TVSquad

Like rock and roll, school shootings were invented by blacks and stolen by the white man.

- from Everybody Hates Chris

Chris Rock had a tough childhood. His family lived in violent neighborhoods, he was the oldest of three siblings, and was often put in charge of them while his father worked several jobs to provide for the family. During the day, Chris attended a school where he was the only black student and often endured racial slurs and getting beat up. For anyone who believes that all comedy is borne of tragedy, it's no wonder that Everybody Hates Chris is one of the funniest, most poignant series to hit the airwaves in a long time.

The first episode, which aired last night on UPN, served as an introduction to Chris and his family. There's his mother, Rochelle (Tichina Arnold), who has one hundred different ways of saying how she's going to kick Chris' ass; there's his father (Terry Crews), who knows the monetary value of a half-eaten drumstick; and there's his two younger siblings, Drew and Tanya, who might not consciously try to get Chris in trouble, but don't really care too much if they do.

Then of course there's Chris, played by Tyler James Williams, a relative unknown to TV audiences, unless you ask your kids, who may have seen him on Sesame Street. Williams' portrayal of Chris is pitch perfect, embodying the sense of humor and love for family that's at the heart of the show. But before we get too mushy, let's not forget that the show is freakin' hilarious.

On his first day of school, Chris encounters his first bully, and, being Chris, he can't help but use his sense of humor as a weapon. This, unfortunately, gets him into a fight after school. No worries, he thinks, most fights are broken up by an adult before they really get underway. All he has to do is get the first punch in and then a grown-up will swoop down and end it all. Chris manages to get the first punch in, which is followed by a montage of time-lapse images: flowers blooming, clouds sweeping over a city skyline, and text on the screen that reads "Thirty minutes later..." We come back to the fight and see Chris getting the crap kicked out of him while Stevie Wonder's "Ebony and Ivory" plays over the scene. Chris finally breaks into a sprint to catch the city bus back home, trailed by an army of angry white kids.

Most series pilots are clumsy at best as they try to find their sea legs. Everybody Hates Chris, however, has started off strong, with a cast that works together as if they've been doing the show for years. UPN has been hyping the show for months, and yes, the show does live up to the hype, but not only because the jokes are hysterical, but because at the core of it all is a kid who realizes that a sense of humor is the only defense one has sometimes, even if it does get you beaten up once in awhile.