My Brother and Me

For the album by Ying Yang Twins, see My Brother & Me.
My Brother and Me
Created by Ilunga Adell
Calvin Brown, Jr.
Written by Ilunga Adell
Demetrius A. Bady
Bootsie
Calvin Brown, Jr.
Donelle Q. Buck
Bobby Crawford
Merrie Dudley
Angella Harris
Fred Johnson
J. Stanford Parker
Directed by Arlando Smith
Adam Weissman
Starring Arthur Reggie III
Ralph Woolfolk IV
Jimmy Lee Newman, Jr.
Aisling Sistrunk
Karen E. Fraction
Jim R. Coleman
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Calvin Brown, Jr.
Ilunga Adell
Bonnie Burns
Location(s) Nickelodeon Studios, Orlando, Florida
Camera setup Multiple-camera setup
Running time approx. 22–24 minutes
Production company(s) Burns & Burns Productions
Release
Original network Nickelodeon
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
Original release October 15, 1994 – February 2, 1995

My Brother and Me is an American sitcom, which ran on Nickelodeon from October 15, 1994 through February 2, 1995. The show centers on the Parkers, a family living in the west side of Charlotte, North Carolina, who experience the highs and lows of everyday life. The series starred Arthur Reggie III as pre-teen son Alfie, Ralph Woolfolk IV as his younger brother DeeDee, Aisling Sistrunk as older sister Melanie, Karen E. Fraction as mother Jennifer Parker, Jim R. Coleman as father Roger Parker, and Jimmy Lee Newman Jr. as Alfie's troublesome best friend, "Goo".

Reruns of the program aired during The '90s Are All That block on TeenNick on December 24, 26, and 28, 2013, marking the first time the series has aired on television since 2000. In June 2014, Nickelodeon released My Brother & Me: The Complete Series as a two-disc manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release through Amazon.com.

Cast

Main cast

Recurring cast

Cool Dr. Money & The Money Girls

Celebrity cameos

In the first episode of the series, Charlotte Hornets starter Kendall Gill made a guest appearance. Gill was a member of the Seattle SuperSonics at the time.

The show also featured former Orlando Magic small forward Dennis Scott as a coach, in the episode "Basketball Tryouts".

It would also feature Kenny Layne, the kid who had his hair cut similar to Cool Doctor Money. Layne is a professional wrestler signed to TNA Wrestling, where he is a two-time X Division Champion.

Interior monologues

The show extensively uses interior monologues. Almost every episode features the characters' "thoughts", usually overreacted responses to something another character says. This is especially prevalent in scenes revolving around the boys' father (Jim Coleman), who frequently tells painfully boring stories about his brother, the kids' uncle Lawrence, and forces the kids to endure his favorite dish, Mumbo-jumbo gumbo.

Catchphrases

A common (though unofficial) catchphrase used in the show by multiple characters (usually Donnell, Deonne, and their mother) was "Don't hold your breath!" This was a typical response to an outlandish suggestion by another character (for example, Goo asking Melanie for a kiss, or Harry asking Donnell's mom to play country music at Donnell's birthday party). Another common catchphrase would occur when Dee Dee would interrupt Goo in whatever story he was telling, and promptly after Goo telling Dee Dee off, he would say, "Now as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted...." and would continue onward with his story. This occurrence happened quite often on the show. Alfie said in most episodes "Aw, man!" when faced with a situation or outcome that troubled him (ex, his father caught wind of his plans to cheat on a math test he ended up failing).

There was also the use of the phrase "you didn't say Fuzzy Wuzzy" when Dee Dee would convince Alfie to play the Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear Game.

One phrase, said by Dee Dee and memorable for its unorthodox inflection, was "Hit me! Hit me!" He was being bullied at school, so his brother Alfie and Goo taught him how to bluff. After saying that phrase, Dee Dee came home with a black eye and covered in mud. They came to find out, it was a girl that was bullying him.

Episodes (1994–1995)

No. Title Original air date
1"The Charity"October 15, 1994
2"The Practical Joke War"October 22, 1994
3"The Weekend Aunt Helen Came"November 1, 1994
4"The Robin Hood Play"November 9, 1994
5"Basketball Tryouts"November 30, 1994
6"Where's the Snake?"December 6, 1994
7"Dee Dee's Girlfriend"December 15, 1994
8"Dee Dee's Haircut"December 20, 1994
9"Dee Dee Runs Away"December 28, 1994
10"Donnel's Birthday Party"January 5, 1995
11"The Surprise"January 19, 1995
12"Candy Sale"January 26, 1995
13"The Big Bully"February 2, 1995

Cancellation

The show made history as the network's first show featuring a predominantly black cast. Despite its popularity during its premiere, the series only lasted 13 episodes. Ralph Woolfolk explained in an interview that the show was canceled due to disagreements between the producers and creators of the show; a second season was planned but the two parties had different visions for the show that caused a major fallout.[1]

After the series

The rest of the cast, with the exception of Karen Fraction and Jim Coleman, fell into obscurity. Some fan sites found the cast on Facebook and reported that most have graduated from college and pursued careers in the private sector.

Arthur Reggie III made a few more appearances on television, before turning to rapping. He raps under the name Show Bizness.

Amanda Seales went on in the industry as a musician known as Amanda Diva.

Ralph Woolfolk studied English at Morehouse College in Atlanta, while also seeking Law School at either Harvard University or William and Mary Law School in Virginia. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the first historically black fraternity on a collegiate level. As of December 2014 he is a Police Officer for the city of Atlanta.[2]

On October 30, 2007, Karen Fraction died after a 5-year battle with breast cancer.

DVD release

As of June 2014, My Brother And Me was released on DVD by Nickelodeon. The DVDs are now available only at Amazon.com.

Awards and nominations

In 1996 and 1997, My Brother and Me was nominated for the NAACP Image Award (Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special).

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.