Run's House: The New and Improved Cosby Show

Besides the fact that I am already a reality t.v. aficionado, I absolutely adore MTV's Run's House. But when I was a freshman in high school, the world revolved around The Cosby Show. Everyone came to school the next day repeating their favorite scenes, while all of the girls excitedly chattered about "Theo". Watching Malcolm Jamal Warner wiggle his way out of trouble was enough to make any teenaged girl tune in, but the compelling storylines made it a favorite until right before it was cancelled. The Cosby Show had all of the ingredients for a successful show; a comical gynecologist for a father, a beautiful attorney for a mother, cute kids, love, laughter, and a great script.

Fast forward almost 15 years to Run's House, the MTV reality show starring Joseph Simmons (Run) of the pioneer rap group Run DMC and his family. Although Run's House doesn't get the credit for the first "rich and famous family" reality show, they're the best. When Ozzy Osbourne shuffled around speaking in a half English, half-inebriated accent it made me laugh, but I became overwhelmed with the annoying "beeps" from the plethora of curse words that were consistently tossed between the parents and the kids. Often times, the children were disrespectful and selfish towards their parents to the point that you had to question the actual family bond. I realized that I was laughing more at the show than with it. Oddly enough, I heard a rumor that there was an older sibling that didn't want to be filmed? Go figure.

Run, 42, has three older children (Vanessa, 24, Angela, 19, Joseph "Jojo", 17) from his first wife, and two sons (Daniel II "Diggy", 12 and Russell II "Russy", 10) with his current wife, Justine, 43. Although the children live in a sprawling estate, they are down to earth and appreciative. Education is of the utmost importance, and Run checks in with all of his kids regularly about classes and grades. His two daughters are both in college, and they seem like good girls. All of his children are respectful and intelligent with a good head on their shoulders. They don't appear to be spoiled brats with their hands out all of the time, and Run doesn't just give them expensive gifts at will. He tends to negotiate with his children and help them understand the value of a dollar. For example, he convinced Angela to cut costs for her birthday party, and then surprised her with a Mercedes Benz.

Run's family is not only financially successful, but they appear to be a genuinely loving family. They go on vacations, play basketball in their home gym, have movie night in their home theater, and conduct family competitions which include bowling, swimming, and sprinting. Rev Run is now a minister, and even though the family attends church regularly they're not too preachy or stiff. The family loves to poke fun at one another, and Run, Diggy, and Russy provide comic relief at every turn.

Run is a wonderful role model to his children as well as to the viewing audience. In some ways, he is very similar to Dr. Cliff Huxtable; he's funny, creative, and real. One of my favorite episodes of The Cosby Show was the time when Dr. Huxtable decided to teach Theo a lesson about the value of money. When Theo returned home one evening, the entire house had been transformed into a boarding house where he had to pay room and board. The entire family was in costume, complete with accents and straight faces. Naturally, Theo thought it was funny at first, but then he quickly realized that the scenario depicted a real life situation.

Run's House is complete with creative ways to teach your kids valuable lessons. For instance, Run's son, Diggy, was embarrassed that his father picked him up from the bus stop in a $500,000 Phantom luxury car, so Run decided to pick him up from school in a gorilla suit. Although Diggy was mortified, Run explained to him that he should never be embarrassed by their blessings, and that the gorilla suit was meant to exemplify what embarrassment really looked like.

In spite of the fact that Run's children could easily rest on their laurels, they share an entrepreneurial spirit. Vanessa and Angela have designed a ladies tennis shoe line for Run Athletics, Vanessa is a Ford model, and Angela is the executive editor for Word Up! magazine. Angela also spent some time with her aunt , Kimmora Lee Simmons (founder), as a Baby Phat intern, and she has an upcoming magazine titled Angela's Rundown. Jojo has done some rapping and producing, while his two little brothers have taken turns on the mic.

Run's brother, Russell Simmons, is the hip hop mogul behind Def Jam, Phat Farm, Def Comedy Jam, and Def Poetry Jam. Russell is one of the funniest characters in the show. He curses like a sailor and delivers frank, no-nonsense advice to his younger brother whenever Run solicits his wisdom. Russell intimidates his employees and aspiring rappers by asking tough questions, and watches them squirm. He can be quite opinionated and loud, but his delivery is hilarious. Russell is also very business-minded, and he doesn't give his nieces and nephews frivolous positions within his company without making them prove themselves like anyone else would.

There are some aspects of the show that leave a little bit to be desired. For example, Justine tends to come off as whiny and unmotivated. It's unclear whether or not she has a job or activities that she is involved in outside of the home. Also, the show doesn't show enough of Jojo. He is depicted as an underachiever with poor grades; he had to attend summer school, he failed driving school, and then tried to keep it from his family. Another aspect of the show that I find a tad bit baffling is how Run balances church and hip hop because those two careers are worlds apart.

In the beginning of the third season, Run and his family made the difficult decision to televise the family's grief when their baby died two hours after birth last September. As the season opener, it was a tear-jerker that showed the tragedy of losing a child. It was put together very tastefully; that was just one testament to their faith and reality-based foundation.

Perhaps if The Cosby Show had been reality t.v. instead of a scripted show, they could've given Run's House a run for its money, but it wasn't, so it isn't. Run's House is able to edge out the competition because it's a real family in real-life situations that provides motivation and hope for the future. Unfortunately, The Cosby Show received an enormous amount of criticism because it was said that it didn't depict real life; an upper middle class family free of addiction, abuse, and adultery wasn't realistic enough for the general public. Not only is Run's family all of that and more, the show is endearing, thoughtful, and inspiring. The show itself is a role model for America. Not only does the show make you laugh, but it teaches lessons and provides motivation in a very subtle manner. Education, respect, love, family, hard work, commitment, and preparation are all recurring themes. Ultimately, Run's House is a refreshing portrait of a successful, loving black family that doesn't subscribe to cliches and stereotypes.