Summary
Set in Detroit, Michigan, the series stars Martin Lawrence in the role of Martin Payne, a disc jockey with a girlfriend named Gina Waters played by Tisha Campbell-Martin. Martin works for the fictional radio station WZUP and later for local Public-access television station Channel 51. A common theme of the series is Martin's hot-headed and rash nature; episodes often center on Martin's inconsiderate, yet smart-mouthed attitude towards his friends, neighbors, and whoever else might find themselves in his presence. When all is said and done, though, Martin loves his family and friends—it just takes dire situations to bring it to light. As the series progressed, plotlines saw Martin eventually move on to become the host of the talk show "Word on the Street," which aired on the small Detroit Public-access television station Channel 51. He retained this position until the series' final episode, in which he and Gina prepared to move to Los Angeles, from where his show would be syndicated nationally. The move coincided fortuitously with Gina's promotion by her boss Mr. Whitaker to head up his company's new Los Angeles headquarters, after having shut down the Detroit office. Pam, whom Whitaker let go two episodes earlier due to this consolidation and downsizing, went on to pursue a career in the music industry as an artists & repertoire (A&R) executive at Keep It Real Records. (This plotline is the subject of a backdoor pilot episode that was included in the Martin series for a planned sitcom on Fox starring Tichina Arnold to be called Goin' for Mine . This sitcom never materialized, though.) And at series' end, Cole proposed to his even more dimwitted, but attractive and devoted girlfriend Shanise (portrayed by Maura McDade), and they made plans to move into their own place.
In early episodes, Lawrence began with a monologue of him speaking to the camera and audience from the darkened radio studio.
In 1996, Tisha Campbell filed a lawsuit against her co-star Martin Lawrence and the show’s producers for sexual harassment and verbal and physical assaults. HBO Studios eventually settled the case with Campbell so that the show’s last season could be completed. Campbell did return to the Martin set to film the last three episodes of the show’s last season under the condition that she would not appear in any scenes with Lawrence.
Read more about this topic: Martin (TV series)
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