Martin Lawrence may be the saving grace of black TV, or not.  Yeah, I said "or not".  Lawrence is in development with three projects for TV.  The first is an animated comedy loosely based on Lawrence's pubescent years in D.C.  The other is a comedy based on the life of comedian Gary Owen.  It will follow the daily adventures of a white guy from a Trailer Park who marries an upwardly mobile black woman.  The third project is about a family that runs a funeral home.  Uh oh.  That means lots of dead people jokes.

Anyway, Martin Lawrence was number one in my book from his House Party, What's Happening Now and Do The Right Thing days.  He was funny, centered and the ham of all hams.  During his first seasons on Martin he was pure genius. The brother's timing was impeccable, his impersonations were deep, and the charm was addictive.  Lawrence's Jerome, Player of Players and Sheneneh were brilliant!  Now I'm not one to drag people through their mistakes and past troubles, but I just hope Lawrence brings back the genius of his early days to present-day TV.  And please, absolutely no buffoon-like crazy.