In the House (TV series)

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In the House
Format Sitcom
Created by Winifred Hervey
Starring LL Cool J
Maia Campbell
Alfonso Ribeiro (1996-1999)
Kim Wayans (1996-1999)
Debbie Allen (1995-1996)
Jeffrey Wood (1995-1996)
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of episodes 76
Production
Running time 30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel NBC, UPN
Original run April 10, 1995 – August 11, 1999
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

In the House is a television sitcom that premiered April 10, 1995 originally on NBC (Seasons 1 and 2 aired on NBC, and Seasons 3, 4, and 5 aired on UPN). The series starred LL Cool J and Maia Campbell. The series ran for five seasons, and aired its last episode on August 11, 1999.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Marion Hill (LL Cool J) is a former professional football player with the Los Angeles Raiders. Because of his financial predicament, Marion is forced to rent out most rooms in his house to single mother Jackie Warren (Debbie Allen) and her two children, Tiffany Warren (Maia Campbell) and Austin Warren (Jeffery Wood). In subsequent seasons, Debbie Allen and Jeffery Wood exited the show and the series was restructured with Marion becoming the legal guardian for Tiffany because Jackie and Austin moved east.

The show was noted for its unique take on the character of Marion Hill. LL Cool J stated in interviews that he was interested in making Marion a more well rounded character than is often depicted of male African Americans in television and cinema. To that end, Marion used various "alternative" means of healing from his sports injuries, such as meditation, aromatherapy, visualization, etc. A running gag on the show during the first few seasons was the other characters' belittlement of Marion's non-mainstream spiritual and holistic healing interests.

Marion also owned a Los Angeles sports clinic. One of his coworkers was the flirtatious Tonia Harris (Kim Wayans), and two later additions to the show were Dr. Maxwell "Max" Stanton (Alfonso Ribeiro) and his fiancée, Mercedes Langford (Lark Voorhies).

The show is a rarity, because it was videotaped during its entire run, but processed to look like it was on film during its NBC run (as was The John Larroquette Show.) Subsequent episodes on UPN were videotaped, but not processed, so the show has different "looks" in reruns, depending on which season the episode is from.

[edit] Cancellation and syndication

The series was cancelled in the Summer of 1998 by UPN and went into syndication. However, for a week in August 1999, NBC aired several unaired episodes which were taped a year earlier; including the series finale, at 1:35 a.m. Currently the show airs on Trouble.

[edit] Fresh Prince of Bel-Air connection

The show had a heavy Fresh Prince influence on it, partially due to the shows having the same producers.

During the second season, Alfonso Ribeiro reprised his Fresh Prince role of Carlton Banks, and Tatyana Ali played his sister Ashley Banks. Alfonso would later return to the show as Maxwell "Max" Stanton.

When Max and Mercedes got married, James Avery and Daphne Maxwell Reid played Max's parents. Avery and Reid were Philip Banks and Vivian Banks on The Fresh Prince, respectively, and played the parents of Alfonso's character. In addition, Joseph Marcell, who had played the wisecracking Geoffrey Butler on Fresh Prince, was the officiating minister at the wedding. A memorable moment in the wedding episode occurs when, at the reception, Avery's character asks the minister to fill his drink, to which the minister answers: "I'm God's servant, not yours." It is at that moment that Avery tells Reid that the minister looks like someone they once knew (although Max's parents are neither from Los Angeles nor Philadelphia, but rather from Boston).

In one episode, when Marion is sued by a police officer, James Avery played the judge during the mediation between the two. His Fresh Prince character was also a judge.

Lark Voorhies plays Mercedes Langford, who is Alfonso's character Max' girlfriend turned wife. In Fresh Prince, Voorhies plays Cindy, a character who is romantically involved with Alfonso's character Carlton.

[edit] Cast

Supporting Cast


[edit] External links