History Series / Amen

** Thelma was a very competent soldier-she made it through basic training-and most likely would have had a decent military career (and a man who didn't need more time to marry her) if marrying the reverend wasn't her all-consuming life's goal.

* NosyNeighbor: A RunningGag had Chris frequently coming over to the house and asking questions or saying things that were incredibly inappropriate both because of his age and because they were none of his business, resulting in him being thrown out of the house by whoever he had offended.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Deacon Frye has a fear of snakes and overcomes it by [[spoiler: being locked in a room with one that wraps itself around him.]]

* CousinOliver: Chris. Jeanette too, even though she shows up ''early'' in the show's run, rather than late, like most examples of this trope. Clarence also, even though he's much older than most versions of this trope.

* InsatiableNewlyweds: Thelma and Reverend Gregory

* WeddingDay: Thelma and Reverend Gregory (twice), Rollie and Leona.
** Thelma also had one in the first season. She left him at the altar.
** Ernie has one with a FemmeFatale client. It turns out to be AllJustADream.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: A widowed man begs the Reverend and the Deacon to help him find a new wife, because it's been a long time since his wife died, and he has "''very strong needs''". Later, after Thelma and Reuben marry, he apparently deals with a bout of impotency. Never stated outright, of course, but his uneasy rebuffing of her advan ces hint at it pretty strongly.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: Averted. Like many clergymen, Reuben serves as a marriage counselor and sees a shrink to help him get over his marital fears.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: A widowed man begs the Reverend and the Deacon to help him find a new wife, because it's been a long time since his wife died, and he has "''very strong needs''". Later, after Thelma and Reuben marry, he apparently deals with a bout of impotency. Never stated outright, of course, but his uneasy rebuffing of her advances hint at it pretty strongly.

* YouLookFamiliar: The actor John Hancock who originally played in the pilot episode as the first Reverend of the church who quits and leaves Philadelphia because of being fed up with Deacon Frye, returns as a completely different character for Season 5 for two episodes.

* YouLookFamiliar: The actor John Hancock who originally played in thr pilot episode as the first Reverend of the church who quits and leaves Philadelphia because of being fed up with Deacon Frye, returns as a completely different character for Season 5 for two episodes.

* BearsAreBadNews: Frye injures [[AgonyOfTheFeet his foot]] on a hiking retreat. While he's resting it in his cabin, a bear shows up and starts licking him (or more specifically, his foot) for [[RuleOfFunny no apparent reason]] until Thelma chases it out.

A pleasant, somewhat forgotten 1980s sitcom on Creator/{{NBC}}, one of several of the era to feature all-black casts. It lasted from September, 1986 to May, 1991. A total of 110 episodes in five seasons. Set in an urban Philadelphia church, it starred Sherman Helmsley as Deacon Ernest Frye, an attorney with a considerably lacking sense of ethics, and Clifton Davis as the Rev. Reuben Gregory, a young, naive and idealistic minister. Another cast member was Anna Maria Horsford as Frye's 30-something spinster daughter, Thelma.

* AmenBreak: not an exact example, but the theme song is a spoken-word version of the source music for the AmenBreak. The theme song is probably what's most remembered about the show, besides Sherman Helmsley post-''Series/TheJeffersons''.

* YesVirginia: In the ChristmasEpisode "Miracle on 134th Street", Frye must defend a department-store Santa against an assault charge--he punched a man who was ridiculing him. Despite initially thinking that the man is bonkers, Frye comes to believe that he is in fact, truly Santa Claus and decides to use ''this'' as his defense. Sure enough, his identity is proven in court after reading a letter that the prosecutor wrote to him as a young boy. At the end of the movie, Frye receives a train set that he had always wanted, [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane apparently as a reward for being "good"]].

* CelebrityStar: Music/MCHammer in the episode "Three Men And A Hammer", playing [[ActingForTwo both the flamboyant Reverend Pressure and as himself]], encouraging Clarence not to drop out of school.

** The male half of a couple Reuben is counseling is like this too, taking anything and everything any other man says to he's wife as an advance--Ernie literally cannot say "Hello" or "Good morning" to the woman without the man wanting to fight him. He's completely oblivious to the fact that she's incredibly unattractive and ''no man'' wants her, while despite her own shrewish personality, she's devoted to him.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: A widowed man begging the Reverend and the Deacon to help him find a new wife, because it's been a long time since his wife died, and he has "''very strong needs''". Later, after Thelma and Reuben marry, he apparently deals with a bout of impotency. Never stated outright, of course, but his uneasy rebuffing of her advances hint at it pretty strongly.

* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: Rollie, to the max.folder

* YouLookFamiliar: John Hancock appears in the pilot episode as the church's minister, who quits after a clash with Ernie. He reappears in the final season episode "My Fair Homeboy" as a business partner of Ernie's.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: Averted. Like many clergymen, Rueben serves as a marriage counselor and sees a shrink to help him get over his marital fears.

* AmenBreak: not an exact example, but the theme song is a spoken-word version of the source music for the AmenBreak. The theme song is probably what's most remembered about the show, besides Sherman Helmsley post-"TheJeffersons."

** It appears Ernie's own father-in-law was this to him, disowning his daughter when she married him. 30-something years later, Ernie is still angry over how heartbroken his wife was by this.

* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: Rollie, to the max.

* MoodSwinger: Everyone notes Thelma's erratic behavior as hers and Reuben's anniversary approaches. Her father notes to friends Amelia and Rolly that her mother was the same way as ''their'' first anniversary came—"She was laughing and giggling one​ minute and throwing pots and pans at me the next. But at least she had a good excuse. She was pregnant." Their eyes widen as they realize that he may have just pinpointed the reason for Thelma's conduct. Sure enough, it turns out she's expecting.
* MyBelovedSmother: Reuben's mother, who constantly takes passive-aggressive digs at Thelma and tries to make her feel like she's not good enough for him. Not until Thelma and Reuben finally tell her off does she admit that her son is the only family she has left and that she was afraid of losing him. Ernie counts too, for the way he tends to treat Thelma like a child, to the point where she and Reuben have to throw him out of their honeymoon suite. He then spends their honeymoon calling her every day, bawling his eyes out for an hour, constantly shows up at their apartment uninvited and unannounced, and is visibly pleased when a fire forces them to move in with him.