Moesha

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Moesha

Season 1 Image
Genre Sitcom
Running time approx. 0:30 (per episode)
Creator(s) Ralph Farquhar
Sara V. Finney
Vida Spears
Starring Brandy Norwood
William Allen Young
Countess Vaughn
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Marcus T. Paulk
Lamont Bentley
Yvette Wilson
Shar Jackson
Fredro Starr
Ray J
Country of origin USA
Original channel UPN
Original run January 23, 1996–May 14, 2001
No. of episodes 127
Official website
"Moesha" is also the title of a song by former Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, frequently performed by his first solo band.

Moesha was an American situation comedy produced for the UPN network from 1996 to 2001. It starred R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student and her family living in Los Angeles.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The show focused on the life of a middle-class family through the eyes of a typical teenage girl. Her father Frank, a widower and a Saturn car salesman, has married Dee, the vice principal at Moesha's school, much to Moesha's dismay. It was created by Ralph Farquhar, along with the writing team of Sara V. Finney and Vida Spears. The settings for the show include the Mitchell household and the teen hang-out, The Den.

[edit] Production

The show was first aired in the U.S. on January 23, 1996. However, the show was originally slated to air on the CBS network in 1995. CBS passed on the show and was later picked up by UPN to air in early January 1996 as a mid-season replacement. The show ran for six seasons.

[edit] Issues Addressed

The show dealt with "real teen social issues", such as teen pregnancy, drug use, race relations, premarital sex, the death of a parent, and day-to-day issues faced by teenagers at home and in school.

See also: Very special episode

[edit] Secrets & Lies

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In one of the most controversial episodes, Secrets & Lies, the Mitchell family learned from a visiting family member that Frank is the biological father of Dorian, who both the Mitchells and Dorian himself believed to be Frank's nephew. The shocking news of Frank's infidelity (during his first marriage) turned the family upside-down and resulted in Moesha moving out of the house and Dorian's rebellion.

[edit] Backstage Tension

With all the success that Moesha had accumulated, rumors speculated that Brandy was not getting along with members of the cast and production team. An alleged feud between Brandy and Countess Vaughn appeared in many tabloids. However, they are on good terms now. Shortly after, feeling the pressure to do a sitcom and pursue her music career, it has been rumored that Brandy had collapsed on the set of Moesha due to diet pills. She was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with dehydration, having nothing to do with diet pills, which she had never taken.

Co-creator and producer Vida Spears, was fired and many claimed Brandy and Sonja Norwood were responsible for the termination. Spears wanted the show to continue its portrayal of a happy-go-lucky family, while Brandy wanted more control over storylines. With the arrival of Ray J (Brandy's real-life brother) to the show, the storylines were revamped from his character being portrayed as Frank's nephew to his out-of-wedlock son. Co-star Sheryl Lee Ralph voiced her opinion that she was leaving and limiting her role on the show, only appearing when necessary.

Additional conflicts arose during the series when Lamont Bentley was sued by a security guard who claimed bodily injury caused by Bentley and his friends in an altercation allegedly caused when Bentley refused to provide credentials when entering the Sunset/Gower parking lot where the series was taped. Allegedly the management at Sunset/Gower Studios declined to renew the production company's lease as a result of this problem and the series later moved to Paramount Studios lot.

Some sources reported that backstage tension that continued throughout season six played a factor in UPN's decision to cancel the series.

[edit] Cancellation

By the sixth season, Moesha seemed to become a full-blown melodramatic sitcom. As a result, some Moesha purists have labeled the series as a "dramedy." In the final episode of the season, it was revealed that Myles was kidnapped by a rival of Dorian and an unknown pregnancy test found in the trash at Moesha's dorm. A seventh season of the show was planned, but UPN let the series go as ratings continued to decline from Season 5. Many viewers were simply unforgiving of the Secrets and Lies episode that made Dorian an out-of-wedlock child of Frank. Entertainment Weekly reported that certain plots were to be resolved on The Parkers even with Ray J joining the cast, but to no avail. A movie was rumored to also be planned to end the series[citation needed], but Lamont Bentley unexpectedly died in a car accident in January 2005. Therefore, the show ended on a cliffhanger, never to be resolved.

[edit] Syndication

The show is currently syndicated on cable networks such as WGN and The N.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Characters

  • Moesha Mitchell - Like many teens, Moesha's trying to find her place in life. At every turn, Moesha — along with her friends and family —experiences new challenges and hilarious situations associated with the pressures and demands of growing up in an often confusing world.
  • Frank Mitchell - A Saturn dealer and father to Moesha, Miles, and Dorian.
  • Deidra "Dee" Mitchell - an educator attempting to master two additional careers — as wife and stepmother to Moesha and Myles.
  • Kim Parker - Moesha's best friend.
  • Hakeem Campbell - A frequent visitor to the Mitchell household, as Moesha’s lifelong friend, neighbor.
  • Andell Wilkerson - Moesha's older friend and owner of the neighborhood hangout, The Den.
  • Niecy Jackson - Moesha's friend and confidante.
  • Quinton 'Q' Brooks - Moesha's love interest.

[edit] Episodes

See List of Moesha episodes

[edit] Spin-off

Given her popularity for four seasons on Moesha, Countess Vaughn left the show in 1999 for her own show, The Parkers. The show premiered on August 30, 1999 on UPN airing, for a time, after its parent series. It centered the adventures of Kim attending college along with her mother played by comedienne Mo'Nique.

Several Moesha cast members (including Brandy Norwood) made crossover appearances on the show from time to time to provide continuity between the two shows. Leaving Moesha, Yvette Wilson later joined the cast as Andell in 2000.

[edit] Popularity

Moesha has been a target for such shows and movies.

  • Clueless - In a Halloween-themed episode spoofing the popular Scream films, Cher (Rachel Blanchard), Dionne (Stacey Dash) and Amber (Elisa Donovan) try to catch a stalker. Later, Amber hints at a Moesha crossover after calling out Moesha's name when the girls are looking for Murray and Sean. Ironically, Shar Jackson and Lamont Bentley appeared in a later episode reprising their Moesha characters.
  • A Very Brady Sequel (1996) - Jan Brady (Jennifer Elise Cox) runs into her psychiatrist, Mrs. Cummings (RuPaul). She gives Jan some advice. Shortly after, Mrs. Cummings' daughters are shown having an argument where one utters the phrase, "Moesha! Moesha! Moesha!" The phrase was used for laughs since a similar catch-phrase was stated in the original series. Coincidentally, Jennifer Elise Cox reprises her role in an episode of Moesha's fourth season.
  • MADtv - Debra Wilson, a popular featured player on the show, spoofs Brandy Norwood in some sketches.
  • The Proud Family -In the episode Hooray for Iesha, the show parodies Moesha revolving around Penny Proud's favorite television program, Iesha. The plot of this episode is about the show Iesha, which is cancelled without resolving the previous seasons cliffhanger ending, with Iesha's little brother running away. This is almost reminiscent to the final episode of Moesha.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/o/e/Moesha.html"