History YMMV / TheBernieMacShow

* FridgeBrilliance: The use of ''Ain't No Sunshine'' by Bill Withers as Vanessa waits for Stacy (in the ''Home Sweet Chicago'' two-parter) seems a little weird, until you remember it's about "missing something that wasn't good for you". Stacy's presence as an addled addict isn't good for her kids but Vanessa misses her still.
** Some might be wonderin' why Vanessa still has hope for her mother, while Jordan and Bryanna don't really seem to. Since she's the oldest, she still has memories of Stacy pre-addiction, while Jordan was born prolly as the addiction was starting to really take hold and Bryanna, being the youngest, was born after Stacy has been an addict for some time.

* CastOfExpies: This is a show originally aired on Fox... involving a man, his usually calm wife, and three children, whose personalities are a bit similar to those on a certain very famous cartoon. There's the occasional pet or two if you'd go that far, while the head of the household can easily fit the bill of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, even with a similar physique to Homer Simpson himself, hanging out with several other men.

* StatusQuoIsGod: This one is a sort of zig-zagged deal. Sure, the kids would indeed grow up as the production went on, but when characters would make up and reach understandings after fights, it would be a matter of the next episode before conflicts in Bernie's house would start up again, so it was not too much about character development. Though in real life, this cycle of conflicts is generally normal.
* {{TearJerker}}: Any time Vanessa cries.

* NightmareFuel: In show example. When Bryana got lost at a Chuck-E-Cheese like entertainment center, the fun atmosphere and cartoon mascots turned utterly terrifying in seconds. The moment doubles as AdultFear for the adults searching for Bryana.

** Lampshaded in one episode when Vanessa's visiting friend from Chicago observed her rough interaction with Bernie Mac, and called Vanessa a bitch because of it. From that moment onward, Vanessa became more patient with Bernie and vice versa, eventually getting along better.
** Jordan, as well. He's the weakest of the main cast, is constantly getting picked on by other kids in school, and was constantly denied a birthday party from his mother, not to mention he misses his mother very much. Poor kid.

* MagnificentBastard: Surprisingly enough, ''Jordan of all people'' gets this moment in "Here To Stay." During the shopping trip, Bernie has given Jordan some money to pay for his medicine, and Jordan used a minimum amount to pay for the generic brand since it's much cheaper, giving him enough money to afford the telescope he wanted to buy earlier. Somehow, he was able to sneak the telescope inside the car and into the household without Bernie even knowing (until much later, of course). It's rather impressive for someone who is considered "soft like ice cream". Vanessa even lampshades this very trope.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The episode with Bernie Mac letting his paranoia from a home break-in keep him from functioning like a rational human being (see ProperlyParanoid) ends with an inspirational speech about not letting fear rule your life. Nowadays, this may come off as {{Anvilicious}}, but the episode first aired shortly after the September 11th attacks, when the viewers needed to hear that message more than ever.

* HarsherInHindsight: There are sporadic references to Bernie's own mortality. It's all played for dark humor, but the most eerie example occurs in the final episode "Bernie's Angels". Bernie suffers a near-death experience, [[ImagineSpot and drifts into a fantasy]] where [[spoiler:we actually see him in a coffin!]]. Since his untimely passing that famously occurred two years after the show ended, seeing such gags can be as upsetting as they are disturbing.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The episode when Bernie Mac convinced Jordan to fake an asthma attack to go to a Clippers game, guest actor Billy Crystal criticized Bernie's actions, emphasizing how he suffered from asthma as a kid and how it should never be used for nefarious purposes. Then Billy Crystal started faking an asthma attack to mess with Bernie's head.

* MagnificentBastard: Surprisingly enough, ''Jordan of all people'' gets this moment in "Here To Stay." During the shopping trip, Bernie has given Jordan some money to pay for his medicine, and Jordan used a minimum amount to pay for the generic brand since it's much cheaper, giving him enough money to afford the telescope he wanted to buy earlier. Somehow, he was able to sneak the telescope inside the car and into the household without Bernie even knowing (until much later, of course). It's rather impressive for someone who is considering "soft like ice cream". Vanessa even lampshades this very trope.

** Jordan is this as well. He's the weakest one of the main cast, is constantly getting picked on by other kids in school, and was constantly denied a birthday party from his mother, not to mention he misses his mother very much. Poor kid.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: There's an episode when every member of the Mac family admitted to some kind of dishonesty. Bernie fessed up to making Jordan fake an asthma attack, so they could go to an L.A. Clippers game to see Michael Jordan play. Jordan used that original lie as leverage against Bernie, and cut down a cherry tree Wanda wanted to grow for no reason other than the plant being an eyesore. Vanessa lied about not going to an R-rated movie, but was exposed when she slipped out an important plot twist from the movie, which Bernie recognized. And Wanda, despite chastising those three, was also exposed to lying about attending Bryana's play, because a beauty appointment kept her away. Bryana was seen by the other four as the moral center, because of her [[ChildrenAreInnocent incorruptible sweetness]]. Even that was subverted, because Bryana's sneaky bed jumping throughout the episode kept Bernie from suspecting her of foul play when his bed kept messing up (a yellow arrow lampshaded this with a "best liar of them all" tagline when Bryana kept hopping on the bed). The lesson: honesty is the best policy, but only when lying doesn't benefit you anymore.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Try watching the episode about Bernie Mac dreading that he's getting older without cringing.
** Or the one with the kids thinking they killed Bernie Mac and imagined his funeral.
** Also, at the end of an episode when Wanda considers having kids of her own, Bernie tells the audience he doesn't want to be a father, chasing his kids around at age 50 (which he illustrates by clutching his chest in manner of having a heart attack). Bernie died in October 2008 at age 50 (albeit from pneumonia, not a heart attack).
** In one episode, Bernie tells the audience how much he loves Saturdays, mentioning how he was even born on a Saturday. Sadly, he would die on a Saturday as well.

** Also, at the end of an episode when Wanda considers having kids of her own, Bernie tells the audience he doesn't want to be a father, chasing his kids around at age 50 (which he illustrates by clutching his chest in manner of having a heart attack). Bernie died at age 50 (albeit from pneumonia, not a heart attack).

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: There's an episode when every member of the Mac family admitted to some kind of dishonesty. Bernie fessed up to making Jordan fake an asthma attack, so they could go to an L.A. Clippers game to see Michael Jordan play. Jordan used that original lie as leverage against Bernie, and cut down a willow tree Wanda wanted to grow for no reason other than the plant being an eyesore. Vanessa lied about not going to an R-rated movie, but was exposed when she slipped out an important plot twist from the movie, which Bernie recognized. And Wanda, despite chastising those three, was also exposed to lying about attending Bryana's play, because a beauty appointment kept her away. Bryana was seen by the other four as the moral center, because of her [[ChildrenAreInnocent incorruptible sweetness]]. Even that was subverted, because Bryana's sneaky bed jumping throughout the episode kept Bernie from suspecting her of foul play when his bed kept messing up (a yellow arrow lampshaded this with a "best liar of them all" tagline when Bryana kept hopping on the bed). The lesson: honesty is the best policy, but only when lying doesn't benefit you anymore.

** As well as any moment where Bernie sheds his {{Jerkass}} facade and goes into full-on PapaWolf to protect Ness or Jordan.

* LifeImitatesArt: Or rather the opposite. The real Bernie Mac only had only one daughter, versus the three nieces and nephews on the show. Similarly, in one episode, Bernie recalled his earliest years as a broke stand-up comedian, which mirrored his real life journey to stardom.