Martin Wouldn’t Be Classic TV Without These Side Characters
Martin Lawrence took the fruit that Eddie Murphy planted in the 1980s and decided to make his own tree. From 1992 to 1997, Lawrence was allowed free rein not only as the host of HBO’s Def Comedy Jam but also as a film star in action epics (Bad Boys), slick comedies (Nothing to Lose) and even dark pieces he wound up writing and directing (A Thin Line Between Love and Hate). He also played a minor role that wound up becoming his film breakthrough (1992’s Boomerang) and owned everything in the Spike Lee-directed concert film You So Crazy!, where he continued the newfound comedy tradition set forth by Murphy by donning leather, albeit in his own ’90s way. In a five-year span, Martin Lawrence was everywhere, but his signature vehicle, the sitcom Martin, was a show about everything and nothing at the same time.
In the Martin universe there is Detroit, an odd setting considering that a) Lawrence is from Washington, D.C. and b) the only real aspects of Detroit involve mentions of actual Detroit properties such as the Pistons, Tommy “Hitman” Hearns; the Garden Court Apartments, where Martin and girlfriend Gina lived (2900 East Jefferson Avenue); and the Wayne County Building (600 Randolph Street), infamously known for the scene in which Tommy Strawn, Martin’s best friend, told the world what “GTD” truly stood for.
Otherwise, Martin invited figures from the real world to partake in a fictional one: Snoop Doggy Dogg in a fully blown-out afro crashing a party with Randall Cunningham, or The Notorious B.I.G. crashing on Martin’s couch while Gina and her best friend, Pam, attempted to prove they could sing. Or, most important, the time Christopher “Kid” Reid guest-starred as love interest to Sheneneh (Lawrence in hilarious drag). In no short order, the Martin universe revolved around Lawrence’s multitude of characters, both in drag and as flat-sided creations and the citizens who would stop by and show their face: the “Core Five” of Martin, Gina, Pam, Tommy, and Cole, but also Roscoe, Mama Payne, Miss Trinidad, Sheneneh, Keylolo, Otis, Varnell Hill, Angry Man, Hustle Man, Bruh-Man, Stan, Dragonfly Jones, Ms. Gerri, Buckwhite, Nipsey, and Big Shirley. All of them hold a prime space in Martin’s Detroit. All of them are important in their own little way.
The show was built around Lawrence’s Martin Payne, more or less a black Archie Bunker, and added a good dose of slapstick. For four seasons, it was the perfect mix of coming-of-age comedy, romance and ridiculousness. No one with a pulse considers the fifth season to be anything, because behind-the-scenes issues fractured the chemistry of the show. But instead of just picking the best episodes in the history of Martin, we have to discuss which side character is the most important in the show’s history. Side character, of course, means guest stars and the many recurring characters played by Lawrence, but excludes the Core Five. We’ll even go with a simple 10.
10. Dragonfly Jones
9. Reverend Leon Lonnie Love
8. Varnell Hill
7. Roscoe
6. Otis
5. Hustle Man
4. Mama Payne
3. Jerome
2. Bruh-Man
1. Sheneneh Jenkins
