The Sinbad Show

The Sinbad Show
Genre Sitcom
Created by Gary Murphy
Larry Strawther
Sinbad
Starring Sinbad
T. K. Carter
Erin Davis
Willie Ray Norwood, Jr.
Hal Williams
Salma Hayek
Nancy Wilson
Theme music composer Chuck Brown
Opening theme "Hah Man"
Composer(s) Kurt Farquhar
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 26 (2 unaired)
Production
Executive producer(s) Ralph Farquhar
Michael Jacobs
Gary Murphy
Marc Sotkin
Larry Strawther
Michael J. Weithorn
Producer(s) Michael Petok
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Michael Jacobs Productions
David & Goliath Productions
Gary Murphy-Larry Strawther Productions
Touchstone Television
Distributor Disney-ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original network Fox
Original release September 16, 1993 (1993-09-16) – April 21, 1994 (1994-04-21)

The Sinbad Show is an American sitcom starring comedian Sinbad that premiered on September 16, 1993 on Fox. The show's main plot is about a bachelor taking in two orphaned children. Chuck Brown performed this sitcom's theme music. It was canceled after one season on April 21, 1994, with two episodes left unaired.

Overview

The series follows the life of David Bryan (Sinbad), a carefree bachelor, who becomes a single parent when he adopts two orphaned children, Zana (Erin Davis) and L.J. Beckley (Ray J), who face several issues which they work through together.

The show follows David as he helps L.J. and Zana deal with their new lives, L.J. dealing with school, friendships, girls and being a teenager, and Zana learning how to function in everyday life. Meanwhile, Clarence shares his antics and David's parents helping him deal with raising kids.

Characters

Character Played by Description
David Bryan Sinbad Dave is the father of the family. His friends often refer to him as "Red" and he is known for acting out flamboyant scenes for Zana and hitting on attractive women. He designs video games.
L.J. Beckley Ray J
(credited as Willie Ray Norwood, Jr.)
L.J. is the older brother of Zana. He is 12 years old, but turns 13 in the duration of the show. He is one of the more sarcastic characters on the show. He often states he can look after himself, but wants Zana to be safe. He tries to control what Dave does for Zana. He doesn't do that well in school, and he gets tutored by Ms. Page. He is often very surly and disrespectful towards David and other authoritative figures.
Zana Beckley Erin Davis Zana is 6 years old, and has greatly depended on L.J. in the past. She loves David very much but is still insecure about moving away from him, due to her experiences with various foster homes.
Clarence Hall T. K. Carter Clarence works at the Big and Tall store, and has been friends with David since grade school. He is often teased about his difficulties with women, although he remains boastful about his exploits. He is known for his cluelessness.

Regular guests

Cancellation

The Sinbad Show was cancelled after its first season, and aired its last episode on April 21, 1994. It aired at 8:30 p.m., following The Simpsons, Thursday nights on Fox. The series was one of several shows featuring predominately black casts that were canceled by Fox around the same time (others included Roc, South Central and In Living Color).[1] Activist Jesse Jackson protested the cancellations and called for a boycott of the network for their "institutional racism".[2] Fox maintained that the series were low rated and the decision to cancel was not racially motivated.[3]

Episode list

Series # Title Notes Original air date
1 Pilot David Bryan, a footloose and carefree bachelor, meets two orphaned children and learns the authorities will have to split them up unless someone adopts them both. September 16, 1993
2 "The Toothfairy Has Landed" L.J. objects to David telling Zana about the Tooth Fairy when she loses her milk teeth. September 23, 1993
3 "The Par-Tay" David takes a domestic engineering course and believes that the instructor has fallen for him. September 30, 1993
4 "Petty Larceny" David believes that L.J. may be stealing from him until he catches Zana stealing in the mall and realises that L.J. is lying to protect his sister. October 7, 1993
5 "My Daughter's Keeper" Zana joins a club and learns that only light-skinned blacks are accepted. October 14, 1993
6 "Strictly Business" Since L.J. has not been doing his homework assignments, he is not allowed to go to Disneyland with David's parents. October 21, 1993
7 "David's Van" David has trouble parting with his beloved car in order to buy another. November 4, 1993
8 "I Coulda Been the Man" David has a hard time enjoying his annual ski vacation when the kids keep calling him at the lodge. November 11, 1993
9 "Shades of Acceptance" David falls for a past love. November 18, 1993
10 "It's My Party, I'll Cry If I Want To" When David is unable to get a TV character to come to Zana's party because of the cost, he creates one. December 9, 1993
11 "Breaking the Pattern" L.J. invites his girlfriend over when no one is home. December 16, 1993
12 "Keep the Faith" L.J. doesn't believe in God. January 6, 1994
13 "The Dog Episode" Zana wants to keep a dog after he follows her home. January 13, 1994
14 "David Goes Skiing" David has a hard time enjoying his annual ski vacation when the kids keep calling him at the lodge. January 27, 1994
15 "The Mr. Science Show" No synopsis available. February 3, 1994
16 "Black History Month" L.J. can't decide who to write his Black History Month essay on, and Zana volunteers to play Rosa Parks. February 10, 1994
17 "The Telethon" David convinces his father to coach a basketball team after he retires. March 3, 1994
18 "Neighborhood Watch" David starts a neighborhood watch. March 10, 1994
19 "Love Lessons" L.J. gets a bad grade in a black history class, and is tutored by his favorite teacher March 17, 1994
20 "Can We Talk?" David and Clarence go on a talk show. March 22, 1994
21 "The Family Reunion" L.J. and Zana meet David's family. March 31, 1994
22 "Adoption (Part 1)" No synopsis available. April 7, 1994
23 "Adoption (Part 2)" L.J. and Zana's uncle want them to live with him. April 14, 1994
24 "Girls Unda-Hoodz" Zana gets her hair done and Clarence teaches L.J. how cool men drive. April 21, 1994
25 "In the Beginning" No synopsis available. Unaired
26 "Pinch Sitter" David learns how difficult it is to find a good babysitter. Unaired

Syndication

The show aired in syndication on The Family Channel Monday to Thursday at 9:30 p.m. and weekend mornings at 11:30. It also aired on Disney Channel for a short time during the mid-1990s.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Result Category Recipient
1994 Young Artist Awards Nominated Best Actor Under Ten in a Television Series or Show Erin Davis
1995 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Television Actor Sinbad

References

  1. Zook, Kristal Brent (1999). Color by Fox: The Fox Network and the Revolution in Black Television. Oxford University Press US. p. 11. ISBN 0-19-510612-1.
  2. Rosenberg, Howard (1994-10-19). "Did Jackson Save FOX Series With Boycott Threat?". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  3. Dines, Gail; McMahon Humez, Jean (2002). Gender, Race, and Class in Media. SAGE. p. 590. ISBN 0-7619-2261-X.


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