Poster: Clint Eastwood Fan
(see this users gallery) All of Us aired from September 2003 until September 2007 on UPN and the CW.
Robert ( Duane Campbell) was an entertainment reporter for Los Angeles television station KJSB living with his adorable young son Bobby ( Khamani Griffin), and his girlfriend Tia ( Elise Neal), a kindergarten teacher at Bobby's school. Robert's ex , Neesee (LisaRaye Mccoy-Misick), regularly got into arguments with Tia, with whom she was always competing, whenever she came over to see Bobby. Robert's best friend , Dirk ( Tony Rock), his publicist at the station, was a thrice-divorced ladies man who had no interest in commmitting again. Others seen regularly were Tia's best friend and fellow teacher Jonelle ( Terri J. Vaughn); Alex ( Debi Mazar) who worked with Neesee in the catering business she had started; and Turtle ( James Vincent), a spaced-out technician at KJSB.
Robert and Tia were planning to get married but early in the second season they seperated because her anxiety over his continued -if occasionally strained -relationship with Neesee. Meanwhile Jonelle, who had been dating Dirk, convinced him to propose to her. Late that fall Robert and Tia got back together and Turtle, who was an ordained minister married Jonelle and Dirk. It didn't last, however, and in the spring they divorced, although for awhile they still lived together. In March Robert got a second job working for Entertainment Tonight and got his own E.T.-style talk show, Who's On Top , but the workload forced him to give up his job at KJSB. In the season finale he decided to go back to Mr. L.A. his show on KJSB , to keep it from being canceled, but changes made by the new program director prompted both Robert and Dirk to quit.
As the 2005-2006 season began Robert was trying to get things back together following the loss of his job and his final breakup with Tia. It got worst when Nessee moved in with him after a fire destroyed her apartment. Instead of moving out when she got the insurance check, Nessee used the money to buy a restaurant and went into partnership with Robert. Meanwhile, he and Dirk were offered Get Real With James and Black , a talk show about personal relationships, on their former station. After the first of the year Robert's flighty sister Carmen ( played by Duane Martin's real life wife Tisha Campbell-Martin), moved in and started dating Dirk. She also tried to get Robert and Neesee , whom she hated, back together because she felt responsible for the divorce. In May Dirk found out an affair from his youth had produced a daughter, sassy 13-year old Courtney ( played in 2 episodes by Raven Goodwin and then by Laivan Greene).
In the fall of 2006 Courtney moved in with Dirk, while her mother was traveling for business, which put a big crimp in his social life. In February Neesee's new condo was finished, but because Bobby didn't want to go back and forth to be with his parents , he stayed in Robert's house while his parents took turns living in the condo. Later in the spring Neesee decided she wanted to have another baby and considered using a sperm bank while Dirk got fired from Get Real. In the series finale Robert agreed to provide the sperm for Neesee's baby but in the last scene they were about to do it the old fashioned way.
A Review from Entertainyourbrain.com
"All of Us" Review
By Shawn McKenzie 09/30/2003
I think the story of rapper/actor Will Smith�s relationship with his ex-wife Sheree, their son Trey, and his second wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, is fascinating. He maintains a cordial relationship with Sheree while being in a loving marriage with Jada, all for the benefit of Trey. That�s why I thought his project with UPN, �All of Us,� was a good idea. I like the show, but I kind of wish it was a drama instead of a sitcom.
Robert James (Duane Martin) is an entertainment reporter for a local Los Angeles television station named K-JSB, and he goes by the moniker �Mr. L.A.� His best friend is also his publicist, the three-time divorced Dirk Black (Tony Rock.) He is finalizing his divorce from Neesee (LisaRaye McCoy), the mother of their five-year-old son, Bobby, Jr. (Khamani Griffin.) He is in love with a kindergarten teacher named Tia Jewel (Elise Neal), and wants to marry her, but he still has to deal with his soon-to-be ex wife. Neesee and Tia don�t like each other, but they try to create a loving environment for Bobby, so they are learning to tolerate each other.
In the first episode, Robert gets his divorce papers. Tia is a little confused why he doesn�t sign them right away. She talks to her friends (Suzy Nakamura and Lee Garlington) about it, while Robert talks to Dirk and a crewmember at the TV station named Turtle (James Vincent) about his hesitance to sign the papers. When Robert gets home, he proposes to Tia. Neesee is upset that Robert didn�t consult with Bobby first about asking Tia to marry him. Robert tells Bobby, and he is okay with it. Neesee isn�t though, and thinks marrying Tia will be bad for Bobby. She wants to try again with their marriage, but he turns her down. Later, he assures Tia that their relationship is what he wants. At the end of the episode, he sits Tia and Neesee down and lays down the situation, forcing them to work things out finally.
In the second episode, Bobby is going to turn five-years-old. Neesee plans a big party (that she wants Robert to pay for), but she doesn�t want Tia there. Robert and Tia decide to throw their own party for Bobby, and Neesee�s friend Alex (Debi Mazar) convinces her that it is a competition for Bobby�s love, especially since Tia�s party will have Dirk-bot there (it�s just Dirk dressed up in something that makes him look like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz.) After their fighting upsets Bobby, Robert decides that they should have just one party at his house, and everyone is invited. Neesee decides to be nice to Tia, which confuses Bobby, since he thinks his mom and dad are still married, because the fighting has stopped. They explain to him that they are still divorced, but that they all love him.
I realize that Smith tends to lean towards comedy, but he has proven that he is skilled in drama as well. I know he is just a producer here, but there isn�t many black dramas on TV (Showtime�s �Soul Food� is the only one that comes to mind), and his story might make a compelling drama. That doesn�t mean that there wouldn�t be any humor in it, but UPN might be the only network that would greenlight such a project, and I�d like to see it.
As a sitcom, it�s better than average. It manages to be funny and sweet without being corny. No one really stands out amongst the cast, but Griffin is a cutie (he was Eddie Murphy�s son in Daddy Day Care.)
I think UPN jumped on �All of Us� with the hope that Big Willie might make an appearance himself on the show. If this show is cancelled, I hope Smith launches it again as a drama, because it is a remarkable story. I know I�d watch it.
1/2
For some more reviews of All of Us go to http://www.helium.com/items/493118-smith-pickeet-smithare-celebrities |
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· Date: Wed June 23, 2004 · Views: 749 · Dimensions: 220 x 350 ·
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Keywords: All Of Us: Cast Photo
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