One On One - Television Tropes & Idioms

An African-American sitcom on UPN that lasted from 2001-2006, and followed sportscaster and Ladies man Flex Washington who, at age 16, had a child with his ex-wife Nicole. Breanna, said daughter, comes to live with him in Baltimore to avoid moving to Nova Scotia with her mother. The two soon form an even stronger bond as she enters and explores the pitfalls of high school. Much less eloquent than I made it sound.

Also along for the ride: Dwane, Flex's goofy, short, comedic sidekick and used car salesman; Arnaz, her close friend and later boyfriend, and Spirit her fiery best friend. Despite being largely by the book its a fairly decent sitcom.

Around season 5 however, they decided to change the whole format, so Flex was reduced to a recurring character, and Breanna and Arnaz moved to LA, and into a house with 4 roommates: Lisa, a dumb yet sweet phillipino, Sarah, a white wannabe Gold Digger, Cash, a nerdy wannabe paparazzi, and D-Mack, a fake gangster rapper. They also put a TON of weird transitions in. It didn't last.

The show provides examples of:

Amicably Divorced: Flex and Breanna's mother, Nicole, for the most part.
Beta Couple: Duane and Candy
The Casanova: Flex, especially in season 1.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Flex stops appearing by mid-season in season 5, as does their land lord Manny.
- Spirit disappeared in season 5 too. It was strange because she and Arnaz were friends since childhood. Even if Breanna and Arnaz left her behind when they moved, you'd think she would have a least been mentioned.
Dawson Casting: 18 year old Robert Ri'chard cast as 15 year old Arnaz. Averted with Kyla Pratt and Sicily who are about the same age as their characters.
Mr. Fanservice: Flex, paticularly in the early seasons.
Ms. Fanservice: Breanna, especially in the later seasons. Flex's many girlfriends as well.
Five-Token Band: Season 5 invoked this intentionally to appeal to wider demographics. It didn't work..
Genre Shift: From a Sitcom about a playboy and his teenage daughter to a Slice of Life comedy in season 5.
Hot Dad: Flex.
Lady Killer In Love: Flex a couple of times, but particularly with Natalie.
Left Hanging: A particuarly dickish example: The executive producer found out they were getting canceled but kept in the ending where Breanna and D-Mack are found in bed together instead of wrapping up the series on purpose.
- From what I've heard, the producer kept the ending because the CW DID actually have plans to bring back the show for another season, but the execs claimed they couldn't find an open spot on the schedule for it, so they cancelled it. Then again that could've been a BS excuse considering how little The CW seemed to care about the shows carried over from UPN.
Love Dodecahedron: Okay sit back this might take a bit: Arnaz liked Breanna but she only liked him as a friend, then he started dating Ginger, then after a while Breanna starts dating Josh. Arnaz breaks it off with Ginger, then starts having feelings for Breanna again, so Breanna is forced to choose and chooses Arnaz. But then Ginger teams up with Josh to break them up by claming to have slept with Arnaz, while Josh appears shirtless in Breanna's apartment as an Operation Jealousy ploy. Then Breanna decides that she and Arnaz are Better as Friends so they don't end up like Breanna's parents, but then they get back together later. Then Breanna is jealous of the attractive new singer in Arnaz's band, then when they get to LA they break up mid-season and start dating other people, only for Breanna's new boyfriend to break up with her when he realizes she's still in love with Arnaz while Breanna ends up sleeping with D-Mack. And then the series ends.
Lovable Alpha Bitch: Breanna.
Morality Pet: Breanna becomes this to Flex as she really forces him to evaluate how he treats women, especially as Breanna becomes a woman herself.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The 6'4" Flex and the 5'4" Breanna.
Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Duane and Candy.
Overprotective Dad: Flex can be this at times as he worries Breanna will end up becoming pregnant at a young age like her mother did. It's later revealed much of his over protectiveness is out of fear that Breanna will allow men to treat her the same way that HE treats women.
Poorly Disguised Pilot: The season 3 finale reduced star Flex Alexander to a bookending cameo and left out all the others to focus on a never-before-heard-of relative and the barber shop he ran, and the daughter of the owner of the shop (Shannon Elizabeth) who wanted it to become a hair salon. In the end they teamed up and called it "Pharenity" (Shannon wanted to call the salon "Serenity") - unlike most examples, this one also had a happy ending and eventually became the UPN sitcom Cuts.
Re Tool: Season five felt like an an entirely different show from the previous seasons.
Sassy Black Woman: Tanya, Flex's first recurring girlfriend, played by Tamala Jones. In later seasons both Breanna and Spirit became this trope.
Shorter Means Smarter: Averted with Dwane and Flex.
Three Amigos: Breanna, Spirit, and Arnaz.
Throw the Dog a Bone: Both Lisa and Benjaman (the snarky owner of the coffe shop that Breanna and friends frequent in season 5.) get together in the season 5 finale. Lisa had spent most of the season pining after D-Mack who either ignored her or treated her like garbage while Benjamin pined for her.
- Also Dwane finally gets a permanent girlfriend in Candy during season 3.
Will They or Won't They?: Breanna and Arnaz for the ENTIRE series.
Spirit: Yall get on my nerves.
With a Friend and a Stranger: Spirit and Arnaz were childhood friends. Breanna was the stranger to the trio.

One Life to Live

American Series

One Tree Hill

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The show provides examples of:

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