Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 85 (click to see context) from:
* ParodySue: BettyWhite played a one-shot character that was an obvious parody of Film/MaryPoppins.
to:
* ParodySue: BettyWhite Creator/BettyWhite played a one-shot character that was an obvious parody of Film/MaryPoppins.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 102 (click to see context) from:
* SuperStrength /StoutStrength: Calvin can throw standard size refridgerators easily & has been shown to be strong enough to ''[[CrowningMomentofAwesome move an entire factory truck]]''!
to:
* SuperStrength /StoutStrength: / StoutStrength: Calvin can throw standard size refridgerators easily & has been shown to be strong enough to ''[[CrowningMomentofAwesome move an entire factory truck]]''!
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 102 (click to see context) from:
* SuperStrength: Calvin can throw standard size refridgerators easily & has been shown to be strong enough to ''[[CrowningMomentofAwesome move an entire factory truck]]''!
to:
* SuperStrength: SuperStrength /StoutStrength: Calvin can throw standard size refridgerators easily & has been shown to be strong enough to ''[[CrowningMomentofAwesome move an entire factory truck]]''!
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
** In later seasons, he's more or less at extreme levels of stupidity, although an episode focuses on the idea that [[spoiler:Junior's son]] is a trigger for otherwise unseen levels of intelligence. Also, it's hinted that his flash cartoon parodying his own family might become a hit.
Deleted line(s) 55 (click to see context) :
** In later seasons, he's more or less at extreme levels of stupidity, although an episode focuses on the idea that [[spoiler:Junior's son]] is a trigger for otherwise unseen levels of intelligence. Also, it's hinted that his flash cartoon parodying his own family might become a hit.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* GenreSavvy: Micheal is usually the one to suspect if his kids are up to something and occasionally does his own little BatmanGambits in order to prove a point,although occasionally he's wrong and it turns out his kids weren't up to anything suspicious and he was just quick to jump to assumptions
Deleted line(s) 60 (click to see context) :
* GenreSavvy: Micheal is usually the one to suspect if his kids are up to something and occasionally does his own little BatmanGambits in order to prove a point,although occasionally he's wrong and it turns out his kids weren't up to anything suspicious and he was just quick to jump to assumptions
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* GenreSavvy: Micheal is usually the one to suspect if his kids are up to something and occasionally does his own little BatmanGambits in order to prove a point,although occasionally he's wrong and it turns out his kids weren't up to anything suspicious and he was just quick to jump to assumptions
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
**Jay also had "What kind of foolishness...?" whenever someone did something stupid.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BigEater: Calvin almost ''ate all the food that a chinese restaurant had''.
Added DiffLines:
* SuperStrength: Calvin can throw standard size refridgerators easily & has been shown to be strong enough to ''[[CrowningMomentofAwesome move an entire factory truck]]''!
Added DiffLines:
* TooDumbToLive: Michael Kyle JR is this within reason.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* {{Flanderization}}: Hoo boy, where to begin. Junior's stupidity, Claire's clumsiness, Jay's callousness, etc.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* EggSitting: Michael makes Junior take care of a water balloon to test if he is ready to be a parent. Junior draws a face on it and calls it Fetus Face. It is eventually destroyed when he slams down the hood of his car while arguing with Michael and the water balloon falls on the floor, followed by a montage of Junior and the water balloon together.
Added DiffLines:
* MetaphorIsMyMiddleName: A variation where Honest is Tony's real first name while Tony is actually his middle name.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* GroundedForever: Michael punishes Claire by grounding her (and forcing her to do all the chores in the house) until she gets him an apple from the apple tree in the backyard. Then he gives her a few apple seeds.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: occasionaly Michael and Janet, or Junior.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 19,21 (click to see context) from:
* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Claire.
* ButNotTooBlack: Averted by [[TheOtherDarrin Claire's original actress]].
* {{Catchphrase}}: Averted in Season 1. After that, it was open season...
* ButNotTooBlack: Averted by [[TheOtherDarrin Claire's original actress]].
* {{Catchphrase}}: Averted in Season 1. After that, it was open season...
to:
* {{Catchphrase}}: Averted in Season 1. After that, it was open season...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DumbassTeenageSon: Junior, who at one point can't even spell his name.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
** When Micheal tells Junior that his infant son makes him smarter it actually seems to work, to the degree that Micheal can turn his son's intelligence on and off mid sentence by taking his hand off the baby's head.
to:
** When Micheal Michael tells Junior that his infant son makes him smarter it actually seems to work, to the degree that Micheal Michael can turn his son's intelligence on and off mid sentence by taking his hand off the baby's head.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* OverprotectiveDad: Even after getting proof, time and again, that Tony is pretty much a boy scout, Michael still offers some stubborn resistance to letting Claire date him - even going so far as to drag Jay with him to turn their first date into a double date.
Added DiffLines:
* SheCleansUpNicely: Jay, ''boy howdy''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 79 (click to see context) from:
* RebusBubble: In one episode, Michael attempts to help Jay study for a psychology test using what he calls "Psy-Kyle-ogy" (for example, Lion + Shaquille O'Neil = Rorschach). Unfortunately this causes her to fail the test, so she hands him one that says "[[LysistrataGambit Booty on lockdown]]". Later, when he convinces the teacher to give her a re-test and she passes, she hands him another and walks off.
to:
* RebusBubble: In one episode, Michael attempts to help Jay study for a psychology test using what he calls "Psy-Kyle-ogy" "Sight-Kyle-ogy" (for example, Lion + Shaquille O'Neil = Rorschach). Unfortunately this causes her to fail the test, so she hands him one that says "[[LysistrataGambit Booty on lockdown]]". Later, when he convinces the teacher to give her a re-test and she passes, she hands him another and walks off.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 36 (click to see context) from:
* TheDitz: Claire in later seasons. Claire's boyfriend Tony as well.
to:
* TheDitz: Junior. Claire in later seasons. Claire's boyfriend Tony as well.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Added the \"Eek, a Mouse!\" example.
Added DiffLines:
* EekAMouse: The episode "Of Mice and Men" involves the family discovering the presence of a mouse in the house. Michael and Jay play the trope's scenario straight, by hopping up onto chairs at the sight of the mouse (well, actually, taking turns sight-scene-by-sight-scene with one jumping onto a kitchen chair and knocking the other off to replace him/her); Junior and Kady just show the typical fear, minus chair-jumping. Claire, however, does not elicit the fear due to refusing to be around for Michael's harebrained attempts at killing the mouse, and Franklin is only around in one scene, studying the droppings.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 25 (click to see context) from:
* CharacterizationMovesOn: Tony was initially just a NiceGuy boyfriend of Claire's, that in his early appearances got a bit rude when Michael's OverprotectiveDad tendencies got a little too far. Then he got a bit more subdued and even nicer, until he becomes a [[TheFundamentalist a holier-than-thou Christian evangelist]], and pretty condescending to Claire and Michael when they do or say things that doen't agree with his beliefs.
to:
* CharacterizationMovesOn: CharacterizationMarchesOn: Tony was initially just a NiceGuy boyfriend of Claire's, that in his early appearances got a bit rude when Michael's OverprotectiveDad tendencies got a little too far. Then he got a bit more subdued and even nicer, until he becomes a [[TheFundamentalist a holier-than-thou Christian evangelist]], and pretty condescending to Claire and Michael when they do or say things that doen't agree with his beliefs.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* CharacterizationMovesOn: Tony was initially just a NiceGuy boyfriend of Claire's, that in his early appearances got a bit rude when Michael's OverprotectiveDad tendencies got a little too far. Then he got a bit more subdued and even nicer, until he becomes a [[TheFundamentalist a holier-than-thou Christian evangelist]], and pretty condescending to Claire and Michael when they do or say things that doen't agree with his beliefs.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
** When Micheal tells Junior that his infant son makes him smarter it actually seems to work, to the degree that Micheal can turn his sons intelligence on and off mid sentence by taking his hand off the baby's head.
to:
** When Micheal tells Junior that his infant son makes him smarter it actually seems to work, to the degree that Micheal can turn his sons son's intelligence on and off mid sentence by taking his hand off the baby's head.
Changed line(s) 74 (click to see context) from:
* RealLifeRelative: Michael's brother & sister were played with Keenan & Kin Wayans, Damon Wayans's older brother & younger sister. Two of his sons also played Junior's friends.
to:
* RealLifeRelative: Michael's brother & sister were played with Keenan & Kin Kim Wayans, Damon Wayans's older brother & younger sister. Two of his sons also played Junior's friends.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 2,3 (click to see context) from:
Sitcom that aired on ABC, starring Damon Wayans. The show is about Michael Kyle and, well...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin his wife and kids]].
to:
Sitcom that aired on ABC, starring Damon Wayans.DamonWayans. The show is about Michael Kyle and, well...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin his wife and kids]].
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
* AtTheOperaTonight
to:
* AtTheOperaTonightAtTheOperaTonight: Mike and Jay attended an opera, and mainly got a few jokes about a rich old man and his [[GoldDigger young girlfriend]] wearing a [[PrettyInMink black fur wrap]]. Mike also tricked Jay into leaving early, and they find Junior in the middle of losing his virginity.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 1 (click to see context) from:
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mywifekids_l.jpg
to:
Changed line(s) 69 (click to see context) from:
* ParodySue: BettyWhite played a one-shot character that was an obvious parody of MaryPoppins.
to:
* ParodySue: BettyWhite played a one-shot character that was an obvious parody of MaryPoppins.Film/MaryPoppins.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 67 (click to see context) from:
-->'''Junior''': I meant to order ''[[IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer I Know Who You Did Last Summer]]''!
to:
-->'''Junior''': I meant to order ''[[IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer ''[[Film/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer I Know Who You Did Last Summer]]''!
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* PacManFever: In the episode "Quality Time", Michael gets hooked on a video game. We never see the game in question (and judging by the few lines of dialogue referring to it, it's not a real game) and whenever Michael plays it, he mashes the buttons on the controller and wiggles the joystick around wildly non-stop.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mywifekids_l.jpg
Sitcom that aired on ABC, starring Damon Wayans. The show is about Michael Kyle and, well...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin his wife and kids]].
Featured some clever comedy writing, but all in all was a very standard DomCom.
----
!!This show provides examples of:
* AchievementsInIgnorance: When Junior's test papers come back with a perfect score he starts acting genuinely smarter. Later in the episode it's cleared up he didn't even get his own name correct on the paper, but the paper he helped Claire with was still an A+ and the climbing frame he put together himself was still built perfectly.
** When Micheal tells Junior that his infant son makes him smarter it actually seems to work, to the degree that Micheal can turn his sons intelligence on and off mid sentence by taking his hand off the baby's head.
* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Jay, [[spoiler: and becomes an Absurdly Youthful ''Grandmother'' later on in the series]]
** Tisha Campbell-Martin is about 13 years older than the actor who played her eldest child, but then it ''was'' a TeenPregnancy, even if the age gap was larger by about 5 years.
* TheAce: Tony. He saved children from a burning orphanage after his first date with Claire.
* AlohaHawaii / VacationEpisode
* AnAesop: One episode introduces a friend of Michael's (played by Mos Def) who has become paraplegic since the last time they saw each other. Michael acts like he's not capable of taking care of himself, and eventually his friend calls him on his behavior and says that he wants to be treated the same as everyone else and not like he's half a man.
* AtTheOperaTonight
* BenevolentBoss: Michael is friends with the workers at his shipping company at treats them kindly, but still reminds them that he's the boss.
* BigBrotherInstinct: One episode featured Junior befriending a group of [[{{Jerkass}} jerkasses]] who take advantage of him and pick on him. Because they're cool, Junior refuses to stand up to them...[[BerserkButton until they started hitting on his younger sister.]]
* BlackAndNerdy: Franklin.
* BrattyHalfPint: Kady, especially in the final seasons.
* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Claire.
* ButNotTooBlack: Averted by [[TheOtherDarrin Claire's original actress]].
* {{Catchphrase}}: Averted in Season 1. After that, it was open season...
** Michael had "Ehhhh... No." whenever someone made an idiotic suggestion and he felt like giving them false hope, and a RunningGag was Michael [[OverlyLongGag dragging out the "Ehhhh..." part]] or coming with increasingly creative ways to drop the phrase. Eventually adopted by the rest of the cast.
** In later seasons, Claire had a a ditzy giggle and Jay had a high-pitched cackle.
** Franklin (and later, Michael) had the habit of making a particularly bad joke and then following it up with "Any-who...", with a slight elongating of the "any" much in the way of "ehhh.....no".
* ChildProdigy: Franklin
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: In order to stop Jay and his sister from fighting, Michael starts singing "Oh Canada" badly and with the wrong lyrics: "Oh Canada, I love you Canada![=/=]You gave us bacon! You gave us hockey!"
** When Jay and Kady fall ill, Jay asks Michael to take Kady to see a physician. Faced with Michael's unwillingness to do so, Jay threatens to kiss Michael (and infect him along the way). That gets Michael on the move quickly.
* CutShort: The series ended in a cliff hanger, due to cancellation. WordOfGod says that had the series continued, [[spoiler:Jay's pregnancy test]] would come back [[spoiler:[[StatusQuoIsGod false]]]]. Considering that, it's probably for the best that it was canned.
* CuteButCacophonic: Jay has an... interesting laugh.
* DeadPetSketch: An episode has Michael accidentally kill Kady's pet hamster. She stays completely oblivious until told about it.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: In one episode Michael meets Jay's psychology professor, Floyd F. Tillman (played by James Avery). Turns out the F stands for "Floyd".
-->'''Michael:''' So your name is "Floyd Floyd"?
-->'''Tillman:''' Yup yup.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Michael tries to get Junior thrown out of the house for drinking all the milk. Subverted though, in that he needed an excuse to throw him out because Junior got a tattoo and wasn't able to punish him for it.
* TheDitz: Claire in later seasons. Claire's boyfriend Tony as well.
* {{Dojikko}}: Claire. Really emphasized in the home movie episode where she destroys the tape of her getting hurt, [[HypocriticalHumor declares it's the last time they'll ever see it... and then trips as she storms upstairs]].
-->'''Michael:''' It's even better live!
* DuckSeasonRabbitSeason: The scheme Jay used to trick Michael into letting Claire (as a sophomore) going to the senior prom. Michael even says, upon realization, "Wait a minute, you Bugs Bunny'd me!"
* TheFundamentalist: Tony.
* GagPenis[=/=]BiggerIsBetterInBed: Implied with Michael. In one episode Jay paints a picture of him in the style of Michelangelo's ''David'', and a friend puts it in her art gallery. When it's unveiled, a woman standing next to Jay says "Holy moley, how do you find time to paint?!"
* GeniusDitz: Junior has shown himself to be quite bright when the chips call for it, and he's a very talented cartoonist.
** In later seasons, he's more or less at extreme levels of stupidity, although an episode focuses on the idea that [[spoiler:Junior's son]] is a trigger for otherwise unseen levels of intelligence. Also, it's hinted that his flash cartoon parodying his own family might become a hit.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In "They Call Me El Foosay", Vanessa blindfolds Junior to surprise him with a fooseball table. This dialogue occurs.
---> Vanessa: I got you something to play with while I'm gone.
---> Junior: Vanessa, I already have that. ''(grabs fooseball handle)'' See, I told you I already have this.
* GroinAttack: One of Michael's favorite home movies is Junior catching himself in his fly.
-->''"My ding-ding!"''
* HotMom: Jay after her Season 2 makeover, and [[spoiler:Vanessa]].
* {{Hypocrite}}: Several examples.
** Jay taking offense to Michael calling their therapist, openly stating they only call him when she has a problem with Michael. When Michael decides that since pays for the therapist, they're seeing a different one; Jay gets upset & immediately starts complaining when the new therapist takes Michael's side instead of hers, Eventually, they find an impartial therapist.
** Michael saying he won't punish Junior for getting a tattoo, then kicking him out of the house when he finds out Junior drank all the milk, and again when Jay points out that her husband has an earring that his own father didn't exactly approve of.
** In a later season, Jay decides that all the couples should play a game where they have to answer personal questions about their partner to see how well they know one another. All the men get their questions wrong, and after the women storm off the men realize that the women had yet to answer any questions, so they convince them to return so they can answer the men's questions. When they do, all the women get their answers wrong and forgive their partners for getting their questions wrong... except Jay, who refuses to forgive Michael for getting his question wrong even when she got hers wrong.
* ImprobableParkingSkills: Junior, trying to show his dad how he can drive responsibly and that he's maturing, parallel parks his car ''perfectly'' in less than a second.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Tony. Or at least he tries to be. [[TheFundamentalist Way too hard]].
* {{Jerkass}}: Michael throughout (and ''how''), plus Jay in later seasons.
* LethalChef: Claire. One episode has [[CreatorsPet Franklin]] trying to help improve her cooking... and it doesn't quite pan out.
* ManipulativeBastard: Michael.
** Michael forced Junior to live in the garage for around about two seasons, as he had kicked Junior out of the house. By the time he was allowed to move back in, Michael had converted his son's room into his own play area and didn't want to give it up.
*** Eventually, Junior was joined by [[spoiler:his wife and son]] in "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Remodel]]", which led to him asking Michael if they could convert the garage into an apartment. An entire episode was spent doing that, after which Michael tells Junior he can move back into the house ''purely so he can take the remodeled garage for himself''. And everyone else just went along with this.
* MagicFeather: In one episode, Michael convinces Junior that as long as he's holding [[spoiler:his son]], he's a genius. When Junior starts being an InsufferableGenius, Michael reveals that it's a MagicFeather, explaining that his own father did the exact same with him in the past.
* {{Nepotism}}: Averted in one episode. Junior comes to help Michael at work and starts bossing around his employees on the grounds that being the boss's son means he's the second-in-command. Michael ends up putting Junior through some demeaning jobs like scrubbing the toilet to teach him that he isn't the boss, and that you should treat you employees with respect.
* TheOtherDarrin: Claire after Season 1 (by Jennifer Freeman, who looks nothing like Jazz Raycole) because of a plotline dealing with teen pregnancy. Her friend's teenage pregnancy. Lampshaded in the Season 2 premiere. Also, Junior's girlfriend was played by Meagan Good in Season 3 and Brooklyn Sudano from Season 4.
* ParallelPornTitles:
-->'''Junior''': Okay, I admit it. I accidentally ordered ''[[StarWars Star Whores]]'' on Pay-Per-View last night.
-->'''Michael''': Accidentally?
-->'''Junior''': I meant to order ''[[IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer I Know Who You Did Last Summer]]''!
* ParentalFavoritism: Michael with Kady. Lampshaded in a number of Season Two episodes.
* ParodySue: BettyWhite played a one-shot character that was an obvious parody of MaryPoppins.
* PetTheDog: It's clear that Michael truly does care for his family, despite his JerkAss behavior.
* PoorMansPorn: Junior escaping to the bathroom with increasingly supposedly non-sexual magazines, the height of which was an issue of a monthly cooking magazine.
* PromBaby: Junior. According to Michael, this is why Jay missed her high school prom.
* PungeonMaster: Michael.
* RealLifeRelative: Michael's brother & sister were played with Keenan & Kin Wayans, Damon Wayans's older brother & younger sister. Two of his sons also played Junior's friends.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: An interesting version — Damon Wayans' kids were on the writing staff in later seasons, so various plot points (such as [[spoiler:Junior getting Vanessa pregnant]]) occurred because it had just happened to the writers.
** Played straight when Jay was missing for the first part of Season 2, due to the actress taking maternity leave. {{Handwaved}} as Jay's mother having had an accident, so Jay had left to take care of her.
* RebusBubble: In one episode, Michael attempts to help Jay study for a psychology test using what he calls "Psy-Kyle-ogy" (for example, Lion + Shaquille O'Neil = Rorschach). Unfortunately this causes her to fail the test, so she hands him one that says "[[LysistrataGambit Booty on lockdown]]". Later, when he convinces the teacher to give her a re-test and she passes, she hands him another and walks off.
-->'''Michael:''' "Spank that donkey"? Why would I want to spank that a- ''(EurekaMoment, runs off after her)''
* ScreamingBirth: Vanessa giving birth to her baby (with some help).
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Michael. Want proof? Watch him meet [=LeBron=] James.
* SitcomArchNemesis: Wanda to Michael.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Jay is convinced that she's a lot smarter and more attractive than she really is.
* StandardizedSitcomHousing
* StrictlyFormula
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: After Michael discovers he taped over the video of Kady's first steps by accident and Junior walks into the room.
-->'''Junior''': What are ''you'' doing?
-->'''Michael''': I ain't erasing anything!.
* TakeAThirdOption: One episode has Jay feuding with Michael's sister (played by Vivica A. Fox). When they demand to know who he'd save first if they were drowning, his response ("I'd probably kill myself trying to save both of you") is what makes them calm down and start listening to him.
* TeenPregnancy: Jay was pregnant with Junior during her senior year of High School. Claire's friend in Season 2, and later on Junior's girlfriend.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Michael.
* {{Tsundere}}: Jay, a rare case considering she's, well, married.
* VolleyingInsults: Michael and Wanda communicate with each other this way.
* WhosOnFirst
* WhoWouldWantToWatchUs: In the final season, Junior comes up with an idea for a TV show called ''[[spoiler:My Wife And Kid]]''. The premise is essentially his life, albeit flip flopped with him being promoted to the breadwinner whilst his parents are instead mooching off him. Cartoon Michael has a giant head and is obsessed with get-rich-quick schemes, while Cartoon Jay's ass is its own separate character. Named Rufus.
* YourHeadASplode: In Season 5, Tony's stern religious beliefs begin conflicting with his sexual desires for his girlfriend [[MsFanservice Claire]] to the point that he couldn't be around her and do even the most mundane things. To deal with this, Claire decides to stand in front of him completely naked until he's so desensitized to her that they can go back to how they were before. Tony promptly freaks out and his head explodes, and then it turns out that it was just his imagination, since Claire comes down stairs fully clothed, leading to Tony running away screaming.
----
Sitcom that aired on ABC, starring Damon Wayans. The show is about Michael Kyle and, well...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin his wife and kids]].
Featured some clever comedy writing, but all in all was a very standard DomCom.
----
!!This show provides examples of:
* AchievementsInIgnorance: When Junior's test papers come back with a perfect score he starts acting genuinely smarter. Later in the episode it's cleared up he didn't even get his own name correct on the paper, but the paper he helped Claire with was still an A+ and the climbing frame he put together himself was still built perfectly.
** When Micheal tells Junior that his infant son makes him smarter it actually seems to work, to the degree that Micheal can turn his sons intelligence on and off mid sentence by taking his hand off the baby's head.
* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Jay, [[spoiler: and becomes an Absurdly Youthful ''Grandmother'' later on in the series]]
** Tisha Campbell-Martin is about 13 years older than the actor who played her eldest child, but then it ''was'' a TeenPregnancy, even if the age gap was larger by about 5 years.
* TheAce: Tony. He saved children from a burning orphanage after his first date with Claire.
* AlohaHawaii / VacationEpisode
* AnAesop: One episode introduces a friend of Michael's (played by Mos Def) who has become paraplegic since the last time they saw each other. Michael acts like he's not capable of taking care of himself, and eventually his friend calls him on his behavior and says that he wants to be treated the same as everyone else and not like he's half a man.
* AtTheOperaTonight
* BenevolentBoss: Michael is friends with the workers at his shipping company at treats them kindly, but still reminds them that he's the boss.
* BigBrotherInstinct: One episode featured Junior befriending a group of [[{{Jerkass}} jerkasses]] who take advantage of him and pick on him. Because they're cool, Junior refuses to stand up to them...[[BerserkButton until they started hitting on his younger sister.]]
* BlackAndNerdy: Franklin.
* BrattyHalfPint: Kady, especially in the final seasons.
* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Claire.
* ButNotTooBlack: Averted by [[TheOtherDarrin Claire's original actress]].
* {{Catchphrase}}: Averted in Season 1. After that, it was open season...
** Michael had "Ehhhh... No." whenever someone made an idiotic suggestion and he felt like giving them false hope, and a RunningGag was Michael [[OverlyLongGag dragging out the "Ehhhh..." part]] or coming with increasingly creative ways to drop the phrase. Eventually adopted by the rest of the cast.
** In later seasons, Claire had a a ditzy giggle and Jay had a high-pitched cackle.
** Franklin (and later, Michael) had the habit of making a particularly bad joke and then following it up with "Any-who...", with a slight elongating of the "any" much in the way of "ehhh.....no".
* ChildProdigy: Franklin
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: In order to stop Jay and his sister from fighting, Michael starts singing "Oh Canada" badly and with the wrong lyrics: "Oh Canada, I love you Canada![=/=]You gave us bacon! You gave us hockey!"
** When Jay and Kady fall ill, Jay asks Michael to take Kady to see a physician. Faced with Michael's unwillingness to do so, Jay threatens to kiss Michael (and infect him along the way). That gets Michael on the move quickly.
* CutShort: The series ended in a cliff hanger, due to cancellation. WordOfGod says that had the series continued, [[spoiler:Jay's pregnancy test]] would come back [[spoiler:[[StatusQuoIsGod false]]]]. Considering that, it's probably for the best that it was canned.
* CuteButCacophonic: Jay has an... interesting laugh.
* DeadPetSketch: An episode has Michael accidentally kill Kady's pet hamster. She stays completely oblivious until told about it.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: In one episode Michael meets Jay's psychology professor, Floyd F. Tillman (played by James Avery). Turns out the F stands for "Floyd".
-->'''Michael:''' So your name is "Floyd Floyd"?
-->'''Tillman:''' Yup yup.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Michael tries to get Junior thrown out of the house for drinking all the milk. Subverted though, in that he needed an excuse to throw him out because Junior got a tattoo and wasn't able to punish him for it.
* TheDitz: Claire in later seasons. Claire's boyfriend Tony as well.
* {{Dojikko}}: Claire. Really emphasized in the home movie episode where she destroys the tape of her getting hurt, [[HypocriticalHumor declares it's the last time they'll ever see it... and then trips as she storms upstairs]].
-->'''Michael:''' It's even better live!
* DuckSeasonRabbitSeason: The scheme Jay used to trick Michael into letting Claire (as a sophomore) going to the senior prom. Michael even says, upon realization, "Wait a minute, you Bugs Bunny'd me!"
* TheFundamentalist: Tony.
* GagPenis[=/=]BiggerIsBetterInBed: Implied with Michael. In one episode Jay paints a picture of him in the style of Michelangelo's ''David'', and a friend puts it in her art gallery. When it's unveiled, a woman standing next to Jay says "Holy moley, how do you find time to paint?!"
* GeniusDitz: Junior has shown himself to be quite bright when the chips call for it, and he's a very talented cartoonist.
** In later seasons, he's more or less at extreme levels of stupidity, although an episode focuses on the idea that [[spoiler:Junior's son]] is a trigger for otherwise unseen levels of intelligence. Also, it's hinted that his flash cartoon parodying his own family might become a hit.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In "They Call Me El Foosay", Vanessa blindfolds Junior to surprise him with a fooseball table. This dialogue occurs.
---> Vanessa: I got you something to play with while I'm gone.
---> Junior: Vanessa, I already have that. ''(grabs fooseball handle)'' See, I told you I already have this.
* GroinAttack: One of Michael's favorite home movies is Junior catching himself in his fly.
-->''"My ding-ding!"''
* HotMom: Jay after her Season 2 makeover, and [[spoiler:Vanessa]].
* {{Hypocrite}}: Several examples.
** Jay taking offense to Michael calling their therapist, openly stating they only call him when she has a problem with Michael. When Michael decides that since pays for the therapist, they're seeing a different one; Jay gets upset & immediately starts complaining when the new therapist takes Michael's side instead of hers, Eventually, they find an impartial therapist.
** Michael saying he won't punish Junior for getting a tattoo, then kicking him out of the house when he finds out Junior drank all the milk, and again when Jay points out that her husband has an earring that his own father didn't exactly approve of.
** In a later season, Jay decides that all the couples should play a game where they have to answer personal questions about their partner to see how well they know one another. All the men get their questions wrong, and after the women storm off the men realize that the women had yet to answer any questions, so they convince them to return so they can answer the men's questions. When they do, all the women get their answers wrong and forgive their partners for getting their questions wrong... except Jay, who refuses to forgive Michael for getting his question wrong even when she got hers wrong.
* ImprobableParkingSkills: Junior, trying to show his dad how he can drive responsibly and that he's maturing, parallel parks his car ''perfectly'' in less than a second.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Tony. Or at least he tries to be. [[TheFundamentalist Way too hard]].
* {{Jerkass}}: Michael throughout (and ''how''), plus Jay in later seasons.
* LethalChef: Claire. One episode has [[CreatorsPet Franklin]] trying to help improve her cooking... and it doesn't quite pan out.
* ManipulativeBastard: Michael.
** Michael forced Junior to live in the garage for around about two seasons, as he had kicked Junior out of the house. By the time he was allowed to move back in, Michael had converted his son's room into his own play area and didn't want to give it up.
*** Eventually, Junior was joined by [[spoiler:his wife and son]] in "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Remodel]]", which led to him asking Michael if they could convert the garage into an apartment. An entire episode was spent doing that, after which Michael tells Junior he can move back into the house ''purely so he can take the remodeled garage for himself''. And everyone else just went along with this.
* MagicFeather: In one episode, Michael convinces Junior that as long as he's holding [[spoiler:his son]], he's a genius. When Junior starts being an InsufferableGenius, Michael reveals that it's a MagicFeather, explaining that his own father did the exact same with him in the past.
* {{Nepotism}}: Averted in one episode. Junior comes to help Michael at work and starts bossing around his employees on the grounds that being the boss's son means he's the second-in-command. Michael ends up putting Junior through some demeaning jobs like scrubbing the toilet to teach him that he isn't the boss, and that you should treat you employees with respect.
* TheOtherDarrin: Claire after Season 1 (by Jennifer Freeman, who looks nothing like Jazz Raycole) because of a plotline dealing with teen pregnancy. Her friend's teenage pregnancy. Lampshaded in the Season 2 premiere. Also, Junior's girlfriend was played by Meagan Good in Season 3 and Brooklyn Sudano from Season 4.
* ParallelPornTitles:
-->'''Junior''': Okay, I admit it. I accidentally ordered ''[[StarWars Star Whores]]'' on Pay-Per-View last night.
-->'''Michael''': Accidentally?
-->'''Junior''': I meant to order ''[[IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer I Know Who You Did Last Summer]]''!
* ParentalFavoritism: Michael with Kady. Lampshaded in a number of Season Two episodes.
* ParodySue: BettyWhite played a one-shot character that was an obvious parody of MaryPoppins.
* PetTheDog: It's clear that Michael truly does care for his family, despite his JerkAss behavior.
* PoorMansPorn: Junior escaping to the bathroom with increasingly supposedly non-sexual magazines, the height of which was an issue of a monthly cooking magazine.
* PromBaby: Junior. According to Michael, this is why Jay missed her high school prom.
* PungeonMaster: Michael.
* RealLifeRelative: Michael's brother & sister were played with Keenan & Kin Wayans, Damon Wayans's older brother & younger sister. Two of his sons also played Junior's friends.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: An interesting version — Damon Wayans' kids were on the writing staff in later seasons, so various plot points (such as [[spoiler:Junior getting Vanessa pregnant]]) occurred because it had just happened to the writers.
** Played straight when Jay was missing for the first part of Season 2, due to the actress taking maternity leave. {{Handwaved}} as Jay's mother having had an accident, so Jay had left to take care of her.
* RebusBubble: In one episode, Michael attempts to help Jay study for a psychology test using what he calls "Psy-Kyle-ogy" (for example, Lion + Shaquille O'Neil = Rorschach). Unfortunately this causes her to fail the test, so she hands him one that says "[[LysistrataGambit Booty on lockdown]]". Later, when he convinces the teacher to give her a re-test and she passes, she hands him another and walks off.
-->'''Michael:''' "Spank that donkey"? Why would I want to spank that a- ''(EurekaMoment, runs off after her)''
* ScreamingBirth: Vanessa giving birth to her baby (with some help).
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Michael. Want proof? Watch him meet [=LeBron=] James.
* SitcomArchNemesis: Wanda to Michael.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Jay is convinced that she's a lot smarter and more attractive than she really is.
* StandardizedSitcomHousing
* StrictlyFormula
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: After Michael discovers he taped over the video of Kady's first steps by accident and Junior walks into the room.
-->'''Junior''': What are ''you'' doing?
-->'''Michael''': I ain't erasing anything!.
* TakeAThirdOption: One episode has Jay feuding with Michael's sister (played by Vivica A. Fox). When they demand to know who he'd save first if they were drowning, his response ("I'd probably kill myself trying to save both of you") is what makes them calm down and start listening to him.
* TeenPregnancy: Jay was pregnant with Junior during her senior year of High School. Claire's friend in Season 2, and later on Junior's girlfriend.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Michael.
* {{Tsundere}}: Jay, a rare case considering she's, well, married.
* VolleyingInsults: Michael and Wanda communicate with each other this way.
* WhosOnFirst
* WhoWouldWantToWatchUs: In the final season, Junior comes up with an idea for a TV show called ''[[spoiler:My Wife And Kid]]''. The premise is essentially his life, albeit flip flopped with him being promoted to the breadwinner whilst his parents are instead mooching off him. Cartoon Michael has a giant head and is obsessed with get-rich-quick schemes, while Cartoon Jay's ass is its own separate character. Named Rufus.
* YourHeadASplode: In Season 5, Tony's stern religious beliefs begin conflicting with his sexual desires for his girlfriend [[MsFanservice Claire]] to the point that he couldn't be around her and do even the most mundane things. To deal with this, Claire decides to stand in front of him completely naked until he's so desensitized to her that they can go back to how they were before. Tony promptly freaks out and his head explodes, and then it turns out that it was just his imagination, since Claire comes down stairs fully clothed, leading to Tony running away screaming.
----
