ONE ON ONE: TEARS OF A CLOWN (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy series about a divorced sportscaster in Baltimore raising his teenage daughter.
Duane has a surprise encounter in his apartment with a man claiming to be his father. Duane is at first overjoyed but then angry at his absence and curious as to why he didn’t directly contact him earlier. He feels guilty about not being in Duane’s life and says that he must make amends. Meanwhile, Breanna is still hung up about Arnaz, as he has not divulged the identity of the girl he lost his virginity to. Sicily asks Breanna for help in devising an original outfit design to get her a scholarship to a fashion college, which she believes is her only hope of attending university. Geraldine, Flex’s new producer, urges him to retool his show to appeal to a younger male audience, and to that end hires a “sexy sidekick” to appear with him on the show. The woman in question, Holly Spears, appears to be remarkably unintelligent, and Flex makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her.
Duane introduces Flex to his father, although Flex is unhappy at his long absence and believes there are ulterior motives behind his return. Flex in private tells Duane’s father to leave if he intends to manipulate Duane, but he insists that he genuinely missed his son. Flex hosts a Thanksgiving dinner, and Duane’s father attends. However, the mood is altered when it is discovered that Duane’s father requires a kidney transplant and intends to ask Duane to be a donor. Duane leaves, feeling as though his father is only using him and does not actually care for him. Flex tries to talk to Duane, who is upset at his father’s absence and says that Flex helped him grow up more than either of his parents. Flex asks Duane to hear his father out before making up his mind; Duane refuses and Flex says he will stand by Duane no matter what he decides.
Flex goes on his first show with Holly, and he only begrudgingly acknowledges her presence and does everything he can to ignore her. However, she soon usurps the show with her shenanigans, much to Flex’s frustration. Sicily shows off her design concept to Breanna and Arnaz. Arnaz becomes frustrated with Breanna’s constant insinuations about his sex life and discovers that she wishes to know the name of the person he slept with. Duane’s father attempts to speak to him again and gets into a confrontation with Flex, who points out that he has no knowledge of Duane as a person and should not presume that he knows what is best for him. Duane arrives and agrees with Flex. His father is forced to agree that their point has merit and that he cannot be expected to be taken back so easily. However, Flex convinces Duane to give his father another chance, and he says that his need for a kidney only provided him with “an excuse” to see Duane, stating that his desire to reconnect with him is authentic. They come to more of an understanding between each other. When Holly overhears Geraldine calling her a “bimbo,” she suddenly reveals herself as being eloquent and assertive, aggressively renegotiating her contract into being more favorable to her. Flex is surprised that Holly is intelligent, and she reveals that she is highly accomplished but acted dumb in order to appeal to the network’s executives. Her efforts to remain on the show are successful. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: UPN
- DATE: 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:20:55
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 122038
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection; TV - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: UPN - TV series, 2001-2006
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert Greenblatt … Executive Producer
- David Janollari … Executive Producer
- Eunetta T. Boone … Executive Producer, Created by
- Flex Alexander … Co-Executive Producer
- Arthur Harris Jr. … Co-Executive Producer, Writer
- Dan Cross … Supervising Producer
- David Hoge … Supervising Producer
- Kenny Smith … Supervising Producer
- Susan Nirah Jaffee … Supervising Producer
- David Goldman … Producer
- Craig Wyrick-Solari … Producer
- Judy Landis … Co-Producer
- Cheryl A. Walker … Associate Producer
- Bernie R. Richberg Jr. … Consulting Producer
- Ken Whittingham … Director
- Kurt Farquhar … Music by
- Shanice … Theme Music by
- Tonex … Theme Music by
- Flex Alexander … Cast, Flex Washington
- Kyla Pratt … Cast, Breanna Barnes
- Kelly Perine … Cast, Duane Knox
- Sicily … Cast, Cloteal "Spirit" Jones
- Robert Ri'chard … Cast, Arnaz Ballard
- Smokey Robinson … Cast, Duane's Father
- Beth Littleford … Cast, Geraldine
- Jenny McCarthy … Cast, Holly