Roc (TV series)

Roc
Genre	Sitcom Comedy drama
Created by	Stan Daniels
Directed by	Stan Daniels Stan Lathan
Starring	Charles S. Dutton Ella Joyce Rocky Carroll Carl Gordon Alexis Fields
Theme music composer	Fred Thaler (episodes 1–39) Denzil Foster & Thomas McElroy (episodes 40–72)
Opening theme	"God Bless the Child" performed by Jerry Lawson (episodes 1–39) "Live Your Life Today" performed by En Vogue (episodes 40–72)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	72 (1 unaired) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Jeff Abugov Charles S. Dutton Joe Fisch Vic Kaplan Ehrich Van Lowe
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company	HBO Independent Productions
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	August 25, 1991 (1991-08-25) – May 10, 1994 (1994-05-10)

Roc is an American comedy-drama television series created by Stan Daniels 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 Ella Joyce as his wife Eleanor, a nurse.

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.^[1] 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. A Fox executive reportedly said that Roc "didn't feel live" to audiences because "those actors were so good, they never made a mistake."^[2]

Cast

Main cast

• Charles S. Dutton – Charles "Roc" Emerson, a garbage man
• Ella Joyce – Eleanor Carter Emerson, a night-shift nurse at Harbor Hospital (Wing C)
• Rocky Carroll – Andrew Joseph "Joey" Emerson Jr., Roc's freeloading, trumpet-playing brother
• Carl Gordon – Andrew Joseph "Pop" Emerson Sr., Roc's widowed father, a retired railroad porter

Recurring cast

• Garrett Morris – Wiz (Season 1)
• Vonte Sweet - Troy Babbit
• Clifton Powell – Andre Thompson
• Heavy D – Calvin Hendricks (Seasons 2–3)
• Tone Lōc – Ronnie Paxton (Seasons 2–3; 7 episodes)
• Jamie Foxx – Crazy George (Seasons 2–3; 9 episodes)
• Barry Shabaka Henley – Ernie (Seasons 2–3; 7 episodes)
• Darryl Sivad – Sly (Seasons 2–3; 6 episodes)
• Loretta Devine – Cynthia (Season 2; 5 episodes)
• Joan Pringle – Matty (Season 2; 4 episodes)
• Alexis Fields – Sheila Hendricks (Season 3)
• Rosalind Cash – Margaret Carter, Eleanor's mother (Seasons 1–3; 3 episodes)
• Richard Roundtree – Russell Emerson, Andrew's brother (Seasons 1–3; 4 episodes)

Guests

• Kim Fields - Ruth (Season 2), Eleanor's younger sister
• James Avery - Dale Hammers Episode: "The Car Accident From Heaven"
• Kadeem Hardison - Rev. Adams
• Debbi Morgan - Linda
• Tommy Davidson - Donald
• Samuel L Jackson - Larry

Episodes

Further information: List of Roc episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	25		August 25, 1991 (1991-08-25)	April 26, 1992 (1992-04-26)[3]
2	25		August 24, 1992 (1992-08-24)	May 9, 1993 (1993-05-09)
3	22		August 31, 1993 (1993-08-31)	May 10, 1994 (1994-05-10)

Reception and cancellation

Never a rating hit, Fox elected to cancel the show after three seasons, much to the anger of Dutton, who said that the cancellation "is very good proof that what little quality there is in television is reserved solely for white people."^[4] Fox had tried to move the show to Tuesday to package it with Martin to drive ratings, and Fox Entertainment president Sandy Grushow had stated his appreciation of the show while also saying it had run its course in trying to find an audience while Dutton contended the network had long before given up on trying to promote the show, particularly when he ran into conflict with the writers (who were mostly white).^[5]

Nielsen ratings

• Season 1: #72 – 8.95 rating^[6]
• Season 2: #71 – 8.91 rating ^[7]
• Season 3: #102 – 5.10 rating^[8]

References

1. "Charles Dutton and Ella Joyce Bring Zest to TV's 'Roc'", JET, Oct. 7, 1991, at pp. 59–61.
2. "Why NBC Is Airing a Live Sitcom Next Season". Retrieved May 9, 2015.
3. Zurawik, David (October 28, 1994). "Too stark for network TV, BET airs 'lost' 'Roc' show". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
4. https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/05/19/roc-axed-star-fumes/
5. https://greensboro.com/roc-star-blames-fox-for-failure-to-promote-the-show/article_7693d76c-1cee-55d7-a316-eed547a3f929.html
6. "1991–1992 Television Season Top Rated Shows". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 31, 2006. Retrieved November 16, 2006.
7. "1992–1993 Television Season Top Rated Shows". Archived from the original on October 31, 2006. Retrieved November 16, 2006.
8. "1993–1994 Television Season Top Rated Shows". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 31, 2006. Retrieved November 16, 2006.

External links

• Roc at IMDb