Season 1 Talk

[Roaster]

This show is still trying to find its feet.  Pretty rough episode I thought.

 

I could do without the voice-over narration.

 

The older kids are good, but the younger ones can't act and the dialogue they give them is unrealistic.  Putting little kids on sitcoms is dangerous.

 

They need to build out the grandfather to a more fleshed out character.

[prettyvegas]

I just happened to leave this on after Modern Family but I found it to be absolutely hilarious. I hadn't watched the Pilot but read a little bit about it. Anthony and Tracee are hysterical. (Especially Tracee, her faces when her daughter was telling her the story and she was too busy congratulating herself to listen were sooo funny.) The kids are very well-cast also. I'm definitely going to keep watching.

[Writing Wrongs]

The oldest daughter reminds of Angelina Jolie. Maybe it's the lips.

 

"I Morgan Freeman'd her." Must use this line.

[SimoneS]

The oldest daughter is very beautiful. I think that you are right about her lips being similar to Angelina Jolie's.

 

I think that all the kids are wonderfully cast. 

[RedFire2000]

Vast improvement over the Pilot. I enjoyed this episode. Definetely gonna keep watching.

[TiffanyNichelle]

That was a big improvement over the pilot. Overall just flatout funnier. I loved Rainbow gloating so much about being a great mother that she tuned out her daughter. I could not stop laughing at all the stuff between Andre and Dre, especially the line about Helen Mirren.

[LJonEarth]

It's nice but also unrealisitic ( I know, this is a sitcom).  She is a pediatric surgeon right? That is an incredibly demanding career that involves spending a lot of time away from home.  It would have been easier to buy if they had chosen a less time-demanding specialty like dermatology or something.

 

Anthony was asked about this specifically on some public radio show last week. The interviewer said it was unrealistic. He said it's not unrealistic in his household, so he kept it in. Then he went on to say he should pitch in more and so should his character, but there's room for growth.

[LJonEarth]

I got contact embarrassment from that Helen Mirren line.

 

More episodes like this, with a dash of the stuff from the pilot mixed in, and this show can last.

[Irlandesa]

 I could not stop laughing at all the stuff between Andre and Dre, especially the line about Helen Mirren.

That line killed me. It was so perfect.  Dre Jr. is very well cast. 

 

I liked the pilot but I thought this episode was packed with laughs.  The Helen Mirren line was a standout.  I also loved the visual gag with the dad wearing his towel the way a woman would wear it and Rainbow wearing her towel just around her waist. 

 

The shirtless sex talk scenes were almost too far but it paid off with the son putting his foot down.

[random chance]

I wasn't crazy about the pilot because I don't care for voiceover in the first place let alone chatterbox-voiceover.  But this was much better - I laughed a lot and the voiceover didn't get on my last nerve. 

[twoods]

Maybe she's part time at the practice and does mostly outpatient surgery. It's the inpatient surgery and calls that kills a surgeon, but the fact she knew about the surgery the next day may lead me to believe that she does mostly outpatient procedures. Now I'm debating the life of a fictional surgeon- great. Maybe they will touch on why her hours are so flexible (maybe a flashback with her working a lot and missing out on her kids' lives.)

Edited October 2, 2014 by twoods

[Amethyst]

While it wasn't as funny as last week, I enjoyed it.  The Morgan Freeman line had me cracking up, as well as Andre catching Dre in the act.

[twoods]

This episode was hilarious- I had to pause some parts because I was laughing so hard. The kids are great, especially Andre who has really been shining. I couldn't believe the Helen Mirren line and how he just kept asking questions- just great.

At least they put in a line about Rainbow's parents being hippies, and she has to be working part time to drop the kids off in her home clothes. Her tuning out her daughter to gloat about being a good mom seemed realistic.

[omgsowicked]

I enjoyed this episode as well... I didn't laugh much last week but I was cracking up this week. The reveal of Andre and Rainbow's towel wearing, "I Morgan Freeman'd her", and the "spell check" joke had me rolling, as did the moments already mentioned by others. I'm still not sure where I stand on the voice over thing, and I thought the youngest kids were cute but they did border on too precocious and useless here... they'll have to be careful with that. The shirtless sex talk was very uncomfortable but had payoff when the son told him it was weird in the end. But what I really didn't like was the "stretching doesn't make you look gay" joke. It just wasn't necessary, and the fact that they used it again, as if it were that incredibly funny... meh.

[La Tortuga]

I read most of the PTV comments before watching the pilot, so I tried to go into while keeping in mind that I was watching a black family have normal (for a sitcom) conversations that they might not have in front of white people. So some things, like Andre saying increasingly outrageous things to his wife about not being black enough, I saw as the kind of thing my husband would do to win a stupid argument with me. But it did get uncomfortable at times, especially the scene in which he insists that his children describe people specifically by their race. You can argue the point about whether or not that kind of thinking perpetuates racism, and I think that discussion SHOULD happen, because there are contexts in which identifying someone by their race is a necessity, and there are those in which it's an extraneous detail. But either way, since these characters are one of what seems to be only two black families in an otherwise all white neighborhood, I fail to see how Andre Junior describing all his friends as "white males" would be all that helpful in telling them apart.

 

I have to say, I found myself confused by Andre's professional meltdown juxtaposed to his personal racial identity crisis. He's upset that his promotion was racially motivated, so much so that he pitches a commercial about stereotypes to shame his boss... but at home, he tries to force every stereotype he can think of on his family. Now, I'm not saying that one person can't go through both of these things. It was just kind of strange for Andre to be going through them simultaneously. But, maybe that is normal, and I just don't know it.

[bentley]

I had to laugh at the initial sex talk where the son's first question was "What does it feel like to have sex?" and Dre's horrified, "Oh, we're going straight there, huh?" followed by a rambling non-answer. When my mom had "The Talk" with me many years ago, that was my first question too and I got a very embarrassed "Well, that's personal" as my answer.  I remember thinking at the time, don't open the floor to questions if you're not prepared to answer them! I loved the son's utter lack of self-consciousness about followup questions or even how free he felt to (over) share his every sexual thought. In my household, once The Talk was over, it was over.

 

The whole sequence in the car where the daughter's world is ending on the phone while she continues to assure her mom everything is good was comedy gold.

 

Good episode. This show has earned a TIVO season pass from me.

Edited October 2, 2014 by bentley

[Mrs OldManBalls]

When the son asked about oral and Dre advised him against it due to his wheat allergy? I died. Every scene with the son and his relentless questions and comments had me laughing until I cried and my stomach hurt. Good job show! 

[Empress1]

I really like this show. The eldest son is very well-cast, and I don't look at Tracee Ellis Ross and see Joan Clayton. And I love Fishburne. "For God's sake, put some shoes on!" (When he announced he was going to the track in the pilot, I died. The timing of him putting on his hat was perfect.)

I could not stop laughing at all the stuff between Andre and Dre, especially the line about Helen Mirren.

Me too!

[formerlyfreedom]

Dre tries to help Andre Jr. expand his social circle; Rainbow takes Diane to the hospital in hope of inspiring her, but things don't go as planned.

 

 

[Mozelle]

When the son asked about oral and Dre advised him against it due to his wheat allergy? I died. Every scene with the son and his relentless questions and comments had me laughing until I cried and my stomach hurt. Good job show! 

 

Oh my! That made me die! Dre got exactly what he asked for when he just had to assure himself that he's the kind of guy who's OK having that talk. 

 

Also, as I did when I watched Girlfriends and looked to Joan Carol Clayton for fashion inspiration (like, I bought a Kangol back during Girlfriends' run because of this look), I find myself loving a lot of the casual clothes they put Rainbow in. To wit: I want that tie-dyed midi dress she wore.

[peeayebee]

But what I really didn't like was the "stretching doesn't make you look gay" joke. It just wasn't necessary, and the fact that they used it again, as if it were that incredibly funny... meh.

I didn't catch the second time they used it. I didn't mind the joke. It was obviously something that Dre had said, which is just another example of him concerned about his image with a foolish criterium.

 

I loved this ep. You all mentioned so many things that I loved and cracked up at. The towels, the wheat allergy, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman. 

 

I like the narration. It makes me remember Bernie Mac.

[BindsTheTuna]

As the mother of teenage boys, I learned the hard way (heh) not to ever barge in their rooms unannounced. THAT'S THE FIRST LESSON OF BOYS, DRE. 

[Eolivet]

I don't think that the mother is as good as the father. 

 

 

To me, Tracee Ellis Ross is the MVP. I loved her in the Pilot and love her even more here. I think she has the inflection of a mother down perfectly, if that makes any sense. Anthony Anderson is extremely funny, but he sometimes sounds like he's reading the lines of a dad.

[politichick]

This episode was way better than the pilot, I thought, and brought the laughter in the opening scenes. I also think all of the kids are great, especially the older son. The twins are cute, though precocious, which is fine with me, but would rather a tad less of them and more of Fishburn. But he may have placed limits on time spent filming. Liked his line about finding a place in the bible where a kid talks.

 

I don't think the mother's driving her kids to school means she works part time. She's a doctor and likely has a flexible schedule since she's been in practice for some time and if I recall correctly is a specialist.

[Enjay]

Liked his line about finding a place in the bible where a kid talks.

 

 We pondered that for a minute in our house and were like, "huh, true."

 

I love Rainbow.  The scenes when she was trying to pretend she knew what her daughter had told her but was trying to get her to repeat it?  We moms have all been there.

[DearEvette]

I liked this better than the pilot also.  It feels like opening night jitters have settled down some.  Anthony Anderson felt more comfortable in the character, the jokes landed better and everyone was deployed really well.

 

I also liked how they constructed the personalities of the family members so that it made the plot feel richer.  For instance, Dre and Pops were given a very specific family character trait (buttoned up , wearing shoes inthe house, wearing a tee-shirt in the pool etc.) whereas Rainbow is a little free-er.  So the whole towel gag worked great and had referential meaning later on.

 

Another thing was I like how it took a couple of old hoary tropes and managed not to make them feel tiresome.  The clueless dad giving the kid a sex talk is old, but instead of mkaing Andre embarrassed, they made him so happy to have someone to talk about he over-shared.  The whole montage of him telling about all his feelings during his masturbating was hysterical.  The lunch lady, tater tots, and the Helen Mirren line took it into slam dunk territory.

 

Also, I like that they didn't make Rainbow this all wise mom.  Her slef congratulations at how awesome she was each time the daughter was talking was great.  I said it last week but Tracee Ellis Ross is a natural comedienne.  Her comic delivery and facial expressions are fab!

[Rinaldo]

People can be inconsistent, though. He wants to be taken seriously, and advanced on his merits, at work; and at home he feels like something that was central to his own awareness isn't present for his children. He isn't very articulate or insightful yet about what that is, or even if he really wants his kids to change anything, but that's why we have a series. Long-term developments, with possibilities for both poignancy and comedy.

 

It really isn't about embracing stereotypes, but the uncertainty of "what makes us 'us'?" as ones sees what used to be a distinguishable cultural identity getting more and more absorbed into a majority culture. Does that even matter? If it does, what is it that's essential, and what do we do about that? All those questions are part of the mix here, as I see it. Even without the minority questions, the whole experience of parents dismayed to see that their efforts to give their children something more and better have resulted in the children not caring about what the parents grew up caring about... that's pretty nearly universal, I think.

[DeepPoet117]

Place in the Bible where a kid talked: Luke 2:49, 12-year-old Jesus.

I'm really loving this show. I think it's hilarious. What are the names of the little twins? The older boy is Andre (or Andy, I guess) and the older girl is Zoey, right?

[Mrs OldManBalls]

As the mother of teenage boys, I learned the hard way (heh) not to ever barge in their rooms unannounced. THAT'S THE FIRST LESSON OF BOYS, DRE. 

That a thousand times. *shudders* I even try to stomp up the stairs extra loud to give them an extra warning of my approach. 

 

I watched this with my husband and sons, and I was roaring with laughter while they cringed. (My husband and one son are more like the dad, while my younger son is like the over-sharing Andre Jr., so this episode really nailed it for me.) 

[BoogieBurns]

What are the names of the little twins?

 

Just read that the twins are named Jack and Diane. Adorable!

[EVS]

They named their twins after a John Cougar Mellencamp song? Too funny!

Edited October 3, 2014 by EVS

[Jeezaloo]

Okay, I am still laughing over "I Morgan Freeeman'd her." Hilarious. I have to find a way to use that line.

 

 

I'm looking forward to using “It’s patchy but I feel like things are gonna get CRAZY down there!”

[scrambled eggs]

"So our son had the sex talk with Ice-T?"

[zillabreeze]

 

I like the narration. It makes me remember Bernie Mac.

or "The Wonder Years" and now "The Goldbergs"

As long as they provide the belly laughs like this week, I will overlook a whole bunch!

The twins are cute- I think they should dial back the precociousness just a notch, there's material there.

Edited October 3, 2014 by zillabreeze

[ari333]

Do twins of different genders share a bedroom in an affluent family in a huge house? I missed the pilot, but this one was not boring. I guess I'm in.

[Athena]

I also really enjoyed this episode. I haven't followed a sitcom in awhile and a family one in even longer time, but I think the casting is excellent. I adore Tracee Ellis Ross in this role, but I completely agree that the kids are wonderful. Jr is hilarious; he had some of the best lines and the actor didn't mess them up. The twins are very cute and good too. 

 

I died with the Helen Mirren line. 

[Oscirus]

This second show was well done. If they find a way to mix what they had in the first show with what they had in this second show, then this show will be gold.  My favorite part that wasn't bought up was the twins trying to talk to their mother and the mother dismissing because she was trying to be a good mother to her daughter.

 

I need to get on this Morgan Freemaning phenomenon immediately.

[MaryMitch]

Do twins of different genders share a bedroom in an affluent family in a huge house? I missed the pilot, but this one was not boring. I guess I'm in.

This struck me too, so I just wrote it off to Rainbow's (the mother) "free spirit" upbringing.  But you would think in that HUGE house (did you SEE that master bedroom suite? ) they would have another room.

[DearEvette]

For me the twins are so far the most twee part of the show.  But one thing I a liking and hope it continues is that they are breaking out their personalities a bit.  The son is sweet and gullible, but the daugter is a bit of a devil.  I liked that little bit of development.  It moves them from being generic plot moppets and makes me think they can break out and become viable characters on their own.

[ari333]

For me the twins are so far the most twee part of the show.  But one thing I a liking and hope it continues is that they are breaking out their personalities a bit.  The son is sweet and gullible, but the daugter is a bit of a devil.  I liked that little bit of development.  It moves them from being generic plot moppets and makes me think they can break out and become viable characters on their own.

I get that and I agree. I just didn't get why male and female siblings (even twins of different genders) were in the same bedroom in a home that is clearly affluent and huge. I do understand that Bow is all free and whatever, but .... IDK...

[pookat]

I completely agree that the kids are wonderful. Jr is hilarious; he had some of the best lines and the actor didn't mess them up. The twins are very cute and good too.

Andre Jr is so authentic and sweet. He reminds me so much of Warren from the dearly departed Trophy Wife, right down to the field hockey. His look of horror when Dre walked in and grabbing the lamp as a cover was beyond good, even better than Annette Castellano walking in on Danny and Mindy.

Yara Shahidi (the older daughter) is also pitch perfect as a self-absorbed, but not evil IMO, teenager. That car scene with Rainbow was incredibly well done and hilarious. I can't get over the striking resemblance between these two actresses. Well cast, indeed.

The twins are just too cute for me to dislike in any way.

I am looking forward to many more episodes of this show.

Edited October 4, 2014 by pookat

[HoosierJen]

When the parents were lying in bed and the dad was bragging about the success of his first sex talk and said "Who do I email about giving a TED sex talk?"....Congratulations, show, I am yours for the season!

[msani19]

 

Do twins of different genders share a bedroom in an affluent family in a huge house?

Growing up, one of my friends had 6 kids (3 adopted, 3 biological) in the family. The younger girl and boy, who were about 9 months apart, did share a room. IIRC, it was a 5 or 6 bedroom house, so there was going to be doubling up no matter what and the family was quite wealthy. The kids did eventually get their own rooms, especially as they started to hit the awkward puberty years. But by the older siblings had left for college so there was more room. Maybe that's how the parents figured out which kids to put in the same room? I don't know, never asked. I guess it's not uncommon, but unusual.

However, who knows why it's done this way for show, since it's not real life so they could be 20 bedrooms in the house! Maybe for the potential hijinks that the kids could get into?

[Babalu]

I think it's likely that the twins have been offered their own rooms but want to stay together as best friends and co-conspirators.

Andre, Jr., reminds me of Warren from Trophy Wife, too, pookat; Marcus Scribner is nailing it - I'd like to see an interview with him to see how different or similar he is in real life.

[C0mputerGeek]

I get that and I agree. I just didn't get why male and female siblings (even twins of different genders) were in the same bedroom in a home that is clearly affluent and huge. I do understand that Bow is all free and whatever, but .... IDK...

My niece and nephew are twins. My brother and SIL are not affluent, but there is a guest bedroom. My niece and nephew turned 9 not too long ago. They don't want separate rooms.

[Shannon L.]

We missed the pilot, but watched this one and all of us about died laughing.  All of the above mentioned lines were brilliant and I'd like to add the moment he googled Triceratops, hit enter, then almost immediately "Oh my....delete, delete, delete!!"  Perfect  :)

 

We'll keep watching. 

[DollEyes]

Two for two. Another hilarious episode. One of the things I loved most about it was that the title "The Talk" wasn't just about Andre's telling Andy the facts of life; it was also about Rainbow's being so self-absorbed about Zoe's finally wanting to confide in her that she didn't listen to what she said and tried to trick her into repeating it and when that failed, Zoe turned to Pops, who solved things in his own special, Morgan Freeman-esque way. It was also about Andre's attitudes about sex during his talk with Rainbow, who's much more secure about her body than he is about his, hence her toplessness in the bathroom and Andre's extreme lack thereof.

 

  Then there was the prelude to the Talk, the Talk itself and the aftermath, which were so hilariously cringe-worthy that just the memories of them make me laugh, whether it was Andre's catching Andy masturbating, the actual conversations themselves (and their shirtlessness), Andy's oversharing (especially about Helen Mirren) or Andre's constant hiding from him as a result. The next time Andy wants to talk about anything sex-related, I wouldn't be surprised if Andre had the Director's cuts of several movies as backup, in case he wants to hide again.  Given his own hang-ups about sex, if Andre's this bad at discussing it with Andy, then I shudder to think how he'll deal with Jack.  The only thing I didn't like was Diane's being mean to/taking advantage of her brother Jack, who, while not being too bright, doesn't deserve to be punished by his sister for it because they've both got enough crazy in the family to deal with already without taking it out on each other.

Edited October 5, 2014 by DollEyes

[angelita100]

The Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman lines made me laugh so hard.  My 12 year old niece who is Filipino and black discovered both of these actors in the Red series and she loves them both so much.  She thinks Helen Mirren is just kick ass.  So I totally got both shout outs.

 

The over sharing was a hoot.

[DearEvette]

 Then there was the prelude to the Talk, the Talk itself and the aftermath, which were so hilariously cringe-worthy that just the memories of them make me laugh, whether it was Andre's catching Andy masturbating...

 

I know, at odd times I think about certain scenes and just cackle. For instance, when Dre first walks in on Andre and Andre falls onto the floor and attempts to cover himself with the lamp.  I mean the lamp.  Upside down.   The visual was just so hysterical because of course the base of the lamp was so phallic, pointing upwards.  And it was done in slo mo, see now I am giggling again.

[Duke2801]

I'm really, really enjoying this show.  It's just so charming and the characters are so darn likeable.  The older daughter is really just drop-dead gorgeous, isn't she?  And hello, has Tracy Ellis-Ross aged?  I was flipping channels yesterday and the pilot episode of Girlfriends was on --and I swear, she looks almost the SAME now as she did back then in 2000. I sure wish I could say the same! 

 

Everything about the sex talks (both the father/son and the father/grandfather) and the mom tuning out her daughter's problem due to congratulating herself on great mom-ing was just so amusing to me.