I thought it was provocative as well but the brevity lessened the impact. I think the remaining shows would be better with a general theme attached to them. In reference to violence, there are 2 youtube videos that would be perfect to base a whole episode or the majority thereof around.
They both involve violence with the subtext of Rap music. The first is with a rapper whose name is Joey Jihad( the last name is Jihad for sure), it is a very popular video of the rapper being set-up by the cameraman who is then knocked out and carjacked. It is so popular in fact that there are several parodies of it. The aftermath, as with so many acts of violence is less well known or focused upon. The man who KO's Jihad in the clip was murdered a week after the incident after being shot in the head at point blank range. Also. I believe the cameraman was murdered as well.
The second clip involves a freestyle battle where one party sucker punches the other, it is also very popular. The part that most people don't see during their laughter is that the victim reaches for a gun in his waist while he is falling. Again, the consequence of violence wasn't thought of because if the victim had his faculties he would've murdered the cheap shot artist.
The second was way better and I agree with J Sergeant that the Street Walkin' stuff can be very powerful. The sections on gender issues was the sh*t!!
Here's an idea (and what may be a great strategy for getting a green light for a second season):
See if you guys can have a 'town meeting show' kind of like the reunion shows after certain reality series have run, and have members from the petition invited on as audience members and maybe panel members then do the same for those who supported the show or those who have appeared and was impacted by it when they saw themselves.
This will create a dialogue and hopefully drive the message home even more.
Last thing: I loved Charlie Murphy when he was on Dave Chapelle and he was great doing the Hollywood Tales, but I think a live narrator for this show is unnecessary.
You know, I don't mind Charlie so much as the material. IMHO, you got to do better on the narration scripts. I see you're hammering the message home in the narration bits but it needs to be funny. And it needs to have a consistent viewpoint with some integrity. The tsk, tsk stance just doesn't quite do it for me. I think it needs more ridicule and less scorn. But mostly more humor.
You know, I don't mind Charlie so much as the material. IMHO, you got to do better on the narration scripts. I see you're hammering the message home in the narration bits but it needs to be funny. And it needs to have a consistent viewpoint with some integrity. The tsk, tsk stance just doesn't quite do it for me. I think it needs more ridicule and less scorn. But mostly more humor.
I appreciate your comment and I'm curious as to why you think the scripts should be funnier or it needs more humor? The thinking was that we didnt want the message to get lost in a laughfest. Especially when so many clips can be considered humorous on some level (even if they're sad and awful). We were trying to strike a balance between that and a message. I was trying to recreate the feeling you get with the website, where you may laugh but its really not funny. Which is really a challenge as a writer. But your point is well taken. There is always room for improvement but it was a conscious choice not to go with a solely comedic feel between segments.
Obviously, Charlie is having flashbacks from that beatdown him and Eddie gave to Rick James over that couch.
([url]http://boards1.wizards.com/images/smilies/whatsthis.gif[/url]) From the Village Voice article:
Meanwhile, more new shows are on the way. Social commentary on the decline of the black family structure? Yes. Slightly offensive? Indeed. Funny? Absolutely.
So, just wanted to share that with you guys, its really refreshing to see hard evidence that A) Im not crazy and B) we just may be alright after all.....
jam donaldson
Woohoo!! We made EW's List of 15 Taboo-Breaking TV Moments of All Time
[url]http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20054888_10,00.html[/url]
I'm more than alright with being on a list with ALL IN THE FAMILY, DEADWOOD and NYPD BLUE.
Almost forgot to mention...
Writer, attorney and television producer, Jam Donaldson is a top contributer in the February 2010 issue of EBONY magazine which also features Dijimon Hounsou (who does voice-over for Black Panther, the animated series) on the cover.
Ms. Donaldson manages to summarizes her point of view what the Black American experience was like in the 70s and 80s on one page and she's not even 40!
When you get a chance, check out her new book, Conversate Is Not A Word.
...or check out her site, Blackpower.com