The Third Season

Martin is a situational comedy (sitcom) television series that ran for five seasons from 1992 to 1997. The show featured comedian Martin Lawrence and his over-the-top behavior and kooky mannerism with a few others in a somewhat standard sitcom. The general premise deals with Martin and his friends getting into sticky situations as they go through the ins and outs of life. For more details about this series, refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one and season two.

The third season is very much like the first two. The comedy centers on Martin turning an everyday (sitcom) situation into a mess, which always results in goofiness. However, the season three content has a couple big developments and incorporates a little more drama. The developments are Martin's new career and the Martin-Gina relationship going to the next level. As an overall season, it is decent. There are a few solid laughs, but the show fails to be really hilarious.

Season three begins "In Search of Martin". It continues the storyline started at the end of season two--Martin was fired from WZUP. The previous owner Stan lost the radio station and the new owner changed WZUP to a country format. Martin tried to fit in, but was not a good match and he was fired. As season two ended, Martin left Detroit without telling his friends. In the beginning of season three, Gina and gang are still searching for Martin. Eventually, they find him in a cult. Martin comes back to Gina in "Martin Returns". With his return, life starts to get back to normal.

As the season continues, Martin deals with the fact he is unemployed. He holds his pride high and eventually breaks by taking anything he can get. The tables turn when he gets a better job in television. At the same time, Martin and Gina's relationship is continually a key development. They break up, get back together, move in together, get engaged, and elope. Along the way, there are a lot of episodes about their relationship from choosing the best man to wedding planning to the bachelor/bachelorette party. One of the better episodes that comes from this development is "Mamma's Baby, Martin's Maybe". Martin tries to impress Gina's mother, but is hampered by a young boy who claims to be Martin's son. It's a goofy sitcom situation that is worth a lot of laughs.

The season has a few other decent episodes that are not directly related to the two major season developments. They include "Whole Lotto Trouble", Martin wins the lottery, spends a bunch of money, and finds out he has to share his winnings, "Get A Job", Martin and Gina go on a stakeout to find out what Tommy does for a living, "Feast or Famine", a wild Thanksgiving episode: boys against girls, and "Girlfriend", Martin and Pam join forces against Gina's old college friend.

Overall, Martin's third season is a decent collection of episodes. The season content has a few hilarious moments, but it is pretty generic. Prior to this review, it had been a while since I had watched the series. I used to watch this show frequently when it aired and have fond memories of it, but as I watched season three it did not live up to my expectations. The comedy has its moments, but more often than not the silly and absurd situations Martin and gang get into just aren't that funny.

Episode Guide

1. In Search of Martin: Gina searches for the missing Martin, who's joined a cult.
2. Martin Returns: Martin returns to find his apartment redecorated, and the redecorator--Gina--with plans for their relationship.
3. I've Got Work to Do: Martin goes looking for a good job, but lands a series of part-time positions.
4. Martin Gets Paid: Martin lands a job interview at a TV station--and has just one day to come up with an audition tape.
5. Break Up to Make Up: Martin enlists the aid of Otis and Pam to help win Gina back.
6. The Closer I Get To You: After hosting a show on relationships, Martin gives Tommy advice on women.
7. Movin' On In: Martin and Gina hold a garage sale to rid themselves of clutter; Cole has a question for Big Shirley.
8. Momma's Baby, Martin's Maybe: Martin's efforts to impress his future mother-in-law (Judyann Elder) are destroyed when a boy claims he's Martin's son.
9. Whole Lotto Trouble: Martin wins the lottery and celebrates with a shopping spree.
10. Get A Job: Martin enlists Gina's aid in discovering Tommy's occupation.
11. Feast or Famine: On Thanksgiving, the gang holds a contest to see which gender cooks the better bird.
12. Lockin' Boots: After agreeing to save money, Gina is forced to make a withdrawal from her joint account with Martin to pay some back parking tickets.
13. Go Tell It On the Martin: Martin's Christmas-Kwanzaa special goes off splendidly--until "Brotha Claus" threatens to blow up the station.
14. Xpress Yourself: Gina is hired to polish Martin's image, but regrets it when she ends up changing his personality.
15. Sophisticated Ladies: Gina and Pam put their best feet forward to be accepted into an exclusive women's club.
16. Nuttin' Goin' on But the Rent: Frosty relations with his landlord prompt Martin to refuse to pay the rent--which leads the landlord to cut off the heat.
17. The Ex-Files: Martin and Gina go to dinner with their former love interests to prove there are no sparks left.
18. All the Players Come: To save a movie theater, Martin holds a benefit featuring black TV and movie actors from the 1970s.
19. Best and Bester: Martin must choose either Tommy or Cole to be his best man; Pam and Gina search for a bridesmaid's dress.
20. High Noon: When a criminal (Gary Coleman) he helped put away gets out on parole, Martin hides out--and his friends desert him.
21. Mother of the Bride: A wedding planner (Kelly Coffield) promises to arrange the day of Gina's dreams at the price of Martin's nightmares-until Martin hires his own consultant (Tracy Morgan).
22. C.R.E.A.M.: Gina and Martin invest all their bread in a restaurant that becomes more popular than they anticipated.
23. Girlfriend: When Gina's friend (Merrin Dungey) comes to town, Martin and Pam call a truce in their feud and team up to expose her past.
24. The Romantic Weekend: Gina's vacation is no sensation when Martin takes her to "Chilligan's Island," a resort he's seen advertised on the back of a cereal box.
25. The Bachelor Party: Martin and Gina try to enjoy their respective bachelor parties, but find themselves imagining married life five years down the road.
26. Wedding Bell Blues: Martin and Gina make final preparations the day before their wedding.
27. Love is a Beach: Martin, Gina, Pam and Tommy travel to a tropical island to escape family bickering.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture quality is acceptable with a noticeable grain and roughness. While not outstanding, the visual representation is still good enough.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is an English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound track. The audio in this release comes off fairly flat. However as found with most TV on DVD releases it's not necessarily bad, since the majority of the audio is spoken dialogue. There is also support for closed captioning and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this DVD release.

Final Thoughts:
Martin is a television sitcom about a goofy guy and his friends going through the ins and outs of life. In the show's third season, the major focus is Martin getting his career back on track (having been fired from his radio show job and now working in television). He and girlfriend Gina also get more serious, and even tie the knot at the end of the season in a wild wedding event fit for a sitcom. In general, the show has a goofy tone that works. Lead actor Martin Lawrence delivers a few solid jokes with his over-the-top mannerism. However, from episode to episode, the content does not offer very much and the material feels repetitive. On a personal note, I used to be an avid watcher of the show when it aired on television. However, I have found the show has not held too well over the years. If you are not a big fan Martin Lawrence or looking to address a bout of nostalgia, this season set will make for a decent rental.