Martin
Is You Is or Is You Ain't
TV Flash files “Is You Is or Is You Ain't” as the first listed hour of season 5 — Martin (1992–1997) on Fox, season 5, episode 1, aired 1996-09-05, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E01: listed hour 109 of 132 in the Martin guide, first listed hour of season 5. It aired 1996-09-05 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Why Can't We Be Friends (2)” (S04E27). Next is “Back in Trouble Again” (S05E02).
Viewer FAQ
Where does Is You Is or Is You Ain't sit in the Martin guide?
S05E01 is listed hour 109 of 132 — first listed hour of season 5, season 5 episode 1.
When did Martin S05E01 air?
Is You Is or Is You Ain't aired 1996-09-05 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Does Lawrence play more than Martin?
Yes — multiple recurring alter egos (Sheneneh, Jerome, and others) are part of the comic architecture, not cameo stunts.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Martin Lawrence playing a radio host, his neighbors, and half the building’s personality disorders. Fox counterprogramming as character comedy: Sheneneh, Jerome, and Tisha Campbell as the grown-up in the room. Clip-proof television — messy offscreen, airtight on the punchline, and the loudest argument for star vehicles that actually had a bench.
The work, first: Martin Lawrence playing a Detroit talk-radio host, his neighbors, and half the building's personality disorders, punchline airtight before the gossip files the rest. John Bowman, Lawrence, and Topper Carew built a Fox sitcom (1992–1997) as character comedy — Sheneneh, Jerome, a wig repertory that is architecture, not a cameo stunt. Tisha Campbell's Gina is the grown-up in the room; Tichina Arnold, Thomas Mikal Ford, and Carl Anthony Payne II sit on an actual bench. Physical comedy vehicle with…
Filed against
- Martin Lawrence as Martin Payne
Martin Lawrence played a radio host and half the building as Martin Payne on Martin — Fox counterprogramming as character comedy, Sheneneh, Jerome, Tisha Campbell as the grown-up in the room. Clip-proof television, messy offscreen,…
- Tisha Campbell as Gina Waters
Tisha Campbell grown-up'd Martin as Gina Waters — Fox counterprogramming as character comedy, a radio host and half the building's personality disorders, clip-proof television with the grown-up in the room. Airtight on the punchline. TV…
- Tichina Arnold as Pamela James
Tichina Arnold’s Pamela James was the grown-up in Martin’s Fox apartment — Sheneneh, Jerome, clip-proof punchlines, messy offscreen lore — then ran Everybody Hates Chris as the Bed-Stuy house that kept the hardness in the joke. 1990s…
- Thomas Mikal Ford as Tommy Strawn
Thomas Mikal Ford deadpanned Martin as Tommy Strawn — Fox counterprogramming as character comedy, a radio host and half the building's personality disorders, clip-proof television. Tisha Campbell as the grown-up; Tommy as the friend who…
- Carl Anthony Payne II as Cole Brown
Carl Anthony Payne II played Cole Brown on Martin — Fox counterprogramming as character comedy, Martin Lawrence as a radio host and half the building's personality disorders, Tisha Campbell as the grown-up in the room. Clip-proof…