Back in the 90s, comedies were at the forefront of TV. With The Cosby Show and Roseanne ending their reign, there was an opportunity for someone to come and take over. Martin Lawrence took full advantage. Martin was a show based on wisecracks, friendship, love, and lessons.
Over the course of five seasons, Martin provided as many laughs as possible in 30 minutes. However, the brilliance of the show was often overshadowed by the issues that were going on between some of the actors. As great as Martin was, there were still some moments where the jokes were not as funny. Here are the top 10 worst episodes of Martin, according to IMDb.
Ring A Ding, Ding, Gone (Season 4 Episode 4) Rating 6.6
Martin, listening to his friends, decided to do one of the dumbest things a married man can do. He takes his ring off just to see if he still has that magic. While the women are indeed scared away by the ring, once he takes it off, they come from everywhere trying to get his attention.
But then he loses the ring and has to try to find it while hiding is finger from Gina. What ensues was pure comedy that only Martin could pull off. Gina and Pam find the ring and instantly know what Martin was up to. Instead off letting him off the hook, she plays a little game with him.
One Flew Over The Hoochie's Nest (Season 5, Episode 22) Rating 6.6
By this time, Martin was on its last leg. "One Flew Over The Hoochie's Nest" should have been first on this list as the worst episode. Once again, it's the same jokes done over and over. The characters had already checked out as Martin and Gina were not seen on-screen together and the others were just waiting for that final curtain call.
Pam has a twin cousin who escapes a mental ward and takes Pam's place in the inner circle. Meanwhile, Pam is locked away by the doctors believing that she's Tammy. A few jokes in this episode but one that made no sense at all. Five seasons in, and this is how we find out Pam has a twin?
Old School Loving (Season 4, Episode 8) Rating 6.6
Martin wants to spend more time with Gina but every time he tries to plan something, Gina informs him that she has to work. With that news, Matin does what he does best and decides to go behind Gina's back and confronts and sees her boss. Martin voices his displeasure to her boss and he agrees. So, to make Martin happy, he fires Gina.
Now unemployed, Gina is treating Martin's apartment as her own personal cleaning and decorating project and Martin is not a fan. He goes back to talk to her boss regarding getting Gina her job back. Of course, nothing goes as planned and he's now put in an awkward situation that he must get saved from.
Green Card (Season 4, Episode 15) Rating 6.6
The super in the building is about to be deported back to his country unless he can prove that he's married. And here comes one of those plans that never goes right for the Martin crew. Pam is in need of an influx of cash as the IRS is on her back about unpaid taxes. The team comes up with a plan that she could marry the super in order to get the funds she needs and for him to get his green card.
The episode still had a few funny moments as Pam was still trying to date even though she was married. Tommy married the two while still holding on to his feelings for Pam. The immigration officer gives them a verbal test and almost passed until Pam realized she didn't know Louis' last name.
Working Girls (Season 5, Episode 4) Rating 6.5
Gina and Pam are normally in sync regarding their friendship. But this time around, there is a bit of hostility in the workplace. With a new account up for grabs, Pam has to step up as the lead person when Gina is not feeling like herself. Gina, being a lot like Martin, starts to feel a bit betrayed by her friend but forgetting the fact that she was off her game and almost lost the account for the company.
While Pam is leading the way, she's put under so much pressure that she cracks and is forced to go to Gina for help. It brings the women closer but it shows that even a comedy can touch on sensitive topics such as workplace bullying even it's between friends.
Where The Party At (Season 4, Episode 20) Rating 6.5
Gina is trying to plan a surprise birthday party for Martin but is running into issues. It appears that no one wants to come to the party due to the way Martin has treated them over the years. At this point, Gina is mad at everyone and makes the point that they're fake friends for all the things Martin has done for them.
Little does she know, that even though he's rude, Tommy and Cole have already planned a big event for him at Nipsey's. Included on the list of cameos are famous entertainers like Will Smith, Brain McKnight, Robert Townsend, and Shaquille O'Neal. See Gina, everyone loves Martin despite his knack for kicking people out of his apartment.
Homeo and Juliet (Season 4, Episode 21) Rating 6.2
Martin and Pam take on roles in a community play of Romeo & Juliet. When one of the actors gets hurt on set, Martin has to take over the lead role and he doesn't go by the script. He improvises and makes his own rendition of Romeo & Juliet and turns it into a hood classic.
I agree with IMDb on this one as the jokes were a bit forced and by this time, Matin was losing its hold on America as one of the funniest comedies on TV. But still, Watching Martin and his crew perform a stage play of Shakespeare and add their element of comedy was still worth the 30 minutes of my life.
Ain't That About A Ditch (Season 5, Episode 13) Rating 6.2
Gina is out of town and her mom wants to head into the city to spend the weekend with Martin. The writing has turned a corner for the once-popular show and not for the better. The problem arises when Martin has already made plans with Tommy and Cole and now he must find a way to ditch Mrs. Waters.
Martin's mother-in-law makes her sad faces but in the end, she, Martin, Tommy, and Cole end up enjoying themselves as a unit. With Gina out of the picture most of Season 5, the writers still had to throw in an element of her life.
Scrooge (Season 5, Episode 10) Rating 6.1
With Christmas approaching, Martin shows how cheap he can be when it comes to the holiday spirit. He gets Tommy a box of kleenex tissues and gets Cole a shirt that was gifted to him. But then he breaks out a pair of the new Jordans that he purchased for himself.
Gina's plan was to feed the needy down at Nipsey's but Martin decided to sit at home alone on Christmas Eve instead. After dozing off, Martins is visited by four Christmas ghosts to show him the error of his holiday ways. In an episode where the jokes should have been funnier, it was more of the same with Martin making fun of Pam and Pam coming back with short elf jokes.
Cole On Ice (Season 4, Episode 9) Rating 5.9
Cole loses his job and Martin gets him a new one working at the TV station. However, this is Cole we're talking about and we know something is bound to go wrong. Cole is not the smartest and most graceful of people. Needless to say, Cole terrorizes the set and puts Martin in a tough spot regarding his friend.
But then Cole tries to make amends and lands Martin an interview with basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. Once again, Martin is showing signs of decline as the jokes are becoming stale and just not the same as they were a season or two ago.