Season 7 Discussion

[OnceSane]

S07.E01: Election Special Pt. 1/S07.E02: Election Special Pt. 2

Part 1:

Quote

Junior is excited about his first time voting but discovers he has been purged from the voter rolls; he does a deep dive into why -- trying to understand the systems in place for voter registration.

Part 2:

Quote

Dre's colleague Stevens makes an ill-advised decision to run for Congress, so Dre enlists his family's help and campaigns against him.

Airing October 4, 2020.

[Arcadiasw]

Whoa Jack grew up over the break!!  😮😮 

Quoting someone on Twitter, they need to air last night show weekly until the election. 

I was caught off guard Blackish is back until I noticed my DVR recorded it. I almost deleted it before I realized it's new. 

 

 

[TV Diva Queen]

My DVR cut off maybe 3-5 minutes early because of the basketball game.  Who won the election?  

[Mr. Sparkle]

Some guy who was even richer than Stevens. Stevens lost by 1 point. 

[Irlandesa]

Because of basketball running over I missed the last fifteen minutes of the second episode.  I liked the first episode quite a bit.  The second episode didn't really grab me so I didn't seek out the last fifteen minutes.  (It's not worth the commercials I'd have to sit through to watch On Demand).

[Mr. Sparkle]

I agree, the live segment was better than the animated segment. 

[Marley]

I liked the episodes but how could Junior not know any of this stuff already.

[Court]

5 hours ago, Marley said:

I liked the episodes but how could Junior not know any of this stuff already.

Agreed. I was taught some of it in school. 

[readster]

19 minutes ago, Court said:

Agreed. I was taught some of it in school. 

Junior, learn something? Nah, remember, he has to be so oblivious at times he thought when Jack told him that Devonte ordered the bouncy house, he actually believed him. 

[andromeda331]

I liked the first episode better then the second episode. Except for Charlie of course. He's always awesome. I love his answer being illuminati. Of course it is. And he ended up getting credit for it since it. 

[bybrandy]

I have so little patience left for Dre.  Wining about being an essential worker when clearly he's not and all that cliched ad speak.  i mean that part should have been pretty funny because that is what those pandemic inspired ads sound like but I fin them sort of crass on television and not funny in this episode.  Maybe if the kids had pointed out that using the pandemic to sell mayonaise was a little crass?   

Jr and his girflriend seemed like a very real 2020 plot.  Kid thinks he's being careful and she's being careful and so it is fine and not informing the rest of the family that he's put them at risk because you don't really know how careful she's being.  I mean he's 20-ish this is the time you make those choices and it felt real but again maybe too real to be funny?  

Dianne at virtual school should be a hoot going forward though, I think.  And clearly Charlie is going to get caught doing something weird but not Toobin-ish on a zoom call.   

 

So I guess the pandemic has a chance of providing goo stories.  Or maybe I'm just too in it to be amused by it.   While I know lots of people aren't taking it seriously (especially in my red district in my red state) I'm a caretaker for an elderly parent with COPD so I have to take it seriously.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Was there a continuity problem? One moment Ruby and Pops were sitting on the couch separated by a pillow between them, and the next shot had them sitting right next to each other, touching. Then next they were separated by the pillow again. Odd.

Of course Stevens is running a slave plantation in FL. In 2020.

It'll be interesting to see how they make this work for the whole season. I hope every precaution is being taken to protect the cast and crew.

[Empress1]

2 hours ago, bybrandy said:

Wining about being an essential worker when clearly he's not and all that cliched ad speak.

He's lucky he's still working. Advertising budgets are often cut in a recession. I guess he's high enough up the ladder that he might not have to worry about layoffs, but it would be realistic for those Zoom calls to include conversations about laying people off because this or that client scaled back their ad buy, or they lost the client altogether.

[DanaK]

In reality, Rainbow would probably be staying in a separate part of the house away from the family so she wouldn't chance infecting them

I continue to tire of Dre's constant whining

It's going to be interesting having these various comedies incorporating Covid and still managing to be funny

[andromeda331]

I loved everything Rainbow said to Junior at the end. It was so well said. Junior acting like he got it throughout the episode but really he didn't. He wasn't seeing what Rainbow was.  I did like his answers when Dre was being annoying asking what he wished for. Him wishing for a vaccine, universal health coverage among other things. Good for you Junior on that one.

Dre ticked me off again trying to act like an essential worker when he wasn't. 

I love Rainbow and her doctor friends saying how tired they were of pizza. The one saying she'd rather have help with her college debt. That would be helpful. 

Edited October 22, 2020 by andromeda331

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

In reality, Rainbow would probably be staying in a separate part of the house away from the family so she wouldn't chance infecting them

Yep - she should take the guest house back from Pops. If he and Ruby are together, he can stay in her room.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, Empress1 said:

5 hours ago, bybrandy said:

Wining about being an essential worker when clearly he's not and all that cliched ad speak.

He's lucky he's still working. Advertising budgets are often cut in a recession. I guess he's high enough up the ladder that he might not have to worry about layoffs, but it would be realistic for those Zoom calls to include conversations about laying people off because this or that client scaled back their ad buy, or they lost the client altogether.

There are so many more places to advertise these days, now that all eyes are focusing on the web. You need somebody young and in touch with the internet to show these large established Advertising companies how to become involved with e-sports, product placements in video games, influencer sponsorships, ect. I was surprised that Junior wasn't selected to find that hidden revenue to keep the company afloat and that he would be considered to be a more essential worker than Dre was. That would have totally pissed Dre off.

[tennisgurl]

Interesting seeing TV starting to come back and sort of inevitably having to deal with covid in their plot lines. This show would especially have to deal with it considering Bow is a doctor, and I think they did a pretty good job balancing the drama and the comedy. I especially liked Bow and the other doctors complaining about getting pizza all of the time and nothing else. You know shit has gotten real when Bow only brags a little bit about being a heroic doctor. 

Dre on the other hand, does what Dre does best, whining and making everything about him. I did find it really amusing that, as Dre made his generic covid commercials to prove how "essential" he is, eventually realizing that he was just speaking in trite soundbites instead of saying anything actually meaningful, all of the commercials in between the episode were pretty much exactly like the ones that Dre was making. 

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by tennisgurl

[GiandujaPie]

I really liked this episode and felt it captured the feeling of what many families are dealing with during COVID. I think Junior wanting to spend time with his new girlfriend was realistic for a young adult his age but I’m glad Bow let him know why they need to be so careful. I think there’s still a lot of funny situations from the lockdown that can be mined for future episodes - zoom meeting mishaps, distance learning, lack of toilet paper, etc...I’m curious why they didn’t include Zoey considering all colleges especially in California sent the students home in the spring. Maybe we’ll find out in subsequent episodes. All in all, I thought this episode was pretty funny and handled the pandemic well.

[paulvdb]

32 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

This show would especially have to deal with it considering Bow is a nurse

She's actually a doctor (anesthesiologist).

11 minutes ago, GiandujaPie said:

I’m curious why they didn’t include Zoey considering all colleges especially in California sent the students home in the spring.

In universe? No idea. In real life? Because she is the lead on her on show and would be busy filming that. So she doesn't have time to also be on this show.

[tennisgurl]

30 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

She's actually a doctor (anesthesiologist).

 

"Now your talking like dentists."

Edited October 23, 2020 by tennisgurl

[joanne3482]

I confess, when I first read the plot about someone secretly breaking quarantine rules, I assumed it would be Dre. I was pleasantly surprised it wasn't. 

[Gothish520]

6 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Interesting seeing TV starting to come and sort of inevitably having to deal with covid in their plot lines. This show would especially have to deal with it considering Bow is a doctor, and I think they did a pretty good job balancing the drama and the comedy. I especially liked Bow and the other doctors complaining about getting pizza all of the time and nothing else. You know shit has gotten real when Bow only brags a little bit about being a heroic doctor. 

Dre on the other hand, does what Dre does best, whining and making everything about him. I did find it really amusing that, as Dre made his generic covid commercials to prove how "essential" he is, eventually realizing that he was just speaking in trite soundbites instead of saying anything actually meaningful, all of the commercials in between the episode were pretty much exactly like the ones that Dre was making. 

 

 

6 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

I really liked this episode and felt it captured the feeling of what many families are dealing with during COVID. I think Junior wanting to spend time with his new girlfriend was realistic for a young adult his age but I’m glad Bow let him know why they need to be so careful. I think there’s still a lot of funny situations from the lockdown that can be mined for future episodes - zoom meeting mishaps, distance learning, lack of toilet paper, etc...I’m curious why they didn’t include Zoey considering all colleges especially in California sent the students home in the spring. Maybe we’ll find out in subsequent episodes. All in all, I thought this episode was pretty funny and handled the pandemic well.

I enjoyed this episode a lot.

Dre wouldn't be Dre if he didn't act that way, but he comes around eventually, lol. I actually thought his hand lotion commercial was pretty good, probably because it does sound like a real commercial. But yeah, no Dre, you aren't an essential worker! 😄

Bow's speech to Junior made me tear up. We are experiencing an uptick in my neck of the woods, and people seem to be getting more lax about masks and distancing, which is stressing me out. This whole thing has shown an ugly side of humanity, a selfish and thoughtless one, and it is infuriating. If people want to socialize outside of their bubble, and risk going to gyms and restaurants and have big parties, fine, whatever - all I'm asking is that you wear your freaking mask properly while in public places, and these inconsiderate jackwads can't even manage that.

On a somewhat lighter note, boy could I relate to Bow and Junior spying on the neighbors and freaking out about their behavior - been there, done that, lol!

[readster]

10 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

 

I enjoyed this episode a lot.

Dre wouldn't be Dre if he didn't act that way, but he comes around eventually, lol. I actually thought his hand lotion commercial was pretty good, probably because it does sound like a real commercial. But yeah, no Dre, you aren't an essential worker! 😄

Bow's speech to Junior made me tear up. We are experiencing an uptick in my neck of the woods, and people seem to be getting more lax about masks and distancing, which is stressing me out. This whole thing has shown an ugly side of humanity, a selfish and thoughtless one, and it is infuriating. If people want to socialize outside of their bubble, and risk going to gyms and restaurants and have big parties, fine, whatever - all I'm asking is that you wear your freaking mask properly while in public places, and these inconsiderate jackwads can't even manage that.

On a somewhat lighter note, boy could I relate to Bow and Junior spying on the neighbors and freaking out about their behavior - been there, done that, lol!

Right, even with Dre's big baby acting like ALWAYS, it was still who Dre is. Same with the situation between Junior and Bow, that was very realistic and telling of everything happening. It was like post 9/11 where people just wanted to go to the point: "Enough with the damn extra security and taking off my shoes. I just want to be normal and screw it if someone really is about to do something horrible, it's about me!" Though even at this point in time, where Bow at the hospital tiredness was very realistic, seriously, she should work for another hospital, because they treat her like shit when she has had a successful career and even saved their asses at time. 

[needschocolate]

I thought Bow's speech to Junior was very good, but then the message got lost in the hospital scenes because Bow didn't take Covid very seriously - eating lunch at the same table with co-workers, having her mask down while the patient was leaving the hospital, even though the patient was wheeled right past her and she was standing next to other people.  She pulled it back up before she went back to work, but being inside doesn't make it okay to take off your mask if you are that close to other people.  

 

[Gothish520]

5 hours ago, needschocolate said:

I thought Bow's speech to Junior was very good, but then the message got lost in the hospital scenes because Bow didn't take Covid very seriously - eating lunch at the same table with co-workers, having her mask down while the patient was leaving the hospital, even though the patient was wheeled right past her and she was standing next to other people.  She pulled it back up before she went back to work, but being inside doesn't make it okay to take off your mask if you are that close to other people.  

 

The only thing I can figure is that she thought it was ok because they were outside. I still wouldn't personally feel comfortable without a mask though.

There seems to be a thought process that because I work with you and know you, then you must be safe. I see it at workplaces all the time, including my own. People hanging out in the back offices with masks down, only pulling them up on the salesfloor or if someone gets very close. Well, that's nice, but what about all the germs you have just been breathing into the air, in this small office? It's like people just don't get it, or don't care. 

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

I see it at workplaces all the time, including my own. People hanging out in the back offices with masks down, only pulling them up on the salesfloor or if someone gets very close.

I saw that in a clinic.  They weren't with patients.  It was probably some kind of admin area, like billing, and there were three people in a room with their masks down. 

I do think it had to do with them being outside. And I do think they were seated at a rather large table so they were farther apart than I think it might have seemed based on the camera angles.

 

[Giuseppe]

It was fun seeing that Bow's lunch companions were Neela and Carla from ER and Scrubs, haha!

[SoMuchTV]

23 minutes ago, Giuseppe said:

It was fun seeing that Bow's lunch companions were Neela and Carla from ER and Scrubs, haha!

Whoa! I recognized Carla but not Neela! 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 10/23/2020 at 1:01 PM, GiandujaPie said:

I’m curious why they didn’t include Zoey considering all colleges especially in California sent the students home in the spring. Maybe we’ll find out in subsequent episodes. All in all, I thought this episode was pretty funny and handled the pandemic well.

Realistically, it's probably because Zoey and her friends signed a yearlong lease on that house. There's no way in hell that house they were living in was regular campus housing and when you live off campus, a lot of landlords in college areas require a yearlong (12 month) lease, meaning that you are paying for that house whether you go home for summer vacation or not. If the rent is already paid, you might as well keep living there. On top of that, if Zoey came home then she should quarantine for two weeks first and I don't know where she would do that. Aren't they out of bedrooms in the house now?

[Bronzedog]

Where was the baby/toddler?  Did I miss him?

 

[Irlandesa]

There were some moments I loved from tonight and they were surprisingly both from Dre.  First was his frustration over not getting the brand of cookies he wanted from the grocery store pickup or delivery. I've appreciated being able to get groceries picked up but there have definitely been times where I've been surprised by what they chose to substitute with--notably once I got salmon instead of a white fish.  Not a substitution I'd make but okay....luckily I do like salmon.

The other moment was more of a nostalgic moment when he talked about his "proprietary" time schedule with the kids starting work at 1:45 like when TBS used to start their shows at five after the hour.  I guess I never realized that it went away or when it went away but I definitely remember when it existed.  It used to screw up my recordings if I was recording something on TBS and then wanted to record something an hour later.  I had to either cut off the ending of one show or start the other show late.

[Marley]

Meh I didn’t like the episode that much. Kind of boring.

Why is Junior being in love this huge thing? I feel like he’d be the type to always fall in love. When did he meet this girl anyways? I feel like I missed something.

[readster]

3 hours ago, Marley said:

 

Why is Junior being in love this huge thing? I feel like he’d be the type to always fall in love. When did he meet this girl anyways? I feel like I missed something.

Apparently, the writers got bored with "Junior needs to find himself." Now, he is stuck with Skye the twin sister of the woman he originally was "in love with" and honestly they both come across as morons, not people who are just young and "think they are in love". Once again, where is Demonte? You know kid #5 writers, you said was so IMPORTANT to put in the show. I mean the kid is almost 4 now, find a kid actor who can act or do like they did on the Connors and basically just rewrite history that Jerry and Andy don't exist anymore.

[marymon]

Where these first 2 episodes switched in order they should have aired?

[txhorns79]

2 hours ago, marymon said:

Where these first 2 episodes switched in order they should have aired?

I was wondering that too.  It felt like the events of this episode happened before the events of last week's episode, particularly with Bow's interactions with Olivia. 

[JayD83]

After the second episode - there is too much COVID.  I watch TV to escape so I'm out. 

[Empress1]

10 hours ago, readster said:

You know kid #5 writers, you said was so IMPORTANT to put in the show. I mean the kid is almost 4 now

Could be a good COVID plot; my best friend's kid's preschool stays having COVID outbreaks. Thankfully he's tested negative but he's had at least two tests that I know of and the school has shut down twice. (Also her elder kid in elementary school did in-person school for a week and then the district shut it all down since cases are on the rise.)

Loved that Dre's female colleague was completely unraveling - very realistic. My friends with kids are struggling. "I'm failing at everything" is a thing I have heard several of them say. It seemed like her kids were younger than Dre's (well, except Devante, but he doesn't count), so they need more supervision. It simply is not possible to work a full-time job, run a household, and home-school your kids all at the same time, AND manage the trauma we all, including kids, are living through.

[readster]

29 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Could be a good COVID plot; my best friend's kid's preschool stays having COVID outbreaks. Thankfully he's tested negative but he's had at least two tests that I know of and the school has shut down twice. (Also her elder kid in elementary school did in-person school for a week and then the district shut it all down since cases are on the rise.)

 

Hate to say it, but I think you are thinking more higher of the writers if they would do that. If they don't say in the next few episodes it was the classic: "Oh yeah, they have a fifth kid." forgetfulness. 

[DanaK]

I give the show a pass on showing the baby/toddler given the pandemic. The parents may not want to risk the child's health or the producers may think the safety protocols might be too much to deal with a baby

[GiandujaPie]

On 10/28/2020 at 8:46 PM, Bronzedog said:

Where was the baby/toddler?  Did I miss him?

 

I wish they’d explain this too. There was a throwaway line from Junior about him watching the baby but it wasn’t elaborated on. Too bad they didn’t just explain this away by having Bow take the kid to a daycare for first responders. 

22 hours ago, JayD83 said:

After the second episode - there is too much COVID.  I watch TV to escape so I'm out. 

I think there is still a lot that could be funny about Covid. I feel like it’s the one way to deal with the stress and fatigue of this by poking fun at it. If they didn’t have it be a factor in their stories, it wouldn’t ring true. You can’t just act like it doesn’t exist. 
 

I’m still hoping they have an episode where they have someone stressing about the toilet paper shortage. I remember those days and while I remember thinking how absurd it was that I was stressing about it, I really was stressed about it! My husband thought I was crazy. 

[Empress1]

2 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

I’m still hoping they have an episode where they have someone stressing about the toilet paper shortage. I remember those days and while I remember thinking how absurd it was that I was stressing about it, I really was stressed about it! My husband thought I was crazy. 

Ha, I never stressed about toilet paper. For one, I already had a surplus and some paper towels in March when things started getting crazy, and second, not to put too fine a point on it, but you can wipe with anything. What stressed me out was the lack of food - entire grocery aisles empty. (I think some research about what different areas ran out of first would be fascinating.)

2 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

If they didn’t have it be a factor in their stories, it wouldn’t ring true. You can’t just act like it doesn’t exist. 

Especially since Bow is a doctor. Having her go to work every day and not acknowledge COVID would be really weird.

[readster]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

 

Especially since Bow is a doctor. Having her go to work every day and not acknowledge COVID would be really weird.

Right love or hate Grey's, that show takes place in a hospital , same with the Good Doctor. Had to on the Connors. Unlike shows like: Supergirl, Stargirl, The Goldbergs, This is Us or a cartoon series. They can skate over it by being fantasy, animation or set in a different time periods.

[Irlandesa]

And I think Blackish can kind of walk the line.  They've had some COVID related episodes but, given that it's about a family, they can just sort of have it be in the background.  They can create stories about having to be around each other all the time.  Or Dre having to do zoom meetings.  But they don't have to focus on Bow's job all the time as the season goes on.

[readster]

6 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

And I think Blackish can kind of walk the line.  They've had some COVID related episodes but, given that it's about a family, they can just sort of have it be in the background.  They can create stories about having to be around each other all the time.  Or Dre having to do zoom meetings.  But they don't have to focus on Bow's job all the time as the season goes on.

Right and sadly when they do focus on Bow's job, you get the same story over and over again: "Oh Bow, you are not a real doctor and busted your ass to get to this place in life. You might as be a CNA, we are REAL doctors." Kind of like Dre's company, at what point are they going to put themselves in bankruptcy? These guys have shown how they got on top was being friends with someone with money and Forest Gumped their way ever since. 

[tennisgurl]

I think that there is a decent amount of comedy to be found in quarantine and everything surrounding it, and this show at its best is really good at mixing drama and topical things with comedy...when its at its best anyway. This episode was pretty good, you can tell the show is trying to figure itself out for the pandemic, although I wonder if they are going to go hard on pandemic stuff for a few weeks, and then kind of move into others plots. They can do stuff just with the family pretty easily, this might actually be a decent time to do one of their fantasy theme episodes, so that it would just be the family in a small setting, and wouldn't have to feel the need to do pandemic stuff.  

You can totally see Dre being one of the people stuffing their trunks full of toilet paper. Dre is a mess at the best of times, but with a pandemic? Running around like a chicken with his head cut off. 

[HyeChaps]

Superstore is handling pandemic story lines very well.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Bow trying to be galpals with Junior's girlfriend probably isn't going to end well, for Bow or Junior. They can be friendly but I think  Bow needs to respect Junior's boundaries. What if he and the girl have a disagreement? Is Bow going to take sides?

[readster]

15 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Bow trying to be galpals with Junior's girlfriend probably isn't going to end well, for Bow or Junior. They can be friendly but I think  Bow needs to respect Junior's boundaries. What if he and the girl have a disagreement? Is Bow going to take sides?

Right and that is a constant problem. I mean you want your son/daughter dating half to be liked and have a good relationship with them. Especially, if things go south or times there are arguments/disagreements. HOWEVER... yeah in this case, I'm wondering if the writers are planting that seed. Let's face it, if Dre and Bow had a choice, they dump either Junior and Zoey or Diane to the wolves and make a run for it. 

[anna0852]

Usually I feel like Junior is unfairly targeted by his family but this time I was ready to smack him. Bow is a doctor, working in a hospital during a pandemic and every molecule of her energy is going towards that and her family. Not having the bandwith to get on a Zoom call with her son's girlfriend is not worthy of the tantrum Junior threw.

I'm glad there including Covid in the story line.1st, it would be weird to ignore it simply because it is overwhelmingly present in our world and this show clearly takes place in the present and 2nd, it's safer for the actors. No one has to explain why they're positioned far apart from each other or why they're seen wearing masks or the reduction in crowd scenes and extras.