MARTIN: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON - DVD review

As the fourth season of "Martin" opens, the newlywed Mr. and Mrs. Payne (Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell) have returned to their Detroit apartment from their honeymoon. Very shortly thereafter, they are deluged by their closest friends: Pam (Tichina Arnold), who has a love-hate relationship with Martin; Tommy (Thomas Mikal Ford), a tall, bald brother who is really a pussycat; and Cole (Carl Anthony Payne II), the group's comic relief. Throughout the 27 episode season, this core group is at the center of the "Martin" universe, learning to live together when the relationship dynamics change and even being ripped apart by pettiness.

I'll be honest: I never watched "Martin" in its original Fox network run. It did spawn five seasons, a total of 132 episodes, yet never manages to achieve true sitcom gold, like "Cheers," "The Cosby Show" or "The Brady Bunch." Why? I firmly believe the relative lack of success for the series rests on the shoulders of star/producer/writer/creator Lawrence. In two words, he's not funny. Sure, in an overacting, over emoting, over enunciating and stereotypical way, he can be to the right audience, one that wants to see themselves on the screen. Yet I even question whether anyone can see themselves in this show.

Lawrence isn't the only offender in his acting. The entire cast is uniformly larger than life, almost as if they are putting on a theater production and audience members in the cheap seats need to understand what's going on. Martin, Gina (Campbell), Pam, Tommy and Cole all scream and yell their lines as if there isn't a microphone sitting a foot away from their mouths. Their actions are wild, something my father would call "being dramatic." Most of the humor is at the expense of the other characters, especially Pam. Martin calls her a litany of names throughout the season-and most likely through the series-prompting me to wonder if he ever gave her a complex.

Each plot is distilled down to its barest elements. In one early episode, both Gina and Pam sneak onto the set of Martin's television show to audition for a back up singer slot behind the Notorious B.I.G. This episode is clearly inspired by-or a homage to-Lucy and Ethel from "I Love Lucy." I mean, how can it not be? Both women dress up in ridiculous costumes, hoping Martin doesn't recognize them. They ham up their individual acts for the audience (and Biggie), basically running over each other in an attempt to gain superstar status. (To be fair, both Campbell and Arnold have amazing voices.) And yet Martin is completely blind to what's happening right in front of him for most of the episode. The problem is we've seen this set up and execution before…and brought to the screen with more humor, grace and elegance than anything the cast is capable of.

Being a sitcom, I know I shouldn't expect any sense of reality to permeate each installment. But I do, I can't help it. Just like each "Brady Bunch" dilemma is wrapped up in 25 minutes, each and every plot (aside from the two part season finale) is tied up with a nice little bow by the 22 minute mark. (Each episode runs approximately 22 ½ minutes.) Martin lies to Gina and gets out hustled at a pool hall? No worries, Gina forgets all about it by the end. Martin and Tommy sever their friendship? A couple words is all it takes for the argument to be resolved when the final credits roll. I understand this is how a sitcom works, yet it's too pat for my liking.

In every single scene, it looks like each actor is about to bust out laughing while saying their lines. The material isn't that funny, though this is a phenomenon I've also noticed in the criminally over rated "Seinfeld." As if the mere thought of the punch line being vocalized makes them all want to burst into fits of laughter, it is impossible to gloss over the way their cheeks puff out moments before it is shared with the audience. Again, the most egregious offender here is Lawrence, though nearly everyone commit's the sin at least once.

Make no mistake about it, this is the Martin Lawrence show. How can it not be? He wears so many different hats in the production, every plot is bound to revolve around him. Even in scenes he's not present in, the actor takes on the guise of another character, all designed to be funny, though all come off as offensive in some way due to their stereotypical nature. Neighbor Sheneneh is, I guess, supposed to represent a ghetto cosmetologist; I felt the character was just a man portraying a woman, with the mannerisms she is expected to have. Big finger nails, larger than life attitude, slutty clothing…you know the type. These appearances, while scattered throughout the season, do come off as nothing more than plot filler, something for Lawrence to do while others actors took over the scene. Almost as if he couldn't bear to watch someone else get the laughs. Whatever the truth is, ego had to come into play somewhere.

The schtick runs out of juice rather quickly. How many times can we really see Martin and Gina roll their eyes when someone knocks on the door? Why don't they just lock it if they don't want Cole, Pam and Tommy to barge in whenever it pleases them? If Brother Man (downstairs neighbor) raiding the fridge everyday is such a big problem, close and lock your window when you're not around. And guys, as much as you might want to represent Detroit, there isn't an apartment building within the city limits approaching where Martin and Gina live. Not a one. Maybe just outside the city limits, definitely in the suburbs…but not in Detroit. Not in 2008 and certainly not in 1995.

VIDEO:
We get what is expected here, an unglamorous full screen presentation without any of the bells or whistles we're used to seeing in the video encode. Truth be told, this isn't a bad looking product, considering how much work most likely went into the remastering. The color palette is rendered well, with points only coming off for softness and outdoor blacks which seem to run into other colors to form one giant blob on the screen. This isn't a detailed or sharp picture; that would be far too much to expect, I think. It is, though, pretty much on par with reasonable expectations.

AUDIO:
If I could copy the same comments I made regarding the video presentation here, I would. An English 2.0 track (along with English, French and Spanish subtitles) is what we are provided and, well, it's fine. Not earth shattering or reference quality, it does get the dialogue across without too much trouble. There isn't any sense of depth to the sound; dialogue in the Payne's living room is just as loud as a shout coming from their bedroom. Again, it's in line with expectations.

EXTRAS:
Maybe I'm being generous, but the episode titles and writer/director credits are listed underneath the plastic disc holders inside the digipack. Otherwise, nothing. (A couple other "bonus" notes: each episode includes the original network bumper separating the first and second acts; and the episodes appear to be uncut, clocking in on the north side of 22 minutes each.)

PARTING SHOTS:
Quite obviously, I am not the target audience for "Martin," either in its original network run, syndication or on DVD. The humor comes off as too broad, characters stereotypical and plot almost completely unconnected from episode to episode. However, there is a market for this show. For them, I recommend the set. Everyone else? Buyer beware.