"Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (2006-2012)

This comedy-drama centered on a family in Atlanta, GA -- grouchy fire fighter Curtis Payne (LeVan Davis), his sensible, religious wife Ella (Cassi Davis), and their son Calvin (Lance Gross).  Also in the mix were their nephew C.J. and his wife Janine (Allen Payne and Demetria McKinney), and their kids, Malik, Jazmine, Jayden, and Hayden; Calvin's wife Miranda (Keisha Knight Pulliam), the son they had together, and Calvin Jr., Calvin's son from a previous relationship with Tracy (Eve Marcelle).

Tyler Perry is talented, and has put out some funny stuff in movie theaters (Madea's Family Reunion, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, etc.), but "House of Payne" was very uneven.  The comedy wasn't that funny, and there seemed to be a huge reliance on the laugh track.  There was never a smooth transition to the heavy drama in most episodes, which covered issues such as gun violence, child support battles, and infidelity among other issues.

I did like the interaction between Curtis and Ella, although I sometimes wondered why she married him.  Other aspects of the plots could be confusing, however.  Miranda originally had conned Curtis and Calvin out of some items early in the series, but the subject was not brought up again after she became Calvin's wife.  One day, Malik was in high school, then suddenly, Malik was a college freshman.  C.J.'s character had been introduced as Curtis and Ella's son, then changed to being their nephew.  Then C.J.'s character disappeared for a good part of the show's 5th season.

The last episode ended on a cliffhanger.  Miranda and Calvin had numerous martial problems early on, but they were able to work them out.  But Miranda demanded a divorce from Calvin in the last episode.  Mr. Perry has hinted that he may want to bring the Payne family back at some point, but that remains to be seen.

Madea's Big Happy Family (2011)

Shirley (Loretta Devine) gets some bad news from Dr. Evans (Philip Anthony-Rodriguez):  her cancer has returned, and there's not much that can be done to treat it this time.  Shirley, with the help of her Christian faith, accepts the news.  She wants to gather her family to tell them so they can prepare for what's coming.  Unfortunately, her family is so caught up in their own dramas that they haven't noticed that Shirley's not feeling well.  Her upscale daughter Kimberly (Shannon Kane) constantly battles with her husband Calvin (Isaiah Mustafa); her son Byron (Shad "Bow Wow" Moss), an ex-con, is having hard times with his baby's mama, Sabrina (Teyana Taylor) and his current gold digging girlfriend Renee (Lauren Louden); and Tammy (Natalie Desselle Reid), downgrades her husband Harold (Rodney Perry), while allowing their two sons to be disrespectful brats.  Marijuana lovin' Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis) suggests that Madea (Tyler Perry) help Shirley -- who's Madea's niece -- get her family straight. 

There are the usual plot devices found in most of the Madea films: a prodigal son or daughter who has to be shown the right way, family members who need to get secrets out in the open to heal, Cora (Tamela J. Mann) suffering through the foolishness of her dad Mr. Brown (David Mann), plus Madea and Uncle Joe's (both played by Perry) usual putdowns of others.  In fact, the Aunt Bam character is a match for Madea, stealing  most of the scenes she appears in.  But unlike Madea Goes To Jail, this film does a better job of mixing the serious issues with the jokes.  The Christian messages and viewpoint are here, too, but unlike some films that are heavy-handed with that (Fireproof, anyone?), they are gently presented. 

Shad "Bow Wow" Moss is better known as a rapper.  Natalie Desselle Reid appeared in the movie B.A.P.S. (1997) alongside Halle Berry.  Isaiah Mustafa appeared as the shirtless guy in a series of popular commercials for Old Spice.  The Manns and Cassi Davis are veterans of Mr. Perry's stage plays.  Rodney Perry is Monique's sidekick on her nightly talk show.  Daytime talk show host Maury Povich has a cameo.