History YMMV / InLivingColor

** For those who don't know already, there was a time when Creator/JimCarrey (who was credited as his real name "James Carrey" for most of his tenure) was the crazy white guy on ''In Living Color'' -- and that Creator/JamieFoxx was on this show from season three to the end.

** Jim Carrey's over-enthusiastic activist character these days wouldn't be out of place as a social justice warrior online.

* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: Handi-Man, the superhero with cerebral palsy. His skits would '''not''' be kosher today under any circumstances, but the character had fans among people with disabilities due to being a DisabledBadass who always came out on top and defeated the villains. It also helps that the character was played by Damon Wayans, who had a clubfoot growing up and was teased about it, so some degree of NWordPrivileges apply.

** The certifiable and unpredictable [[PyroManiac Fire Marshall Bill Burns]] remains a beloved figure of both the show and Jim Carrey's long and illustrious career, even making a surprise appearance in ''Film/LiarLiar''.

* MinorityShowGhetto: Thankfully averted; the series was and remains very popular with all audiences with even modern comedians and humorists considering it and the show's featured actors/comics as influences.
* MisaimedFandom: In one "Men on Film" skit, Blaine and Antoine dismiss ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' as "hated it!" The writers admit they foolishly assumed that two gay black men wouldn't be into a show about four elderly white women living together...only to discover via viewer reaction that ''Girls'' has a ''huge'' gay following which means Blaine and Antoine would be more inclined to gushing over it.

** As far as characters and sketches, the "Men on..." sketches are ''very'' popular with audiences, including gay men (to the point that the characters were reprised not long after the show's cancellation in an episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', the rival show to ''In Living Color'').

%%** [[AngryBlackManStereotype Homey D.]] [[DepravedKidsShowHost Clown.]]
%%** [[PyroManiac Fire Marshall Bill Burns.]]
%%** [[AbhorrentAdmirer Wanda.]]

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* AcceptableTargets: Given how it was a comedy sketch show, ''everyone'' was fair game, but in particular conservatives, racists, the censors, the Jackson family (especially Music/{{Michael|Jackson}}, Joe, [=LaToya=] and Tito), Music/VanillaIce and Creator/MikeTyson and his ex-wife Robin Givens got it the worst.
** Black people who were racist against other black people were also a group they went particularly harsh on.

** [[AngryBlackManStereotype Homey D.]] [[DepravedKidsShowHost Clown.]]
** [[PyroManiac Fire Marshall Bill Burns.]]
** [[AbhorrentAdmirer Wanda.]]

** [[GossipyHens Benita Buttrell.]]
** [[BrutalHonesty Calhoun]] [[CoolOldGuy Tubbs.]]

** One skit imagines the first day of newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (David Alan Grier) where he begins by bowing and scraping to the white Justices and going along with decisions against black people. When he realizes this is a lifetime appointment and he can't be fired, Thomas declares "I'm your darkest nightmare" and starts backing any minorities in cases. He even sings a song themed to ''Film/{{Shaft}}'' that includes the lyric "who's the black Supreme Court Justice who's a rights machine for the brothers?" Suffice to say, Thomas' record on the Court does not live up to this viewpoint.

** [[AngryBlackMan Homey D.]] [[DepravedKidsShowHost Clown.]]

** Jim Carrey's over-enthusiastic activist character these days wouldn't be out of place as a social justice warrior online. Assuming you're the sort of basement-dwelling incel who still uses "social justice warrior" as a pejorative.

** Considering that ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' has a large gay following, it's funny to hear gay film critics Blaine and Antoine trash the show in one sketch.

** As far as characters and sketches, the "Men on..." sketches are ''very'' popular with audiences, including gay men (to the point that the characters were reprised years later on an episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', a rival show to ''In Living Color''.)

* ValuesResonance: While many of the segments tend to [[ValuesDissonance invert]] this trope, the topics about race relations still have prevalence to this day.

** Seeing Keenan portraying [[Series/SoulTrain Don Cornelius]] collapsing at the end of the spoof of the series called "Old Train" [[spoiler: although he ''was'' able to be revived]] is now this given Cornelius' 2012 suicide. [[FromBadToWorse It gets even worse.]] Regardless on if you may think of the skit as this or a FunnyAneurysmMoment, his portrayal of Cornelius has him being forgetful and being out of touch with everything happening around him. The driving force behind his suicide was his declining health, namely of him showing early signs of either dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** As hilarious as the "Promise of a Thin Me" video was, it's all the more painful to watch once you learn that Paula Abdul suffered from bulimia around the time it was made.
** The Cosby Condom sketch with Creator/JamieFoxx as Creator/BillCosby. Back then, it was funny because it juxtaposed Cosby's alleged wholesomeness with something that wasn't wholesome (i.e., sex and the fact that condoms were being advertised on TV, which, back then, was considered shocking). These days, with Cosby being accused of drugging and sexually assaulting female celebrities, there is a bitter irony that lingers when watching this parody commercial today.
*** Additionally in the "You Bet Your Career" sketch as the show's host, he is explaining how the show works and at one point utters a line of "While the contestants suck...up to me". Hilarious back then, painfully awkward to watch now.
** One season 2 with the Homeboy Shopping Network has Whiz and Iceman carrying a kidnapped (and strongly struggling) Music/MichaelJackson being held in what appears to be a ''body bag.''
** In a skit from the final season with uptight Mr. [=MacPherson=] [[note]]an {{Expy}} of the established character Mr. [=McAfee=], [[/note]] who was hospitalized with his ongoing hemorrhoids problem, Jay Leggett plays a patient who laughs so much at his medical condition, that he suffers a heart attack or stroke and dies. Leggett himself would die from a heart attack twenty years later.
** On an installment of ''East Hollywood Squares'', one of the questions was "What is small, purple, and needs to be seen by a doctor?" Fred "Rerun" Berry answer to the question is "Music/{{Prince}}", which turns out to be right. Funny back in 1993; in dubious taste in 2016 thanks to Prince's sudden death.
** Related to the above, one sketch features ''Series/TheTonightShowWithJayLeno'' with Music/SineadOConnor being a guest, where she attempts to repeat her infamous stunt on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' of ripping Pope John Paul II's picture, this time with the pictures of several famous people. Of the pictures that she ripped up, she refused to do it to a picture of Creator/ArsenioHall, saying that she loves him. Nowadays in real life, both of them hate one another, so much that days after Prince's death O'Connor publicly accused Hall of regularly supplying him with drugs and he in turn sued her for millions on the grounds of defamation.
** A season three episode has a skit about the dysfunctional family of a game show host and the show of their life is called the ''[[Series/FamilyFeud Family Few]]''. Watching it nowadays is considered this due to the host of the ''Feud'' at the time the episode aired, Ray Combs, went through his own marital/familial issues that culminated in his 1996 suicide.

** Jim Carrey's over-enthusiastic activist character these days wouldn't be out of place as a social justice warrior online.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Unfortunately as many characters and skits that had recurring roles, there were several that only had one or sporadic appearances. Such characters/skits include The Buttmans, [[JadedWashout Magenta Thompson]], Keenan's version of Music/LittleRichard, Three Champs and a Baby/Little Lady (featuring David as UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli, Tommy as Sugar Ray Leonard and Keenan as Creator/MikeTyson) "You Bet Your Career", "The Exxxon Family" and "Creator/RichardPryor is Scared for No Reason".

* WeirdAlEffect: In several instances, particularly with their music video parodies, like Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman" (remade into "My Songs Are Mindless" with Kim Wayans) or Snow's "Informer" (remade into "Imposter" with Creator/JimCarrey.)

** One skit imagines the first day of newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (David Alan Grier) where he begins by bowing and scraping to the white Justices and going along with decisions against black people. When he realizes this is a lifetime appointment and he can't be fired, Thomas declares "I'm your darkest nightmare" and starts backing any minorities in cases. He even sings a song themed to ''Film/{{Shaft}}'' that includes the lyric "who's the black Supreme Court Justice who's a rights machine for the brothers?" [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment Suffice to say]], Thomas' record on the Court does not live up to this viewpoint.

** One skit imagines the first day of newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (David Alan Grier) where he begins by bowing and scraping to the white Justices and going along with decisions against black people. When he realizes this is a lifetime appointment and he can't be fired, Thomas declares "I'm your darkest nightmare" and starts backing any minorities in cases. He even sings a song themed to ''Film/{{Shaft}}'' that includes the lyric "who's the black Supreme Court Justice who's a rights machine for the brothers?" [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment Suffice to say]], Thomas' record on the Court does not live up to this viewpoint.

** In the earlier Seasons, Keenan did skits dressed up as Mike Tyson. One skit has him hosting a late night talk show and [[TysonZone him knocking out the people he ddidn't like]] off of his show, including a Parrot. Decades later, the real Mike Tyson runs his own successful live interview show on the internet, however, he is [[MellowFellow much more calmer and agreeable]] than he was in his youth.

** One skit imagines the first day of newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (David Alan Grier) where he begins by bowing and scraping to the white Justices and going along with decisions against black people. When he realizes this is a lifetime appointment and he can't be fired, Thomas declares "I'm your darkest nightmare" and starts backing any minorities in cases. He even sings a song themed to ''Film/{{Shaft}}'' that includes the lyric "who's the black Supreme Court Justice who's a rights machine for the brothers?" [[RuleOfCautiousEditing Suffice to say]], Thomas' record on the Court does not live up to this viewpoint.