Roc: television series

Roc is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on Fox from August 25, 1991 to May 10, 1994. The series stars Charles S. Dutton as Baltimore garbage collector Roc Emerson and his wife Eleanor, a nurse, played by Ella Joyce.

Roc began life as a traditional television sitcom, chronicling the ups and downs of Baltimore garbage collector Charles "Roc" Emerson (Charles S. Dutton), a tightwad who constantly brought home "perks" (i.e. items thrown away by residents on his route); his wife Eleanor (Ella Joyce), a registered nurse; his womanizing younger brother Joey (Rocky Carroll), a ne'er-do-well musician who had recently returned to the neighborhood; and his father Andrew (Carl Gordon), a retired Pullman porter. A much-played scene during the series' promotion featured Roc greeting his returning brother with a casual glance and a tired "Hey, Joey."

When Eleanor suggests that he should have more to say, Roc agrees, and follows up with "Hey, Joey, where's my money?" Live performances The four principal cast members were all accomplished stage actors, and had become acquainted with each other while appearing in various August Wilson plays on Broadway (three of the four leads were fresh from appearing in The Piano Lesson.

In fact, Charles S. Dutton wanted all four of The Piano Lesson leads to be on the show). After a successful live episode (guest-starring Dutton's then-wife Debbi Morgan) was broadcast in February 1992, the producers and the Fox network agreed to air each episode of the second season as a live performance.

Virtually every episode from season two began with a prologue in which one of the cast members directly addressed the home viewers for a few minutes. A current events item from the past week, or even that very day, would be mentioned to prove that (East Coast) viewers were indeed watching a live performance, and current events from the previous week were frequently incorporated into the dialogue.

One episode dealt with the 1992 Presidential Election, and aired the Sunday before the election. As the Emersons await the results, the director interrupts the program to mention that the results are unknown, causing "dismay" amongst the characters. Roc was the first prime time scripted American series since the late 1950s to broadcast each episode of an entire season live, a feat which wasn't repeated until the entire third season of NBC's Undateable was broadcast live in 2015. A Fox executive reportedly said that Roc "didn't feel live" to audiences because "those actors were so good, they never made a mistake." Given there was a limited ratings boost, the show returned to its original pre-taped format for season 3. Read More