Get To Steppin: Did You Know Tichina Arnold’s ‘Martin’ Character Almost Had A Spinoff?
BlackAmericaWeb.com, By davontah, Posted June 30th 2022
BET+ celebrated the 30th anniversary of ‘Martin‘ premiering with a 90 minute special entitled ‘Martin: The Reunion.’
Hosted by Affion Crockett, the special reunion will include interviews with cast members Martin Lawrence (Martin), Tisha Campbell (Gina), Tichina Arnold (Pam) and Carl Anthony Payne II (Cole) discussing the show’s five seasons. The reunion will also revisit some of the show’s most hysterical moments, look back on the larger than life characters Martin brought to the screen and pay homage to late Thomas Mikal Ford who passed away from a ruptured abdominal aneurysm on October 12, 2016 at the age of 52.
Although the classic comedy mostly focused on the escapades of the title character, his arch nemesis almost got her own spinoff show called ‘Goin’ for Mine.’ That’s right! Tichina Arnold, who played the character Pam was next in line to carry her own show. FOX launched in 1987 and continued to grow in the early 1990’s. Martin ended up becoming one of their most successful sitcoms of the time. The show’s characters left a lasting impact and became key cultural figures.
With that being the case, it only made sense that after the show was cancelled after five seasons in 1997 (mainly because of backstage issues between Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell) that FOX would want to continue the success, even if it was with another star taking the lead. FOX turned to Arnold’s Pam as the next subject for a possible spinoff.
The spinoff was entitled ‘Goin’ for Mine.’ The show was centered around Pam as she tried to bounce back after she was fired from the public relations firm that she previously worked at with her best friend Gina. In a move that was very common in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, ‘Goin’ for Mine‘ was aired as a backdoor pilot. In short, it was presented as an episode of Martin towards the end of season five but only focused on Pam. The episode only featured a cursory Martin appearance.
After Pam was fired by Mr. Whitaker, she’s hipped to an A&R executive job at Keep It Real Records by her old high school friend Trey. Pam agrees to help Trey, who has just been giving the ultimatum to sign new talent or be fired by his boss. In exchange for her help, Trey promises to get Pam a job. Pam discovers that her previous assistant (played by Tyrese) is a very talented singer. He ends up blowing the boss away so much that Pam gets the job and Trey doesn’t get fired. The episode laid the groundwork for a Pam led series chronicling her experiences at the record company, with a brazen receptionist character being introduced, not to mention a creative director who inappropriately lusts after Pam.
Unfortunately, like many other backdoor pilots around the time, ‘Goin’ for Mine‘ was not picked up to series. Tichina Arnold has stated that she was never given a specific reason why the show wasn’t picked up, just that she was told FOX had changed its mind. Luckily, Arnold’s career continued to blossom after the failed engagement. Since then, she’s had starring roles in comedies such as ‘Everybody Hates Chris,’ ‘Survivor’s Remorse‘ and ‘The Neighborhood.’
Although things ended up working out for Tichina Arnold, seeing her get her own show would have been amazing. How do you think the show would’ve turned out? What other shows would you have wanted spinoffs to? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and be sure to catch Martin: The Reunion debuting today exclusively on BET+.
