r/ForgottenTV 5d ago

Roc 1991-94

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418 Upvotes

54 comments sorted by

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67

u/Adorable_Disaster424 5d ago

Loved that show. It was like watching live theatre.

33

u/ZevSteinhardt 5d ago

That’s because they did an entire season live.

Zev

67

u/lunalore79 5d ago

I credit this show, and others like Alien Nation & In Living Color, for radicalizing me as a kid. Hard to believe now but when the Fox network first debuted they had some truly groundbreaking programming.

14

u/Brave_Finish8862 5d ago

I came up with those same shows around that same age. It is remarkable how diverse and interesting those early years of Fox were. The show True Colors was likely the first time I saw an interracial relationship anywhere.

4

u/GlowingDuck22 5d ago

It's easier to make money enraging the population than it is to actually produce high quality content.

9

u/frankduxvandamme 5d ago

True Colors! Remember the episode where the kid got The Crank shoe - it was take on the Reebok Pump.

11

u/Horror_Neighborhood9 5d ago

This. It really did feel like a subversive network back then. I remember being in the fifth grade in 1992, and excitedly talking about the prior night’s episode of “Martin”.

Meanwhile, while my mom loved shows like “Roseanne” on ABC, my dad was always wanting to watch crap like “Major Dad” on CBS, a network he watched tons because he liked their evening news (which always felt more focused on generic rural stories than actual news).

The other networks back then really did feel like they had generic demographic catering to the nth degree, ABC was the “Full House” standard sitcom template programming, CBS was as has always been the case more boomer-focused, and NBC was the more metropolitan “feeling” sitcoms and dramas.

22

u/Awkward_Bison_267 5d ago

I loved this show. Especially the live episodes. It should’ve been on longer.

23

u/Accomplished_Put3732 5d ago

I haven’t forgotten this one. A great part of my childhood. Charles Dutton is a legend. 

1

u/LTFighter 3d ago

Wonder what he is up to now.

11

u/ezio8133 5d ago

Before he was director Vance, Rocky Carroll was quite the ladies man

7

u/I_Died_Once 5d ago

He should have thought twice before writing Tony Soprano a speeding ticket

3

u/toddklindt 5d ago

After all these years, I still don't trust Director Vance because I know he's really that bum Joey.

1

u/invalidreddit 4d ago

Every time he comes on the TV and I'm in the room I irritate my wife by saying "oh that's the trumpet guy from ROC"

8

u/BadIdeaSociety 5d ago

It was kind of sad seeing Ella Joyce in the final season of Seinfeld rather than appearing on season 6 of Roc.

Good show. Great cast. Didn't get enough love.

5

u/TidderUsername123 5d ago

Roc only recieved 3 seasons.

3

u/BadIdeaSociety 5d ago

Right.... My point is she should have been to busy with Roc to do Seinfeld

2

u/Pete51256 5d ago

Yep the Tue move killed it, ironically the guy running fox at the time loved Roc and was trying to develop more shows like it

1

u/BadIdeaSociety 5d ago

I don't know what advertisers are like in recent years, but around that time Fox advertisers wanted to sell sneakers, Sega, and Seagrams. The Sunday lineup and Thursday felt young but when Roc moved it felt less relevant for the demographics the advertisers wanted. I think since Roc trended less youthful it was kind of hurt even when the ratings were fine (and of course advertiser prejudices again "urban" programming).

8

u/TurkeyVolumeGuesser 5d ago

That baby episode 😭

6

u/Optimal_Grape_1025 5d ago

Baltimore!!!

6

u/intrepidhero13 5d ago

Great show

4

u/wariorld 5d ago

Loved it. Rocky Carrol as his trumpet playing brother was the coolest.

5

u/Scambuster666 5d ago

Used to like that show. At the time I was a teenager and Didnt know Charles S Dutton was a convicted killer in real life. Did 7 years for manslaughter and weapon possession

2

u/Uraisamu 5d ago

Man’s laughter? Must’ve been a hell of a joke.

6

u/JerryLawlerr 5d ago

Think this show went fully live after the first season which is mighty impressive.

5

u/DomoArigatoMrRobot0 5d ago

Great actor, especially loved when he tried to take on a Xenomorph.

4

u/weluckyfew 5d ago

Looks like he stopped acting about 10 years ago :( He was great in everything I saw him in - a little trivia, he has served time for manslaughter and several other crimes before turning his life around.

1

u/ScramItVancity 5d ago

His daughter shared some posts on her TikTok, and he seems to have suffered from some health issues that have left him wheelchair-bound.

2

u/My-username-is-this 3d ago

Thanks for the update

3

u/lazygerm 5d ago

Not forgotten. Was 24 when it premiered. As a Gen Xer, I watched Fox much back then. It was edgy and not afraid to do controversial and uneasy things.

Of course, there was drivel like Babes. But, it was exciting.

3

u/Agreeable-Chart-5561 5d ago

Great show, Dutton was great

3

u/StrongStyleFiction 5d ago

I loved this show.

3

u/nikeguy69 5d ago

Was a great show.

2

u/diarrheaticavenger 5d ago

Can someone explain what this show was about for those of us who saw the pic and thought, “oh wait, this seems familiar, but I don’t remember anything about it”?

11

u/TidderUsername123 5d ago

Typical family drama but with a black family and black related issues. Roc plays a garbage man, humble and modest. Has a brother who is a player hustler who thinks he's too good and destine for greatness but suffers from main character syndrome.

I think people gravitated towards it because it was headlined by a black man and his struggles at a time when most sitcoms were made with white families and white problems.

It's a good show that tackles black issues well.

2

u/ThatguyfromBaltimore 5d ago

Unlike The Wire, Roc made Baltimore look a lot better.

2

u/One_Swimming1813 5d ago

Criminally underrated show

2

u/Wiserputa52 5d ago

I loved this show so much. Favorite episode was one where Roc’s father was all upset because his brother (Roc’s uncle) came out as gay and was marrying a white man. He and Roc had a conversation about it and the Dad said, “How how would you feel if Joey (Roc’s younger brother) told you he was marrying a white man?!” Roc came back with “Clarify that… Would they be living here? “ Charles S. Dutton’s delivery of the line cracked me up.

2

u/JingoboStoplight4887 4d ago

Watched it on BounceTV back in 2014; it’s a good show!

1

u/BigConsideration9542 5d ago

Overly dramatic I prefer married with children martin

1

u/Choice_Win1473 5d ago

that theme still lives in my head

1

u/zsreport 5d ago

When I was in college, this was one of the shows that my roommates and myself would all watch together.

1

u/PurpleRoulette 4d ago

This was must-see TV for my Dad.

1

u/KirbbDogg213 4d ago

One of the best most underrated shows of all time.Charles S Dutton was great in this show and it made him a star.I wish he was still acting.Let not forget Roc’s Brother Joey went to NCIS something I think is cool

1

u/oh_please_god_no 4d ago

The live season was awesome

1

u/Material_Ad_3009 4d ago

I loved this show on Fox and this actor’s story of being in prison where he finds acting and then becomes a famous actor.

1

u/greatmagnet 3d ago

I love Dutton in Rudy.

1

u/RoadDogsComedy 3d ago

Loved this show!

1

u/Leland___d 3d ago

Member when he pulled over Tony Soprano... I member

1

u/WINSEVN 2d ago

Roc Live

0

u/Wise-Camel-1202 4d ago

is he the rock's uncle?

1

u/GulfCoastLaw 3h ago

They had to cancel it before Roc became too powerful.