The Game is Back: And Its Finally Funny

It was unprecedented how The Game, a sitcom based around the lives of NFL players on and off the field, was killed on one network and revived on another, to an even bigger welcome. I got into The Game when BET, the current home of the show, picked it up for syndication. It was then that I fell in love with the sass of Tasha Mack, that I scoffed at the arrogance of Jason Pitts and Malik Wright, and I followed the on again, off again, soap opera relationship of Melanie and Derwin. All while laughing hysterically. So I, along with the other 7.7 million viewers, was beyond exited for the premier last season on BET. And boy was I disappointed.

It was painfully obvious that the writers were different. The dialogue was forced and corny. Everything from the style of the characters to the background music screamed 106 and Park. And the most noticeable change of all was that it was no longer funny. The laugh track was severely diminished, and the show became a drama. Everybody's life unraveled. Tasha Mack, as usual, couldn't keep a man. But her not keeping a man was not funny. Melanie and Derwin continued their tumultuous relationship, now married and ballin', but it was not funny. Malik went to Rehab, and though that is no laughing matter in reality, it could have been hilarious on a TV Show. It wasn't. And I won't even get into Kelly and Jason.

To put it in a nutshell, The Game's fourth season was a bitter disappointment, and it went from a comedy to dreadful version of a drama. It showed in this years rankings, pulling in an impressive 5.3 million viewers, but not topping last years 7.1 million.

So of course I was apprehensive about the Premier of the fifth season, which aired 2 nights ago. I was relieved to see that it was once again funny. I'm glad the writers put their ears to the street, read the blogs, and realized that they needed to get it together.

* SPOILER ALERT*

So Derwin discovered Melanie aborted a baby that was not his, and payback was a bitch, wasn't Derwin? You go girl. How funny was Tasha Mack while Malik's girlfriend OD'ed? She was spectacular. Finally, we understand Jason's issues with Blackness and black women, thanks to Chardonnay, played by singer Brandy. There seems to be a budding romance there. Malik is still down in the depths, and Tee-Tee is still Tee-Tee. Even though there's just as much drama as last season, I actually got a laugh or two out of it.  And I'm looking forward to the episodes to come. Keep that laugh track on full blast! And Btw...and am I the only one that was thinking Kelly Pitts is ghost because BET voted her off??? Just thinking out loud.