S01.E01: Pilot

[shapeshifter]

I tuned in because yesterday I saw an ad for it with Amy Pond/Karen Gillan, and was pleasantly surprised to see John Cho too.

I don't watch too many comedies, and rarely laugh when I do, and now I'm sure I must just be differently wired for humor because...

Ewww -- not one but two really full spilled bags of vomit all over the floor of the plane.

...I really did LOL at this. Edited October 1, 2014 by shapeshifter

[mehtotheworld]

Well, I'm in! I really enjoyed it. I don't know exactly know why, but I straight up cackled when one of the makeunder girls busted out a ukulele. I'm obviously too easy a mark for these kinds of shows.

 

One thing about the cat, where was it stated/implied that she killed it through neglect? The only thing I caught about the cat was that the makeunder girls finally threw out the kitty litter box a whopping six months after the cat died. I think killing a cat is a little more dark than this show is prepared to go...

[cynic]

I think it's weird that they released the pilot early and then made a bunch of changes to it for the actual airing. Eh, neither version was great, but I preferred the first one.

As others have said, it was better than I was expecting from the commercials and I do love me some John Cho, so I'm willing to give it some time.

[Kromm]

I wasn't a fan of the changes they made. :(

They changed the beginning and completely reshot the end. I liked it better before.

From the version that aired online?  Really?

 

Spare us the rewatch if you can.  What exactly WERE these changes?

Edited October 1, 2014 by Kromm

[twoods]

I liked it- the chemistry between the leads were good and there was some funny stuff. The article on the kissing Koreans cracked me up, as did the vomit bags.

[kimberella]

John Cho brought me here!

The previews made this look much worse than it really was. I liked it for the most part and I think the leads are very charming. They have very good chemistry together.

[Whimsy]

There were a lot of changes. 

 

• They cut out a bit of dialogue (rhyming) about what Eliza had "done" to herself to make herself "better".  I liked it. 
• They cut a line in the airplane "lav" from the stewardess after Eliza asking what the stewardess would've done and they panned Eliza's body, the stewardes says "whatever you're doing, what is it [some sort of exercise here], I wouldn't change a thing" or something to that effect.  It actually made the pan of her body make a whole lot more sense instead of being gratuitous.
• They cut Charmonique's first interaction with Eliza that I actually really loved, both for Eliza and Charmonique's reaction. 
• They cut some of the dialogue in the office when she is asking for Henry's help (quite a bit, I think) and a funny line about Gwenyth Paltrow
• They cut a montage of Henry working with Eliza and "training" her.  They cut the part when Henry asked Eliza something about her favorite... something and she sounded all deep and poetic and said "the sound of rain on roof with spillage into gutter" or something- which made the end make a lot more sense- and Henry's original reaction of being surprised at how "deep" Eliza was until she said she had an app
• They cut a line that I particularly loved from Henry calling Eliza's purse "wee"
• They cut some dialogue from the wedding- Eliza asking why the bride would be a bagel or some such.  There was more interruptions during the wedding than they showed
• They completely reshot the scene with Eliza meeting Charmonique's son.  I liked the other version better.  I think they changed it because Eliza was too nice too fast.  But there was a funny bit about Batman's Bane sounding like some character (I can't remember and they took that version off of Hulu).
• They completely reshot the end- again I think they thought maybe they had come too far too fast but I still liked it.  Eliza pushes Henry into the rain and he smiles and you realize that they are actually helping each other.

 

For a 20+ minute show- that is a LOT of changes!!  It lost something for me, but I'll stick around anyway because I love both the leads so much.

[ohjoy]

They cut a montage of Henry working with Eliza and "training" her. They cut the part when Henry asked Eliza something about her favorite... something and she sounded all deep and poetic and said "the sound of rain on roof with spillage into gutter" or something- which made the end make a lot more sense- and Henry's original reaction of being surprised at how "deep" Eliza was until she said she had an app

Wait, I turned on my tv at 8:17 and saw this part. And they still had it play into the reshot ending, with him sitting outside his door commenting on the rain instead being pushed into it.

Edited October 1, 2014 by RandomMe

[crimsongrl]

The Gwyneth bit & the rain app were in the episode last night. I was annoyed with just the one interruption at the wedding, anymore would have been overkill.

I liked it and there's nothing else on in its slot so I'll be back.

Edited October 1, 2014 by crimsongrl

[Whimsy]

I guess I missed a few things.  I wasn't paying 100% attention since I'd already watched it twice on Hulu.  Thank you for correcting me of my errors.  ;)

[90PercentGravity]

But there was a funny bit about Batman's Bane sounding like some character

 

I think it was the Pepperidge Farm guy.

[Kromm]

There were a lot of changes. 

 

• They cut out a bit of dialogue (rhyming) about what Eliza had "done" to herself to make herself "better".  I liked it. 
• They cut a line in the airplane "lav" from the stewardess after Eliza asking what the stewardess would've done and they panned Eliza's body, the stewardes says "whatever you're doing, what is it [some sort of exercise here], I wouldn't change a thing" or something to that effect.  It actually made the pan of her body make a whole lot more sense instead of being gratuitous.
• They cut Charmonique's first interaction with Eliza that I actually really loved, both for Eliza and Charmonique's reaction. 
• They cut some of the dialogue in the office when she is asking for Henry's help (quite a bit, I think) and a funny line about Gwenyth Paltrow
• They cut a montage of Henry working with Eliza and "training" her.  They cut the part when Henry asked Eliza something about her favorite... something and she sounded all deep and poetic and said "the sound of rain on roof with spillage into gutter" or something- which made the end make a lot more sense- and Henry's original reaction of being surprised at how "deep" Eliza was until she said she had an app
• They cut a line that I particularly loved from Henry calling Eliza's purse "wee"
• They cut some dialogue from the wedding- Eliza asking why the bride would be a bagel or some such.  There was more interruptions during the wedding than they showed
• They completely reshot the scene with Eliza meeting Charmonique's son.  I liked the other version better.  I think they changed it because Eliza was too nice too fast.  But there was a funny bit about Batman's Bane sounding like some character (I can't remember and they took that version off of Hulu).
• They completely reshot the end- again I think they thought maybe they had come too far too fast but I still liked it.  Eliza pushes Henry into the rain and he smiles and you realize that they are actually helping each other.

 

For a 20+ minute show- that is a LOT of changes!!  It lost something for me, but I'll stick around anyway because I love both the leads so much.

I can see possible reasons for a few of these, but most... not.  In some cases I can see why they MIGHT have done it but think its a bad idea.

 

The initial interaction with Charmonique in some ways was very brutal in how it portrayed Eliza (funny, but brutal).  I bet they feared it would REALLY turn casual viewers against her from the start.  But what suffered by removing that it some believability on how radical her eventual change should/will be.   In return for making Eliza slightly less mean, they sacrificed their long-term goal.  I can see why they changed the flip side of that scene with the son though.  That makes sense.

 

The "the sound of rain on roof with spillage into gutter" (I doubt those were the actual words, but close enough!) says to me "The Rain In Spain Is Mainly On The Plain".  Seeing how on the nose a lot of this show is with the My Fair Lady tribute moments, I don't see why this one was deemed removable.  

 

The scene at the very end... perhaps the initial version was too strongly romantic comedyish.  If that's why they changed it I might even agree.

[Neurochick]

Awful, awful, and complete with an overweight, black receptionist named....Charmonique.  So much for a "post-racial" society.  I turned it off after the first ten minutes.

[Kromm]

Awful, awful, and complete with an overweight, black receptionist named....Charmonique.  So much for a "post-racial" society.  I turned it off after the first ten minutes.

Was her race ever referenced in the episode?  I don't think so, but I admit I wasn't looking for it and might have missed it.

 

The name is indeed perhaps a bit of a stereotype, but I thought (for a change) a reasonably intelligent bit of humor was based around it.  And one that indicted the white person, Eliza, for implying there was something wrong with the name rather than making Charmonique the butt of the joke.  It's true Charmonique was overweight. And black. And a receptionist.  But the show didn't seem to play that as a big deal. She wasn't overly "sassy", for example, she seemed to be a fairly straight-forward character.  Unless the new edit changed that (I'm basing it on the earlier edit from the online version).

 

Also, the boss of the whole office was African-American, and the show's leading man Asian, so it does seem like there was some balance as well.  While neither of those things would excuse Charmonique being a horrible stereotype, if that were true... I don't know if she really was.  A marginal one at most, IMO.

[GenieinTX]

I really liked it!  It was getting such bad reviews in the press that I expected it to be bad, but i thought it was super cute.  Of course, I'm a bit biased in that I love Karen Gillian, John Cho, and My Fair Lady.

[Cherry Cola]

Cute show. It made me laugh a few times. I could have done without the barf bags breaking. That was nasty and I was eating, so gross.

[Neurochick]

Also, the boss of the whole office was African-American, and the show's leading man Asian, so it does seem like there was some balance as well.  While neither of those things would excuse Charmonique being a horrible stereotype, if that were true... I don't know if she really was.  A marginal one at most, IMO.

 

 

Sorry, but a stereotype is a stereotype.  It always gets me that whenever there is a black woman in a TV show, many times, she's heavy; as if white women women aren't heavy in the US.  

 

Besides, in six months the show will already be dated.

[AnnaRose]

Sorry, but a stereotype is a stereotype.  It always gets me that whenever there is a black woman in a TV show, many times, she's heavy; as if white women women aren't heavy in the US.  

 

I don't understand this kind of thinking.  So they shouldn't have hired this perfectly lovely actress, who did a nice job in the role, because she's overweight?

 

I had extremely low expectations but really enjoyed the pilot. (Except for the vomit scene which I hated.)

 

I liked the online version much better than the one that aired last night though.   I know they had to cut some of it for time, but I don't think they did the show any favors, especially with the new ending.  The original was much better IMO.

 

It's such a shame about the ratings.  The promos made the show look pretty terrible, so I guess it's not surprising.  A lot of people watched the pilot online though, so maybe the ratings will tick up a bit next week?  Yeah, probably not.

 

Edited October 1, 2014 by AnnaRose

[Sandman]

I gave up on Suburgatory last season, after coming close to doing so a number of times, so I wonder if Emily Kapnek's sense of humour just doesn't work for me. Or rather, her sense of how adult human beings operate. But I checked it out for Karen Gillan and John Cho, and they made it almost worth it. They do have notable chemistry, and are charming, though their characters aren't, really. 

 

Having said that, if this show manages to kill the use of the word "feels" as a noun, I will love it forever, and worship its creators unfailingly. (Haaaaaaaaaaaaate.) Thank you. As you were.

[Kromm]

Sorry, but a stereotype is a stereotype.  It always gets me that whenever there is a black woman in a TV show, many times, she's heavy; as if white women women aren't heavy in the US.  

 

Besides, in six months the show will already be dated.

Okay, but respectfully, you were willing to dismiss the entire show based on that.  Without acknowledging that it had super-diverse casting otherwise--so if someone read only your post, they'd get quite an inaccurate picture of the casting of the entire show.

 

There's certainly some major truth to your gripe that TV casts a lot of overweight black actresses. But there's also a decent argument to be made that statistically it's accurate, even if not a great aspiration to show onscreen (some studies in the past few years claim that as much as 4 out 5 African-American women may be overweight or obese--a horrifying statistic if those studies are true--but even the conservative studies where the figures are much lower have African-American women as the highest incidence of obesity of any combination of gender and race in America).  So NOT casting those women on TV might be considered sizist.

However, to be fair--there's another side of your argument. That not many overweight white women are being shown (where in reality, at bare minimum, at least 25% are).  So it's totally correct to say that's under-represented--and that lack of accuracy is it's own problem.

Edited October 1, 2014 by Kromm

[Sandman]

Not for nothing, but "I won't even charge for the name Life Choach" was funnier than anything on the actual show.

[junemeatcleaver]

I didn't think the show was very good period, the fat black woman who serves no purpose except for the annoying skinny white woman to learn life lessons from didn't help. 

 

Judging by the ratings, John Cho's and girl from Doctor Who's geek fandom cred didn't help the show at all.

[arc]

Sars was dead on:

 

The trope is the problem -- not the Eliza Doolittle thing, but rather that sitcom staple, the lead who pushes obnoxiousness and/or ineptitude past believability. You know that expression from Shaw, "When a thing is funny, search it for a grain of truth"? The inverse also holds up: when a thing is not funny, search it for a lack of credibility.

This - and I will stop harping on this at some point, hopefully - was the same thing that was the least enjoyable parts of Suburgatory for me.

 

Also this:

 

But it shouldn't rely so heavily, or really at all, on Eliza's inability to function without documenting herself for her online followers, or on the idea that social-media success and internet relationships are a priori inauthentic, not least because the show probably expects to get traction via Twitter and its FB premise but mostly because that well is going to dry up in a hurry.

Fuck the message of this show. Social media is no more the death of culture and society than dime novels were way back in the day. And even if it were, the message deserves better than tossing out references like those are complete jokes.

[iMonrey]

I thought it kind of sucked, but then again I didn't like the pilot for Suburgatory either, so maybe this one will grow on me. I do like John Cho but I don't think I laughed once the whole time I watched this. It's going to be a real problem stretching the premise for more than one season. Heck even over the course of ONE season is going to be a stretch.

[FineWashables]

Add me to the list of those surprised it didn't completely suck.  The name and the promos were so bad I almost didn't tune in, but I'm glad I did.  I like the setup of Henry using his marketing skills to rebrand a person.  I'm sure that happens in Hollywood all the time -- that's what PR is all about, after all -- but I haven't seen it done outside that situation and I'm looking forward to hearing him break down what they're going to change and what they're going to target.  I could use a little improvement myself so I'm hoping for some unexpected ideas from a marketing guru.

 

I'm all on board with Sarah Bunting's idea that they focus on remaking one character per season so that they can keep John Cho as a constant because it's impossible to believe that they can stretch one character's flaws out for the run of a show.  I very much hope they won't turn this into a romantic/sexual tension thing between Eliza and Henry because yikes, we've had plenty of that on plenty of will-they-or-won't-they plot on dozens of subpar shows.

[Kromm]

Add me to the list of those surprised it didn't completely suck.  The name and the promos were so bad I almost didn't tune in, but I'm glad I did.  I like the setup of Henry using his marketing skills to rebrand a person.  I'm sure that happens in Hollywood all the time -- that's what PR is all about, after all -- but I haven't seen it done outside that situation and I'm looking forward to hearing him break down what they're going to change and what they're going to target.  I could use a little improvement myself so I'm hoping for some unexpected ideas from a marketing guru.

 

I'm all on board with Sarah Bunting's idea that they focus on remaking one character per season so that they can keep John Cho as a constant because it's impossible to believe that they can stretch one character's flaws out for the run of a show.  I very much hope they won't turn this into a romantic/sexual tension thing between Eliza and Henry because yikes, we've had plenty of that on plenty of will-they-or-won't-they plot on dozens of subpar shows.

Actually, the way out would be to have Eliza become Henry's assistant, but add a third character who is the "makeover" for that season.

[Neurochick]

I didn't think the show was very good period, the fat black woman who serves no purpose except for the annoying skinny white woman to learn life lessons from didn't help. 

 

Judging by the ratings, John Cho's and girl from Doctor Who's geek fandom cred didn't help the show at all.

 

See, that's my problem.  As far as not hiring this actress because of her weight.  Well how about this?  Why isn't SHE the star of the show?  Why can't a show have an overweight black actress who is a fully formed character, who is loved and cherished by a man or a woman?  Why does the black woman always have to play the side-kick?  Why is it that when a black man is cast, it's okay for him to be thin, or have a girlfriend or whatever, but not so with black women?  

[Kromm]

See, that's my problem.  As far as not hiring this actress because of her weight.  Well how about this?  Why isn't SHE the star of the show?  Why can't a show have an overweight black actress who is a fully formed character, who is loved and cherished by a man or a woman?  Why does the black woman always have to play the side-kick?  Why is it that when a black man is cast, it's okay for him to be thin, or have a girlfriend or whatever, but not so with black women?  

That's certainly a good point, although I don't think it literally should be "why isn't she the star of THIS show", but rather "why hasn't a proper show been written around her".  This show's core plotline literally is "pretty on the outside, ugly on the inside", so it probably wouldn't be the right vehicle.  Mike & Molly (which I recall as being a horrible show filled with fat jokes--at least it was a few years ago) is really the only show currently airing that I know about with overweight main (vs. secondary) characters... they're white characters but it might be a blessing that they aren't black ones given how eyeroll-worthy the show is

[dr pepper]

I tuned in because yesterday I saw an ad for it with Amy Pond/Karen Gillan, and was pleasantly surprised to see John Cho too.

 

 

Likewise. I didn't know what it was before i watched. it. I liked the reinterpretation of My Fair Lady, especially the occasional forays into verse. But like some of the others, i wonder how long they can sustain the idea.

[90PercentGravity]

Random, but is John Cho's house in this the house Matthew Perry had in Go On?

[ribboninthesky1]

There's certainly some major truth to your gripe that TV casts a lot of overweight black actresses. But there's also a decent argument to be made that statistically it's accurate, even if not a great aspiration to show onscreen (some studies in the past few years claim that as much as 4 out 5 African-American women may be overweight or obese--a horrifying statistic if those studies are true--but even the conservative studies where the figures are much lower have African-American women as the highest incidence of obesity of any combination of gender and race in America).  So NOT casting those women on TV might be considered sizist.

 

Black males are 2nd in line, in terms of rates of obesity.  Yet, you rarely see that on TV.  Why isn't the black male boss hefty? (And I'm not saying he should be, but I'm asking since the fatness prevalence of black females is used as justification for Charmonique's presence).  And even with the disproportionate amount of black females considered overweight or obese, there are still MILLIONS more white men and women who are overweight or obese, just by sheer numbers.  Yet, that's not represented on TV, either.  Blacks are only 13-14% of the US population, black females specifically roughly 7.0 to 7.5%.  I can't agree that the "higher proportion of black females are overweight or obese relative to population" justifies Hollywood casting of the stereotype, over and over and over again.  This is where population statistics can be deceptive, as reporting "prevalence" stats like 80% of black females vs 63% of white females are overweight or obese (the latter of which is FAR less reported), for example, gives a different perspective than reporting numbers like 16 million black females vs 63 million white females. 

 

In any case, the character, as presented in the pilot (at least the online version I watched), is a stereotype.  That has nothing to do with the diversity of the cast. She was introduced as a vehicle for Eliza's redemption.  And to be fair, it's possible that the character will be fleshed out more, but I won't hold my breath.  I understand where Neurochick is coming from, though I just shrugged it off, as the show has more prevalent issues anyway.  Plus, mostly thanks to Shonda Rhimes, ABC is doing a hell of a lot better providing shows with black women as featured characters and/or leads, not just among networks, but mainstream TV overall. 

[truthaboutluv]

I kind of liked it. Nothing amazing and groundbreaking but cute enough. Judging by the things listed as removed from the episode aired, I'm going to assume the link I found online today was the original episode because I saw all of that.  Might also be why I really liked it since it seems a lot was removed from the episode that was aired. 

 

For all the show's issues, the two things that actually bugged me was one, as others mentioned, the barf bag. I really wish somehow shows can give a warning with these kinds of gags because some people have really weak stomachs. I guess it was my fault as I should have turned away until the airplane segment ended seeing as I was nauseous from just hearing Eliza's gagging noise. 

 

The other issue I had with the show is Eliza's wardrobe...WTF was that? Honestly, I couldn't figure out what that wardrobe had to do with the "selfie/social media generation". I am that generation and I don't many of my friends who go to work practically looking like streetwalkers. And her outfit especially stood out during the big office meeting scene where everyone looked professional and she looked well, like that. I get being narcissistic and self absorbed and whatever else but come on, I can't buy that anyone reasonably thinks those outfit were work appropriate and hell that she would get away with those outfits at work.

 

Honestly, that's what I spent most of the show thinking about and looking at, Eliza's very, very horrible and inappropriate outfits. Those fishnets, that red padded bra practically busting out of her shirt, the tight spandex looking skirt with tacky gold chains on it. Again, where is the corporate office that would be okay with these outfits?

Edited October 2, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Kromm]

Honestly, that's what I spent most of the show thinking about and looking at, Eliza's very, very horrible and inappropriate outfits. Those fishnets, that red padded bra practically busting out of her shirt, the tight spandex looking skirt with tacky gold chains on it. Again, where is the corporate office that would be okay with these outfits?

Don't be jelly!

 

 

 

 

Heh.

[Tabbyclaw]

She's a sales rep whose entire strategy is based, according to Coworker Guy Who Kinda Looks Like That One Guy From Grimm (And Who Was Totally Hitting On Henry In The Elevator), on "the magic of the miniskirt," and he says she's their best-performing one. It's her role in this clearly-ridiculous company (seriously, I am totally on board with the headcanon that it's a Veridian Dynamics offshoot) to dress for attention, and I'm sure they encourage her to stick to her "brand" both on and off social media.

[truthaboutluv]

Yeah I remember the mini-skirt joke but I still think those outfits were ludicrous. There are many ways to dress and look sexy but still be professional. Trust me, I see it all the time and hell, I'm all about a cute pair of 4-5 inch heels, a sleek pencil skirt, etc. My issue is that Eliza didn't look too sexy, she looked plain trashy at times and I couldn't buy that any respectable company would allow her to dress that way and anyone would take her seriously. It just seemed way too over the top and exaggerated which I get is part of the show's schtick but I'm not kidding when I said it took me out of the show sometimes because I just sat there thinking, "but why is she dressed like a streetwalker?"

Edited October 2, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Tabbyclaw]

The same "respectable company" that creates children's nasal spray that allegedly causes Satanic hallucinations. And where the boss starts out a meeting by planting one on a subordinate because he read somewhere that it was okay and ends it by telling said subordinate "come to my daughter's wedding, and bring a date because it's weird that you're not constantly glued to another human being."

[truthaboutluv]

Touche. Although I can't lie, the awkward boss did make me laugh, especially when he called the guy weird for never having a date at events yet thinks it's okay to practically make out with his employee. I guess the wardrobe bugged me because I didn't get it. It's like they were going for a more Paris Hilton/Simple Life-esque look but that's like 2004 and I don't think that has anything to do with the social media generation. So it just completely threw me. 

[kaygeeret]

So agree with the review posted on this site (I don't remember the reviewer, sorry).

 

Love Cho, but the concept around her character is limiting and not going to work.

 

Reminds me how much I miss "The B.... in Apt. 23" and Kristen Ritter.  That show was a better conceptual product than this one.

 

Love Cho tho' so I will stay tuned.

[johntfs]

I'm kind of iffy on this show.  I really dislike the power differential between Cho and Gillan.  He's apparently ranked somewhere up around the level of the boss or her boss's boss and she has to beg him for help.

 

Also, I kind of liked Eliza because I sort of get her.  She hit middle school and got stuck in the role of "butt."  So, she embraced all things "not butt" as self-improvement for self-defense against all the mean girls.  Now she's confused and angry because all those coping skills she spent half her life developing aren't letting her cope anymore.  Eliza Dooley doesn't seem like a person who really needs Henry Higgs to dominate her life.  She just needed someone to give her a hug, some ginger ale, a pep talk and a little advice about balancing her life a little better.

Edited October 2, 2014 by johntfs

[jhlipton]

I turned it off after the barf bags broke.  Just no.

 

I don't think Karen Gillan is "beautiful".  If you open the dictionary to "meh"...  And John Cho isn't anywhere near enough to get me to sign up for this mess.

 

Just no.

[AnnaRose]

 

I turned it off after the barf bags broke.  Just no.

 

Yeah, I almost turned it off at that point too.  I think it's pretty stupid to put something like that in a television episode, but even more so in a pilot with which you really need to capture and retain the largest audience possible.  Not a good way to win over romantic comedy fans.  My mom was planning to watch the pilot, and I had to warn her about it, hoping that if she was forewarned, she wouldn't just automatically turn it off at that point.

 

The Mindy Project had two episodes in a row their first season which included vomiting scenes.  I'm pretty sure a lot more people are put off by it (and put off the show) than the small number that find that kind of thing humorous.

 

Showrunners and writers... don't be so dumb if you want your show to stay on the air - consider your potential audience.

 

They also should have figured out a better way to promote a show like this, instead of running clips from the pilot over and over again for months.  People really get sick of those kinds of things, and the more you see it, the worse it starts to look.  Instead, they should have written some cute, original promos featuring the leads, who are very charming.

 

At least the ratings ticked up two tenths of a point though... so maybe this show isn't completely dead yet.   I'd like to see more of it.

Edited October 2, 2014 by AnnaRose

[DeLurker]

Underwhelmed.  I love John Cho and had some level of expectations because Doctor Who/Karen Gillan (by rep only, never watched any of the versions of Doctor Who), but found this pilot to be void of any charm.  Devoid of charm?  Which is the right word here?

 

I really liked Suburgatory but nothing about this seemed at all familiar.

 

I'm ancient so know nothing about social media, but I would expect someone with so many followers to be at least interesting.  She really did not say or do anything that makes me think she'd have 200,000+ people hanging on her every post.

[FurryFury]

Eh, it's usually just reblogging/retweeting the best stuff, or knowing what will appeal to the most people. You don't have to be interesting yourself to become popular. Just like in real life, I suppose :)

Edited October 2, 2014 by FurryFury

[CoolMom]

I hated the barf bags and a couple of other things but not enough to keep me from checking out a couple more episodes.  I want to see where it goes from here.

 

Also, as far as stereotyping of Charmonique.   I agree with the poster who said should they not have hired her because of her weight?  How many thin black actresses are out there doing comedy?  I know Guys with Kids had a couple but they weren't as funny as this actress at least on that show.  I thought she was awesome and hope she gets more screen time.

[KimKam]

I liked it more than I thought I would, but I watched the pilot on Hulu after watching Blackish and The Red Band Society, and this thought this was much stronger than both of those shows.  I'll be back, but it is not appointment TV for me yet. 

[Guest]

See, that's my problem.  As far as not hiring this actress because of her weight.  Well how about this?  Why isn't SHE the star of the show?  Why can't a show have an overweight black actress who is a fully formed character, who is loved and cherished by a man or a woman?  Why does the black woman always have to play the side-kick?  Why is it that when a black man is cast, it's okay for him to be thin, or have a girlfriend or whatever, but not so with black women?  

 

The Mindy Project is doing great.  She's not black but she's as much a minority, if you ask me.

 

The Charmonique joke was valid.  It's not a stereotype that black people give unique, complex names.  You can read about it in Freakonomics.

 

I laughed several times, so did my teen.  We'll stay tuned.  

 

I agree with whoever said it could do what Cougar Town did and make it past the original premise by just having a good cast and cute writing.  Or vice versa.

[Saint TV]

Well, I'll join the shocked I didn't hate it club as well as the I don't think this premise is sustainable club. I'll be back for the second episode with my fingers crossed.

[Amethyst]

Having cursory knowledge of the play and none of the film, I watched this for John Cho.  I think he deserves better, and I have no idea why I'm supposed to root for Eliza. It's not awful, but I think I'm supposed to believe Henry is a stick-in-the-mud and strange for being a loner, yet I completely agreed with his commentary on social media.  The show wants me to believe he's "antisocial," yet he had social graces that most of the (speaking part) characters didn't seem to have, save Charmonqiue.  Eliza's outburst to him at the church after her excruciatingly rude behavior pretty much soured me on the character.

 

Pretty much this.  All the trendy clothes and Facebook friends in the world can't make up for a lack of basic manners.  Being socially awkward isn't the same thing as being rude.  You don't have to be a genius to understand that pulling out your very loud smartphone during a wedding is a dumbass thing to do.  I can't blame Henry for yelling at her.  

 

It's a stretch to say that Eliza's shitty behavior is solely because of social media, because it isn't.  She's just too self-absorbed to see how her actions affect others, like Charmonique.  And Henry being a loner doesn't necessarily mean that he was wrong about what he said.  

 

I think it has potential, but I'm really watching it for John Cho.  I don't know enough about Gillam, tbh.  They need to stop with the internet speak, it got old very quick.  And I really could have done without the barf bag scene.  Ugh.  In the first five minutes, too?  Not necessary.

[bilgistic]

It was like cacophonous noise to me. It made little sense and I quit at minute eight. Just a mess.

[Neurochick]

The Charmonique joke was valid.  It's not a stereotype that black people give unique, complex names.  You can read about it in Freakonomics.

 

 

I don't know about Freakonomics.  I"m an actual black person and yes, it's a stereotype, SOME black people have complex names; but when I was a kid we used to say that if you called "Cheryl" half the block would look and I grew up in a black neighborhood too.  It burns me up when writers, who usually aren't black, use stereotypes which is based on limited knowledge.  I still feel the characterization was racist.

 

The show sucked too IMO.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Neurochick