YMMV / The Bernie Mac Show

• Crosses the Line Twice: The episode when Bernie Mac convinced Jordan to fake an asthma attack to go to a Clippers game, guest actor Billy Crystal criticized Bernie's actions, emphasizing how he suffered from asthma as a kid and how it should never be used for nefarious purposes. Then Billy Crystal started faking an asthma attack to mess with Bernie's head.
• Fair for Its Day: Let's just say that a lot of jokes about Jordan's "softness" wouldn't be said today. They were fine in the span of 2001-2006 but they wouldn't be said today.
• Fridge Brilliance: The use of Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers as Vanessa waits for Stacy (in the Home Sweet Chicago two-parter) seems a little weird, until you remember it's about "missing something that wasn't good for you". Stacy's presence as an addled addict isn't good for her kids but Vanessa misses her still. In that vein, another interpretation of Ain't No Sunshine is that is that it's about losing someone, either to their addiction or as a result of being addicted, which is what happened—As a result of her addictions, Stacy lost custody of her kids, while her kids, in a sense, lost her to addictions.
  • Some might be wonderin' why Vanessa still held hope for her mother, while Jordan and Bryanna don't really seem to. Since she's the oldest, she still has memories of Stacy pre-addiction (or when the addiction wasn't as severe), while Jordan was born prolly as the addiction was starting to really take hold and Bryanna, being the youngest, was born after Stacy has been an addict for some time.
• Heartwarming Moments: Vanessa, after five years of driving Bernie Mac nuts with her stuck-up attitude and occasional Wangst, used her uncle as the subject of a college application's personal statement. The title? The person in my life who inspired me the most. Awww...
• Hilarious in Hindsight: In "For a Few Dollars More", Jordan gets stuck in a hot-air balloon during his birthday party, which leads to a 400 mile police chase, which has become funnier in light of the "Balloon Boy" incident in 2009.
• Memetic Mutation: The scene with Bernie forcing the kids outside on Saturday has gained traction as a way to tell somebody to "touch grass", especially the scene where he literally makes Bryanna do so.
• Moment of Awesome: When Jordan decided to stop sitting on the sidelines of his football team, and started taking hits to earn Bernie Mac's respect.
  • As well as any moment where Bernie sheds his Jerkass facade and goes into full-on Papa Wolf to protect Nessa or Jordan.
• Nightmare Fuel: In show example. When Bryana got lost at a Chuck-E-Cheese like entertainment center, the fun atmosphere and cartoon mascots turned utterly terrifying in seconds. The moment doubles as worries for the adults searching for Bryana.
• Seasonal Rot: A lot of fans agreed that the last season lacked the edge of the first few years. Some thought that Character Development was a big component, since the kids were less problematic as time went on, and also because Bernie Mac became a more caring, mature parent without resorting to threats or physical intimidation.
• Wangst: Vanessa's ranting against how unfair Bernie Mac is as a parent has been accused of this. Although it's completely understandable, she had to cope with being raised in a broken home with an unreliable mom, and having to raise her two siblings by herself.
  • Wanda goes into this in "Wanda's Week Off".
  • Bryana in "Five Stages of Bryana" does this.
• The Woobie: Vanessa. Although it's buried beneath a lot of what comes across as Wangsting and ungratefullness, Camille Winbush portrays her well enough that there are times you just want to give the poor girl a hug.
  • Lampshaded in one episode when Vanessa's visiting friend from Chicago observed her rough interaction with Bernie Mac, and called Vanessa out for "acting like a bitch" because of it. From that moment onward, Vanessa became more patient with Bernie and vice versa, eventually getting along better.
  • Jordan, as well. He's, for most of the run, the weakest of the main cast, is constantly getting picked on by other kids in school, and was constantly denied a birthday party from his mother, not to mention he misses his mother very much. Poor kid.