[Race & Ethnicity On TV]

For me, there's a fine line to balance with homage, especially for those like me who know little to nothing about the comic.  I assume TPTB knew that dialogue wouldn't work with the modern setting of the show, as they backed off of it fairly quickly. There's a way to incorporate speech cadence common among some blacks in a natural way - for example, the conversation between Misty and the new Inspector about Mariah being her soror.    

[Luke Cage - General Discussion]

2 hours ago, Grace284 said:

I wouldn't say they glossed over her rape at all. It's what changed the course of the show. 

I disagree, as the flashbacks were from Cottonmouth's perspective and it was his words that were the catalyst for Mariah's actions. Her rape was a plot point to incite his death and set Luke up, in my perception.   It's Cottonmouth's death that changed the course of the show, as the focus shifted from his conflict with Cage to Stryker's conflict with Cage. 

[Race & Ethnicity On TV]

I thought some of the early dialogue was too blaxpoitation, which is more of a anachronistic complaint than "it's too black." If the show was set in the 70s, that's one thing.  But dialogue paired with the contemporary setting didn't work for me at all. 

Otherwise, I think the black cultural touch-points made it more grounded and real, and to a large extent, more watchable than Daredevil or Jessica Jones.   

[Luke Cage - General Discussion]

Just when I was really getting invested in this series, and especially appreciating what they're doing with the black women as characters, Misty in particular...Misty assaults Claire? What in the entire fuck? I mean, I guess the previous episode, with the glossing over of Mariah's rape for the sake of woobifying Cottonmouth, should have been a hint.  Still, I was willing to give the writers the benefit of the doubt. 

And Claire was entirely out of line with Misty, also seemingly out of character.  Misty got a phone call while talking to them at the clinic - there must have been something told to her that compelled her to press forward and arrest Luke.  Of course, the audience knows he's innocent, but Misty's observed their escalating conflict, and Luke directly told her he wants Cottonmouth to suffer.  Sure, he said he wouldn't kill him, but that's hardly evidence.  

[Luke Cage - General Discussion]

I'm glad I stuck it out - I almost quit this series after the first episode.  But, as I hoped, this series is the one, so far, to get better with each episode. Fingers crossed that it continues.  This is the episode for me where things really begin to come together and take shape. Shame that Ali is out, though - he really brought something special to Cottonmouth. 

[Luke Cage - General Discussion]

20 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

So our hero-for-hire and his nurse friend spend most of the episode trying to keep this super-dirty cop alive, which is just a bizarre turn of events.

It reminded me a lot of the S1 Daredevil episode where Murdock is holed up with the Russian criminal.  I was never a Scarfe fan, so his corruption justified my dislike.  Still, they sure did try to make him sympathetic towards the end.  I think Simone Missick played the scene very well, but I won't miss him. 

[Race & Ethnicity On TV]

And the last episode shown apparently included scenes where the father was abandoning the family to go overseas.  Yikes! As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. 

5 hours ago, galax-arena said:

I read a few of Jackie Clarke's blog posts before she made it private, and the woman has some serious pathological issues with Asian women. So I have my doubts that Mail Order Family would have been anything except horrifically racist. 

This is a line from her blog: "An Asian woman is as close as you can get to a boy without a weiner."

Wow.  And really, a white woman is the LAST person to be riffing on another woman's body shape.  

To phoenics' point, it is galling that this was even greenlighted. 

[S01.E02: Surf N Turf]

On 10/1/2016 at 0:27 AM, Raja said:

I think too many cop shows try to go the grand conspiracy route as if the street crime and random murderers they deal with is all in service of a single master. 

Good point.  

1 hour ago, Watermelon said:

Speaking of obituaries, what must Mrs. Riggs' say if literally no one can figure out Riggs' "friend in high places" is his father in law?

Maybe her maiden name was different. I'm able to hand wave it because I can't see anyone in LA caring enough to look into who Riggs was married to in El Paso and make the connection.  

[Luke Cage - General Discussion]

On 9/30/2016 at 9:42 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Actress who plays Misty was much better. She feels and sounds more natural now.

Yes, I think not having to use dialogue seemingly out of a blaxpoitation film helped. 

This episode was better than the first, but I found myself being more interested in Misty's work and how that would conflict with Cottonmouth and Mariah than Luke.  

I've never thought Mike Colter was wooden...until Pop's death scene.  Even more conspicuous because Mahershala Ali was more skilled at conveying Cottonmouth's grief.  As written so far, Cage isn't that interesting to me, so you need an actor who can elevate the material.  At the moment, I think Ali and Colter should have switched roles.  Ali is good as Cottonmouth, but I think he has more subtlety and accessibility to the emotional range that would have been beneficial with the reticent yet simmering character that Luke is meant to be. Plus, Ali is no slouch physically.  Colter was very good as Lemond Bishop - I suspect those kind of roles suit his range better. Faison brought out the best in Colter, though, so it's a shame Pops is dead already.         

In any case, I am hoping this series might be the opposite of what the other two were for me in that the show gets better with each episode rather than declining to hold my interest. I started skipping scenes towards the end of S1 Daredevil, and I stopped watching S1 Jessica Jones completely by around ep 7 or 8.  

[Luke Cage - General Discussion]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Now where the HELL was this Luke Cage when he was on Jessica Jones??? Sheer magnetism and charm! Loved every bit of it. Well, except for when he and Misty met. For some reason, though the chemistry is there, the conversation/dialogue between them was so...stilted.

I thought the dialogue completely negated their chemistry.  It was painfully awkward.  

I'm debating with myself about watching any more episodes.  

[Unpopular Opinions]

3 hours ago, slf said:

This is how I feel about it. When I found out they were a trash bag of a person is the cutoff. I wouldn't watch a new Mel Gibson film but the Lethal Weapon movies were favorites growing up so I might still watch them every now and then. But only on tv- I ain't giving them my money!

Clint Eastwood is a racist, misogynistic, good ol' boy who misses the old days. I suspect he has a Confederate flag in his house.

You bring up a point I hadn't considered - how do residuals work with movies shown on TV? If you bought the DVD, that's one and done (which was along the lines of what I was thinking since GHScorpiosrule brought it up in her post). But do the trash bags continue to be paid if their films are shown on TV years or decades later? 

[S01.E02: Surf N Turf]

As long as Keesha Sharp continues to bring it and the adorable baby daughter pops up once an episode, I'll continue to watch. The best line for me was when the captain said something like, "Crockett and Tubbs, get in here." Ha! 

I thought ATF guy inadvertently answered when he was putting the phone away, but who knows.  

[Now You See Me 2 (2016)]

I probably should have watched the first one again - I barely remembered what happened since I've not seen it since it was released in theaters 3 years ago.  This one felt long, so I checked the run time of the first film.  Not a huge difference, only about 15 minutes.  The visual effects were great, but the plot seemed even thinner than the first one. Overall, it felt like a sequel made because the first film was such a hit, with some threadbare continuation of the story.  I won't go out of my way to see a third film, even if I objectively appreciate a popcorn film outside of the comic realm. 

[S01.E05: By Any Chance]

2 hours ago, topanga said:

RE: Charley, I agree that she's learning, and yes, she's paying for everything. But people have no problem admonishing her--quite bluntly --f she messes up or makes a mistake. 

You know, I think this might be part of why I can't fully connect with the writing - I've noticed this since the first episode, and it seems unbalanced compared to the other two siblings. Yet, I feel most sympathetic towards her character.   

[S01.E05: By Any Chance]

Davis admitted to sleeping with Goldie, though he has insisted that he never raped her.  

I'm interested in the results of the rape kit.  Assuming she did willingly have sex at some point with one or more of the men, how do you distinguish when she was raped? I can't recall if she was drunk or using drugs, if so, even more complicated because of impaired ability to consent, if there was any at all.  I hope the show is precise with this, and not just some PSA about how black athletes are unfairly targeted.  After all, there would be no rape allegations against Davis if his insipid ass hadn't been there. 

[S01.E05: By Any Chance]

There wasn't much Ralph Angel in this episode, so it's my favorite to date. Agreed that the best scene was the three women bonding. And while I loved Living Single, my first thought upon seeing Erika Alexander was, "Hey, Pam."

Charley is learning the hard way that she can't half-step with the farm.  Still, the auction fallout is a nice setup for Remy to hopefully become farm manager (among other things). The meeting with the prostitute may be a MacGuffin, we'll see. I wasn't surprised by her attitude with the prostitute - it's sadly common. Plus, she desperately wants to believe that her husband wouldn't rape a woman. 

I thought it was short-sighted (an inherent family trait) of Aunt Vi to quit her job. I assume she knows the owner - why not talk to him about setting his nephew straight? I did feel for her with her friends - they've gone on to prominent careers, and she's a waitress.  And most importantly - she's uncomfortable with that.  But hey, maybe she'll eventually open her own place...   

Hot as they are, I'm kind of glad Calvin and Nova may be over.  I always thought it was a huge writing misstep for him to be married - the complications of their personal and professional lives could have stood as is without it. And yes, Nova is a hypocrite. Still, I think the real-life parallels of black women risking their livelihood and actual lives for a cause that disproportionately impacts black men is sad.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if Nova loses her job and/or has her life threatened over that article. She's exposed herself in a major way without much thought to her own protection.       

2 hours ago, TVForever said:

    No, I think the point of that was to show just why this guy is so willing to hire parolees. He got 40 hours of work out of RalphAngel (and presumably the others), but only paid for 32. Who can they (the parolees) complain to? They have to work or they go back to jail; almost no one will give them a job. The employer knows he has them over a barrel and exploits them accordingly. It's the justification that the "friend" is using for ripping the company off. I was glad when I thought RA turned him down, and then there was the contraband in his backpack, and he kept it. That wont end well I fear.

Ah, thanks for this.  I thought his co-worker ratted him out about leaving work early, but that makes much more sense. Especially since the boss didn't explain himself.  

16 minutes ago, TVForever said:

In fact, I believe that's the same guy that was at her door in this episode. It was clear in that first episode that this was at the very least, her side business. Which makes it so strange that Nova would be so shocked(!) that it was her weed that Too Sweet was caught with. Where did she think her product was going? That kid and a bunch of other teens that she may or may not know personally.

Cognitive dissonance - it's easy (and accurate) to talk about the system that disenfranchises and hamstrings blacks.  It's a lot harder to see and admit how one's individual, and most importantly ILLEGAL, actions might perpetuate said disenfranchisement.     

I can't put my finger on it, as I overall enjoy the show. But something about the writing doesn't quite square for me. The acting is on point, though.

[Unpopular Opinions]

On 9/26/2016 at 3:54 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

This is wholly unpopular, because I just discovered that I can separate the actor from the man himself.  Though I didn't watch a single movie of his, or the ones I already had when he went Cocoa for Cocoa Puffs CRAZY and revealed himself for the person he is.  Mel Gibson.

I've not seen Mel's earlier films in a long time, so can't speak to him, but I agree with the overall sentiment.  If I enjoyed someone's film before I found out about their...issues, I can still enjoy it AND have no interest in their current/future projects.  

[Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions]

On 9/26/2016 at 0:20 PM, topanga said:

My UO: when someone doesn't recognize a celebrity on a commercial or in a guest spot on a TV show, and they're all, "Who the hell is THAT?" It happens a lot in the forums (though not necessarily in this thread). And maybe I'm sensitive because a lot of the people who get reactions like that are people of color. So on the commercials thread, instead of saying, "I didn't recognize Nikki Minhaj on that commercial" or "I don't really know who John Legend is," we get "Who the hell is THAT?" "He's supposed to be some big-time singer." I totally understand that you might not recognize an actor, musician, etc. But if the person is a bona-fide celebrity who has sold millions of records or has been in movies or TV shows, just because you don't know who they are doesn't mean they aren't stars. 

For example, I always confuse Trisha Yearwood and Carrie Underwood, though I know they are both huge celebrities. But I don't minimize their celebrity status. I recognize the confusion as my own limitation. And I just accept that I will constantly have to Google or bug my children about which one sings the theme song to Sunday Night Football since I can't get my pea brain to remember which is which. 

Your post reminds me of the flip side of the coin: declarations of who is a household name.  I'll never forget a online discussion about Katie Holmes being a household name BEFORE she got with Tom Cruise.  I recall thinking, "Um....what?" Sure, I knew who she was, but there were tens of millions of people - in the US alone - who never watched Dawson's Creek. It wasn't on a major network, so it wouldn't have been nearly as high profile. Still get a good chuckle out of that one. 

[Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions]

3 hours ago, Neurochick said:

My UO:  I can't deal with the Poldark discussion because it's filled with people who say, "I like the version from the 70's better."  Well if you liked to so much, then don't watch this version.  See how simple that was?

BTW, I didn't like the 70's version which is why I'm watching the current one.

Hee! I don't have a problem with remakes/modern adaptations at all. If I want to watch the original, it's usually accessible. Plus, to me, most TV isn't timeless - it's almost always a product of the time in which it aired.  Nothing wrong with that, but nothing wrong with updates, either. 

14 hours ago, lordonia said:

My UO is that I watched four episodes of Mr. Robot and thought it was silly. If that means I'm uncool, slow, and lowbrow, so be it. It sometimes seems like the more fervently a show is hyped by TV critics, the less I'm liable to enjoy it.

I can relate to the bolded, which is why I try to avoid critical darlings, at least until the hype dies down. I'd rather enjoy the show, or not, based on what I see on the screen.   

[Race & Ethnicity On TV]

12 hours ago, Dee said:

Sidebar? They're ALL FINE.

Quoted for emphasis. 

12 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

John Cho starred in the brilliant (yes, it did get really good after an abysmal pilot) Selfie and will star in Connoisseur for the USA Network. (Which maybe kind of sounds like White Collar but whatevs.)  

Now he's just an anecdotal name and I don't say it to prove a point one way or another but I just felt if we were talking fine Asian male actors who could lead a series, he should not be forgotten.

Seconded. 

14 hours ago, phoenics said:

Also - often it's black viewers/scientists/activists who count up the lack of diversity for black men and women.  So - they're responsible for counting it up for all PoC too now?

Yeah - this is a tricky area because it sometimes feels like blacks shouldn't be concerned with our own representation.  A lot of that is on the media not amplifying voices of Americans who are of Asian, South & Central American, Caribbean, and Native descent who speak on this. 

[Race & Ethnicity On TV]

8 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

I think it is an intersection and totally how fucked up Hollywood works.  I once remember reading ...God... many moons ago when I was a grad student taking TV production classes, there was an interview about casting and one of the talking heads, a BW, said something like 'if you need a woman, she's white but if you need a black person, it's a man." that always stuck me with me. 

Ah yes, all the women are white, all the blacks are men - codified over 20 years ago (though a direct result of the black women's studies that took shape in the 70s).  

[Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions]

6 hours ago, ganesh said:

Also not canon : what TPTBs say about the show on social media. 

Forgot about that - thanks for the reminder. 

I understand people watch TV differently - for some, it is background noise; others, something to entertain after a long day of work/school/whatever.  Different strokes and all.  That said, I am confused about discussing a show one has not paid much attention to. If I'm not that invested in a show, I don't have much to contribute to the forum. 

[Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions]

It feels like this comes up every fall due to the introduction of new shows: for me, a pilot's job is to pique interest in the show.  I am not obligated to give it a few more episodes because "pilotitis" or whatever explanation there is for sucky pilots.  Doesn't mean I expect perfection.  It does mean that I expect to be interested. If I'm not, I'm out.  As already mentioned upthread, we're in a time where there's more content than ever available. That's not necessarily a good thing, but the reality is, I don't watch TV today like I did years ago since 1) I was younger, and 2) there wasn't the variety in programming there is today.      

Also related to pilots - I get that they're used to pitch the show to execs, and commonly shot months/years in advance of other episodes.  Still, a great way to turn me off of a show is establish character beats or plot points that are presumably important, only to drop them because writers decided to go in a different direction in future episodes.  It makes me wish that pilots pitched to execs weren't the same as what is aired to the public.  If you want to tweak the show, do it before anything airs, damn it.  

If it's obvious that you're working out your show as you go along because you don't really know what story you want to tell, I'm out.  Not interested in Build-A-Bear parallels in my TV-watching. This is a huge pet peeve of mine because when I'm invested in a show, I pay attention.  TV is not something I have on while doing something else (I listen to music for that).  I do think that's one advantage a show on Netflix or Prime may have over traditional programming.  Since all of the episodes tend to be released at once, I assume there's less wiggle room for tweaks and changes as the season progresses. Presumably, if there are changes, they're done before the episodes are released, so the average viewer is none the wiser.  

Finally, if it airs in the episode, it's canon.  I don't care if it's the pilot or the 23rd episode.  The following are NOT canon: deleted scenes, extra scenes not in the episode but available on the website/social media, or unaired, leaked episodes. If it's not in the episode as aired, I don't give a damn.  Not interested in scavenger hunts with my TV-watching.  

[S01.E01: Pilot]

I decided to watch for Keesha Sharp, and probably staying for the adorable baby.  Whoever the twins/multiples are playing the baby daughter were casting gems.  

I barely remember the films, so wasn't invested in Riggs and Murtaugh. I assume they'll dial back on Riggs' schtick - as others have stated, that'll get really old very quickly on a TV show. I assume Riggs is supposed to look unkempt because of the grief, but I kept mentally willing him to take a shower and do laundry. Nothing sexy about reeking of booze and weed.  Fingers crossed for future episodes.     

[Party of One: Unpopular TV Opinions]

4 hours ago, ABay said:

I'm catching up on The Musketeers and don't know if this is an UO among viewers, but Tom Burke has never worked as Athos for me. He's a wee wisp of a man, has no definition in his arms, which is odd for a guy who's supposed to be good with a sword, and he's not even the first among equals, let alone charismatic enough to be the leader. The production departed from the books very early on (first 10 minutes) and I've rolled with it, but Athos is my favorite Musketeer, damn it, and casting matters a lot to my enjoyment of any adaptation. This has the best Aramis, imo, a good Treville, and the least annoying D'Artagnan I've ever endured, even Porthos has grown on me, but Athos is a total fail. The actor was good in The Hour but this is not a good fit.

You are not alone. I've never read the book, so can't speak to that, but Burke was always the weakest link on the show for me.  And to be extra shallow, among a cast with very attractive men, he was lacking in the looks department. I know, I know, beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that.