227
The Handwriting on the Wall
TV Flash files “The Handwriting on the Wall” as hour 33 of 116 in the TV Flash guide — 227 (1985–1990) on NBC, season 2, episode 11, aired 1987-01-10, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E11: listed hour 33 of 116 in the 227 guide, hour 11 of 22 in season 2. It aired 1987-01-10 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Matchmakers” (S02E10). Next is “A Matter of Choice” (S02E12).

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Mary, Rose and Pearl may be sent "up the river" after they go overboard defending "227" against a graffiti artist who then sues them for assault--and it seems even bleaker when the key to their defense is the testimony of a lone eyewitness--Sandra.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Handwriting on the Wall sit in the 227 guide?
S02E11 is listed hour 33 of 116 — hour 11 of 22 in season 2, season 2 episode 11.
When did 227 S02E11 air?
The Handwriting on the Wall aired 1987-01-10 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need The Jeffersons first?
Only if you want Florence's ghost. 227 is Gibbs's own stoop — working-class D.C., not a continuation. The building is the neighborhood; the uniform stays in the other series.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Marla Gibbs free of Florence's uniform: an apartment-stoop sitcom where the building is the neighborhood and Jackée Harry's Sandra is a walking velvet bomb. Working-class D.C. ensemble comedy with porch gossip as the plot engine. Jackée's supporting-actress Emmy was the official notice; the reruns remain the afterparty — shade, hats, and found family.
The stoop is the silhouette. NBC, 1985–1990: a D.C. apartment building dressed as a neighborhood, Marla Gibbs free of Florence's Jeffersons uniform, Hal Williams as Lester, Jackée Harry's Sandra as a walking velvet bomb. 227 is Jack Elinson's working-class Black ensemble, porch gossip as the plot engine, Alaina Reed Hall in the mix, Regina King starting as a child actor. *Hats that do the talking, shade as tailoring, a velvet look that photographs as a supporting-actress bomb.* Style is the plot. If you only…
Filed against
- Marla Gibbs as Mary Jenkins
Marla Gibbs’s Florence Johnston refused to eat anyone’s dignity on The Jeffersons — deluxe apartment, Lear living-room fight, a theme that still sells real estate — then ran 227’s stoop as neighborhood plot engine. Eleven seasons of…
- Hal Williams as Lester Jenkins
Hal Williams played Lester Jenkins on 227 — Marla Gibbs free of Florence's uniform, an apartment-stoop sitcom where the building is the neighborhood, Jackée Harry's Sandra as a velvet bomb. Working-class D.C. ensemble, porch gossip as…
- Jackée Harry as Sandra Clark
Jackée Harry’s Sandra Clark was a walking velvet bomb on 227 — stoop gossip as plot engine, working-class D.C. as a sitcom neighborhood, Marla Gibbs free of Florence’s uniform. Porch voltage with a laugh that could rearrange a building.…
- Alaina Reed Hall as Rose Lee Holloway
Alaina Reed Hall’s Rose Lee Holloway kept 227’s building a neighborhood — Marla Gibbs free of Florence’s uniform, Jackée Harry’s Sandra as a velvet bomb, working-class D.C. ensemble, porch gossip as the plot engine. Stoop sitcom as civic…
- Regina King as Brenda Jenkins
Regina King’s Brenda Jenkins grew up on 227’s stoop — working-class D.C., porch gossip as plot, Jackée’s velvet bomb in the same building — then carried Watchmen as Sister Night through Tulsa 1921 and mask-as-history. Sitcom kid voltage;…