There is an old saying that you can’t go home again. Typically this refers to the fact that in the process of growing up many changes will occur in the old neighborhood. Recent, I demonstrated this to myself by typing my childhood address into Google maps and going on a virtual walk on the streets I lived as a boy. I could recognize the brownstone u lived and the subway station across the street but the old candy store and bakery I went to spend my allowance were know completely different. The street I used to play stick ball was there but all the details were wrong; far different from my memories. Much of this was brought to mind as I sat down to review the DVD release of the fourth and final season of the TV sit-com ‘Everybody Hates Chris’. The series was a semi autobiographical look at the childhood of comedian Chris Rock and in many ways it will be missed. It takes place in the working class Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant just a number of blocks from my own boyhood neighborhood of Bushwick. Unlike the recent photos I saw on Google maps this series called to mind the memories I had of the location. When you are a kid in a place like this your world is divided into three regions. There is the home where your parents make and define the rules that control you. Then there is school where the teachers take over. For a kid the most important location is playing on the streets with your friends away from the direct control of adult supervision. This series showed the interconnection of those three childhood venues in a way that makes it nearly impossible not to laugh.

It has been compared to ‘the Wonder Years with good reason. Both shows are narrated by the central character as an adult looking back at his childhood. The vital difference is in the fundamental local. Many of us did not grow up in a nice suburban community with cozy one family houses lining a street with lush green lawns. Our childhood was spent in a more urban setting in a small apartment house with neighbors on every side. The family car was less important than how close the subway station or bus stop happened to be. Mom usually didn’t stay at home. Both parent had to work just so the family could make ends meet. This is the reality depicted by ‘Everybody Hates Chris’. It was something a lot of us could readily identify with and understand.

Chris Rock came to the attention of the American audience during his brief stint on ‘Saturday Night Live’ and subsequently in the last of the ‘Lethal Weapon’ film Franchise. Rock built his reputation with a decidedly un-family friendly standup comedy act with a lot of words not suited for delicate sensibilities or children. Rock has become part of a recent trend of comedians moving away from adult ‘blue’ material to garner a much wider fan base with family oriented faire. Chris Rock narrates from the safe perspective of adulthood looking back at growing up in the eighties. In the series we follow the day to day life of young Chris (Tyler James Williams). He is the eldest of three children in the family followed by younger brother Drew (Tequan Richmond), the handsome, smooth one and the youngest his sister Tonya (Imani Hakim), the typical baby of the family and daddy’s girl. The primary breadwinner is the father Julius (Terry Crews) but the ruling force at home is the mother, Rochelle (Tichina Arnold).

In this season Chris is starting on that turbulent rite of passage known as high school. Once again Chris finds himself the only African-American in an all white home room. Chris notes that the white boys in the school are bigger, stronger and meaner but that is ameliorated, at least to some degree, by the girls who have started to fill out and shall we say blossom. While home room was still ostracizing Chris was no longer the only black kid in the school and much to his delight that includes some girls. Chris is also a bit upset that his best friend from junior high, Greg Wulliger (Vincent Martella) is now going to a special high school in the Bronx and won’t be around for support any more. In keeping with the format of the show every episode is more or less a slice of for the lamentable Chris. No matter how he tries to avoid them strange situations always seem to find him. Some things seem to go Chris’ way. When he becomes the manager for the football team he had to cut back his hours working at the local grocery store. The owner, Doc (Antonio Fargas) gets a new girlfriend, Stacy (Robin Givens), and puts her in charge during Chris’ shifts. She immediately overwhelms him with and endless stream of menial and totally unnecessary tasks. The problems encountered this season dud reflect the characters growing up such as Tonya getting her father in trouble with her mother when she hides her bra in his draw and Chris trying to hide a kid’s pot for him. The season did end with Chris on his way to becoming a comedian. Most episodes are accompanied with a behind the scenes look or deleted material. In all this was an above average series and well worth having.