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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1995)
P age B2 A ugust 30, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver ^Iorthxnb (Dhseruer ENTERTAINMENT M a rtin /ÒURPLAY (Saturdays 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) Us ■■'S; '3L L Í —J Thocast of Martin is back for their third season premiere, on Thursday, Sept. 1 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on Fox. Pictured clockwise from top left: Carl Anthony Payne II as Cole, Tommy Mika! Ford as Tommy, Tisha Campbell as Gina, Martin Lawrence as Martin and Tichina Arnold as Pam. Martin, a relationship comedy starring multitalented comedian/ac- tor/director Martin Lawrence, returns for its fourth season when newly weds M artin (M artin Lawrence) and Gina (Tisha Campbell) embark on their new life together as husband and wife, yet fes much as they love p n fp th e r, each has a different per spective orrTfTe road that lies ahead. Martin isn’t about to let the institution o f marriage take away his individual ity or putacrim p in his lifestyle; Gina is perfectly content with settling down and moving into a new phase in her life. One thing is for certain -- Ozzie and Harriet they are not! Lawrence plays M artin Payne, a wuecracking, macho man whose bark is far worse than his bite. Though he doesn’t care to admit it, underneath his tough exterior is a sensitive guy who is all heart. M artin works for D etroit’s cable station 51 as host o f his own p o litic a lly incorrect talk show. “ Word on the Street.” As much as he loves serving up laughs and stirring up trouble, M artin ’s real pas sion is his beloved Gina, a marketing executive and career woman with a mind o f her own. As the only one who can keep martin in check, Gina is his perfect counterpart, providing the “ yin” to M artin's “ Yang.” Memories o f their single days w ill not be forgotten with their close pals never far behind: Pam (Tichina A rnold) is Gina’ s quick-tongued, sassy best friend, forever verbally dueling with Martin; Tommy (Tho mas M ikal Ford) and Cole (Carl Anthony Payne 11) are M artin ’sever- present buddies and comrades in the battle o f the sexes. Lawrence also plays a number o f other characters on the series in cluding Sheneneh, his feisty, know- it-all neighbor across the hall; '«'Jtis, and overweight, no-nonsense securi ty guard; Momma Payne, M artin’ s o ld -fa s h io n e d c o u n try m other; Roscoe, the young, bratty neighbor; and Jerome, a street-slick, neighbor hood friend forever stuck in the ‘ 70s. M artin has earned two NAACP Image Awards, fiaving been selected in 1993 as Best New Television Se ries and in 1994 for Outstanding Comedy Series. Lawrence was also chosen as the recipient o f the 1994 N A A C P Image Award for Outstand ing A ctor in a Comedy Series, the show has also garnered a People’s Choice Award for Best New Come dy Series. Samm-Art W illiam s and Martin Lawrence are the executive produc ers for HBO Independent Produc tions. Bob James, Lee Ritenour, Nathan East, and Harvey Fourplay serves up a rom anti cally intoxicating and soulfully sen sual mix on E lixir, their third release on Warner Bros Records. Bob James, Lee Ritenour, Nathan East and Harvey Mason take it to a new high, blending pop rock, jazz, funk, R &B and classical elements into a heady and magical p o tio n -w ith special guests Phil Collins, Patti Austin and Peabo Bryson Fourplay’ senduring and distinc tive alliance grows richer w ith each album and E lix ir adds one more chap ter to an already impressive list o f accomplishments. The first epony- were all about and what was possi-./ ble. W e’ re solid and surviving w ith y our own identity.” Ritenour adds, “ It’s impossible to not sound like Fourplay. We each have our own style, but when we come together as Fourplay whatever the song is, no matter who wrote it, there is a tangi- ' ble and unique direction.” James concludes, “ When we get together, there is something larger than the four o f us. Our styles merge in a way that we don’ t even need to talk about it.” He laughs and adds, “ Although ' we do talk...a lot!” And they have a lot to talk about..'. ; mous release spent an unprecedent ed 33 weeks at No. I on B illbo ard ’s Contemporary Jazz chart. Fourplay’s Grammy-nominated second album, Between The Sheets, also captured theNo. I spotontheB illboard,R & R , Gavin and M A C charts and followed the debut recording to gold certifica tion. Bob James asserts, “ I think we’ ve fin ally really settled into our style In the beginning, we were exploring and trying to find out i f we were a group. This third album is the first time we went in really knowing what we The Preston Episodes > Saturdays 8 :3 0 -9 :0 0 PM The Preston Episodes is a half- hour comedy about David Preston (David Alan Grier), a newly di vorced college professor who moves from his comfortable but predicable life in New Jersey to pursue his lifelong dream to become a w riter in New York City. A 37-year-old scholar and aca demic, Preston makes the drastic move to the big city and rents a tiny one-bedroom apartment that comes complete with a very eccentric, ne 'er- d o -w e ll neighbor named Derek (Tom m y H ikley), who is constantly on the lookout for schemes to raise rent money, usually getting David into trouble in the process. Landing a w riting jo b proves to be harder than anticipated, and Preston’ s overly optim istic vision o f making journalistic history and w in ning the Pulitzer Prize is soon deflat ed when the only jo b he can land is with a People-like, puff-piece maga zine called S tuff and only as an un derpaid photo caption writer. Determined to make his new jo b a stepping stone to greatness, Preston descends upon the magazine’s some what cynical staff with his impossi bly positive attitude. His editor, Larry D unhill (C live R evill), is a belliger ent lover o f printed nonsense who rebels against any attempt David makes to increase the integrity o f the publication. David discovers a con fidante, however hesitant, in K e lly Freeman (Judith Scott), a bumed- out, one-time award-winning w riter who left the world o f real news to escape ulcers and anxiety attacks. 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