This work takes the form of the standard television soap opera, and uses it as a vehicle for the discussion of the problems of the black middle class. This is not, however, the black middle class one encounters in commercial sitcom standards like The Jeffersons, but rather a middle class whose concerns reflect the real conflicts inherent in changing value systems considered in the context of seemingly unchangeable social constructs. Reed, who has been primarily recognized for his satirical novels such as “Mumbo Jumbo,” describes the work as “a look at the triteness of everyday life in black middle class America.” While the work exhibits some of the problems of low-budget production, the overall effect is considerably stronger than the set-locked interior-only structures that characterize most soaps. The dialog, often improvised, is rich and funny. The work is broad, however, and true to its soap-opera format, presents us with characters defined by their problems alone. Robert Polidori's camera work is clear and inventive. But finally the work is worth viewing and considering for its ironic portrait of black American life and for its ultimate rejection of sentimentality. Personal Problems stars Verta Mae Grosvenor, Jim Wright and Walter Cotton, who appeared in Cotton Comes To Harlem and Gordon's War. The drama was directed by Emmy Award winning playwright Bill Gunn, whose film Ganga and Hess was recently featured at the Cannes Film Festival