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GONE TOO SOON: A toast to 'Bernie Mac'
August 9, 2008  | By Diane Werts
 
bernie mac christmas.jpg

Bernie Mac, gone? At 50? Even more surprising than the comedian's early death from pneumonia (he'd been battling the immune disorder sarcoidosis for years) is the fact that his fine Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show doesn't seem to be repeating nationally anywhere.

At least the 2001-06 series can be found syndicated on local stations, like New York's WWOR and WNYW (sometimes seen as satellite "superstations"). The comic plays a fictionalized version of himself, a standup serving as foster dad to his druggie sister's kids -- "old school" stern to their new school scams -- weekdays at 4:30 p.m. ET on WWOR and weeknights at 1:30 a.m. ET on WNYW.

The sitcom was a pioneering breath of fresh air when it debuted on Fox in 2001, sort of a neo-Cosby Show, where dad knew best, or insisted he did, even when he didn't. Bernie weekly took us into his confidence as the wise narrator confessing to the camera, ensconsed in his poker room with cigars and wit, taking refuge from kiddie chaos he couldn't quite cope with.

This coming week's syndicated episodes (check your local station listings) have the kids going on strike from chores, with Bernie then hiring neighborhood "scabs," and depict Bernie coping with pet competition among the siblings.

The Bernie Mac Show may not be one of the all-time classics, but it truly made its mark as this decade started, paired with Malcolm in the Middle as a pioneer in the single-camera sitcomedy that has since come to dominate prime-time humor.

It's also worth noting that the show's cocreator with its star was Larry Wilmore, now making another kind of mark, on camera, as the tongue-in-cheek "senior black correspondent" on The Daily Show.

Take another look. At both of them.

 

3 Comments

 

Eileen said:

God Bless Bernie for all the times he made me laugh out loud. He wasn't a "black" comedian, he was "everyman's" comedian. His show touched a nerve with everyone trying to raise kids in a world seemingly gone crazy. The best part of the "Bernie Mac Show" was the wisdom (sometimes his, sometimes the kids) and family values it tried to impart. It truly was a family sitcom, so rare today.

Bernie will be missed. His offscreen life was one to be praised and practiced.

Tiffany Winbush said:

I'm a big fan of Bernie Mac and I was shocked when he passed. His show is definitely a classic. I hope that more people are able to enjoy his show as much as I did.

tierra said:

im a big fan of the Bernie mac show but i love to wactch his show every night.... Im sorry to hear that he is gone but he is still with us every day.

 
 
 
 
 
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