- Wow, they were living together?
- [Jameer] Yeah, they were living in sin, Mom
- From the very first
(jazz music)
- Hey! My name is Jameer Pond, and this is
- Cynthia Graymond Pond
- That's right.
- His mother.
- Okay, okay
- And why you gotta sit so close?
- Well, clearly we're living together and
under these times of social distancing,
because of the coronavirus
- It's interesting, real interesting.
- Real interesting
yeah, we decided to bring some
love and laughter and levity to the situation
- Okay.
- And we're gonna bond.
Are you ready to bond?
- Do you have, like, makeup on or something?
- No, I don't have makeup, Ma
- Your skin looks
- It looks nice?
(laughter)
I wash my face.
- [Cynthia] Oh, that's it then
- I figured that we would watch
one of my favorite shows growing up
- Okay.
- Martin
(crickets sound)
First of all, you don't seem enthusiastic
- Well, I mean, you know
Why?
- Okay.
So Martin Lawrence was just a comedic genius.
He still is a comedic genius, but
in his prime, I mean, to be able to
watch him every week and
be dynamic on this show,
play an assortment of different characters,
so Martin Lawrence's character, Martin Payne
really influenced me, and I just loved the show,
I really did.
- And just thinking about it now, okay
so as a grown man,
what were the underlying concepts of it, cause
you know, I mean,
- Of Martin?
- Yeah.
- Black relationships,
- Right.
- Between men and women.
Friendships.
- The community.
And I really
- His village.
- Yeah.
Martin was a wonderful mouthpiece for hip-hop
At the time.
No, it's fine Ma, it's fine
it's the radiator, yes, you can hear the radiator
this is authentic.
- Can't you edit it out?
- No.
- [Cynthia] Oh my goodness.
- Well look Mom, we've got three days
we're gonna go
I know I'm gonna take you away from
Paternity Court and
Judge Mathis, and the National Geographic
- That's right.
- For a little bit
- My animal shows, Swamp People.
- Swamp people.
I'm gonna take you away from that
- A diversion.
- Yeah, and the news of course.
- Okay.
- And afterwards, after the three days,
I'll give you a quiz.
So you gotta put your thinking cap on
- Okay.
- So we're about to watch Martin,
I just figured I'd give y'all a tour of my house.
First of all, Bam, hand sanitizer.
This is baby Jameer,
Why'd you put me in this sailor suit?
- [Cynthia] Because you was cute as hell.
- [Jameer] Welcome to my room, hey Ma.
She keeps the chair in here because
she lets me know,
this is only a pit stop, right?
This is my bedspread, this how you can
really let you know that
- [Cynthia] Dern, Jay
(upbeat jazz music)
- [Jameer] So this is the first episode of "Martin,"
Watching the first episode of "Martin"
- [Cynthia] Wow, they were living together?
- [Jameer] Yeah they were living in sin, Ma.
- Step, step.
(audience laughter)
(screaming)
- That's love, that's love
I don't like how they got their
outside clothes on in the bed, though.
- You're too damn pushy, Gina
- Do not talk to me like that!
- Don't talk to me like that!
- You need to check yourself
- Check yourself, Gina!
I ain't trying to hear all that,
I don't want to hear it, shut up.
- Where's the Emmy?
Where was the Emmy?
- [Cynthia] I wouldn't say it was Emmy
- [Jameer] What?
- In that one episode, was interesting
a lot of,
how can I
themes played out.
- [Jameer] Okay.
- The mother-father issues playing out
and you know
- [Jameer] His mother had a mustache
- Right.
- [Jameer] Yeah.
- And his father had a tight behind, you know
- [Jameer] You can say butt, Mom.
- And then when he told her to shut up,
I was like whoa, you know, okay.
That, he crossed the line.
- [Jameer] Line crosser.
- Don't nobody know me like my homie
- So open up that 40
- Shanaynay a halfway phony
- [Jameer] Hey, get it Ma.
There you go, Ma.
Ay! What move is that?
I don't know.
- [Cynthia] It's entertaining.
- It is entertaining.
(upbeat jazz music)
- So this is day two of "Martin" marathon
with my mother.
My mother's gone a little crazy,
she's singing negro spirituals
What's the song you were singing?
- [Cynthia] ♪ this might be the last time ♪
- All right, all right,
we don't need,
you're making me nervous.
I'm very happy that "Martin" is bringing us together
in this time of need, so I'm excited
okay, okay.
This is why
you need to get away,
so your mother won't sing negro spirituals.
Not all mothers, okay.
Season two is actually my favorite season of "Martin"
- Really?
- Yeah.
Got a lot of
memorable episodes that people consider classic.
- Okay.
- Lord knows if you had hurt my Ruby,
If you had hurt my baby,
I'd have grabbed your little apple head
and got to slicing and dicing
(laughter)
- [Jameer] Classic moment.
Classic "Martin" moment.
This episode is called "Hollywood Swinging" Part one.
♪ Varnell, man ♪
♪ Did you miss me? ♪
- He only does this once Tommy Davidson?
- [Jameer] It's a two-parter.
- Okay, but the name continues to come up
- [Jameer] Varnell Hill?
It's just synonymous with this show cause
he had such a big impact on this show
from these two episodes.
- Claudine, GTD.
What does GTD stand for?
- What do you think GTD stands for?
- I was thinking it was the name of
cause Claudine is the name of a movie.
An acronym for another movie.
- What does GTD stand for?
- Got the draws, okay?
Got the draws!
- Ma, he got the draws.
(laughter)
- [Jameer] Ma, he got the draws.
(upbeat jazz music)
- Hey, it's day three of the "Martin" marathon.
Still under quarantine, nothing has changed.
I am Martin-ed out,
but I am Martin-ed out, so
I'm gonna grab some wine because
♪ What else is there to do? ♪
Here we go, drip, drip, drip
You ready ma? We're wrapping this up
You ready?
- I is ready.
- You ready?
I'm a savage, ratchet
I'm a savage, Ma.
It's Megan thee Stallion, Ma
you gotta catch up.
- What's happening chief?
(audience laughter)
- What's happening chief? What's up?
- You know my sales' slogan,
You want it, I got it
If I ain't got it, Imma get it
so get it while the getting is good.
- So Tracey Morgan played the character called "Hustle man."
In the spots that he had on "Martin,"
- He made it work.
- [Jameer] Very brief,
- That's right.
- [Jameer] But always a scene stealer.
- That's right.
- [Jameer] Can you give me a Tracey Morgan impression?
I don't know what that
What's happening chief?
You gotta talk like that.
You gotta talk like that when you talk
like Tracey Morgan.
You gotta make that face too.
- [Cynthia] Oh my.
(screaming)
- At Chilligan's island, man.
- [Cynthia] Okay, yeah great
- [Jameer] One of the, look
the physical aspect, the physical comedy
- [Cynthia] Yes, yes.
- Turned all the way up in season three.
- Yes jay, yes jay
- I'm just letting you know.
(upbeat jazz music)
- So we just watched "Martin"
just finished it, how you feel?
Right after, give me a
your point of view
- I really loved it, I loved the
first couple of seasons.
At the end you could see, you know,
like the demise and creativity and the
you know, the energy with
the cast
- Yeah.
- Changed dramatically.
In the first couple of seasons it was like
really hype and special,
and then it was sad, I almost felt like
I was losing a part of the family.
- Doesn't it feel bad, really does.
- [Jameer] All right, so its been three days,
- [Cynthia] Three days.
- [Jameer] We watched "Martin," we bonded
how did you feel about the overall show
going into it, and now that you have watched it,
or most of it, how do you feel?
- I love, I love the experience.
I learned a lot, I learned a lot about that show,
and I learned, you know, a great deal more about
you know, how you
your processing and how you research
- It's a genius level, yeah.
Does it change your mind about anything,
or like any preconceived notions that you might
have had about "Martin" going into it?
- When I watched it way back when,
when I caught glimpses of the show,
even though I did remember some things,
- You were remembering a lot.
- Like it was filed back,
and so I did watch it,
but I just thought it was just a normal, like
you know, tom foolery kind of
- Tom foolery.
- You know, tom foolery kind of sitcom.
And then, watching it at this point in time,
and you know in terms of my own knowledge base
and appreciation for the art and him as an artist,
comedic artist and genius,
it was like, "wow"
- Brilliance.
Now, I am going to put your knowledge
to the test
- Okay.
- And ask you some questions about "Martin."
- Okay.
(suspenseful music)
- Martin's first job was at a radio station,
what were the letters of the radio station?
- What's up!
WZUP.
- Okay, alright, alright, alright
that was easy
- I didn't know that before.
- I know you didn't know that before.
So we saw Gina throughout
this show,
grow and gradually grow to become a
senior vice president
What was her job, and where did she work?
- She was in advertising,
and Pam was her sidekick at the company
- ♪ singing in the background ♪
- What was the name of Martin's talk show?
- Hit the street? Nothing about talk.
- Ehh!
- Okay, what was it?
- Word on the Street.
- Oh, word on the street.
- Word on the street.
That's all right, all right, all right
- I knew street was in it.
- You knew street, I can give you partial credit
you want partial credit?
- Yes.
- Name four characters that Martin played
outside of Martin Payne.
- Mama Payne, Roscoe, Shanaynay, and
I know he was a police officer and the gas station man,
but I don't know who they were.
- Okay.
All right, we'll give it to you,
- Okay, thank you.
- So you know you got
Mama Payne, Shanaynay,
Roscoe,
Otis is the security guard.
It's the last question.
At the very end of the series,
Martin writes something on the wall as he leaves
- One Love.
(clapping)
All right.
- Thank our special guest, Ms. Cynthia Pond
Maybe, you know, next time we'll watch
one of your shows that you,
or movies.
- Oh, you know what I binge watch.
- What? Handmaid's Tale
- [Cynthia] Right.
(laughter)
I don't binge watch nothing else.
(upbeat jazz music)