forced and quite lame. On the other hand, sketches like "The Dirty Dozens" and one-timers like "The Infomercial Awards" and "Russell Simmons's Def Strawberry Jam" hold their own with the many classic bits from the previous years. I guarantee that Carrey's dead-on impersonation of Jay "Juiceman" Kordich will leave you in stitches. The several guest appearances by Chris Rock add a nice touch as well. No worries, there are some comedic nuggets within the fifth season; you'll just have to look a little harder to find them.

Probably the biggest dispute I have with this three-disc, twenty-four episode boxed set is the length of each episode. Some episodes clock in at just a little over 18 minutes while others run at the full 24 minutes. I have a feeling that we are missing some of the originally aired content. There are also no extra features whatsoever, but since we are dealing with nearly 9 hours of content, and that this was the least noteworthy era of the show's tenure, I don't feel that supplements are necessary.

Even though it has its good moments, many of the show's fans tend to blow off the final season. With bland jokes, overdone gimmicks and the occasional and sporadic episode of laughter, I can understand why. Season five is for those a completist complex.