This show and Amen both aired on NBC. Both show featured the comic genius of two Jeffersons' alums, Sherman Hemsley, and Marla Gibbs. We all watched her play the wisecracking maid, Florence Johnston, on the Jeffersons. Now she shines in her own show but not without a great supporting cast. There is Emmy winning Jackee Harry as Sandra, her upstairs neighbor, or veteran actress Helen Martin as the nosy neighbor on the stoop. The show was named 227 after it's address. No it was set in Washington D.C. of all place, a nice change in location. Hal Williams played the ideal spouse to Marla Gibbs' husband. If you look, you will see Regina King who is on her way to becoming a star with credits like Jerry Maguire and Ray. It was a good show with wholesome family entertainment.
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tsionbenjamin-9050823 August 2020I love 227, being a teenager, I was introduced to it in syndication a few years back and fell in love with it and watched it weeknights alongside Different Strokes and Amen. It's one of the best 80s sitcoms and highly underrated. A wonderful cast especially Jackee, she 100% deserved that emmy. It jumped the shark, however around season 4 when Counters Vaughn's character was introduced (while I liked her you could tell that the show was declining). After the departure of Jackee it took a huge dive then left the airways a year later, but it still was good enough to watch.
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Episodes usually begin with the daily gossip on the front stairs of 227. There was one episode featuring Sherman Hemsley; the character thought Mary was a maid and the two spar is if they were still on The Jeffersons together. Jackee Harry is wonderful as Sandra. The episode that caught my attention is on disc 2: "We The People." This story is about Lester's supposedly wealthy friend who becomes the building's maintenance man. He doesn't complete all jobs and wears the same shirt for many days. Pearl senses something fishy when the maintenance man's friends enter but don't leave the building. Pearl and Mary visit the man to figure out what is happening and the door is opened for Mary.
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mjc_22710 March 2000I think that 227 is one of the best series, comedy or drama to ever be on television. It blended humour and drama into each episode, over the course of it's run it tackled topics such as homelessness and popularity (character of Brenda). Sandra was my personal favourite!
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shawnte-087912 April 2022The first 3 seasons were absolutely amazing!!! Setting the standard for black television in the late 80s. As soon as season 4 started there was absolutely NO life in the show. The addition of irrelevant characters was Terrible. They were trying to add more youth, more diversity and it really brought the show to its knees. Absolutely dreadful. With Mary daydreaming in almost every episode it was just an overall failure the last 2 seasons. I just can't describe the lifelessness behind those last 2 seasons. I feel like they had new writers or producers who made them take the show in different directions.
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After Marla Gibbs left "The Jeffersons" she walked right into her own show: "227." 227 was the apartment number she lived in and it's where everything happened. It's where Pearl Shay (Helen Martin) sat at the window and clowned folks. It's where Sandra Clark (Jackee Harry) sassed it up. And it's where we got our first look at Regina King (she played the daughter, Brenda Jenkins) whose career is only getting stronger the older she gets.
"227" was another family favorite in our house. My mother tuned into it weekly and I enjoyed it as well. Not a whole lot happened on their stoop, but enough to make us laugh. -
Catherine_Grace_Zeh21 July 2006"227," in my opinion, is a must-see NBC hit! Despite the fact that I've never seen every episode, I still enjoyed it. It's hard to say which one is my favorite. Also, I really loved the theme song. Oh, when I was a little girl, I thought this show took place in a regular townhouse. If you ask me, even though I liked everyone, it would have been nice if everyone had stayed on the show throughout its entire run, especially Sandra (Jackée Harry). Everyone always gave a good performance, the production design was spectacular, the costumes were well-designed, and the writing was always very strong. In conclusion, even though it can be seen on TV Land now, I strongly recommend you catch it just in case it goes off the air for good.
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macknic25 March 2020The characters make this show so hilarious. Each character had their own personalities and it kept us engaged in the show. Also the characters are related to a family member. Mary was everyone's mom. Rose was sweet as sugar. Sandra's was overly confident but she was caring. And Pearl is the most elderly person that every building has. This show is a true classic. I watch everyday on Roku channel and Crackle. Don't miss this show. 80s fineist.
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atlasmb19 October 2017"227" is a comedy about the tenants of an apartment building in Washngton, D.C. It features a group of competent actors but suffers from lackluster writing. Much of the dialogue is tired and clichéd.
Comparing it to one of its contemporary shows, "The Golden Girls", can help illustrate. On TGG, the dialogue and the humor is sharper. This might explain the huge discrepancy in award nominations and wins.
Jackee helped add zing, but not enough to elevate the show above mediocrity. -
mastuhoscg6 November 2018I love this series known as 227. The reason why I have a FREQUENT TOLERANCE & FANDOM for it is because it is really funny. The funniest things about this show are how Mary & Sandra always bicker & Mary's sassy attitude. It is really cool & I like it as much as I like the theme song for it even the people who funded for it like The cast members, The producers, directors, editors, writers, the networks & etc. I even like Sony Pictures for creating this series in the form of its past subsidiaries which were ELP Communications, Columbia Pictures Television & Columbia TriStar Television. Sandra was my favourite character in this show because she looked really beautiful & I love how she spoke & said Mary's name.
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melissacoffman5 January 2020I love this show iv been watching reruns of 227 and it's a funny show the writers did an awesome job. Wish if was still on today.
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raysond16 April 2002After her successful run as Florence on "The Jeffersons",actress Marla Gibbs takes Florence's sassy and intelligent character and applies it to everyday situations that always occurred on an apartment block in the developments of Washington,DC. But here is the catch: Its not Florence mind you. Marla's character is happliy married to a architect and has
a lovely teenage daughter. Her neighbors by the way is one lady and man-hungry woman who would try every scheme to get her one,often ending up with hilarious results. The other is their upstairs neighbor,who is a elderly lady who raises her teenage son,who has the hots for the teenage daughter. The show would become one of NBC's hottest commodities during its run in the 1980's when its was one of the peacock's ruling Saturday night line-up(which consisted of "227","Amen","The Golden Girls","Empty Nest",and the action packed drama "Hunter"),but it wouldn't last very long and they knew when to quit when they were ahead. "227" was that show. It was funny and it consisted of some very hilarious moments here. The show also skyrocketed Regina King to Hollywood status which after "227" went off the air King went on to star in several John Singleton films like "Boyz in the Hood","Higher Learning",and "Poetic Justice",and to star opposite Will Smith(aka,"Fresh Prince")in "Enemy of the State". The series also had regulars on weekly and fellow actors Hal Williams,Jackee Harry,and Helen Martin. Great Show. -
junioralexis3 June 2006The Washington DC based show is returning to television. Look for it this July on TV Land. This show was really a classic. This show had in its cast the beautiful Regina King, who would later make a name in the feature film industry. Let's not forget the great Marla Gibbs. Her portrayal was the best since her character of Florence on The Jeffersons. It was finally time that she was given a hit TV show. NBC was in the wrong for canceling the series only after 5 seasons, it could of lasted a few more years. I am glad that this show is returning to TV in TV Land. It's about time it was noticed and finally placed in TV history.
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I remember in the credits a second younger daughter other than Brenda? Was she a sister and they didn't like her so she was written out? Mary often said to Lester "our only daughter" but I swear there was another. If there was, this was very poorly lied about and covered for. The entire show was a royal bore other than Saundra (Jackée Harry). Other characters were awful and Rose Martin was an old, untalented bag...totally unnecessary...as I guess was the second daughter who vanished. There was no funeral so how did they explain going from 2 daughters to only 1 (Regina King)?
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great show and if i remember if i remember correctly i believe the the out door new york city set the same street set they used in sesame street? This show was so brilliant and truly great. I remember Jackey being so sexy and i remember it being so great Marla Gibb had a hit TV show after the Jefferson's. This show is one of the great TV shows of all time right up there with the Cosby show and Murphy's place. I remember the street set and the stairs so vividly i can almost remember Oscar and big bird et all and the ghost's of PBS on the street with Marla Gibb. This was such a great show on NBC if i remember correctly it ran on Saturday Night's for a while with Empty Nest and Golden Girls. what a great adult combo.
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BilltheChillThrill30 August 2020It is an okay show, and I'll watch it if nothing else is on, but it isn't that great or funny. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the character Saundra, gosh she annoyed the crap out of me! I can deal with an average or somewhat boring show, but throw in an annoying and unlikable stuck up character like that and it ruins the show! Plus, it brands itself as a family show, especially with the theme song, but it isn't really about the family that much as shows like the Cosby Show, Family Matters and even Fresh Prince are, it is more about the adults and their lovelives. It seems to be more of a show made for black women, and I am not a black female, but I could see why black females would like this. I'd still watch this over crap like 'The Parkers' or 'Living Single' though, that's for sure!
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gv416-111 October 2005This show was EXCELLENT for about the first two seasons....then they started messing with it. It became too socially conscious and in the process became almost unwatchable. It was hilarious when Mary and Sandra were enemies. When they became too friendly it just wasn't funny any more. I can name the episode when the slide began....When they introduced Countess Vaughn. It was straight downhill from there. Too bad. It had an excellent cast and much potential, but it wasted it trying to be too relevant. Then they had to go and add Stoney Jackson, Paul Winfield, Barry Sobel, and Toukie Smith. No offense to them, but the whole show was unraveling by that time. In the first two seasons, almost all the episodes were hilarious, but by the third season, there were only a handful that were good. The fourth and fifth season were abominable. I LOVE Marla Gibbs, but season 3-5 were substandard.
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mzbabybytch01115 December 2021The Show was good I like the Fact That it was a All Black Cast. I Personally Didnt Care For Mary To Much She was judgemental About Sandra, That one Episode When Rose was gonna get her Groove on Mary Was telling her No she should not she is old fashion and it comes out alot but overall Good show.
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This show came on after my bedtime when it first came on. Therefore I saw the first seasons episodes in reruns. Marla Gibbs had that same Florence Johnston personality. But she did not whine as much. Hal Williams was the husband who was a construction worker. He was not funny. Regina King played Brenda, the spoiled daughter. Then there was Alaina Reed, the lady from Sesame Street, who had a daughter who disappeared (a la Judy Winslow) and fly Jackee Harry who also lived in the building. Helen Martin played Pearl, who was just a reoccurring guest star who would just look out the window and make wise remarks the 1st season. The 2nd season she became a regular and finally came out of the window. She had a grandson named Calvin who thought he was cool. I hated the episode when Bobby Brown appeared. When Brenda got in trouble, she should have really been punished by not seeing Bobby Brown. She was still allowed to dance with him! When Countess Vaughn came on the show, the show got worse. When Jackee got demoted to guest star and Toukie Smith, Paul Winfield, Barry Sobel, and Stoney Jackson became regulars, the show got even much worse than that! I was still mad that the 227 characters didn't get to win on Wheel Of Fortune or Family Feud. I was also mad at the episode when Gary Coleman was a criminal on the show and Mary and Lester didn't get to go to Hawaii as planned. It's not their fault that they got robbed!
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tames505 March 2003227 was a very hilarious show in my opinion. It blended comedy and drama into each episode that was aired. As a child, I used to be glued in front of the television set waiting for 227 to come on every Saturday night at 8 p.m on NBC. In the latter years when it went off the air, weekly reruns of 227 were coming on BET and it only stayed on for a short period of time. I wish TV Land or Nick-at-Nite would air the reruns again because the shows that they air now like "The Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan 's Island, and I Love Lucy do not appeal or amuse me a bit; and besides you guys have been airing those same old tired shows forever. Just bring some black comedy shows back on TV Land like 227. I was displeased when "The Jeffersons" went off TV Land. It only stayed on TV Land for 6 months, what a shame.
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SpasticTriscuit7 July 2004I have to agree with what 'EricTee' posted above. This show was standard. It was just like most other sitcoms: stale jokes, repetitive stories. I completely agree about the woman who played 'Pearl', she was awful ! I gave this show a fair shake when it came on, but my word....simply dreadful !
On any given episode, we'd see:
What wacky hijinx will Mary and Sandra get into this week?
Will Brendas' date try to go 'too far' with her ? <a 'very special' episode, no doubt>
Will Pearl lean out her window and make some bad joke which will prompt guffaws from Mary and Rose ?
Will Sandra have a date and emit that irritating 'Ewwwwwww' noise when asked for details of her date ?
Silly and unwatchable