My wife and kids backstage at No. 1 black tv show - Television Program Review

Ebony, Dec, 2003 by Aldore Collier

The producers and stars play down these undercurrents, saying that their main focus is to present a weekly show that everybody can relate to. This season the story has focused on family in a different way. "Junior" and his girlfriend "Vanessa" are expecting a child. "Jay" fainted when she heard the news, but the family acknowledges now that teenaged pregnancy is a problem that millions of families must face.

The other daughter, "Claire," has a relationship with "Tony,' one of the strangest Bible-thumpers America has seen. There is even a pre-teen romantic thing surrouding the youngest daughter, "Kady" 7. "Franklin," a precocious 7-year-old with a big vocabulary, is wooing her with his singing and piano skills.

For Campbell-Martin, the show is a warm respite from the controversy that surrounded her last sitcom, Martin. There were numerous rumors of constant infighting and other disruptions on the show. Campbell-Martin diplomatically skirts the details, saying: "I've heard all the rumors. You have to think about the wonderful things, too. I got a chance to work with my friend, Tichina Arnold. We're best friends and have been friends since we were 12."

There have been inevitable comparisons to The Cosby Show, which also dealt with a professional Black couple with children.

And although there are differences as well as similarities, both shows remind us that although marriage and parenthood are not easy expeditions, they provide indescribable rewards for those who make the journey.