TVSquad

(S02E20) Up to this point, we've seen how his upbringing, home life, and troubles at school helped to shape Chris' worldview, but this is the first episode where we caught a glimpse of what made Chris want to be a comedian.

Since this series is a somewhat fictional take on Chris' life as a kid, we don't know if the real Chris Rock sneaked downstairs to eavesdrop on his parents listening to Redd Foxx albums, but one assumes young Chris was probably exposed to the legendary comedian at some point, not to mention the likes of Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and George Carlin.

I liked this episode for showing us a glimpse of the Chris we would all eventually know and love, but overall the episode felt a little weak. There were some moments I thought were really funny: Rochelle's mom not only doing all the cooking and laundry, but also painting Rochelle's toenails while Rochelle slept; and Greg describing an argument between his parents by telling Chris the number of each swear word (from Carlin's "Seven Words You Can't Say on TV" act) rather than the swear words themselves, but the main plot of Chris getting in trouble for telling dirty jokes in school felt like something I would have seen in any number of sitcoms. I understand this may have actually happened to Chris in real life, but I still wanted an episode with a little more "meat" to it.

Also, who in the world surprises someone with a blind date by blindfolding them, not telling them they're going on a date, and introducing them to someone they've never even met before? That scene with Rochelle and her mother didn't make any sense to me at all. I suppose it might have worked within the "reality" of a lesser sitcom, but I've always held Everybody Hates Chris to a higher standard. I guess that's why I'm giving this episode a 4 out of 7.