Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... Legends of Chamberlain Heights (S02E01) The G-Word Airdate: June 18, 2017 @comedycentral Ratings: 0.191 Million :: 0.10 18-49 Demo Share Score: 7.5/10 TVTime/FB/Twitter/Tumblr/Path: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** Let me be one of the first few at the burgeoning community of TVTime.com to say... Welcome Back, 'Legends of Chamberlain Heights'. I know that I'm a bit late, and most likely either Milk or Grover is going to give me a good slap, henny... But in keeping with tradition of the source material, let me put it this way... I've just been procrastinating. Even so, after watching 'The G-Word', I didn't include Jamal in my inaugural, well deserved belated S2 slap because frankly, Jamal just isn't fit to slap me after turning his back on his boys for a taste of that 'White Boy Fame'... ("Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro, Bro!") Going around slapping mother fuckers like white boys and shaving them stems, Pssssh! In the 'LegendsOfCH' S2 opener, the show takes on 'The G-Word'... No, not Gonorrhea. No, not Gonads, either. It's not Gilgamesh, Gandalf, Gay, Gooch, Guido, Gringo, GHB, Gook or any words of the kind that may ring offensive to sensitive ears... No, no, no. We're talking the dirtiest 'G-Word' of them all - Gentrification. Let's take just a slight moment to veer off the road from the lighthearted, '1+1-2 = No Fucks Given' tone of the hilariously raunchy, Comedy Central show that could even make the legendary 'King of Lowbrow' & 'God of Bad Taste', John Waters, blush, maybe, well, probably not... He is, after all, a god of all things below the belt. Let's get serious for a moment, because goddammit... There's more to 'Legends' than most fans, critics (besides some of our hardworking men & women over at 'BubbleBlabber' - I see y'all!), give the perfectly acceptable companion to 'South Park' credit for. Spotlight Saga has tackled Gentrification many times before, through the vessels of many different series... Including Dick Wolf's slightly butchered take of the very real and very tragic 'Ghost Ship Warehouse Fire' in Oakland. The very same 'Gentrification-Generated' fire that took the lives of 36 of our West Coast brothers and sisters. We don't need to make this one too heavy, but we do need to make a point. There are many critics of this show that dismiss 'Legends' place in this world, yet in one episode they collectively tackle Gentrification, how it can negatively affect our working class & poverty stricken neighborhoods, how 'Arcade Fire' ('Starcade Fire' in the show) can literally Gentrify a riot with a single song that shares the same name of some of their other songs but it is differentiated by a number at the end, always sticking by your friends even when they turn their back on you, Netflix & Chill/I mean FUCK, and how much fun it can be to piss on someone from a rooftop (obviously some lessons more important than others)... All while simultaneously and effectively breaking and reinforcing every racial stereotype known to man. In 'Legends' no one group safe or even remotely off limits. South Park does it and its funny, but creators and voice actors Josiah Johnson (Grover), Quinn Hawking (Jamal), and Michael Starrbury (Milk) of 'Legends of Chamberlain Heights' take it a step further and suddenly everybody is feeling uncomfortable, Fuck y'all! Not only is this animated series absolutely 'Laugh-Out-Loud' hilarious, but it's on the forefront of social commentary... And you can't beat that! What it is about 'Legends' that turns off comedy critics is beyond me. Oh wait, no it isn't. I've actually got a good handle on it. The reason is simple and is exactly why we need a show like 'Legends' on the air ruffling the mainstream, FAR left leaning, SJW members of AV Club and 'Sister Fisting' Lena Dunham clones drooling for a cause to pass in front of their noses like a visible, cartoonish waft of freshly baked, good ol' American Apple Pie stuffed with completely innocent self-deprecating humor that simultaneously makes fun of and champions every minority and their stereotypes, but also shattering them in the same breath. So truly, truly, there's no need for anyone to get riled up, we just need you to fucking laugh, alright? You have our permission! Even publications like 'The New York Times' are coming around to the show's no holds barred style humor, writing articles hailing S2 (where were they in S1?)... Besides the aforementioned show creators, writers, voice actors... Real legends like Erykah Badu lend their musical talents and voice. SNL veteran, actor & stand-up comedian Jay Pharoah sells weed and mentors his little brother as well as 'pseudo-brown' news anchors as the older, wiser, lost soul of Montrel. Breaking Bad star, stand-up comedian and established writer Lovell Crawford gives us the sexually sure, life-saving LaDante. Let's not forget 'The Carmichael Show' staple & television veteran Tiffany Haddish as well as a man who needs no introduction, Jamie Kennedy, both lend their voices to various characters on the show. It would be criminal to not also mention 'The Simpsons' animator, co-creator of MTV's 'Good Vibes', and director of marketing for Illumination Entertainment's 'Minions', Brad Ableson who is also listed as VIP and creator of 'Legends'. That's one helluva diverse group... And one that means no harm. They just want to make you laugh and feel a little somethin', somethin' every once in awhile when Medina isn't tracking down Jamal by the scent of his dick. Yeah, so 'Legends' isn't exactly classy, but it's so much fun... And you should be put on notice, the animated series has stepped up their game for S2. They're just one step closer to actually realizing their hood dreams of becoming.... 'Leeeeeeegennnnnds!'
