Original subtitles

Oh, hi. I'm Carl Gordon.

Well, everyone is preoccupied with their Christmas shopping.

But I can't help feeling people

have forgotten what this holiday is about.

It's about giving, not getting.

I mean, you don't hear me talkin' about

how I want a larger dressing room or higher pay.

Or how I want the remaining episodes of "Roc" this season

to be about my character.

No!

I'm not thinkin' about any of those things.

When someone wishes me a Merry Christmas.

I wish them a Merry Christmas right back.

Then I go off to my dinky little dressing room...

...and look at my tiny little paycheck.

So, try to approach the season with the same spirit I do.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

I love you, Yvette, Candice, Demetrice and Gloria.

Enjoy the show.

♪ Them that's got shall have ♪

♪ Them that's not shall lose ♪

♪ So the Bible says ♪

♪ And it's still is news ♪

♪ Mama may have ♪

♪ Papa may have ♪

♪ But God bless the child ♪

♪ That's got his own ♪

♪ That's got his own ♪ Them that's got shall get ♪

♪ Them that's not shall lose ♪

♪ Them that's got shall get ♪

♪ Them that's not shall lose ♪

Alright, Joey, alright!

Yeah, Joey!

Yeah!

That was a great set, Joey!

Yeah, Joey, Joey!

Boy, I never heard you play, the thrill is gone!

Yeah, I just put it together sort of my tribute to B.B. King.

Well, when I was hangin' out with B.B.

he got a kick out of other musicians playin' his stuff.

Now, I remember this time in Chicago

we ran into Muddy Waters--

Wait, wait, pop, wait, wait, pop, are you saying

you knew both B.B. King and Muddy Waters?

No. I knew B.B. King, I just met Muddy Waters.

Now, if you're not gonna listen

you'll just have to wait for my book.

Hey, hey, here's the guest of honor.

Alright, Devon!

Oh, the whole neighborhood is proud of you, son.

Yeah, gettin' into a great music school like that.

Devon. Devon Brown.

Little Devon, come here, come here, boy.

Let me take a look at you.

Ooh, Lord have mercy, you sure have grown up.

Look at you. I remember when you used to be yay-high.

Mm-hmm. And you was the chubbiest little thang, too.

Always wanted to pinch them little chubby cheeks of yours.

- Aah! - 'Eleanor, Eleanor.'

You wanna leave the young man some dignity, huh.

- Devon, you ready to do this? - Yeah, I'm all set.

- Alright. - Let's go.

Alright, alright, listen up, everybody.

Let me introduce you to the young man

we all came here to see tonight.

Ladies and gentlemen, please say hello

to Mr. Devon Brown.

And, uh, for those of you who don't know

and are here just because you're drunks, uh...

You know who you are, uh...

Well, Devon has been accepted to

the Peabody Conservatory of music.

- Alright, alright! - Alright! Wonderful.

- Oh, yeah. - Kudos!

Yeah, see, I take a great deal of pride in that because

I gave him his first trumpet lessons when he was 14.

'Course back then his voice squeaked more than his horn did.

The tune that I'm about to play is one that Joey taught me.

- Alright, let's knock it out. - Alright.

- He's somethin', ain't he? - Yeah.

- He's got it goin' on. - Yeah, yeah. Mmm-mm-mm.

You know you've been a real fine teacher for Devon, Joey. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, well, you know, Devon's kinda like that younger brother

I always wish I had.

You wanted a younger brother?

Yeah, when you got Roc for an older brother

you need all the witnesses you can get.

Oh, stop it! Stop it!

Now, see if I was to take half of your head off...

♪ Whoa-whoa whoa-aah ♪

Hey, look what I found today.

Oh, don't you out that on my table, Roc. Here.

- Sit that thing here. - Alright.

Boy, oh, boy.

A dirty, rusty, smelly, funky ol' cash register.

That's right.

That's just what the livin' room needs.

I hope this doesn't mean you're gonna be

chargin' me for my meals.

Oh, pop, I'm not gonna keep this thing.

I'm gonna repair it and sell it.

But since Troy moved outta the neighborhood

I'll have to do it myself.

Well, Roc, that shouldn't be too hard

just get a screwdriver and poke around in the thing.

Eleanor, you just can't poke here.

You know this thing has all kinds of gears

and racks and pinions. Stuff like that.

Alright, MacGyver. You fix it your own way.

But you know, if I was to fix this thing...

- It would probably work. - Wait a minute, hold it.

You think you can fix this better than me?

I don't think so!

Son, you have just wandered into a minefield.

Oh, I see what's happenin' here, Roc.

You think that I can't fix this 'cause I'm a woman.

No, that's not true.

I believe there are many women who can do this.

You're just not one of 'em.

Watch it, sweetie-pie, you got your toe on the detonator now.

Oh, Eleanor, you don't even know how to program a VCR.

- Neither can you. - Well...

At least, I got it to stop blinkin' 12 o'clock.

Yeah...

...by unpluggin' it.

Well, it stopped, didn't it?

They might be cookin' somethin' in here.

Hey, what's up?

- Hey, uh, Devon... - Wassup?

Now, if any of the furniture in the livin' room looks familiar

it's probably because you or somebody you know threw it out.

Alright, I'll make a deal with you.

If you can't fix that cash register

you'll have to wear that little pink teddy...

...every night... all winter long.

I don't know if that's quiet fair, Roc.

That little pink teddy is like three strings and a hanky.

I know.

That's my point.

Alright. Okay. I'll take your bet.

But if I fix this thing...

...you're gonna have to fix dinner for me

every Sunday, all winter long.

Okay, I'll take that bet

'cause the way this thing is gonna go down

the only burner I'm gonna be turning on...

...is yours.

We'll see about that, Roc. No, get off me now.

No, we'll see, I ain't playin' with you, Roc.

So, bass, bass solo is for about 32 measures, right?

We come in and one, nice little pace.

Hey, hey, it should sound, this little area here

should sound like, uh, "All Blues."

- All Blues? - You know All Blues?

I know All Blues. I know everything Miles Davis ever did.

He was brilliant! Before he got into pop music.

What do you mean, uh, "Before he got into pop music?"

What kind of half ass wishin'-you-knew-

somethin'-about-music statement is that?

Come on, Joey, look at it.

In the twilight of his career

Miles Davis turned into Kenny G.

Wait a minute, hold it, hold it, time out here, time out.

Now, uh, how long you been on this planet?

What? About a minute and a half?

Still got your mothers milk on your breath.

Where you get off criticizing a giant like Miles Davis?

Joey, I think you're better than he is.

You think I'm better than he is?

I think you're better than he is.

Okay, well, you are entitled to your own opinion...

I almost believed you, too.

So, anyway, they gonna stay married.

But Prince Charles is gonna live on one end of the palace

and then, Princess Di is gonna live at the other end

of the palace and then they gonna meet on the weekends

in the garden to exchange the kids.

Well, how's that different from any other married couple?

The wife sleeps in the bedroom, the husband sleeps on the couch

and on the weekend they fight over who's gonna take

the Rugrats to Chuck E. Cheese's.

- Daddy, oh! Stop it! - Well...

If you had-you hadn't took me to Chuck E. Cheese's once...

Boy, Charlene sure did do a nice job

with the Christmas trimmings, didn't she?

Yeah, well, given that the clientele is a 150% black

you think Charlene would've put up some decorations for our

African-American holiday Kwanzaa.

Oh, daddy, I like all the Christmas lights and all.

I think we should celebrate both, Christmas and Kwanzaa.

Mm, on the third day of Christmas my true love said...

But you know, I remember the first

Kwanzaa celebration in America. It was 1966.

Yeah, I was in New York with Alex Haley

and he was havin' his doubts about... all of it.

Yeah, and I told him, I said, "Alex?

Get in touch with your African roots."

Daddy, wait a minute.

Now, I got to call you out on this one.

Now, how come every time you tell us one of these stories

there's a famous person involved.

Yeah, we be talkin' about the Negro baseball league

you'll say, "Yeah, I, I knew Satchel Paige."

Yeah, we be talking about The Blues

and you know B.B. King.

Dad, come on... Now, tell the truth now.

Did you really know any of these people?

Now, you know, Muhammad Ali once asked me to save...

Uh, it was in New York.

Uh, I was, uh... standin' in front of Madison Square Garden

and it was the first, the second fight of, uh, uh

with Sonny Liston, that's what it was...

- Yeah. And, uh... - Yeah, uh-huh.

I was standing in front of Madison Square Garden

with Adam Clay Powell...

Ooh, daddy, stop it! These stories are...

Hey, y'all, look. Look, They've got Devon.

'Who's he standin' with..'

'That's Andre Thompson, that's the drug dealer'

'I had a run-in with last year.'

'What is Devon doing hangin' out with the likes of him?'

I don't know, I'm about to find out.

- Hey. - Hey, Joey.

- What's goin' on, man? - I'm alright.

What you doin' hangin' with Andre, man?

That's a drug dealer, he's not, uh

not tryin' to sell to you, is he?

No, no, man, we're just friends.

What's, uh... What's in there?

Uh, what's with all the questions, man?

This ain't "60 Mintues."

Devon, you're not workin' for Andre, are you?

Look, all I'm doin' is a little pickup and delivery.

Come on, man, don't trip. Everything's copacetic.

Look, I gotta go.

- I'll call you later, okay? - Devon?

- I'll call you. - 'Devon, wait a second, Devon.'

Well, he sure left in a hurry.

He's runnin' drugs for Andre, Roc.

Oh, no, man, no!

Yeah, I just tried to talk to him, he just ran outta here...

Well, now, look, Joey, you know how it is

if he's into that drug money

he's pullin' down $500-600 a day.

He don't care nothin' about music school

or nothin', he's not gonna listen.

Okay, he might not listen to me but I'll go down there

and talk to Andre my-damn-self--

- You outta your mind? - I ain't scared of no Andre.

I'm not scared of me, but that's not the point!

Why go lookin' for trouble that's not yours?

Come on, Roc, I'm talkin' about Devon here.

I can't just let this go, man, that's-that's...

You know, we grew up together.

I helped him get his first horn, man, that's my boy.

I know he's your boy, but you're my only brother.

And it's Christmas time I ain't got no bail money.

Roc, think about Devon.

No, I'm not thinkin' about Devon right now, Joey.

- I'm thinkin' about you. - Alright, alright.

I hear what you're sayin', okay.

I got some thinkin' to do myself.

Alright.

Okay. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Remember this?

- Oh, man! - Recognize this?

Uh-huh, this beautiful, fully functional cash register

retails for $99.95.

But it's yours...

...for the low, low price of admitting that you do not

have a clue as to what I can, and cannot do.

Whoa! That's, that's a good job.

That's a damn good job.

Uh-huh.

And for extra credit

I set the clock on the VCR.

Well, baby, hmm-hmm...

...you can fix anything you want around here anytime.

And since you're doin' all this fixin'

I hope you're fixin' to take me upstairs.

Wait a minute, Roc, you did not win this bet, I did.

And since it is Sunday

I know just what I feel like havin' for dinner.

- Stuffed Fish. - Oh, come on, Eleanor!

- Stuffed fish is hard. Come on. - With crab meat.

Oh, come on, Eleanor, crab meat is hard, too.

Come on, yo-yo-you know I can't cook.

You know how to eat. Just work backwards.

Man, what did you do?

I told you to give me a shape.

You gave me a fade.

Shape, fade, Jerry curl, fatback...

It's all the same to me. It's all here.

- Here. - Next.

- Good to see you, pop. - How you doin', Joey?

Andre?

Talk to you for a minute, please?

Trumpet man. What's up?

What you, uh, havin' bookie trouble?

No, no, no, nothin' like that.

Um, this is about Devon.

What about Devon?

Okay, um, I don't know if you know this or not

but Devon is a hell of a musician.

And he just got accepted to the Peabody Conservatory.

Andre, that's a, it's a very prestigious school.

He needs to be focused, man, he needs to concentrate

on his music, see, so, you, you--

Yo, yo. Yo, yo, yo!

Nix it, man.

You should be talkin' to Devon, not to me.

- Devon! - 'What up?'

Get out here.

Wassup, ma...

Joey, what are you doin' here?

Trumpet man's been braggin' about your playin', man.

He claims you're pretty good.

- Devon, you got your axe here? - Yeah, I got my--

Okay, listen, listen, go get your horn

and play somethin' for him, okay.

I know what I'm doin', go get your horn.

'Devon!'

Go get your trumpet and play somethin' real nice for me, man.

Hmm.

That's not bad, boy. In fact, that's damn good.

No, no, that-that-that's great, Andre!

See, that's what I'm talkin' about.

You don't even need him, do you?

Hey, look, I don't have a gun to Devon's head.

Devon wants to go he can go.

Devon, listen to me, okay? You got a shot, man.

You got accepted to one of the best schools in the country

Devon, anything you ever dreamed of you can have now.

Records, concerts, e-everything you ever dreamed of, man.

The sky is the limit, but if you hang here, man

you gonna start usin' these drugs, man, you ain't go...

Start... using drugs?

You know, Devon here is his own best customer.

Ain't that right, Devon?

Wait, wait, wait a minute, wh-wh-what is he talkin' about?

Tell me, tell me, tell me he's lyin'.

Look, Joey, you makin' way too much outta this, man.

- I got it under control. - You got what under control?

That's what Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday and

Jimi Hendrix, and every junkie layin' in the street says.

Well, maybe they didn't know what they were doing.

No, Devon, maybe you don't know what you're doin'!

Listen! I want you to use your head, Devon, please.

Listen, to me, okay? You got a shot, my man.

- You are my business. - Devon!

When you get finished out here I got somethin'

for you to do, man.

I'm done right now.

Devon... Devon, come here, come here!

Okay!

I think you're gonna like this here.

Oh, Eleanor, why did you have to make him cook?

I'm an old man, I only have a few dentures left.

Here, pop, well, before you start with the wise cracks

why don't you taste it?

Well, maybe you're right, son.

Just because it smells like grease fire

doesn't mean that it has to taste bad.

Um, son, no!

Son, uh, no, no.

- Ugh! - Oh, man!

Alright, Pizza or Chinese?

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, you don't have to eat it

but let's not waste all this food, huh?

I'll take it to the homeless shelter.

Oh, Roc, that is cruel.

Yeah. What did the homeless ever do to you?

- Oh, hey, son. - Hey, Joey.

'Wassup?'

I just came back from talking with Andre.

What? Now, I told you to stay away from him!

Uh, daddy, daddy, come on with me

let's go get somethin' to eat, okay?

Uh, let's go down to Little Italy.

I know this great restaurant that Joe DiMaggio told me about.

Alright, what went down?

Well...

I got down there, I realized that, uh...

...Andre doesn't tell him what to do, man.

Devon does whatever he wants to do.

So, I just, I said, okay, you...

It's none of my damn business.

- Yeah, yeah, I see, man. - I mean, Roc, he's uh...

He's a loser anyway, I mean, so...

What's one more junkie in the music world, huh?

- Oh. - Hey, Joey...

I want you to know, man, I'm proud of you for tryin'.

Roc, it's just...

That was my boy, you know.

He will...

Yeah, I know, man.

I know, I know.

Uh, you want some stuffed fish?

It'll make you feel better.

Stay tuned"Roc Live" will continue in a moment.

Eleanor! Look, what I found?

- What? - It's a slot machine.

- You think you can fix it? - Roc!

Give me a break, I just finished changing the oil in the car.

Let's check this out, huh?

Hey, uh, Roc, have a quarter?

Yeah, well, mine look just like the ones

you got in your pocket.

You know some people are, some people are just... petty.

Boy, that's...

Come on, baby.

Oh!

Hey, hey, let me try.

- Ha-ha. Let me try. - All this money...

- Let me try it. - Give me some of that money.

What the...

- It ate my quarter. - 'You lost.'

Hey!

Roc, don't break the thing, we can still sell it.

With my 25 cents inside. Hell no!

- Hey! Hey! - Roc...

What's he yellin' for, huh?