227 aired from September 1985 until July 1990 on NBC.
Marla Gibbs, who played the insolent, wisecracking housekeeper on The Jeffersons for 10 years, brought a somewhat toned-town variation of the character to this popular comedy about family life in a black neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Mary and her best friend, Rose, the landlady ( Marla Gibbs, Alaina Reed-Hall), liked to sit on the stoop of their apartment building (No. 227) and gossip abouty many things-especially the building's resident vamp, Sandra ( Jackee Harry), who had the figure and mannerisms of a modern Mae West. While Sandra wiggled around in her tight dresses, Mary's daughter, Brenda ( Regina King), was just beginning to struggle with the pains of adolescence, her number-one pain being gangly boyfriend Calvin ( Curtis Baldwin). Lester ( Hal Williams) was Mary's level-headed husband, a small-time contractor, and Pearl ( Helen Martin) a crochety old busybody ( and Calvin's grandmother) who often leaned out her window to join in the front-stoop conversations. Tiffany ( Kia Goodwin), Rose's daughter and Brenda's friend, was rarely seen after the first season.
In the final two seasons, several new characters appeared. Alexandria ( Countess Vaughn) was an exceptionally bright 11-year-old, a college freshman who stayed with the Jenkins' for a time, Dylan ( Barry Sobel), an eccentric white teacher who moved into the building; Travis ( Stoney Jackson), was Dylan's roommate , a limo-driver; and Barlow ( Paul Winfield), a cranky gentleman who bought the building from Rose and moved into the top floor penthouse. Rose found romance in the final season in the person of Warren ( played by Alaina Reed-Hall's real-life husband, actor Kevin Peter Hall), a very tall young man whom she married in early 1990.
The series was based on a play, 227, in which several of the principals ( including Gibbs) had appeared.
A Review from USA TODAY
TV PREVIEWS/BY MONICA COLLINS
'227' Gibbs gives everyone lip, but no laughs
Who wants to see Florence again? Marla Gibbs obviously thinks everyone was wild about that wisecracking maid on The Jeffersons. She seems to be playing Florence again-or a least a Florence-esque character-in this new NBC sitcom.
Here, Gibbs plays someone named Mary Jenkins, a wisecracker and wiseacre, whose official preoccupation is gossiping. Mary has a husband ( Hal Williams) who dotes on her and a darling daughter ( Regina King) going through the pangs of adolescence.
Does Mary concern herself with her family? She's too busy sitting on the stoop with her best friend Rose yacking and hacking up all her neighbors.
The flimsy premise is this: Every week, we'll see Mary's meddling get her into various jams. She'll always get out of them, while husband looks on bemusedly and daughter wonders why she's got a mom with an attitude.
The attitude is really the problem here. Gibbs is a master at curling her lip and giving people lip. She doesn't let anyone else get in the funny punchline. Nor does she show a glimmer of vulnerability. She, my dear, must always have the final word.
Situation-comedy heroines must surrender their hard shells before they can capture our hearts. This Mary Jenkins seems like she's encased in concrete. What's there to root for? A silly woman who make's fun of everybody? Hardly.
Supposedly a sitcom about neighborliness, 227 has the warmth of an ice pick. The message seems to be: Keep looking over your shoulder, or Florence/Mary will stab you in the back.
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