BETTER SHOW : Martin or Fresh Prince :

[Kenyan West]

Brehs calling Martin " try hard" in this thread must be undercover cacs or mixed breeds. There are some try hard black comedies, but Martin (at least the earlier seasons) damn sure wasn't one of em. Martin was and IS hip hop/black american comedy culture in a raw form. We all loved Fresh Prince also, but it was clearly a more accessible diluted comedy garnished with the culture. Fresh Prince never got us to fall over laughing DYING like those classic Martin eps. FP never ever reached Martin's highs as a comedy, it was simply amusing and chuckleworthy. Overall though, writing, themes, character development, etc FP was a better show, of course. That's obviously true -- you had nikkas killing the theater game as actors and actresses on the show.

The conclusion of Martin was less than ideal, but I can't think of any black sitcom messing with Martin. It is undeniably an all time black television classic.

 

[Cadillac]

Some of yall in here giving character development to Fresh prince are only doing so because it was a more "serious"/"dramatic" series

both of them operate in a relatively similar lane of devlopment to the point its a tie. FP might have the edge. But its not like Martin lacked that. Personally there about the same just with different styles

 

[Black Lightning]

underrated comment. he really did. Will was wild corny to me. I didn't find him funny.

James & Alfonso(who were both veteran actors) were the heart & soul of that show.

Will(who's a great actor now) didn't become a good actor until half way through the series.

He was terrible in the beginning.

 

[Eternally Jaded]

Fresh Prince easily.

Martin was funny, but it leaned too hard into slapstick too much for me.

Fresh Prince did too, but not nearly as much.

Same reason why I never liked the Wayans, Jaime Foxx or Steve Harvey show.

Just pure silly, n not enough substance imo.

 

[Black Magisterialness]

lol what

Hilary and her being stupid
the Phil fat Jokes
Carlton and his dance
Hilary askin Phil for Money
Will hitting Carlton

idk why the critique of Martin repeating gags is being held against it, when Fresh prince and other sitcoms did the same thing to

hell some episodes of Fresh prince I recall there are entire episodes that rely on these gags for comedy.

Those aren't character gags.

 

[Cadillac]

Those aren't character gags.

yes they are., those are constant reoccurring running gags throughout the series.

thats literally what a running gag is

 

[Mike the Executioner]

James & Alfonso(who were both veteran actors) were the heart & soul of that show.

Will(who's a great actor now) didn't become a good actor until half way through the series.

He was terrible in the beginning.

I thought Will learned quickly. Looking back at the first season, he seemed really comfortable in front of the camera and it didn't take long for him to be able to keep up with everyone else.

But Will himself said he was trash so I get it.

 

[Methodical]

Fresh Prince was a better show.
Martin was a funnier show.

This!

 

[BrehWyatt]

Fresh Prince was a better show. Martin was funnier.

This has been the reality for years and it will never change.

 

[Travelnomad]

I’ll say this , when it was time for a Serious Episode Fresh Prince was definitely amazing & emotional to watch .. ex : Will father being absent in his life , and When Carlton took that snub nose .38 and was about to murk a few dudes .

overall I found Martin naturally more funny , felt like it wasn’t even written in a script ,it was that funny .

 

[Antwon Mitchell]

Brehs calling Martin " try hard" in this thread must be undercover cacs

Idk if it's just me but...I've never seen nor heard of any white person liking/watching Martin compared to Fresh Prince which is one (if not the only) black comedy they fuk with heavily on a large scale .

I always felt like Martin was more "blacker" in a cultural aspect, whereas Fresh Prince while black, the show is more accessible (easier to digest) among other communities.

 

[Maxine Shaw]

Martin was a trailblazer in comedy. Fresh Prince was a great show but without Will it would have been a diet Cosby Show.

That's it. Martin had a stronger ensemble cast. Additionally, Martin was puttin' in WORK. By my count, he did nine different characters on his own:

Mama Payne
Sheneneh
Jerome
Dragonfly Jones
Elroy the Mechanic
Roscoe
White Bob
Ol' Otis
King Beef

Not to mention that any show that moves high school kids to college is always going to struggle. Carlton was supposed to go to Princeton like his father, but wound up at California College and Coffee Shop b/c...that's where Will went? Really? Yikes.

 

[sayyestothis]

Martin was funny

Fresh prince was corny...

 

[KingsOfKings]

 

[maxamusa]

Martin and its not even close.