Not the Huxtables: Wayans, Campbell use unorthodox means in 'My Wife and Kids'

As I flipped through the channels Wednesday night, I came across two things I couldn't believe. One, a family show with an entirely black cast on ABC, and two, a kid smoking weed in his room while his parents were home. I mean come on, everybody knows you wait until they are gone. Both incidents surprised me, but the latter made me gasp.\nI'm talking about the new sitcom, "My Wife and Kids," starring Damon Wayans. It kicks off ABC's new "D-Day" lineup. "My Wife and Kids" is produced by Wayans' famous family's production company, Wayans Bros. Entertainment, and is loosely based on actor-comedian Damon Wayans' real-life family.\nIn the few weeks the sitcom has been on, actress Tisha Campbell compared it with the successful "Cosby Show," but the Huxtables they are not. The Kyles, headed by Michael (Wayans) and Janet Kyle (Campbell), are from the suburbs of Stanford, Conn. Janet has just re-entered the work force as a stockbroker, ruining her husband's idea of the "traditional" family roles. Cliff didn't have a problem with Claire working. Now Michael blames his wife for their children becoming unruly.\nThe Kyle kids are nothing like Theo, Vanessa and Rudy. Junior (George O. Gore II) is the eldest and loves to test his father's authority. Michael describes him as being "caught up in the hip-hop mentality." Claire (Jazz Raycole) is an insecure pre-teen constantly trying to change her appearance and bra size to get boys to like her. Finally, there's Kady, the sassy 5-year-old who never lets her father get the last word.\n"My Wife and Kids" is a different kind of family show. It's basically about being a parent in the new millennium. It tackles new and humorous ways for parents to discipline their children. In last week's episode, Junior and a friend get caught smoking marijuana. Instead of punishing him with an old-school whooping, Michael and Janet decide to mess with his mind. They begin to walk and talk in slow motion until Junior thinks he's gone crazy and promises never to puff the magic dragon again.\n"My Wife and Kids" will keep audiences laughing a mile a minute.