227 (TV series)

227 is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985 to May 6, 1990. It revolved around the lives of the mainly African American occupants of a Washington, D.C. apartment building numbered 227.

Mary Jenkins: [to Sandra Clark] I was here when you came, baby, and I will be here when you're gone!

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[Mary and Rose are sitting on milk crates, gossiping on the front stoop of 227.]

Rose Lee Holloway: I heard the O'Briens had another crack in their living room wall.

Mary: Girl... [motions for her to move her crate closer] ...I heard the O'Briens got a crack in their marriage.

Rose: No!

Mary: Oh, yes!

Rose: No! I can't believe it! They just celebrated their silver anniversary!

Mary: Well, I can tell you one thing; they ain't goin' for the gold.

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Rose: Sandra, at that theatrical agency you work for, do you see many celebrities?

Sandra Clark: I'm the receptionist. I see them all.

Mary: And they see all of her.

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Mary: [about Sandra] Oh, she makes me sick. She sure loves to flaunt it.

Pearl Shay: [sticks her head out her window] Don't you wish you had it?

Mary: Girl, you know what they call women like that.

Pearl: Yeah. Lucky.

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Brenda Jenkins: [about Calvin] Well, he's hot.

Mary: That boy's 16 and you're barely 14.

Brenda: So? When I'm 20, he'll be 22.

Mary: Fine. Call him then.

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[The doorman from across the street walks over to Mary and Rose]

Doorman: It was such a shock. Mr. Calloway, dying so suddenly.

Rose: Yes, it was.

Doorman: Did he die of anything serious?

Mary: He stopped breathin'.

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Mary: [to Brenda and Tiffany, Rose's daughter] You girls finish your homework?

Brenda: Yep, and you know what? I thought I just might make dinner tonight. You deserve a break.

Mary: [holds Brenda back, who was planning on walking off] You bein' awfully nice, young lady. Now just what is it you're gonna ask me that I'm not gonna like that you're gonna die if I don't do?

Tiffany Holloway: Well, we just want to know if we could go to the movies tonight.

Mary: On a school night? Did Rose say you could go?

Tiffany: She said it was all right with her if it was all right with you, and please, Mrs. Jenkins. It's with Eddie Murphy!

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Lawyer: [reading Mr. Calloway's will] I, therefore, with a clear conscience, leave 227, lock, stock, and barrel... [Sandra, who is expecting to inherit the building, stands up and smiles] ...to the woman who makes the best apple pie I've ever tasted.

Sandra: Apple pie?! We never used apple pie!

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Mary: [on the phone with the telephone company] But I didn't make the call...I'd remember talking an hour to Hawaii...Do I sound like I have relatives in Hawaii?...Do I sound like I'm gonna pay for this call?...Well, you do that. You call those people and ask them if they know me. Because if they do, I know who we'll be droppin' in on this Christmas.

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Sandra: You know your problem, Mary? You just don't have enough couth. That's why I'm thinkin' of maybe goin' condo. Get a better class of people in here.

Mary: I'm glad to hear it. When are you moving?

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[Pearl returns from her high school reunion]

Mary: Oh, Pearl!

Pearl: Good mornin'.

Mary: So, how was the reunion?

Pearl: Well, fine, if you like break dancing.

Mary: Break dancing? At your reunion?

Pearl: Uh-huh. Every time we danced, somethin' broke.

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[Sandra joins Rose and Mary on the stoop.]

Sandra: Sandra is here.

Mary: Should we kneel?

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Sandra: I lost my job. I got fired yesterday. I'm out of work! They showed me the door and said go! Oooooooh! [sticks out lip, looks at Mary] Thank goodness I have friends like you... [switches to Rose] ...I mean you.

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[Sandra is late to a dinner Mary fixed for her]

Sandra: I hope I'm not too early.

Mary: Believe me, you're not.

Sandra: Oh, good. It's so gauche to be early. I just hate gauche, don't you?

Mary: Gauche is fine when it's on time.

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Sandra: Now, Mary, it would be a lovely world if everybody went around sticking notes on cars. "Excuse me, I believe I hit your car." "Pardonnez-moi, I may have smashed your window and stolen your radio." But they don't, and that's why God created insurance companies, Mary.

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Sandra: Mary, I had plans for this building. I was going to give it class. Distinction. Jacuzzis.

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Various Characters (Rose, Lester, etc.): My name's Bennett, and I ain't in it!

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[Brenda is surprised that her father still isn't back from a basketball game]

Brenda: Honestly, Mom, I don't understand how men can spend a good part of the night watching a bunch of boring, self-centered showoffs.

Mary: I know.

[Brenda looks at her watch]

Brenda: Hey, mom, it's nine o'clock! Dynasty's on!

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Brenda: Mom, can I go upstairs to Tiffany's and watch television?

Mary: On a school night?

Brenda: It's "oldies-but-goodies" night on MTV. They're showing Michael Jackson and Prince!

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[On Family Feud, Sandra is picked to play in the Fast Money round.]

Ray Combs: Sandra, you have 15 seconds to answer these questions and win $10,000.

Sandra: Ooh, I'm so nervous! Can you imagine what I can do with $10,000?

Mary: [dryly] Yeah, pay for your funeral.

Ray Combs: You're not gonna share it with the rest of your teammates?

Sandra: Oh. Oh, yeah. Can you imagine what I can do with $9,000?

Mary: Have a cheaper funeral.

Ray Combs: All right, don't be nervous, say the first thing that comes to your mind. Name something--

Sandra: Eggs!

Ray Combs: Let me finish. Name something you must have in order to live.

Sandra: A man.

Ray Combs: One of the seven wonders of the world.

Sandra: A rich man.

Ray Combs: Something that improves with age.

Sandra: A young man.

Ray Combs: A Christmas present you'd exchange.

Sandra: A...old man.

Ray Combs: A condemned person's last request.

Sandra: Any man!

[buzzer dings, Sandra smiles and crosses her fingers]

Ray Combs: That's 15 seconds. Let's see how you did. Something you must have in order to live. You said a man. Our survey said...

[buzzer makes abrupt "wrong" sound effect, Sandra continues to be hopeful and crosses her fingers]

Ray Combs: Zero. Your second answer was a rich man. Our survey said...

[buzzer makes abrupt "wrong" sound effect, Sandra looks sad but still crosses her fingers]

Ray Combs: Zero. Third answer was a young man. Our survey said...

[buzzer makes abrupt "wrong" sound effect]

Ray Combs: Oh. A Christmas present you'd exchange. You said an old man. Our survey said...

[buzzer makes abrupt "wrong" sound effect]

Ray Combs: Ugh. A condemned person's last request. You said any man. Our survey said...

[buzzer makes abrupt "wrong" sound effect]

Ray Combs: Goose egg.

Mary: [claps] Hey! When you're hot, you're hot, and when you're not, you not!

Ray Combs: Okay, Sandra, looks like you got a perfect zero.

Sandra: [pouting] How can a perfect 10 get a perfect zero?

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