The First Season

In the early nineties hip-hop singer Queen Latifah headlined her own sitcom called Living Single. The show ran for five seasons, and while it never won any awards it was still enjoyed by viewers. The premise behind the show is about the day to day life of four twenty-something girlfriends and their two male neighbors. In each episode the cast sorts through the various commonalities of life, and of course something always goes a little haywire or someone overreacts a bit too much in a given situation. In the end, we are left with some goofy interpretations of life. The first season is comprised of twenty-seven episodes and it offers plenty of laughs.

Queen Latifah plays Khadijah James. Unlike the other characters on cast, Khadijah is not goofy and lacks any odd personality trait (except she can get a little neurotic). She is the headstrong character, who more often than not leads her fellows through their various trials and tribulations. She also owns and operates a small magazine called "Flavor Magazine", which comes into the episode storylines on occasion.

Khadijah's roommates are Regine Hunter (Kim Fields) and Synclaire James (Kim Coles). Regine is a man hungry, sexy seductress who always seems to be dating some rich and powerful guy. Synclaire is country girl, who brings a character analogous to what Woody Boyd brought to Cheers. Synclaire is naive and oblivious-to-the-obvious.

The fourth girlfriend lives in an apartment next door, but is always with the others. Maxine Shaw (Erika Alexander) is an aggressive lawyer with goofy side. The other two characters are neighbors Kyle Barker (T.C. Carson), who is a suave and cool customer, and Overton Jones (John Henton), who is dumb as a brick and adds a second Woody Boyd to the show.

Together the cast provides a mix of personalities and oddities that can turn almost any simple, dull situation into some laughs. While the show itself does not have intense writing, just watching these characters together in an episode can be quite fun. For instance, Max and Kyle have a love/hate relationship where they are constantly throwing jibes at each other. The overall dynamic between the characters adds a nice touch to the show. Also since there are two characters that are oblivious-to-the-obvious, there are more than enough situations for them to take something way out of context, which is good for a quick laugh. Regine is also found at the butt of several jokes because of her man hungry appetite. These small little quirks are what make the show viewable.

However besides the quirks amongst the cast, there isn't much more. And the unfortunate part is despite they are quite funny together, from episode to episode the content is pretty much the same. There is little variation and after you have seen one episode, you pretty much have a grasp on the others. In this respect, Living Single is good to watch an occasional episodes here and there, but not something I could imagine wanting to watch over and over again.

Still while the general content from episode to episode is similar, there are a couple episodes that do stand out. In "A Kiss Before Lying" Max's ex-boyfriend leaves her several messages and when she calls him back, they make plans for dinner. Unfortunately, he is bringing his fiance with him. This episode gets quite funny because everyone tries to make Max look better than she to the ex-boyfriend. And they all end up with their feet in their mouths. "Full Court Press" is an episode where the headstrong Khadijah goes haywire when she takes a loan from Max to pay off a two thousand dollar debt. The funny part is how Latifah carries her neurotic character into driving everyone else crazy. Also in this episode, Kyle and Overtone try to beef up at the gym. It is a hoot.

In "The Naked Truth" Overton and Kyle get into a fight and Overton moves in with Khadijah, Regine, and Sinclaire. The fun in this episode comes from Overton driving the girls crazy with very odd habits. We all know spending time with someone is a lot different than living with them. "Who's the Boss?" is a goofy story about Khadijah making an obviously bad idea. She gets sick and leaves Sinclaire in charge of "Flavor Magazine". In just a short while everything at the magazine turns into chaos from disgruntled employees to angry advertisers. It is a fun episode where the girl without the brain has to step up and be the kind of person we so rarely see her as.

Overall, I feel the first season of Living Single has a nice cast, who works quite well together and there are more than enough goofy situations and jokes to keep you amused. However the show has very little replay value and will most likely make for a good rental if you enjoy a fun sitcom.

Episode Guide
1. Judging by the Cover
2. I'll Take Your Man
3. Whose Date Is It Anyway?
4. A Kiss Before Lying
5. In The Black Is Beautiful
6. Great Expectations
7. Full Court Press
8. Living Single... with Children
9. Just Friends?
10. Quittin' Time
11. The Naked Truth
12. Crappy Birthday
13. Love Takes a Holiday
14. Burglar in the House
15. Living Kringle
16. Fatal Distraction
17. The Hand That Robs the Cradle
18. Love Thy Neighbor
19. Mystery Date
20. Hot Fun in the Wintertime
21. Friends Like These
22. Who's the Boss?
23. Five Card Stud
24. Love is a Many Splintered Thing
25. A Tale of Two Tattles
26. She Ain't Heavy, She's My Mother
27. What's Next?

The DVD

Video:
The video has been re-mastered for DVD. It looks pretty good and is presented in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture gets a little grainy and the darker segments tend to show it off more. There are hints of edge enhancement and color distortions from video compression. Overall a pretty average looking release.

Audio:
The audio is given in English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The quality is average with respect to most TV on DVD releases. The track is fairly flat, dialogue is clear and easy to understand, and it includes a laugh track. There is little distinction between left and right channels. The release does come with subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Extras:
The only extra included with this release is the featurette "How Ya Livin'?: Season One of Living Single". It stars the series creator Yvette Lee Browser, and actors/actresses Kim Fields, John Henton, Kim Coles, T.C. Carlson, and Erika Alexander. In the featurette they discuss their characters, the show in general and in context to season one. Overall it is a decent featurette if you are looking for informative details about Living Single. Otherwise, it might not have very much appeal.

Final Thoughts:
It has been several years since I have seen an episode of Living Single. I recall the show being very funny as it was something I always enjoyed catching on TV. However I found sitting through the entire first season was not quite the same. The show is still funny, but the comedy and humor can get a little repetitive from episode to episode. In the end, I think this season one set would make a good rental. It has plenty of fun, innocent comedy to get you laughing, but nothing to really pull you in.