I Am Dwayne Wayne Urkel Payne Prince of Adamsville-mahanukwanzakuh.

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I remember the first time I saw A Different World.

Okay, that’s a lie but it sounds better than saying, I don’t remember seeing A Differernt World for the first time, right?

Anyway, I do vividly remember the character of Dwayne Wayne. Mostly because of the flip-up glasses. I wanted some of those glasses so badly.

Michael Jackson.

He reminded me of the grown version of what I thought I’d be (in 1989 I was like 10). He was a nerd. Check. He wished he could *^*& every girl in the world. I’m sure by 1992 (and beyond) that was a goal of mine. And he was smitten with women who initially didn’t want anything more than friendship from him.

I? Was the friendship guru. Shucks, I was the guy ALL the chicks would say, “aww, Panama is such a good friend, the little guy!” I didn’t actually grow until like 11th grade. Seriously, my little sister was shorter than me.

At some point, Steven Q. Urkel became the guy I thought I was except I was only like him in his odd love for odd things. I had plenty of odd loves in my life. I used to eat ants and I thought reading the encyclopedia was what everybody was doing when they weren’t out playing basketball. But unlike Urkel, I was an athlete and coordinated like a mothertrucker and I didn’t have a Laura to keep me focused.

But you know what else? I always felt that I had a little bit of Martin Payne in me too. See, he was an untall brotha who’s greatest gift in life was his gift of gab. That’s me all day. You see, being the 3 to the stars means that nobody’s looking at me, stopping, and saying to themselves, “giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirl, that is a fine specimen of man.”

I mean, I’m sure it’s happened at least once, but Helen Keller’s cousin doesn’t count. And she was mute anyway, so I guess she didn’t say it.

You hear what I’m saying?

Rimshot.

I would claim a little bit of Christopher Williams, but that’d be all because of the lightskinnteded-ness. But I never beat women and Puffy will NOT be raising my estranged child. Oh wait, that’s Al B. Sure. You see how confusing light skinntedness is? Exactly.

Then we have pre-uber super movie star Will Smith. I always fashioned myself to be a bit of a goofy, charming, guy with the best intentions that tended to go awry. While I wanted to be some facet of a bunch of other people, I related to Will character like none other. Of course, I’m not from Philly nor did I play the piano and the dinner stemware like a champ. I also didn’t live in Bel-Air nor have I ever been to West LA. But much like Will, I always dated the hot chicks that were inexplicably attracted to the goofy guy who made them laugh. Not sure why humor works so well with women, but if you can make a chick laugh, you can make a chick…cry.

DOUBLE ENTENDRE!

Oh and my best friend in life. Is totally Jazz. Like thru and thru down to the ignant comments and ability to get himself (true story) physically removed from a love interests home by her father.

So basically, I feel like I’m a combination of Dwayne Wayne, Urkel, Martin Payne, and Will Smith (Fresh Prince).

Oh…and GUCCI!!!! Burrrr.

Okay that’s a joke.

Maybe not a combo deal, but more like those are the characters I feel most closely relate to me while I was growing up and even who I am today in adulthood.

He is I and I am him; slim with the tilted brim.

I am legend.

What characters from TV/Movies/entertainment could you have been based on your life and upbringing?

(By the way, I’ll bet $20 dollars of your money that at least 75 percent of people will name a Cosby kid.)

-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka TANGLE JIG P aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL, HE A 3

172 thoughts on “I Am Dwayne Wayne Urkel Payne Prince of Adamsville-mahanukwanzakuh.”

  1. I’m totally a Whitley. LOL Got better and a little less prissy with age. This is totally in reference to the show and character… not to how Jasmine Guy looks NOW. That will never be me. LOL

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  2. I would say i’m Khadijah James and Gina Waters lol. Khadijah in the sense that I am “mother” of my group of girlfriends. Whenever sh*t hits the fan I’m the one who sorts it out keeps the group together. Also I have a friend like scooter. Our parents are best friends, we took baths together, made out 1st etc… But me and my scooter aren’t romantically involved.

    I’m Gina b/c i stand by my man and am down for the cause, even if I don’t understand him sometimes. (remember when MArtin ran off with that crazy cult, with brother rock and the na-ji-rum-bahs). Although I don’t know if I could deal with a mom like Mama Payne… good thing the boos mom lives back home in the motherland.

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    • @Satya, (remember when MArtin ran off with that crazy cult, with brother rock and the na-ji-rum-bahs).

      all that means is you’re locked into a contract that you can’t get out of when the writers of the show have no clue where to take it so they come up with a RETARDED plot arc that makes no sense whatsoever.

      Friday Night Lights and 90210, i’m talking to you too.

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  3. “I’ll bet $20 dollars of your money that at least 75 percent of people will name a Cosby kid”

    Growing up, I was called Rudy a lot. We had the same hairdo, similar style, and one of my closest friends could have been Bud. I was bossy too. I definitely related to her as a kid. I would go to the playground or to the stores with my family and random people would come up to me telling me that I looked like Rudy.

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    • @Leila,
      Seriously, even people from Canada walk up to me and say “you look just like Rudy, from the Cosby show”, hell, even here in Seoul, South Korea! However on my flight back from Paris (after the inauguration) people had bumped me up to First Lady status. From Rudy (cute) to Mrs. Obama (First Class Act). Yes, I’ll take that any day.

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    • @Leila, you know, i’d suspect that most Black women between 25-34 right now probably had some circumstance similar to Rudy.

      either that or little Akeelah.

      or possibly OG Bobby Johnson’s son in South Central. i know i got shot boosting car stereos at least 34 times. then again, i’m neither a girl nor a member of Deuce.

      Deuce here.

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  4. ****Cosby Kid Reference Alert****
    1. Since I basically grew up with Rudy Huxtable, (we were both in the same grades together, not really, but same age you know) and I was the only little brown girl in my class (with the exception of Amee the Indian-American) with plats and big brown eyes. And I had cool 2520 friends like Peter and that girl whose hamster she killed. LOL.

    2. Cut to 7th Grade.. I had long puffy Diana Ross like hair and I was rocking the Puff Paint shirts, Orange Duck Head Shorts and Keds to my first year in public school. That is when this dude started calling me Ashley Banks.. And he does that still to this day err now and then.. A mess.

    3. There have been times where I look back on the foolish days of my 20′s and see Nia Long’s character from The Best Man, Melanie from The Game(#dontjudgeme, but I’m SMDH too), and Sinclair from Living Single (slightly silly!)

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    • @AliLaine4, i never thought the Mowry girls were particularly attractive until i started watching The Game and at some point I was like, man, she actually is attractive.

      that is all.

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  5. Huey Freeman. Think, talk*, and [purportedly] look like him, minus the freakishly large and square forehead; had a BIG ol afro in high school, and when I got my hair braided I was Riley. I was a senior in high school when the show came out and everybody got on it, and to this day everybody from back home still calls me Boondocks. And when I meet new people they’re always like “Hey, anyone ever tell you you look like the kids on Boondocks?” The answer: Yes, more than you could ever imagine.

    *By talk I mean the same interests and subject matter, not being voiced by Regina King.

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  6. My mix might be: Brenda from 227, Willona from Good Times, Wonder Woman (I loved Linda Carter in Wonder Woman as a very young child), Tootie from Facts of Life, and Kadijah James from Living Single.

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    • @legitimate_soul,

      ^Dang It if you didn’t have me reminsicing TV shows like a mug! You even had me digging in the “tv show crates” and remembering “Benson” for goodness sake…..lol

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  8. don’t ask me why but I’ve always related to: 1) Topanga 2) Maxine Shaw
    3) Dorothy from Golden Girls and 4) Joan Clayton

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    • @Oceanview,

      Topanga was my best friend in my head. lol. i thought she was the coolest white girl ever. and her hair was insane. that’s 50 pts right there. lol

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    • @Oceanview,

      I loved Topanga! She was so bossy and smart. :)

      And I also related a GREAT deal to Maxine. I always had the last word, was always trying to “out-talk” everybody around me… *smh*…. I have changed though somewhat

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  9. When I was real young I identified with Punky Brewster because she was a one of a kind kid. She looked at the world differently than everyone else and as a result spent a lot of time entertaining herself with her wild imagination. That was me. Plus, at times I felt like an only child because my brother and me were 11 years apart. I was a bit of a tomboy who was always living in her head, always getting into things that were a bit unusual. By the way, I ate ants too, P. I also liked to play with bugs and in the dirt a lot and I would often mess up my clothes. I was sort of a tough kid too, I never cried in front of my classmates even when I got hurt. And I was pretty competitive when it came to running for some reason. Most of all, Punky was creative. And I loved art. I loved to paint, sculpt, draw, you name it. The Cosby kids, while I adored them, never could have been based on me. But, my first boyfriend used to call me Rudy because he thought I favored her. In high school, some folks called me Freddie in jest. Mostly because I was different and like her character had unique cultural influences that shaped me. I went to private 2520 schools and then all of a sudden got switched to a public school. I didn’t get the memo about cross colors, karl kani, etc. So, I was kind of odd. I sometimes wore jeans that were baggy, ripped, I wrote on my shoes and wore doc martens. So, I claimed the Freddie title because she was different and comfortable in her own skin. Wait, I take back what I said about the Cosby kid thing…Denise. Yep, that was me a little bit. There was an episode where her parents listed all of her half-azzed attempts at a million different hobbies. Claire and Cliff sat in bed and volleyed back and forth to Denise: skiing, ballet, knitting, etc. I was all over the map. Never could commit. I’d beg to take on some new hobby and then get bored with it a week later. I even had a telescope once. There were too many stars to memorize, so I quit. I was also not a fan of school. Also, Kevin from Wonder Years–a daydreamer, an over-thinker. I’m done…I think I just dated the hell out of myself. I would reference Fame, but I think half of you were unfertilized eggs when that show was on ;)

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  10. Growing up People always called me Whitley. I have no idea why since I was about 5 – 11 when that show was on + I am from NYC not wherever she was from with that accent. When I was older, I guess the re-runs were on, people called me Freddie. Now people call me Joan. I swear don’t have those eyes. I swear. I guess any chica with light brown skin and curly/kinky hair. I don’t really have a similar personality to any of them. Maybe Freddie. I am a bit of a hippie at heart.

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    • @CrissieD, Whitley was from Richmond.

      and Freddie is a fan favorite for a lot of people. she represented the scatterbrainededness that a lot of us (mostly y’all women though…we want the cars, the clothes, the hoes…you know everything Freaknik: The Musical was all about) were going thru.

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  11. hmmm… wow. good one.

    when i was young i was a mixture of Punky Brewster and Rudy (how can you not relate to a cosby kid… twas like 25 of them! lol). i dressed like Punky and had big thick long hair like Rudy … and i bossed my bestfriend Shawn around and punched his arm all the time. lol. *attended spelman with her and she kind of ruined all of my friends’ beloved image of Rudy with her snobbishness though. sigh. could’ve just been senioritis though. lol. we were freshmen.*

    then i was like Joey from Dawson’s Creek. uber smart with an insane vocabulary for a high school freshman…well known but still very private, even though i was involved in a lot of things.

    as an adult… my friends call me a mixture of Joan and Lynn from girlfriends. big natural hair and goofy like joan, yet everyone still comes to me for advice and support… and of all my friends i am def the one that marches to my own beat like lynn. always involved in some creative project.

    so i guess that would make me Punky Rudy Joey Joan Lynn Brewster (no projects)…from the block.

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    • @Muze, then i was like Joey from Dawson’s Creek. uber smart with an insane vocabulary for a high school freshman…well known but still very private, even though i was involved in a lot of things.

      i think every dude i know had a crush on Joey. and we all rooted for Pacey to knock that off. lol. we were so juvenile.

      ha.

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      • @Panama Jackson,
        LOL i always liked Pacey better than that bland vanilla arse dawson. any punk whom stands around and watches the woman he’s in love with get stolen by his bestfriend is er um… well, a punk.

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  13. Like SouthernBelle, I too am/was Whitley Gilbert- overly dramatic, spoiled, southern, pageant, classy, young lady.

    And yes, I HAVE to mention a Cosby kid. LOL!
    I’m totally Denise Huxtable. A few of my friends use call me that as if it were my real name because I was very stylish as a teen and the fact that only after a semester in college (full scholarship, mind you), I left school and pretty much wandered around the world.

    Angela Lewis (Halle Berry’s character in Boomerang)
    I’m always “the one” but they fail to notice right away because they chasing after the Jacqueline’s of the world {I’m talking about you E}
    I’m the attractive, artsy, quirky, sweet woman… takes guys a minute to notice me when sexy, uber toned chick has his interest (even though I look better :P )

    Nina Mosley (Love Jones)
    beautiful, smart, a go-getter, lover of poetry, photography, jazz & soul music, romance and a fine ass renaisance man- oooh wee! “You act like you didn’t even care that I went to New York”. Yep.

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    • @Made In Hawaii,

      i think you might be my long lost personality twin.

      but, is it possible to be angela and jacqueline at the same time? i think that’s me. negroes either think i’m the sexiest thing alive and go into chase stalker mode, or they want to be my friend forever and then blame me for their heartache and ‘can’t breathe without you’ nonsense when i start dating someone. so strange.

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      • @Muze,

        “i think you might be my long lost personality twin.”
        Ya know, I think so too. I’ve been checking out your blog for quite some time and between there and things you say here, I’m constantly like, “OMG! This girl is me!” LOL!

        “but, is it possible to be angela and jacqueline at the same time?”
        Totally! With me, guys never notice ’til it’s too late. *sigh*

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    • @Made In Hawaii,

      ***Addition***

      Angela Chase (Claire Danes, My So-Called Life)
      At 14 & 15 yrs old I was her… period.
      My girlfriend said, “How could you forget that they based a show off your life back then?”

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  14. As a kid, I was Tia Landry (smart and by the book) and my sis would’ve been Tamera Campbell (silly and finding ways to get us in trouble). My nephew who watches that now swears we’re still like that. LOL

    I also identified w/ Moesha when she got into her rebellious stage.

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    • @kidSistah, Mo to tha…

      Brandy doesn’t get enough burn in life. I mean, she was basically the clean version of Keyshia (sp?) Cole. half of KC’s songs sound like the should have been Brandy songs.

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  15. Ashley Banks, I was knocking on puberty’s door at around the same time she was in the show and definitely related with the whole getting boobs, periods and having awkward crushes on boys phase. Plus she later kissed Tevin Campbell who was my celebrity teen crush at the time.

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  16. How can you not relate to a Cosby Kid? lol. I think I was a mix of Vanessa (goody two shoes, talkative) and Sandra (logical, rational but prone to over thinking) growing up. I’ll also add a dash of Charmaine(Malina White), because I have always talked really fast.

    Right now, I’d say I’m a Khadijah James & Joan Clayton hybrid. I’m a writer and share many of Khadijah’s physical attributes. I’m the responsible friend that’s a bit (okay, maybe very) quirky and wierd. And, my place is the homebase for my friends, just like Joan. I’ll toss a little Synclaire in there, becuase I’m nice and can sometimes be a bit too innocent.

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  17. Brings me back. I was IN LOVE with Dwayne Wayne and couldn’t for the life of me understand why he was always chasing after Whitley (even though she was my role model for a brief period of time.) Denise on The Cosby Show, but then in the A Different World universe and my college universe, I was Freddie. I see the similarities, but I maintain I wasn’t as crazy as she is. Now I feel like a mixture of Freddie/Kenya McQueen from Something New and Lori Tharpe’s younger self in the memoir Kinky Gazpacho…has anyone read it?

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  18. the free spirited and lightskindedness of Freddie with the intelligence of Kim, or “Kimmy” as Ms. Whitley would call her, guess that makes me “FreddieKim”…this was a tough one…and i do remember Gary Dourdan bein “Shazza Zulu” & thinking for a lightskinded dude he was pretty damn hot….that was then of course…i believe he has gone off the rails at some point recently, no?

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  19. Growing up I was definitely Thelma from “Good Times” combined with Whitley from “Different World”. I know this is a strange pairing but we didn’t have money growing up like Whitley(but I looked like her and had a snootiness factor going on) but my personality was more similar to Thelma’s always raising H** with her brother JJ. I to fought with my brother constantly. I would like to mix in a little bit of Brandy from the show Thea, because my mother was kickin behind as a single parent and taking names later!

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  20. I am a hybrid mix of Penny from Goodtimes, Dee from What’s Happening, Raine Pryor’s character from Head of the Class, Sandra from 227, Lisa Landry from Sister Sister, Maxine Shaw, Khadija James (only for the resemblence) , Rochelle from Everybody Hates Chris and Mable Simmons(Ma Dear ~ Don’t judge me ’cause I’ll slap you to sleep! )

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  21. Growing Up: Bleek as a kid from Mo Better Blues;
    I always wanted to go outside and play with the neighborhood kids, but grandmoms wasn’t having it. They had to wait till i finished my piano lessons first. Miss the hood…

    Teen and College years: Redman from How High;
    Self explanatory, plus i kept the honeys saying “No, Dont, Stop!”

    Nowadays: Kyle Barker (Living Single);
    Smooth professional playa type brother that stays fresh and dishes out the sarcasm. Only difference, Im a lot brighter and live in DC not NY.

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  22. Unfortunately I’ve been Dwayne Wayne my whole life but the only difference has been my Whitley’s have all been darkskinned.

    It was always strange to me since I’m darkskinned, I thought I’d get a “hometeam discount” but I only seem to get love from the light brights.

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  23. I was most definitely Kevin Arnold from the Wonder Years. To this day I over analyze the most unimportant things.

    My required Cosby: Theo Huxtable. I don’t think my parents actually “got” me until I became an adult. Sh*t, they may not get me now.

    When I was little I wanted to be Hannibal Smith from the A-Team.

    “I love it when a plan comes together.”

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  24. I too was Denise Huxtable 2.0 until my daughter was conceived. I am still predominantly Synclaire with a dash of Willona, though. Add Maude (RIP Bea Arthur) and every character Rue McClanahan (sp?) has played while you’re at it.

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  25. Dear VSB,

    let me cut right to the chase– you NEED A COPY EDITOR. Either that or just make sure to read and reread your writing. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE YOU GUYS. Every morning I wake up and read some new list or whatever slice of genius you’ve decided to bestow upon the masses that day. But I absolutely hate reading your work and having to stop and figure out what’s being said. There are typos, run on sentences, incomplete sentences, grammatical errors, and the list goes on! Please do us all a favor and have this problem remedied. It’ll only benefit everyone involved.

    - shpank yuo

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    • @shpankyou, I actually like the informal way that VSB is written. I’ve told them before that reading their blogs is actually like talking to one of my homeboys or cousins. Personally I’d be completely turned off if it were written any other way. I work in a legal environment and read formal documents all day. I know that these brothers are educated professionals but the “style” here makes me feel comfy & allows me to answer honestly without the feeling of being judged based on their background or mine. I’m not speaking from them but maybe that is why they write the way the do?

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      • @Panama Jackson, i know what you’re thinking, but i swear i didn’t write this. luv y’all though. mwah! p.s.- it did make me chuckle though. i can’t lie.

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      • @Panama Jackson, -why did i know that some deez comment was coming on that one?? you just too predictable &sh*t

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    • @shpankyou,

      - shpank yuo

      A copy editor mispells their own “nickname”? And don’t tell me it was intentional… I won’t believe you and you’ll need more people. :)

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  27. Hmmm…let’s see..Monica Patty Lynn-Joan Mayonaise

    Patty Mayonaise from the cartoon Doug
    Monica from Love and Basketball
    Lynn and Joan from Girlfriends

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    • @La Bakir,

      Just based on your posts. I can see that. Funny, I was just thinking about Doug the cartoon the other for some odd reason.

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      • @ComicBookGuy,

        Lol! Doug was my ish. I clearly remember watching his show…then asking my mother why cartoons wear the same clothes everyday…smh.

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      • @ComicBookGuy, I did! I listened to the song “Lenny” like 3 times. Now, the version I listened was an instrumental…and I wasn’t sure if there was one w/ words…so I just rocked out to it. But I liked it alot. Nice change of pace to what I usually listen to (old school music).

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        • @La Bakir,

          Oh yeah, it’s all instrumental. Lenny is a beauty song. Stevie had so many influences that it made his music kinda unique. He mixed old blues like Albert King and Johnny Guitar Watson with good rock like Hendrix. He could play some upbeat blues and the slow and laid back blues, too. Glad you liked it.

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    • @La Bakir,

      Aww man. I was just telling somebody how much I loved patty, she was the coolest girl ever. When I grow up I wanna be just like her! Lol

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    • @La Bakir,

      “Lynn and Joan from Girlfriends”

      These two seem different. How are you similar to them?

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      • @Humble_One,

        You’re right. I identify w/ Lynn b/c I’m the one out my group of friends who’s the most adventurous…interested in a # of things…still trying to sort out what I want to do w/ my life career wise

        Joan b/c sometimes she’s her own worse enemy…very organized and when things don’t go her “way” she can get “tripped up”

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    • @La Bakir,

      Aww! I loved Doug!! My sister gets a kick out of my Patty Mayonaise’s voice. She & I use to watch it all the time and about a month ago when we went home to our parents house for Valentine’s Day, we watched Doug’s 1st Movie and then Hey Arnold The Movie. I miss those two cartoons soooo much.

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  28. I love the concept of this post.

    Punky Brewster, Billie Jean, Brenda (90210) LOL, Frankie(Set it off) and Vanity (in the Last Dragon) thats only for today LLS…
    I could do a diff one everyday

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  30. Oh how could I forget Lynn from Girlfriends? I can’t even deny the similarities between us.This post is reiterating the need for more sitcoms/movies/etc.with (preferably positive, multi-dimensional)black characters, because a lot of us are sharing alter egos.

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  31. The only character I can relate to is Dr Manhattan from the graphic novel and movie Watchmen. Decent looking guy no problem getting women, but half heartedly chasing them because he is preoccupied with his experiments. Thinks he can solve every problem by applying the scientific method……Seriously I have had some of the conversations he has and I have had thoughts similar to his.

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    • @Deus Ex Machina,

      That’s pretty deep. I love that book and as a fan of it, Zack Snyder did a good job on the movie.

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      • @Wuyoung Agent of M.E.,

        I like that angle, too. I still read Fantastic Four now and Ben does keep Reed grounded more than Sue and the kids do. He always feels like Ben human again will be his ultimate accomplishment but making him that way continues to be his greatest burden.

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        • @ComicBookGuy,

          The Richards kids are have been well-written. I’ve only read them in X-Factor and a few other place. Ben is one of the best characters period. The fact that he looks like a pile of rubble but is the most human member is his greatest asset. I hated JLA/Avengers but I loved when Batman called Grimm a monster and Cap was basically like “he’s a better man than either of us could ever be.”
          *wiping up the nerd I spilled on this web site.*

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        • @ComicBookGuy, Speaking of crossovers, did you read the DC vs Marvel and the following Amalgam series? Also do you buy the actual comics or do you use comic rack?

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        • @Deus Ex Machina,

          I read DC/Marvel and some of the Amalgam books when they came out. Spider-Boy and Super-Soldier were the best ones. I buy the actual comics. I still roll up to the comic book store and get my stuff out of the box. Can’t really beat physically reading an actual comic book. It’s my escapism.

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  32. Even though I’m Rudy’s “age” I was more like Vanessa, i.e. smart, sometimes whiny, and horrible at the clarinet. Fortunately I didn’t have Vanessa’s awful hairstyles. Later I was more like Six from Blossom, chatty, upbeat, quirky, fast-talking, analytical, and really into weird clothing and floppy hats. In high school I was Daria Morgandorfer (of MTV’s “Beavis and Butthead” and later “Daria”)– smart, non-conforming, acerbic, sarcastic.

    In college I was Maggie/Kimberly Reese/Charmaine (Different World)-kind of a know-it-all overachiever. I’m surprised that I actually enjoyed my college experience!

    Now I’m a combination ofJoan Clayton, Kadijah James, Dorthy Spornak (Golden Girls), and Julia Sugarbaker (Designing Women)–pack leader, voice of reason and resolver of conflicts. I am transitioning out of a Melanie Barnett (The Game) phase, complete with the cheating boyfriend/baby poor of judgment drama. Ridiculous, I know, but true.

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  33. As a kid, I was Troy from Crooklyn…when I saw that movie I thought Spike Lee must know me personally. I grew up in the ‘Crook, was always around the boys and had a smart mouth to adults. I was always getting into fights with my brother (verbal and fist) and played touch football with him in the street until I wasn’t allowed to anymore (grew tits). I had the EXACT experience of going down south to stay with relatives and had my hair taken out of my braids and burned straight by my siditty nouveau riche aunt (against my mother’s wishes) who said what is THAT in your hair? and everyone down there got dressed up to go to the mall like it was church.

    As a teen I identified with the black chick from the Bloodhound Gang (some of yall might be too young to remember 3-2-1 contact or the electric company, lol) and Holly Robinson (before the Peete) from 21 Jump street. I thought the Cosby clan teens were boring (even Denise, who I liked for being the most free spirited) and only identified with Rudy because of her hair, lol. I was nothing like Vanessa (I thought she was a tattle tale), Denise (I thought she acted out too much for attention) or that tragically dull oldest one. There were very few roles a condescending black teenager to identify with, lol

    As an adult I really can’t say who I’d be, but I always identified a little with Toni Childs for being sexy and cruel, Maxine Shaw because she just did not give a fuck and wished Aisha Tyler would have her own sitcom because I always felt like we were separated at birth.

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  34. Good topic, Panama. I started wearing glasses in the third grade right around the time Steve Urkel became such a well known character. The day I found out I had to wear glasses was at that time the worst day of my life. It was hard enough to get a girl’s attention and I just knew that was going to repel them even more.

    I dated a really sweet and pretty girl my senior year in high school and her mom thought I was so much like DeWayne Wayne. She always said that her daughter was so much like Whitley and that the two of us were so cute. I could see it because I went to an engineering magnet school, I was pretty good at math and I was always the friend to the pretty girls. I even baked cookies for the girls that I liked. (Hangs head in shame, because I did it again in college.)

    Since high school and college, people used to always call me the 7UP guy aka Orlando Jones. As much as they say I look like him, I have the personality he has as some of the characters he portrays, usually intelligent, well-spoken and easy to get along with. The more I watched him, the more I could see.

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  36. My aunt calls me Vanessa all the time! But personally I feel more like “Moesha” which means I’m a goody two shoes who tries to be bad every now and then and it backfires…lol I’m also a little bit of Chris from everybody hates chris..cause I’m the oldest and sh*t always always happens to me. Hmmm…but now that I think about it, I’m wayy more
    “moe to the”- then anything else. Had the same career aspirations, love a bad boy and was the responsible one with my friends…but now I’m like I’d moesha went to college and turned into freddie. Lol oh yeah, I talk and party like kim though..yeahhhh lol

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  37. the best way to describe the young champ would be to mix tre styles (minus the hysterical air punching) with jamal wallace (the kid from “finding forrester”). you might even be able to put a little kyle watson (from “above the rim”) in there.

    all principled (and somewhat annoyingly self-righteous) straight arrows who each still needed a bit of help to keep them away from negative influences and sh*t.

    ***also, i’d be remiss if i didnt mention that a college friend used to refer to me as a “black male version of “daria”, which, i guess, is the natural progression of the combination of the characters mentioned above ***

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    • @The Champ, Loved this dude ” jamal wallace (the kid from “finding forrester”). -loved that movie actually watched it for the 57th time the other day….hmmmmm, I could see you in this role…absolutely

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  38. Haha…but I forgot keenan and kel.
    My sister is kel, I’m keenan…she always getting us into something..smh
    Great post!

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  39. I need to finish my tea, because the first character that comes to mind is Amelia Bedelia. While I identify with her ways very much, I am sure I can come up with a more diverse list.

    Holla brr.

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    • @overit,

      I’d say you have Vanessa Huxtable’s intelligence, Synclaire James’s wide-eyed naivete about normal shit (lol), plus her ability to always see the best in everyone. And I think you are like Freddie Brooks in that you are too humble to truly see what a hottie you are!

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  40. Carlton Banks, but without the preppy attire. Well spoken, intelligent, well-intentioned, grammatically correct, yet socially isolated. He even mimicked my dance style.

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  43. think Carmen Jones, traces of Scarlett O’hara, with strong dose of Michelle Phifers Catwoman, with a wicked imagination and sense of humor…..thats me now LOL

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    • @OrangeStar616,

      Wow, you mentioned two of my favorite movie characters (Carmen Jones and Scarlett O’Hara).
      I can only wish that I could bring the boys to the yard like those two…

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  44. I think I was Gerald from the cartoon Hey Arnold, Ralphie from the Magic School Bus, Cleveland Jr from The Cleveland Show and Bud from the Cosbys

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  45. I am definitely a combination of Sinclair James-Jone (I do pat people on the back and say woo woo woo, I am very cheery and silly), Regina “Regine” Hunter (Yes, I am a little prissy and bougie, childhood nickname was PrissCris, which I just can’t shake even today!!!) and Charmaine Tyesha Brown (this was actually another nickname bestowed upon my by all my advertising/creative/graphic design co-horts. I am extremely excite about advertising, design and branding and I can get a bit overzealous much like Miss Charmaine!!– and Yeah, they took a poll at a multicultural networking picnic, in Prospect Park (Brooklyn) no less, how appropriate!!!)

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  46. *Maxine Shaw (Living Single) – I so identify with her character still to this day! She was sexy, smart and rough around the edges & didnt apologize for it.
    *Lucille Ball or Ethel. Depending on the situation
    *Rose (Golden Girls) – I can admit to being a ditz but a clever one that everybody loves
    *Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah in Kill Bill) – She was so badass when she came on the screen. I feel that way sometimes when I walk into a room.
    *Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle) – I am THAT crazy ass mom that will go nuts on my kids or towards anybody that messes with my kids!
    *Ororo Monroe (aka Storm) – The Marvel Comics Storm was fierce! (Halle Berry failed miserably as Storm!!)

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    • @Humble_One,

      I don’t know what happened to my first comment.

      I would say I would be a mix of Dwayne Wayne, Ferris Bueller, Tre Styles, Fudge in Higher Learning, Carlton Banks, and GQ from Juice.

      I say Dwayne Wayne cause he was a herb but not Steve Urkel nerdy. I think of myself as a nerd or I know I know I have nerd tendencies. He also had a mean shoe game just like me. We both are engineers. The difference between us is that I wouldn’t have chased after Denise and Whitley like he did. He should have been trying to get at Kim.

      Ferris Bueller – I pulled tricks and schemes just like him. Never got caught either.

      Fudge – I was and still am pro-black. But I don’t get lifted anymore and stopped fighting 2520s when I got out of private school.

      Carlton Banks – This is what my name was literally when i first went to public school. I was wearing Dockers, Lacoste, and Polo. Shirts tucked in and everything.

      GQ – Like him I was just an average dude in the hood. I got involved in ish I had no business getting involved in. I didn’t rob a bodega like him I hustled off and on. He was a DJ. I wrote rhymes.

      Tre Styles – My mom and dad were like Furious Styles. My parents were “Malcolm Farrakhan” and held professional white collar jobs.

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  48. Dionne Davenport (Clueless). But i wasn’t allowed to watch TV when i was young so i actually am not acquainted with most of the shows mentioned. Tragic, i kno.

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  49. first time posting to vsb, after lurking for the longest (i’m a bit shy, y’all)…but my boyfriend and i were just having this conversation a few days ago, so i had to chime in.

    i really identified with lisa simpson: pacifist, vegetarian, artsy, bookish, straight A student with big hair and a huge, bleeding liberal heart (i also grew up in portland, oregon, where matt groening is from).

    then there’s daria’s friend, jodie: the only black girl in her high school class, the sweet and well-liked overachiever, with some resentment and anti-establishment anger underneath the surface…if you looked closely enough. totally me.

    i’m still some combination of those two to this day. i also see a lot of myself in jo from “medicine for melancholy,” minus the white boyfriend. throw in a little amélie poulain, too.

    great topic, panama. glad i finally got up the nerve to join the conversation!

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    • @aprilshowersmayflowers, AHHHHHH one side of this Gemini is all the way Amélie Poulain, loved that movie SOOOOOOOoooooooooooOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo much, good one!!!!!.

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    • @aprilshowersmayflowers,

      Aww! I like you. You mentioned Amélie :)
      And no need to be shy. I’m shy too but every since my first comment and unlike many other sites, I’ve felt completely welcomed over here at VSB.

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  50. I’m Sydney Shaw (Sanaa Lathan) from Brown Sugar. Unassuming, more comfortable in jeans than in low cut dresses (though I do love me a low cut dress), down to earth, classy, can be impressive in the board room, can kick it in a hip-hop club.

    As for the Huxtables, I’m a combination b/w Sandra and Vanessa. Responsible like Sandra, but a little rebellious like Vanessa.

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  51. -Maxine Shaw because I try to act like I have no emotions when I really do.
    -Khadijah James because I work equally as hard and because I have about 25 Scooters in my life, none of which have turned out to be anything…but I’m not bitter…no really, I’m not.
    -Dorothy Zbornak, not because (oh dear god) I look anything like her, but because of that sarcastic dry sense of humor.
    -Joan Clayton not because I have all those stupid parties, but her days as a lawyer were so close to my days at work now.

    And yes, I always had love for Topanga and Ashley Banks…

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  52. Regine Hunter(living single)- a little snobby and diva esque at times. Rose( golden girls) and Synclaire (living single)- I do have my extremely ditzy moments. Regina(steve harvey show)- I am a competitive person who hates to lose.

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  55. I am Elmo-Punky Brewster-Dee (from What’s Happening)-Scarecrow (from The Wiz)-a Fu Schnicken-Erykah Badu-Trina-India.Arie’s fraternal twin, etc.

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  56. Maxine Shaw x Nina Mosely x Olivia (Cosby’s…i was VERY precocious and cute as all hell growing up lol) x Pamela James x Laura Winslow…

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  57. During high school I was probably Lena James (Different World) and Kim Reese. I was a little on the good girl side, wanted to be a doctor and had a very blue collar upbringing like Kim, but like Lena I was a little hood and hung out with the all the hood folks, did hood things and dated a dude like Piccolo aka Tupac but knew I didn’t want to live that life forever.

    In college all of my friends called me Regine Hunter because I was a little materialistic and prissy and I was that chick who wore high heels and a full face of make-up to class everyday. Also, maybe a little Jordan (Nia Long) in Best Man because I was very career driven and had drama with men because of it.

    Now I’d say I’m closer to a mix of Josie from Love Jones because physically our bodies are probably the same and I’m usually the advising friend who promotes bad behavior…lol!!, Lynn because I still am a little lost in the career department, Gina Waters because my boyfriend and I stay acting silly together and Sid Shaw because I’ve become a lot more laid back as I’ve gotten older but I still love writing and Hip Hop.

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    • @TLC,

      I love Josie from Love Jones too!!

      Nina: it was like his d*ck just talked to me…
      PAUSE…..
      Josie: what’d it say?

      Oh yea…I would be Rudy as a kid, Lauren Hill in Sister Act 2 (braids) in high school, college I guess Max Shaw & a little Synclaire, being from Canada I was “the nice black girl”…and now I’m just me : )

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  58. @PanamaJackson

    I almost forgot to ask, why’d you eat ants? How old were you?
    I don’t think reading encyclopedias is odd at all though. I use to do it often. It’s probably why I’m always stating weird facts all randomly now.
    Matter of fact, my mother purchased me a set of children encyclopedias when she noticed I was always reading them.

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  59. - Rudy (Cosby Show) when I was a little kid because my bff was/is a boy and we were surrounded by white people.
    - Joey (Dawson’s Creek) in that I was a tomboy and just one of the boys growing up. I didn’t really come into my own until college.
    - I was also like Mary (7th Heaven) during her ‘wild’ teenage years except I wasn’t stupid enough to get caught.
    - Monica (Love & Basketball) in terms of growing out of my tomboy stage in college. I however didn’t have a crush on my best friend.
    - I’m a lot like Georgia (Last Holiday) in that I try to live life to the fullest but within a budget. Her willingness to take risks and go on an adventure is all me. It actually started in college when I studied abroad in Australia and traveled the south pacific alone when friends had other plans.

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  60. I’ll just say, when I look back and really get a bird’s eye view on a few things, I feel that I relate to Zora Neale Hurston’s character, Janie Starks, on so many levels…especially when it all came down to self realization and living for yourself.

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  61. Lyric (Jason’s Lyric) and a little mouthy, down home, but sweet and fiercely loyal when I love you! I used to wear my hair like Jada Pinket did in that movie….But in real life I could never get down with all that taco meat on Allen Payne’s chest!

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