TV-Reviewed

Ever since Everybody Hates Chris premiered on The CW, I’ve been wanting to watch it, even if only to check it out and see if it was worth watching on a regular basis. I’ve been a fan of Chris Rock’s standup for a while now so with this series being loosely based around his life, it always interested me, but this was the first episode I’ve seen. Missing four seasons isn’t the way I’d ideally like to be introduced to the show.

In “Everybody Hates Tattaglia” Chris, played by New York-born Tyler James Williams, is now in high school, and has his mind made up that he’s still going to be the only black kid in school. He’s shocked when he finds out he’s surrounded by minorities. I kind of laughed when he asked the white kid why he didn’t punch him the second he walked by. It just hadn’t sunk in yet.

Tyler James Williams as Chris and Paul Ben-Victor as Mr. Thurman

Though Chris didn’t seem to be the only black kid in school, his homeroom teacher seemed to have an issue with Chris’ skin color. Every kid in that class was white except for Chris. The teacher was really on Chris’ case, but it wasn’t so mean spirited as silly. The teacher had a number of quirks, namely his inability to stand or sit still for more than half a second. It got to be annoying in the later scenes wherein Chris applied for the football team’s equipment manager. Chris couldn’t get away from his homeroom teacher when it turned out he’s also the football coach.

I really like the casting of Terry Crews as the father. I’ve got memories of him playing any number of mean, aggressive characters is various films. He seemed quite different here, playing the father, encouraging his daughter to get a new job to help support the family.

I don’t know with any certainty if I will continue to watch Everybody Hates Chris. Chris Rock’s voiceovers are always funny, but what you see on the screen itself isn’t nearly as funny. The two are on entirely two different levels.

Rating: 5.5