Me and the Boys

Jim 1990s

Aired: 1994(ABC)Me and the Boys

DAD: Steve Tower (Steve Harvey) / Widower

DAD’S JOB: Video store manager

KIDS: Artis (Chaz Lamar Shepherd) (16), William (Wayne Collins) (13), Andrew (Benjamin D. LeVert) (10)

WHERE’S MOM?: Dead – unknown cause

STAND-IN “MOM”: Mary (Madge Sinclair) / Grandmother

There’s a point in TV history where a template develops, a paradigm of a plot framework that so many shows derive their structure from. In the 90’s, the standard low-budget TV Single Dad comedy formed around the template of Me and the Boys. Even the template itself is a derivative of the 50’s My Three Sons. The difference between this show and My Three Sons is merely a reduced budget and a studio audience. Oh, and Uncle Charley in this case would be Grandma Mary.

Grandma Mary was quite a “get” for this show: Madge Sinclair was an Emmy award-winning actress who also played Queen Aoleon, Eddie Murphy’s mom in Coming to America. She later wound up playing Geordi La Forge’s mom on Star Trek: The Next Generation.