Season 1 Talk

[Mozelle]

Girl! I went back to Boyz N Da Hood.  Yes, Furious Styles!

 

Tracee Ellis-Ross and Marsai Martin share the ability to convey so much with their facial expressions.  Her expression when Junior came into their living room, reciting lines, was funnier than what she actually said.

 

Oh, how could I forget! Plus, he had the lowcut beard there, too, and I've been all about the beard gang these past few years. 

[RedHawk]

Loved it when Pops and Diane were next to each other on the couch and both smiled at the same time. Same gap in their front teeth, both wearing glasses. I said, "Ha, she could be his granddaughter!" 

[jhlipton]

Thank you, Mr Elba, for getting this fabulous show a new fan!

[sinkwriter]

 

Loved the scene of Dre in the bathroom imagining being tough, using the bathrobe as his opponent.

 

Squeezing the hell out of his bathrobe while whispering "Go to sleep, go to sleep..." was what cracked me up.

[Red Fields]

Ha ha our go-to places were Ponderosa and Hoss's.

One of my few early memories is going to Ponderosa. I remember the trays! It probably wasn't great meat but it definitely established my love for steak. In the same strip mall there was an indoor car race track. I suppose they were remote controlled. For my 5 year old self this was a stupendous outing!

This would be over 50 years ago...

[killer.noona]

Boat dynamite - not to be confused with all the other dynamite that Ruby uses.

[nicepebbles]

Something felt off about this episode to me such that it didn't quite gel.  I didn't like how Dre was all over Pops about the relationship but didn't have nary a word to say to his mom who started the whole thing.  Yeah, I know Dre and his mom.  Still.  And then Junior playing Romeo and Juliet.  I mean wouldn't the role of Juliet have an understudy?  The joke doesn't work if you set it up that the roles have understudies who have understudies.  So all of them is out and no one can do the role?  Please.

 

However, the episode still cracked me up.

- My favorite line has to be, "Why do you continue to wake up in the morning?" from Ruby to Pops.  I thought she was going to say something else.  I about died when she said that.

- It was great to see JL and LF together. 

- The dynamic between Bow and Dre just sell it no matter what the issue is.

- It's such a bad neighborhood but a little girl is out walking her dog Pickles.  Again, I about died when they said the dogs name.

- Charlie crazy!

- The talke about Thailand was hilarious as well.

[peeayebee]

I love the title of this ep.

[MaryMitch]

I may be checking my hearing more than anything else with this question - Did they say that they went to "ballet" or "the play" when they watched the kids perform?  It sounded like ballet to me, but there was no dancing.    

 

They were saying "the valet" - as in valet parking. I had the same problem; thought it was "ballet".

[needschocolate]

They were saying "the valet" - as in valet parking. I had the same problem; thought it was "ballet".

 

  Thanks MaryMitch, Since we both heard "ballet" instead of "valet," I will go with the theory that it is a sign of intelligence, rather than faulty hearing.

[ZaldamoWilder]

Boat dynamite - not to be confused with all the other dynamite that Ruby uses.

 

BWAHAAAAAA!

 

Girl! I went back to Boyz N Da Hood.  Yes, Furious Styles!

 

Tracee Ellis-Ross and Marsai Martin share the ability to convey so much with their facial expressions.  Her expression when Junior came into their living room, reciting lines, was funnier than what she actually said.

 

Lol! and fine ass Morris Chestnut.   That's my brother, he live here.

 

::flapsopenchurchfan::

[DearEvette]

I enjoyed this episode and thought the animated stuff was well deployed.

 

In addition to that, I must say I am really enjoying how they are using Dre's co-workers.  Charlie and Josh's personalities are crystallizing and the two actors work really well as Dre's odd but endearing wingmen.  When you add in the boss, they make a great crew of Greek Chorus and Dear Abbie's for Dre's problems.  I don't recall seeing the female co-worker before...was she the one that came in late during the Dre-is-an-awesome Mom episode?  Anyway, I liked her addition to the office crew.  her reaction to Charlie's well developed upper torso was great.

 

The kids continue to excel.  And I continue to vacillate between loving Diane and Junior the most. 

[crazymadness]

Wow, I was just cringing all episode. 

[mtlchick]

"Diane." "Charles."

 

Outside of a few lines, definitely my least favourite.  It felt too much of a retread of the pilot. 

[Expat]

That was just bad.

 

Charlie and Diane's mutual 'dislike' of each other did get a chuckle out of me though.

[HunterHunted]

That was just bad.

 

Charlie and Diane's mutual 'dislike' of each other did get a chuckle out of me though.

Their mutual dislike of each other and the discussion about whether to go to the MLK parade were the only laughs for me.

[Mozelle]

I...yeah. I have a lot of thoughts about this episode. Too many thoughts.

Reading Eddie Huang's piece in Vulture earlier this week dovetails nicely into why I had problems with this episode.

[teebax]

This episode was just okay for me. I was more bothered by the end of it, but it did have some laugh-out-loud moments for me. Jack singing, "I'm bringing booty back!" was hysterical. I thought Rainbow was strong, but I always do. Her discussion about MLK being called a doctor just like she is was funny to me.

 

I liked the Charles and Diane part as well. I'd like to see more of their relationship with each other.

 

I thought everything went downhill once they reached the ski lodge. All of that fell flat for me.

[jah1986]

Definitely not a favorite episode. Maybe some things just aren't funny or can't be made to be lighthearted, I don't know. Of course Diane is always a treat. I think I would have liked to see the family on vacation without bringing in MLK.  Did love Bow air quoting Dr. King. Was Tracee this funny on Girlfriends?

[Racj82]

DWB - "DWUB" "No, it's driving while black, idiot"

The candy is free.

Andre feeling like it's been forever since he saw Bow when it had been 12 minutes.

Bow's quotation marks for Dr. Kings doctor status.

"Diane" "Charles"

The window into what white people do when black people take off for MLK day.

The whole car singing "All about that bass"

"I'm allowed to have interests" from Junior about his Bieber fandom.

Charles whole reaction to be pulled over.

 

I don't see how these things aren't adding up to a another funny episode. Well, it is for me anyway.

 

It seems that when the show embraces it's more cringey elements, people don't respond well to it. I don't mind it because it doesn't always go that far into it and it's been in the shows DNA since the pilot. I laughed my ass off as usual.

[MelsW]

I liked the episode. I would rank other epsiodes higher but I still enjoyed this one. Dre's behavior was absolutely cringeworthy and downright embarrassing but I loved him being proven wrong by the cop, the convenience store worker, etc. 

 

Things I liked:

 

• "Charles." "Diane."
• Everything about Bow's car: love the group sing, love Jack's "bringing booty back."
• Bow air quoting "Dr." King. If you lay there dying, is he going to save you with a book?
• At the spa, Diane's cucumber slices under her glasses.
• Snow boarders being second class citizens. As a skiier, I have to admit that there is truth to this.
• Junior, sitting down after his bus speech, going all nerd on Dre.

Edited January 15, 2015 by MelsW

[mtlchick]

 

It seems that when the show embraces it's more cringey elements, people don't respond well to it. I don't mind it because it doesn't always go that far into it and it's been in the shows DNA since the pilot.

For me, the main basis was Dre trying to teach Junior a "cultural moment" (for a lack of a better term) which felt recycled from the pilot.  Though I had to laugh that at the "white dance party" (damn you quotes!) they were playing Spin Doctors.

[peeayebee]

There were funny parts, but I was disappointed in this ep. It did seem recycled, which is why Dre's behavior was so predictable. I think we all knew he wouldn't find the racism he was seeking out.

 

I agree with others about the stuff that was funny.

 

Dre: We're being pulled over for DWB.
Junior: Dewubb?
Dre: Driving while black, idiot.

 

Charlie -- or Charles -- was great as usual. Loved when he told Dre "the girl twin" was kind of weird. I also liked his musing about black television. The Black Jeopardy comes after the Black Wheel followed by the Black Blacklist starring James Spade. "And I'll watch the news. That's already black."

[ElectricBoogaloo]

"Diane." "Charles."

Ha, the black-ish version of "Hello, Newman."

[Primetimer]

When Dre worries that Junior doesn't understand why Dr. King has a national holiday in his honour, he tries to turn a skiing weekend into an educational weekend. He might have predicted why that wouldn't work.

Read the story

[Duke2801]

This one was probably my least favorite episode so far, but still not a bad episode.  I think some of the funnier parts were already mentioned...  Charlie's "black television" spiel, his and Diana's mutual dislike, Bow and Dre's reasons for not going to the MLK parade, and the free candy bit.

 

OH I did chuckle at the snowboarding woman's indignant "I'm only 40.... and I slept 10 hours last night" response to Jr on the bus!

[Writing Wrongs]

Dre gets on my nerves a bit with his "the family's not black enough" stuff, but still found the episode funny.

[Lila82]

This episode just felt lazy.  Predictable and tired and something you'd see on a Chuck Lorre show (I think - I've only seen ten minutes of "The Big Bang Theory" at the laundromat and it made my head hurt).  As peeayebee pointed out, we knew where the majority of jokes were going and if you were like me, cringing as they neared completion.  I expect more from this show, which usually finds fresh ways to address uncomfortable topics.

 

Dre and Bow also made me cringe.  Their relationship veered VERY close to buffoon husband and exasperated, emasculating wife, and they do much better when they're an equally neurotic team.  I did like their moment in the kitchen when Dre shot down Zach and Bow praised his comeback.  More of those moments; less of making me feel like I'm watching a sitcom on CBS.

 

Plus, the speeches!  I liked the sentiment of what Junior said to Dre on the ski bus, but it didn't sound like anything a teenager, even an (awesome)ubernerd like Junior, would say.  But it was a good choice to choose Junior as the apathetic child rather than Zoe or Jack, the more obvious choices.

 

And despite all those complaints, Dre's scenes with the front desk clerk were my favorite, and while I hated how obvious and cringeworthy his behavior was, I spent half my childhood pretending I didn't know my father when he ranted to staff over hotel rooms and restaurant reservations and rental car sizes. If only we could have sent him to hotel jail on a luggage cart...

Edited January 15, 2015 by Lila82

[Eolivet]

This episode took me out of it a little bit when it implied there were people that worked on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I don't know anyone of any race who works on a national holiday in corporate America (where Dre clearly works). Everything is closed. It just seemed like a weird way to get in casual racism that wasn't at all based in reality. It's not a "holiday" -- it's a holiday. Schools, the stock market, the post office -- nothing is open. To imply that some random advertising agency in Southern California stays open because it's full of white people was really odd to me.

 

But I did love "The Black Blackist." That was clever.

[MelsW]

This episode took me out of it a little bit when it implied there were people that worked on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I don't know anyone of any race who works on a national holiday in corporate America (where Dre clearly works). Everything is closed. It just seemed like a weird way to get in casual racism that wasn't at all based in reality. It's not a "holiday" -- it's a holiday. Schools, the stock market, the post office -- nothing is open. To imply that some random advertising agency in Southern California stays open because it's full of white people was really odd to me.

 

I work for "corporate America" and we do not have MLK day off...in fact I have never worked for a company that shut down that day, come to think of it. Where I currently work, MLK day is lumped in as a "floating holiday". Assuming Dre's company is the same way, there may have been the assumption that the black people will take MLK day as the holiday while the white people will use it for something else. Hence the Spin Doctors white person party ;)

Edited January 15, 2015 by MelsW

[meep.meep]

For me, the main basis was Dre trying to teach Junior a "cultural moment" (for a lack of a better term) which felt recycled from the pilot.  Though I had to laugh that at the "white dance party" (damn you quotes!) they were playing Spin Doctors.

 

And playing croquet!

 

I did laugh out loud at "the news is already black!"

[Eolivet]

I work for "corporate America" and we do not have MLK day off...in fact I have never worked for a company that shut down that day, come to think of it. Where I currently work, MLK day is lumped in as a "floating holiday". Assuming Dre's company is the same way, there may have been the assumption that the black people will take MLK day as the holiday while the white people will use it for something else. Hence the Spin Doctors white person party ;)

 

Wow. Every company I've ever worked for closes for it because it's a national holiday. How do you do business when the banks, stock market, post office and most other companies are closed? I guess we're very sheltered here in Massachusetts because I always assumed everyone had it off. I can't conceive of a business saying one national holiday is more important than another -- unless the company makes Christmas and other religious holidays "floating holidays" as well.

 

Clearly, I've grown up in Andre's corporate America.

[Tara Ariano]

Some American companies I've worked for have given MLK Day as a holiday, but not all of them, which is why I thought it was weird that Dre kept saying it's a "national holiday" -- I didn't think it was? 

[proserpina65]

Some American companies I've worked for have given MLK Day as a holiday, but not all of them, which is why I thought it was weird that Dre kept saying it's a "national holiday" -- I didn't think it was? 

It's a federal holiday, which means all federal government offices are closed, and state and local offices generally follow suit; for awhile Arizona resisted doing so but even it does now, I think.  Private businesses have that option, since, yes, it is a national holiday (just like Labor Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, etc.) but no private company is legally required to close for any national holiday.  Plus, anything retail is going to stay open to try and make money.  Corporations like the fictional one where Dre works would make that decision for themselves.  Hey, Thanksgiving is a national holiday, but non-government businesses don't have to give it as a holiday either.

Edited January 15, 2015 by proserpina65

[BoogieBurns]

I work for "corporate America" and we do not have MLK day off...in fact I have never worked for a company that shut down that day, come to think of it. Where I currently work, MLK day is lumped in as a "floating holiday".

 

I've never gotten it off either. It's optional here in Texas, you can either take off MLK day, or you can take off Confederate Flag Day. One or the other. Looks like this year they fall on the same day though. 

 

I maybe want to move to another state now.

[Jade Foxx]

"My selfish neighbor put a password on the wireless, sooo no internet..."

 

"That's okay, I'll just stuff my pants into my socks."

 

I might have a lightweight crush on Charlie.

[OpieTaylor]

Re: MLK Day as a holiday - I work for a small company (corporate) and we don't get it off, but we also don't get President's Day off either. Like others have already said, MLK Day is a federal holiday for federal employees. My company gives us 10 holidays a year, but I don't think it's required to give any of them, including Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. 

 

I got a lot of laughs in this episode, but it did make me feel a little uncomfortable at times. 

[charmed1]

I've never gotten it off either. It's optional here in Texas, you can either take off MLK day, or you can take off Confederate Flag Day. One or the other. Looks like this year they fall on the same day though.

I maybe want to move to another state now.

Jesus. I didn't think anything could be worse than "Lee-Jackson-King Day" in Virginia.

[MelsW]

Wow. Every company I've ever worked for closes for it because it's a national holiday. How do you do business when the banks, stock market, post office and most other companies are closed? I guess we're very sheltered here in Massachusetts because I always assumed everyone had it off. I can't conceive of a business saying one national holiday is more important than another -- unless the company makes Christmas and other religious holidays "floating holidays" as well.

 

Clearly, I've grown up in Andre's corporate America.

 

There are a lot of Federal Holidays I don't have off from work and neither do many of my friends that are non government/financial workers: MLK day, Washington's birthday, Veteran's Day, Columbus Day...seriously, most people get all of those off from work? Granted, Dre's company is fictional but that part of the story didn't strike me as odd!

Edited January 15, 2015 by MelsW

[FormerMod-a1]

What struck me is odd is that if a company takes it off, it's for everyone and not just some people.  I have worked where we don't get MLK Jr, Presidents' Day, etc, but NO ONE did.  I have also worked where we get 10 holidays (at a bank) but all of them could be floaters, if you want to work that day you can and then take another day off (I obviously don't work in the branches).  I've never worked where ONLY MLK (or just 2-3 holidays) is a floater, or where it's holiday only for some people.

[Duke2801]

This episode took me out of it a little bit when it implied there were people that worked on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I don't know anyone of any race who works on a national holiday in corporate America (where Dre clearly works). Everything is closed. It just seemed like a weird way to get in casual racism that wasn't at all based in reality. It's not a "holiday" -- it's a holiday. Schools, the stock market, the post office -- nothing is open. To imply that some random advertising agency in Southern California stays open because it's full of white people was really odd to me.

 

But I did love "The Black Blackist." That was clever.

 

I've had.... 6 maybe 7 jobs since graduating college. All in the Washington DC area.  I can think of maybe one or 2 that were closed on MLK Day.  My current company sure isn't---and we even have the MLK Memorial as a client! 

Edited January 15, 2015 by Duke2801

[ohjoy]

Where I work we have always gotten MLK Jr. as a holiday, but not Presidents' Day, Washington's Birthday, Columbus Day or Veteran's Day. However, anyone can get approval to work during one of the holidays that we do get, and use that holiday time as vacation on another day (so technically, all our holidays could be considered "floating holidays"). It's just not done, typically. But federal offices, banks, and the postal service get a lot more holidays than most corporations are willing to give.

[funkopop]

Just to add my two cents, I work for a bank and we get MLK JR, President's and now Columbus Day off to match the (I assume) standard banking holidays.

Edited January 15, 2015 by funkopop

[DarkRaichu]

Haven't we done the "looking for racism where there is none" bit too many times already, show ?   The writing was still funny, we just need to put a break on drawing from this particular well

[formerlyfreedom]

I've never worked where ONLY MLK (or just 2-3 holidays) is a floater, or where it's holiday only for some people.

 

 

I actually HAVE worked at places where some of the 'lesser' federal holidays were floaters, including President's Day, Veteran's Day, MLK Day. You could pick two of three or something like that to take off - it was for a municipal bus agency, and they needed coverage in the office, but NOT a full staff.

 

Also, where I currently work, the administration building is closed on Monday, but the residence side of the complex remains staffed. It's odd.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

At my old company (in California), which was privately owned, we only got the big six holidays: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day (we still had to work full days on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve). After that company was bought by a bigger company in Texas, they added one more holiday (Good Friday). My husband used to jokingly say that the new owners believed in Jesus rising from the dead but not presidents or MLK. When he had a day off but I had to work, he would say things like "Why does your company hate veterans?"

Edited January 16, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ribboninthesky1]

I was so distracted during the bathroom scene with Andre and Charlie because I don't think we saw them wash their hands.

 

Rainbow has been the saving grace of the past several episodes for me, with the co-workers coming in second.  This one was no exception. 

[mikem]

I love Charlie in small doses, but there was a bit too much of him in this episode for my taste.  He probably had more lines than anyone except Dre.

[teebax]

This episode took me out of it a little bit when it implied there were people that worked on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I don't know anyone of any race who works on a national holiday in corporate America (where Dre clearly works). Everything is closed. It just seemed like a weird way to get in casual racism that wasn't at all based in reality. It's not a "holiday" -- it's a holiday. Schools, the stock market, the post office -- nothing is open. To imply that some random advertising agency in Southern California stays open because it's full of white people was really odd to me.

But I did love "The Black Blackist." That was clever.

I've been in corporate America for almost two decades and have never had off on MLK day, unless I took a vacation day. That may not be so surprising to you since I live in Arizona, the last state to recognize it as a holiday, but this even goes back to my time in Pennsylvania.

Eta I have a coworker who suggested I should be off for MLK day. Not all of us. Just me. I'm the only black person in my office. Yeah, that was an HR complaint I ended up filing against her. She seriously thinks it's just a black holiday? Some people. Don't get me wrong; I'd love to have it as a day off, but for everyone.

I'm also a veteran who's never had off for Veterans Day.

Edited January 16, 2015 by teebax

[Shermie]

So America doesn't have a list of statutory holidays, where businesses are legally required to be closed and workers get the day off?