Mirroring the reinvigorated film market, television during the seventies seemed to ape a concerted politicism that was largely absent from the medium up until that point. Beginning with Archie Bunk and his cohort on All in the Family, the Norman Lear developed show examined a working class family whose neighborhood would eventually become integrated, much to the consternation of its figure head.

Incorporating black characters into a predominately white show in 1971 was unheard of unless there was a maid or servant to play. But including the Jefferson family as Archie’s racial foil worked and generated a slew of spin offs. Most success was the Jeffersons, which followed the family from Archie’s neighborhood to the upper west side of Manhattan.

Living in opulence, the black family probably caused a great many white viewers to be confused – as if the scenario wasn’t ever possible. Either way, Lionel, the family’s son, was early on one of the more dynamic characters, eventually being weighted down with sub plots.

While still a part of the Bunker’s universe, Lionel was initially played by D'Urville Martin for a few episodes prior to Mike Evans taking over the role. Despite his oddly shaped afro, this Lionel took on wisecracking – usually as subterfuge – and represented one of the first times a young black man was portrayed on the small screen as someone with brains, gumption and a real future.

Transitioning to the Jeffersons, Evans was sooner or later overwhelmed with his writing duties on Good Times and opted to vacate his role as Lionel. Taking over was Damon Evans (no relation) who played the part for the majority of the show’s run.

Much like the two Darren’s the differences between these two actors in the Lionel role has stratified fans. It’d be easy to choose Damon as the better of the two – he was most likely more familiar than Mike in the role. But after the switch, the Lionel character took on a rather boring, affected manner that wasn’t completely detached from his upbringing in Harlem and wherever the Bunkers lived, but kinda. The playfulness inherent in Mike Evans’ portrayal was pretty much gone. It didn’t help too much that Damon had some googly teeth rendering his smile something of a jagged mountain side to navigate.

Lionel, as he was on All in the Family, seemed capable of working in offhanded humor with little effort, resulting in some scathing jokes that not everyone was going to catch. His banter with Archie, as well as the way he played the elder man for a fool on occasion, wasn’t ever matched over the course of the Jefferson’s multi-decade run time. The situations might not have arisen in that Manhattan setting. But even with that, the Damon Evans’ version of the character comes off as too staid. It seemed odd that he was the child of Louise and George. Of course, Lionel’s devotion to education may have had something do with it (yeah, you can call me out for getting at his ‘talking white’ if you’d like). But whatever the cause, Lionel’s wit seemed to dissipate after Mike’s departure. Bummer.