Fox is planning an In Living Color reunion for the network’s 25th anniversary special on April 22. Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans will get together to talk about their memories of the classic 1990s sketch-comedy show that broke all PC rules. Fox will later be relaunching In Living Color with a new cast, but can it ever be as good as the original? Damon Wayons, Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, David Alan Grier and many more created the most original TV of the time, where there were no sacred cows and everything was on the table to be skewered. Reruns air on Centric now, and I own the first three seasons on DVD (childhood memories!), but the reunion is more than enough reason to gather the funniest skits from the show.
1.The Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan Comedy Hour: Hands down, the winner. This is pure genius, from the respective impersonations by David Alan Grier and Damon Wayans to the script to the belly rub at the end.
2. Blaine and Antoine, Men on…: You can’t pick just one from the series of skits by Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier, with one-liners that often made the actors crack up (and outfits to match). Two snaps with a twist!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYh8qZTspss
3. Oswald Bates and Barbara Bush: Another great Damon Wayans character was the “Booked on Phonics” Bates, the inmate with the curious sentences and coordinating facial expressions. Here, he shares his reading progress with the first lady.
4. Star Trek: The Wrath of Farrakhan: Again, Damon Wayans is spot-on, but this time he brings his Nation of Islam brothers with him to convince the crew members of the Enterprise that they’re being oppressed by Capt. Kirk (Jim Carrey).
5. Jim Carrey as Vanilla Ice: I remember when this originally aired and I was crying, I was laughing so hard. Remember, we were actually living through Vanilla Ice at the time. It was a cultural cross to bear.
6. Wanda the Ugly Woman: Jamie Foxx’s most enduring show character — “I was gonna rock his world!”
7. Jim Carrey as The Environmentalist Guy: Surely we’ve all seen this guys in the Whole Foods parking lot; one of the funniest parts is how, down to the tie-dyed T-shirt, Environmentalist Guy has not changed in two decades. It’s just that now they’re all camping out at OWS protests.
8. Mike Tyson and Robin Givens on Love Connection: So ’90s. So awesome.
9. Homey D. Clown: My favorite was actually the skit where he sold out to The Man at Chez Whitey, but couldn’t find that online… this is another good one, where he fills in as a substitute teacher.
10. Handi-Man: And speaking of utterly, totally, wholly politically incorrect, we had the first handicapped superhero. “Never underestimate the power of the handicapped!”
11. Fire Marshal Bill: One of Carrey’s most famous characters from the show; here he shows a family National Fire Safety Week tips.
12. The Arsenio Hall of Justice: Ultimate ’90s flashback. Fantastic impression by Keenan Ivory Wayans with Arsenio as a prosecutor.
13. Am I Black or White: A truly classic Michael Jackson parody by Tommy Davidson.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3H6hRNwgtc
14. U Can’t Touch This: Again, Davidson — but this time as M.C. Hammer — and the PANTS.
15. Hey Mon: The Jamaican family the Hedleys are supposed to be the hardest-working family with the most jobs, but this time they’ve got competition from the new Koreans in the neighborhood in one of the most un-PC skits.
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