I never saw much of Bernie Mac's standup comedy routine and was lukewarm on the bits that I encountered. But I loved the Bernie Mac Show.
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Last year I was the proud parent of a colicky infant with acid reflux. She didn't sleep all that well, the poor thing. I felt sorry for myself too. For many weeks the way I got her asleep was to hold her in a specific "sling" position in my left arm while bouncing on an exercise ball or standing up. (Sitting down was inconsistent with her fall-asleep needs.)
So to occupy the time, I watched television--every night for hours. And I couldn't watch the news or the late talk shows because I needed closed captioning and the closed captioning is much more accurate on the syndicated sitcoms.
I watched repeats of That 70s Show and Seinfeld and 3rd Rock from the Sun. It was the only way I could keep sane with the loud crying.
Usually she settled down by midnight. I would stay up with her in my arms for another hour to make sure she was really down before transferring her. At 12:00 AM, the Bernie Mac Show came on. It was a very traditional sitcom, but with its own twists. Stand up comedian Bernie Mac plays himself. The premise, he takes in his two nieces and nephew after his sister gets in trouble with drugs yet again. Of course, he is not ready for the responsibility and has his own takes on childrearing--often with funny results. Some of the best moments of the show were when Bernie Mac would directly address the audience from his chair on the crisis of the moment. The show also had the trademark handwritten editorial notes appear on the screen to give some levity in some of the tenser scenes.
Most of the time, Bernie Mac was pretty hilarious, but his show had its share of tearful moments in both touching and sad ways.
This clip has its share of both. It's from the last part of the first episode, after he picks up the kids at LAX and brings them to their new home.
We'll miss you Bernie Mac.
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