S01.E01: Pilot

[peachmangosteen]

Quote

TBA

Airs December 7th. 

[irisheyes]

Ok, I’ll be first. I loved it. The principal is way over the top, but everything else is pretty realistic. I’ve had students who I just let sleep because I know school is the only place they feel safe. That part made me cry cause it’s just so true. 
 

Probably the most realistic school show I’ve ever seen. 

[Irlandesa]

The mockumentary is such a tired sitcom concept/format at this point. Most of the time, it's just a lazy way to not have to tell a joke.  Modern Family was especially bad at it.  Character X says something in a scene.  Then, in a voice over, the same character contradicts what they just said in a "truth telling" scenario.

In this case, it was eerily evocative of The Office to me in the style (mockumentary) and the tropes--incompetent boss, people with crushes. 

I think the show would be better if they ditched that style and just told stories about the school.

Nice to see Brady from Looking here, though. 

I may try out another episode or two but again, I'm so tired of mockumentaries.

[Amethyst]

I've been a fan of Quinta Brunson since Buzzfeed, and I'm glad to see her doing so well.  I'm guessing this is why she wasn't in the second season of A Black Lady Sketch Show.

Good pilot.  Ava (the principal) is an appropriate villain, but what really got me was that she kept that poor kid from going to lunch just to have her petty "team meeting."  

 

[Minneapple]

Loved all the Philadelphia references (I live in Philly). And the casting is phenomenal. I loved "I am Barbara Howard. Woman of God." And the principal is a good villain. Also I cannot believe the kid from Everybody Hates Chris is all grown up. I'm so old.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I really enjoyed this pilot.  It was funny.  Tyler James Williams was wonderful.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I thought it was a great pilot and that Quinta Brunson was great. I couldn't figure out, though, why both the female and the male teachers took their respective students into the same multiperson bathroom. I don't think that Philly elementary schools are that modern. Also, the "white guy" ally is a trope, but a funny one.

Edited December 9, 2021 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Empress1]

9 hours ago, Minneapple said:

Loved all the Philadelphia references (I live in Philly). And the casting is phenomenal. I loved "I am Barbara Howard. Woman of God."

Miss Howard is my favorite so far. Sheryl Lee Ralph is alway good. Love that Janine is kind of obsessed with her. And I grew up in Philly (as did Quinta Brunson) so it’s fun to see the Philly references.

The principal gleefully proclaiming that she blackmailed her way into the job cracked me up.

[DanaK]

I thought this was enjoyable over all and somewhat funny and somewhat sad

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

Sheryl Lee Ralph is alway good.

I forgot to mention her as she was a stand out for me too.  Just so good.

[Constant Viewer]

21 hours ago, Minneapple said:

Also I cannot believe the kid from Everybody Hates Chris is all grown up. I'm so old.

That's who that was? I didn't even recognize him!

I enjoyed the show. Are there any other educators watching?

[BusyOctober]

My sister is an asst principal at very poor, very diverse, inner city K-8 public school.  Some of the stories she tells about the students and their home life are heartbreaking.  This show had a lot of hard truth about public education, and the students who are most certainly being “left behind” because of decrepit buildings, lousy food quality, lack of funds, and not enough teachers or programs to handle all the trauma kids bring to school everyday.  That was especially true when the veteran teacher listed all the job titles we expect teachers to hold…therapist, counselor, substitute parent.

 But, it also managed to be pretty funny as well.  I will keep watching. I like all of the actors and the format works for me.

[marymon]

On 12/7/2021 at 9:16 PM, irisheyes said:

Ok, I’ll be first. I loved it. The principal is way over the top, but everything else is pretty realistic. I’ve had students who I just let sleep because I know school is the only place they feel safe. That part made me cry cause it’s just so true. 
 

Probably the most realistic school show I’ve ever seen. 

It was pretty realistic but with one glaring exception all the teachers all going off campus for lunch.

[Constant Viewer]

12 minutes ago, marymon said:

It was pretty realistic but with one glaring exception all the teachers all going off campus for lunch.

If you teach secondary and have lunch period off sometimes you can sneak through a drive through, but otherwise you never get to eat off campus except for inservice days.

 

[mehtotheworld]

I effing loved the principal. Just my favorite brand of unapologetically narcissistic and ridiculous. I cackled at almost every one of her lines. 

I remember Quinta from Buzzfeed, she was definitely one of my favorites so it makes me super happy that she's on tv. Her reaction face has always been top notch, and she plays the wide eyed optimist so well. 

I really loved the premiere, but I refuse to accept that Tyler James Williams is grown up and has abs. 

Edited December 9, 2021 by mehtotheworld

[possibilities]

All the teachers of that age group that I know are drilled in NEVER leaving the classroom without another adult there to watch them, no matter how important or urgent the reason to leave may be. So, Our Hero constantly being shown in the hallway or elsewhere while her kids were wilding out unsupervised was the other unrealistic thing. But, as unrealistic things on TV go, it's hardly the most egregious.

[auntiemel]

2 hours ago, marymon said:

It was pretty realistic but with one glaring exception all the teachers all going off campus for lunch.

I taught at an urban school on a really crowded block, and there were 5 or 6 little delis and corner stores and other places where you could buy a sandwich within a two minute walk. We used to buy salads or soup or sandwiches, etc and bring them back to the staff room or our classrooms. I don't remember ever eating at the place, though! 🙂

[QQQQ]

It had the same vibe as Trial & Error (which I loved). The main teacher (Janine) even reminded me of Josh, Trial & Error's lead.

[tennisgurl]

Loved the pilot, they have a great cast and the principle seems like she'll be a fun villain. She super over the top but that can work in a show like this. Its funny but also deals with some real things.

I felt bad for the little girl who missed lunch because Ava dragged her into her petty "team work" meeting. And the poor kid sleeping in the classroom. 

[Giuseppe]

The commercials for this didn't look too promising to me, and I'm sick of that annoying song they use in all the promos, so I was kinda hoping I wouldn't like this because I really don't need any more shows to watch, but I totally did. It was pretty solid as far as pilots go and I wasn't expecting to laugh out loud several times. 

I actually thought Tyler James Williams was a bit of a weak link, though...I get he's sorta supposed to be the straight man here, but still his energy didn't seem to match the rest of the cast. His reactions to everything seemed more serious WTF than comical WTF, if you get what I mean. 

[meatball77]

A teacher would never go into a bathroom with a student.  But, it worked for the joke so I'm ok with it.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 12/14/2021 at 10:17 PM, meatball77 said:

A teacher would never go into a bathroom with a student.  But, it worked for the joke so I'm ok with it.

Yes, I feel like they would take the student to the school nurse.

[irisheyes]

20 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Yes, I feel like they would take the student to the school nurse.

School nurses are usually one of the first thing cut when budgets dry up. 

[DanaMB]

On 12/8/2021 at 11:43 PM, marymon said:

It was pretty realistic but with one glaring exception all the teachers all going off campus for lunch.

And someone studying to be a principal and being a sub while they wait to get hired. 
 

The part about the student sleeping on the carpet made me tear up, too. 

Edited December 23, 2021 by DanaMB

[Constant Viewer]

1 hour ago, DanaMB said:

And someone studying to be a principal and being a sub while they wait to get hired. 

Yeah I thought that was weird as well. In our state you have to teach a minimum amount of years before becoming a principal.

[Nilo]

On 12/8/2021 at 5:49 PM, Constant Viewer said:

That's who that was? I didn't even recognize him!

I enjoyed the show. Are there any other educators watching?

Yep - year 30 now.  Definitely related to both Janine and Barbara.  I’ve had the kids I let sleep in class - for a variety of reasons.  Yes, the principal was  a bit over the top, but I definitely have had my share of principals who kept their jobs longer than they should have and who did questionable things with building funds.  

[Crashcourse]

I saw this for the first time last night and I really enjoyed it.  Even though I didn't know the other actors, it was nice to see Sheryl Lee Ralph and a grown up Tyler James Williams.  I'll definitely keep watching.

[Bookish Jen]

1 hour ago, Crashcourse said:

I saw this for the first time last night and I really enjoyed it.  Even though I didn't know the other actors, it was nice to see Sheryl Lee Ralph and a grown up Tyler James Williams.  I'll definitely keep watching.

I saw it for the first time last night, too. And though it was rough in spots like pilots often are. I'm going to keep watching it. I work in education (as an educational purchaser) and I have taught children (Sunday School), so I could relate to both the silly and the sad.

[Kip Hackman]

On 12/7/2021 at 11:39 PM, Minneapple said:

I cannot believe the kid from Everybody Hates Chris is all grown up. I'm so old.

I never watched "Everybody Hates Chris", so I was racking my brain, trying to figure out where I'd seen him before.

Turns out it was "Go On" (which I loved).  Thanks, IMDB.

[Constant Viewer]

10 hours ago, Kip Hackman said:

On 12/7/2021 at 10:39 PM, Minneapple said:

I cannot believe the kid from Everybody Hates Chris is all grown up. I'm so old.

I never watched "Everybody Hates Chris", so I was racking my brain, trying to figure out where I'd seen him before.

Turns out it was "Go On" (which I loved).  Thanks, IMDB.

I loved Go on too, but forgot he was on the show.

[Catfi9ht]

Great pilot. I thought it was just okay until the carpet story line wrapped up. It was heartfelt, clever, and a smart callback to earlier in the episode.

Randall Einhorn, who directed alot of The Office (US) episodes, is an executive producer and director on this and you could definitely see the influence.

The cast is excellent and have good chemistry already. I'm off to binge the rest of them.

[Leeds]

I was looking forward to this but, once again, the pretentious pseudo-documentary handheld camera work makes me nauseous.

[JeanJean]

On 12/7/2021 at 11:07 PM, Irlandesa said:

The mockumentary is such a tired sitcom concept/format at this point. Most of the time, it's just a lazy way to not have to tell a joke.  Modern Family was especially bad at it.  Character X says something in a scene.  Then, in a voice over, the same character contradicts what they just said in a "truth telling" scenario.

In this case, it was eerily evocative of The Office to me in the style (mockumentary) and the tropes--incompetent boss, people with crushes. 

I think the show would be better if they ditched that style and just told stories about the school.

Nice to see Brady from Looking here, though. 

I may try out another episode or two but again, I'm so tired of mockumentaries.

I thought that at first but now I'm fine with it in this series. I do hope it's one of the last in mock-umentary style, though. 

Edited January 28, 2022 by JeanJean

[mansonlamps]

I loved it,  maybe I haven't watched as many mockumentary shows as most.   The lead actress is an absolute gem. 

[SmithW6079]

The janitor writing on the chalkboard and telling a bunch of elementary school students that the Illuminati run the world made me laugh out loud.

Edited February 6, 2022 by SmithW6079

[Milburn Stone]

On 12/7/2021 at 10:07 PM, Irlandesa said:

The mockumentary is such a tired sitcom concept/format at this point.

Couldn't agree more. It's a shame, really, that the show made the poor decision to go that direction, because otherwise it has a lot of merit and potential. Every time they go to a look-to-camera," I'm going, "really? really??"

Am I allowed to link to a podcast? The smart, funny duo at Streamageddon love the show and have interesting things to say about it.

http://streamageddon.com/episode/efb81dea/abbott-elementary

[dmmetler]

As a former Memphis City teacher, this is almost too true to be funny. From the lack of budget, to principal promoted due to nepotism and completely incompetent, to the experienced teacher who can make the entire school quiet down with a look, while new teachers struggle, to the guy who is on the administrator track (we got quite a few who taught only long enough to get the minimum experience and were promoted above long time women who had spent years in the classroom as as assistant principal).

 

And yes, the kids who sleep at school because it’s safe, teachers who are spending their own money to outfit their classrooms, books that stopped about the time you graduated high school, if you were lucky, and that you spend far more time on meeting basic needs than actually teaching.  

I’m on Spring Break, so I finally have time to catch up on streaming. 

 

 

 

[Annber03]

Catching up before the new season starts and getting a chance to comment on the episodes as I do a rewatch...

On 12/9/2021 at 8:00 AM, QQQQ said:

It had the same vibe as Trial & Error (which I loved). The main teacher (Janine) even reminded me of Josh, Trial & Error's lead.

I got that vibe, too. And I also loved "Trial & Error", so yeah, that comparison definitely helps :D. I can see why some might find the mockumentary concept tired in and of itself, but I do like the way they're utilizing it here. 

I really liked Janine's determination to try and get a new rug for her students, and the explanation of why such things were so important. The student sleeping at school broke my heart :(. I really like the way this show is balancing the funny stuff with the more serious look at the struggles many schools deal with. And the cast plays quite nicely off each other, too :). They feel like lived in characters/people already. 

[Goldfish77]

On 3/12/2022 at 10:13 AM, dmmetler said:

As a former Memphis City teacher, this is almost too true to be funny. From the lack of budget, to principal promoted due to nepotism and completely incompetent, to the experienced teacher who can make the entire school quiet down with a look, while new teachers struggle, to the guy who is on the administrator track (we got quite a few who taught only long enough to get the minimum experience and were promoted above long time women who had spent years in the classroom as as assistant principal).

And yes, the kids who sleep at school because it’s safe, teachers who are spending their own money to outfit their classrooms, books that stopped about the time you graduated high school, if you were lucky, and that you spend far more time on meeting basic needs than actually teaching.  

I’m on Spring Break, so I finally have time to catch up on streaming. 

I am really late to watching this show but as long time veteran middle school teacher, I am very hesitant to watching any shows about education.  This show is so spot on to teaching in a low income district that I am willing to suspend belief about lunches and bathrooms.  I have certainly worked with everyone of those characters!