Hi there, GGA! Welcome back to Millennial Misremembers, where I look back at entertainment from my childhood. You know, the content that makes us feel nostalgic, even if we don’t remember anything about it. This time, I’m taking on Sister, Sister.
After telling you what I think I remember about the show, I’ll rewatch and recap the pilot. That way, you can decide whether you want to re-binge it yourself. Or, at the very least, you can pretend you have when other people bring it up. Sister, Sister was created by Kim Bass, who wrote for In Living Color and created Kenan & Kel. Episode one of Sister, Sister (“The Meeting”) premiered April 1, 1994, on ABC (and later moved to the WB).
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What I (mis)remember!
Now, my brother and I were those kids who would rush home to watch our shows when we weren’t off at one of our myriad extracurriculars (yes, we did our homework in front of the TV). The stuff we watched rotated, but Sister, Sister was permanently on the roster. Since my bro was four when it premiered, we must have been watching it in syndication.
I think most “singleton babies” have twin envy at one point or another in their lives, and I chalk that up to how the media portrays twins. Obviously, out in the real world, individual results may vary, but who wouldn’t want a built-in bestie? Part of the appeal of Sister, Sister is that Tia and Tamera Mowry are twins IRL and not a cinema trick à la The Parent Trap.
The other, more personal, draw of Sister, Sister has to do with their parents’ relationship. My parents didn’t split until I was an adult, but kids pick up on these things. So, even if no one was talking about it, even if my brother and I didn’t admit it to ourselves, we saw the non-romantic co-parenting in our household reflected at us on this show.
And, again, I think many children of divorce have that fantasy of their parents reuniting, or, at the very least, reaching a point of civility.
Let’s rewatch the pilot!
We open on an establishing shot of a large, suburban house. Inside, Tia and Tamera are watching a horror movie. They’re going on and on about how not-scary the film is, ensuring they’re about to be terrified. And yep, Dad, i.e., Ray Campbell (Tim Reid), walks in, and the twins start screaming.
He tells them it is time for bed! Tamera tries to insist that Tia’s bedtime is later than hers, but Ray is not having it. And Tia’s not a good liar. So, Tamera says, “Night, Dad,” with a hug. Tia, meanwhile, calls him Mr. Campbell, and he pats her on the head. Interesting. 🤔
After Ray leaves, the girls address the camera and tell their story. They’ve only recently met and moved in together. You see, they were separated at birth and adopted by two different families. They met by chance when they all ran into each other at a clothing sale.
Flashback! To Tamera and Ray at a clothing store that is a whole 90s mood. Ray does not like any of the clothes, but Tamera is in heaven. After Ray heads to check out the men’s department, Tamera and a boy (George Lemore) try to flirt. When that strange encounter ends, she runs into a dressing room.
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Tia pops out of another dressing room, and Mom, i.e., Lisa Landry (Jackée Harry), is not happy with the price of the oversized jacket her daughter has on. When Lisa heads off to put the coat back, the boy who Tamera had been flirting with comes back for more, and of course, mistakes Tia for Tamera. Tia is not amused.
Next, Tamera exits the dressing room, wearing the same sweatshirt Tia is trying on. They’re both looking at themselves in a double-sided full-length mirror (Oh man, I’m gonna get a headache writing this recap!).
Tia asks the salesman, Claude (David Coburn), for the same sweatshirt, but in blue. For some reason Sister, Sister made the poor decision to have the salesman be French (Coburn is not). Meanwhile, Tamera sees flirt-boy again, and when she tries to flirt, he’s all no way. Next, Claude brings Tamera the blue sweatshirt, which she didn’t ask for. She asks him to get her a sweater in blue. They don’t speak to each other very nicely here.
As Claude retrieves the garment, Tia pops up next to him, and he hands her the sweater. These two are also rude to each other about the misunderstanding. The whole thing escalates when the cycle repeats, and Claude kicks the girls out of his department. It’s gross.
So, none of these three people knows what’s going on, but goodness, have some patience with one another? None of this models good behavior for the young kids watching who will inevitably become retail customers and workers themselves. I mean, Claude shoves his finger in the girls’ faces.
And also, it rubs me the wrong way that we have a non-native speaker of English and two Black teens in this confrontation. Like, non-native English speakers are often treated like they don’t understand the language because of their accents. And one of the many ways systemic racism against Black people exists is in the retail environment. So, can we just not?
Of course, Lisa and Ray get involved (as they should) and confront Claude. Now, I don’t feel I’m the correct person to speak on the angry Black woman stereotype or decide whether Lisa embodies it, but it’s something to think about, and here is some reading on the topic.
Lisa’s anger is fully justified, and I understand why Ray wants to avoid conflict. I can say without a doubt that I dislike having Lisa call Claude “Pepé Le Pew.” It goes unchecked, and teaching xenophobia to kids is never cool, even (especially?) when combatting racism.
Next, Claude and Lisa call for security simultaneously, but Ray wants to scram. He grabs Tia, thinking she’s Tamera, and tells her it’s time to go home. Natch, Tia freaks out. So, now, everything comes to light.
While the ‘rents are talking to security, the twins get to know each other a bit. What’s hilarious is the thing that makes these identical twins realize they are twins is that their birthdays are the same: November 28, 1979, which means they’re about 15.
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Back to the present. The girls tell us how alike they are: they like rollerblading, Beavis and Butt-Head and they both have dead pets named M.C. Hamster. Unfortunately, their parents haven’t bonded as quickly, though Harry and Reid have good chemistry. Back to the flashback!
Speaking of Lisa and Ray, they were pretty peeved at the adoption agency for separating their daughters at birth like that. But that’s kinda where the solidarity ends, as the two have very different parenting styles. Ray is the OG helicopter parent, stating he’s overprotective cause he’s a widower. Lisa, meanwhile, is more into the philosophical teachings of Montel Williams and Oprah.
Lisa offers Tamera to stay at her house for the weekend, but Ray doesn’t like her neighborhood. Plus, he’s got way more material things at his place, so he suggests Tia comes over to theirs. Ray may also have a bit of a problem with Lisa. But, before their argument can get worse, the girls return from the park.
Since that first weekend, the girls have been switching off and staying at each other’s places on the weekend. At Tamera’s, the girls talk about boys when her neighbor, Roger (Marques Houston), comes over. Roger has brought flowers and is shocked when Tamera invites him in, meaning this is a situation of an unhealthy fixation.
Roger is very, very excited to learn Tamera has a twin; he’s practically drooling. No, no, no. The girls laugh it off, and Tia even says she’s happy to meet him. I guess the in-world reason they’re not into Roger romantically is that he’s in the eighth grade, whereas they’re in the ninth. He complains that eventually, they’ll want a younger man. Ew ew ew. Make it stop.
Lisa comes to pick Tia up, and Roger goes ahead and hits on her, too. She’s not impressed by Roger’s moves, but she is impressed by Ray’s house. Next, we learn Lisa doesn’t have a car or good peripheral vision. She may have had a minor accident.
After handing Ray his mailbox flag back, she tells Tia it’s time to go. The twins are not ready to say goodbye to one another, but their parents don’t want to spend more time with one another.
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Tia’s back at her place in her room when Lisa comes in to sugarcoat some iffy news with a slice of pie. Lisa got fired after arguing with her boss, but it’s not all bad news because she found a new job — in St. Louis. Tia is having none of it because she just found her sister.
Our dear twins have the great idea that they should run away to the twin cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul), so they won’t be separated again. They plan to get jobs as waitresses, rent an apartment and eventually buy the restaurant. Too bad they’re already missing their parents. Lucky for them, Lisa and Ray have already found them because Tia left a note.
Tia and Tamera are pleased to see them and explain why they ran away, and thankfully, their parents aren’t that mad about the whole thing (just disappointed). Ray says if there were anything he could do to fix the situation, he would. Tamera suggests that Tia and Lisa move into their place. “But strangers don’t move in together,” the parents argue. The girls’ reason is that they aren’t strangers, though.
Lisa and Ray agree to talk about it over pizza, and after much negotiation, they decide Tia and Lisa should move in with Tamera and Ray.
Does it live up to the nostalgia?
Well, my brain confused some critical Sister, Sister plot points with The Parent Trap—namely, the adoption in general. I’m curious how the show deals with the adoption as it goes on (obviously, I don’t remember). The adoption agency separating the girls and not telling Lisa and Ray makes them way more sympathetic than The Parent Trap parents.
A lot of Sister, Sister still holds up, and I could imagine it being produced today (with a few tweaks). We will always need TV shows about Black families. After rewatching the pilot, I want to rewatch the series in its entirety. I’d like to see if Roger and Lisa develop in different ways, or if I will continue to wonder about their characterizations, but, ultimately, Sister, Sister is a funny and heartwarming show with definite repeat value. Catch you next time with another Millennial Misremembers!
This article was originally published on 3/4/22.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/drawing-more-attention-to-black-mental-health-representation-on-tv/
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