Tired of George Jefferson's tirades, Marla Gibbs, who played Florence on The Jeffersons, moved on up to her own show - the critically and commercially sucessful 227. Loosely based on Christine Houston's play, 227 centered around the Jenkins family, and their often amusing Washington, D.C. neighbors.

The crux of most episodes had Mary Jenkins bickering with her nemisis, the aloof, wealthy, super-sexy and man-hungry Sandra (Saaaaaadra!) Other characters included nosy elderly neighbor Pearl Shaw and her son and Brenda's boyfriend, Calvin. Mary wasn't alone in her wit-filled sparring with these two - she had back-up in her friend Rose and her husband Lester.

Lasting an impressive five seasons, 227 provided America with a realistic but still poositive image of an African-American family. Even better, it gave us one of Sandra's signature lines - "Rose, Pearl...Maaaaaarrry!"