Roc (TV series)
Roc is an American television sitcom 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. After a successful live episode 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."Cast
Main cast
- Charles S. Dutton – Charles "Roc" Emerson, a garbage man
- Ella Joyce – Eleanor Carter Emerson, a night-shift nurse at Harbor Hospital
- 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
- Vonte Sweet - Troy Babbit
- Clifton Powell – Andre Thompson
- Heavy D – Calvin Hendricks
- Tone Lōc – Ronnie Paxton
- Jamie Foxx – Crazy George
- Barry Shabaka Henley – Ernie
- Darryl Sivad – Sly
- Loretta Devine – Cynthia
- Joan Pringle – Matty
- Alexis Fields – Sheila Hendricks
- Rosalind Cash – Margaret Carter, Eleanor's mother
- Richard Roundtree – Russell Emerson, Andrew's brother
Guests
- Kim Fields - Ruth, 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
Reception and cancellation
Roc received generally positive reviews upon its premiere. Rick Kogan of the Chicago Tribune described it as having "heart, soul and sass", while Michael Hill in the Evening Sun wrote that it was "warm and funny and genuine". Howard Rosenberg, writing in the Los Angeles Times, was less enthusiastic, saying "the setup is rather routine sitcom fare" while praising the characters and the cast and calling the show "fairly promising". Janis D. Froelich in the St. Petersburg Times described it as "disappointingly just another sitcom, albeit one with polished acting."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." 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.
Nielsen ratings
- Season 1: #72 – 8.95 rating
- Season 2: #71 – 8.91 rating
- Season 3: #102 – 5.10 rating