Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002

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A quick perusal of 3BC's "Video Vault" would tell you that I love musicals; and on TV, variety shows were generally the closest one could come to a musical, mixing old-fashioned vaudeville with the modern wonders of the early Technology Age. So, cynicism about TV Land's Black History Month motivations held firmly in check, I watched the "Variety" installment of Inside TV Land: African-Americans In Television with an open mind. And lemme tell ya, I very much enjoyed this historical look back at the history of Blacks in the Variety genre. THE STORY There's no doubt that talented Black performers have barnstormed the entertainment industry. Some might think Blacks have done so only in limited, comedic terms; but back in the day, when variety shows ruled the airwaves, Black entertainers like Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, Harry Belafonte, Flip Wilson, and "Downhome Diva" Pearl Bailey, were pioneers in the field along with their White counterparts. As entertainer Debbie Allen put it, "Nobody sings and dances better than we do." Inside TV Land: African-Americans In Television - Variety takes a historical look back, through clips and interviews, of the important role Black performers have played, and the struggles they had to go through, in what appears to now be a lost genre: variety television shows. THE UPSHOT I'm no student of history, but I do understand that old saying: "You have to know where you've been, to know where you're going". And criticism of BET's seeming forgetfulness aside for the moment, I found "Inside" to be an important, but all-too-quick, look back, starting with the genesis of TV. As I was being entertained, I found myself learning various facts and factoids; for example, did you know that one of the first television broadcasts featured Ethel Waters, a well-known entertainer back in her day? Probably not, because as "Inside"'s historians note, the signal was too weak to have been broadcasted more than 50 miles outside of Manhattan. Too bad that tidbit of info never made its way into the history books; to have some teachers tell it, We first showed up on TV as maids, pimps, muggers, and clowns. If all there was to Inside TV Land: African-Americans In Television - Variety was a recitation of various factoids, I would probably have been as bored with it as I was in my 7th-grade, whitewashed version of history, History class. Actually, there was no time to get bored; the segments skipped so fast from subject to subject, from decade to decade, I had a hard time keeping up. Of course, it would have been nearly impossible to take an in-depth look at the nearly 75-year span of the Variety TV genre, and make it fit into 60 minutes, without overlooking something important. That meant having to include the very lame The Wayne Brady Show in its end segment; after all, as bad as that show was (and I say this as a fan of Brady on Whose Line Is It Anyway?), it was a part of the evolution of TV Variety. Still, I found the images, stories, and interviews going by so quickly, I didn't have much of a chance to grab on to anything on the emotional basis by which I judge a show to have Worked for me. That is, until the last 15 or so minutes, which moved into the 1960's and 70's: back in my day. I very fondly remember The Flip Wilson Show, though at the time it was on, I was such a young pup that I wasn't cognizant of its importance in the scheme of things. I also remembered The Richard Pryor Show, which aired during the peak of my Young Black Militant era. The closer the show got to things which I could identify with and remember personally, the better it got for me - up to a point. That point ended with the segment on the moving tribute show for Sammy Davis Jr. on his 60th anniversary in show business: a show I can remember as if I had just seen it yesterday. It's not that "Inside" got worse after that point; it's just that, as narrator Ron Glass pointed out, Variety as a genre died along with the incomparable Mr. Davis, with shows like In Living Color, Def Comedy Jam, and the vomit-inducing Comic View, catering to a much different audience. I was part of that audience for awhile, but I definitely felt the loss of innovative, multi-leveled entertainment shows like those mentioned above as well as mainstream shows like The Carol Burnett Show. For me, the evidence of the sorry state of affairs on BET, only serves to make my sadness over the loss, all the more palpable. Still, there may be hope yet: if this mini-series is successful, maybe the TV Land network will rebroadcast those shows it so quickly spoke of in this special, and make Bammer a happy camper again. BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE If you're anything like me, the quick bites you get in this historical journey back to a time when "funny" didn't translate down to "cuss as much as possible and don't forget to mention sex a lot", won't be enough for you. You'll get hungry for more of the Good Stuff that they just don't make anymore. If you missed part one, no worries: Inside TV Land: African-Americans In Television - Variety, as well as the rest of the series, is due to be rerun throughout Black History Month. Check your local listings for times and dates. INSIDE TV LAND: AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN TELEVISION - VARIETY:   back to top And that's the way I see it. Rose "Bams" Cooper 3BlackChicks Review™ Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com    ICQ: 7760005 http://www.3blackchicks.com/