Season 1 Talk

[Enjay]

 

My favorite part was Dre trying to kill that blow up Halloween thing at the end and the subsequent popping up behind him. Hee.

 

That moment was the first time I can remember literally laughing out loud at a TV show.  Typically, I chuckle and smile, but this one made me hoot.

 

Scared my cats.

[DollEyes]

  How do I love Black-ish? Let me count the ways. Most of all, I love the way that the show is equally good with scripted jokes and sight gags, whether it's Dre's bragging about how he decorates the house for Halloween (his favorite holiday) "like [he's in] a John Woo movie" or his destroying said decorations when he thought that the kids didn't care about Halloween anymore because that means that they're growing up, which he can't handle for at least another 15-20 years. Dre also learned the true meaning of Halloween-getting joy from someone else's pain, which he did when his assistant Chris accidentally burned himself with hot coffee after Josh scared him, which backfired big-time when he pulled the same shit on Charlie and Charlie knocked him the fuck out, which served Josh right for catching a Black man off-guard and not expecting payback in return, plus his assumption that all Black people know each other, which might be true for Dre and Charlie if the white board at the end of the episode is any indication, but that's beside the point and the whole "bro" thing.

 

  Dre's obsession with Halloween lead to his being as clueless as ever on some things, like his family's feelings, from mocking Junior's chances with Sophie and terrorizing him with a chair suit to his thinking that the family's annual prank war was more important that Bow's actually saving a life. Bow did such a great job that the guy even drove himself home from the hospital despite minimal brain damage, but for Dre, if it wasn't about punking his family, he didn't care. However, Dre proved why he's the Prank King of the family when he, in Lost terms, "long-conned" them, which means that while they thought they had fooled him, he was actually fooling them, hence the "Fridge Cam," which Dre cleverly used to spy on them a few days before, which gave him plenty of time to enlist Josh and Charlie in his revenge, which was another mistake on Josh's part because he learned the hard way from Bow that what goes for Black mens' hate for being startled also applies to Black women. The only things that would've made this episode even better for me would've been if Chris and pranked Dre and Josh and if Pops had mistaken Charlie for a real burglar and chased his mac & cheese-stealing ass out of the house, smacking him upside the head with a Hot Wheels track, as a shout-out to last week's episode.

 

 

This felt like a rejected Modern Family script (Family Member loves Holiday. Family Member tries to get other Family Members to enjoy Holiday and other Family Members resist.) until Charlie punched Josh in the face and took it to another level.

 

  The difference is that this show is actually funny-which IMO, Modern Family hasn't been in years, if ever.

[emma675]

This show just keeps getting better and better. I laughed so much throughout the episode I can't even name my favorite part. ABC has struck gold with this show and I hope the ratings are reflecting how great it is.

 

I did miss Pops, though. I thought for sure he was going to be one of the masked men trying to break into the house, but I still loved that it was Josh and Charlie.

[dusang]

The silverware scene was entirely too close to home.

[ShowsILoveToHate]

I love this show, for all of the reasons already mentioned!  When Dre was admiring, and then later destroying, his outdoor decorations, it gave me flashes of Chevy Chase in "Christmas Vacation".  LOL :D

[Calhoun]

I know Diane is Janet JAckson as a child--but does anyone know what performance her outfit is from? I have been trying to find that info all night--she sings a song with michael or randy and it is super cute and famous--but I cannot find it on the interwebs

[DollEyes]

At the risk of aging myself, I think Diane's outfit and the other costumes were probably inspired by the Jacksons' short-lived TV variety show from the 70s. 

[OnceSane]

After the kids turn their collective noses up at Dre's favorite cheap restaurant in his old 'hood, he decides it's time to give them a reality check. He insists all of them get jobs. But when Andre Jr. and Zoey start working at his office, he can't help but interfere, and Jack and Diane's efforts to make some spare cash leave the neighbors thinking the family has fallen on hard times, much to Bow's embarrassment.

[40Love]

At the risk of aging myself, I think Diane's outfit and the other costumes were probably inspired by the Jacksons' short-lived TV variety show from the 70s.

Yes, you're right. I'm old too! Heh! Diane's feathered boa'd costume was a callback to Janet Jackson's appearance on the variety show. Janet used to imitate Mae West.

[Georgia]

My favorite Bow line of the night was, "Kick him! Kick him till he's dead!"  She's definitely my favorite (I love her outfit when Dre was having his conniption in the yard - looking for it now).  

 

I love that Charlie knew Josh was there and didn't want to pass up the opportunity to take a no-consequences swing at him.

 

I can't keep grapes in my house either!  Who knew it was a thing?

[Driad]

 

The grapes reminded me of packaged cookies in my childhood.  We knew the package was there but we wouldn't dare to open it.  When someone opened it, somehow everyone knew, and all the cookies would vanish quickly.

[dusang]

I just watched this. I had already read most of this board and knew all the jokes to come but still laughed my ass off at the whole thing. The delivery is perfect all round.

I have trouble watching this show sometimes because I'm terrible with people embarrassing themselves (The Talk nearly killed me) but I still love it.

[dusang]

I loved this episode. I was the kid hiding under the racks while my mom freaked (although I was much younger than Jack).

I did find the conversation about corporeal punishment very interesting. There is a huge difference between defined physical punishment and random, unprovoked beatings. In my 20s I lived in a "developing" country, working as a teacher. Corporeal punishment had been banned in schools only a few years earlier (although they could still use physical punishments like hauling water, digging holes, or cutting the grass) but most teachers still did it and most parents did too. I was talking to my 6th graders one day and they all thought it should be allowed and expressed horrified shock that I had never been hit. On the one hand, it's sad that they hadn't been shown another way and couldn't conceive of moderating their own behaviour but for fear of a beating. On the other hand those kids were some of the best behaved children I've ever encountered and the adults who had received and were now doling out these punishments weren't crazy monsters.

Back to the show: I love Dre and Bow's relationship. There are lots of great things about it but one aspect I love is that when she says something like "you don't want to be the bad guy" he doesn't bluster and defend, he's just like, "no, I don't."

Edited November 2, 2014 by dusang

[nicepebbles]

Loved the balloon man (whatever it's called) popped up after all that. I was dying. I fully expected the thing to attack him. Loved Charlie admitting to the boss that he totally clocked what's his face on purpose. Dude totally deserved it. Those were my 2 favorite parts out of a very funny episode.

[luckyroll3]

Who is "K.D." in the list?  Kevin Durant?

 

Great episode.  I was laughing the entire 30 minutes.

[luckyroll3]

I forgot to mention my absolute favorite moment of social commentary last night. Rainbow forgot she still had an unpurchased clutch in her hand as she left the store with Jack, the alarm went off, and a whole team of security guards converged.

Rainbow: It takes you two HOURS to find a little black boy and then you're here in two seconds when I accidentally steal a clutch! You know what, I'm keeping it!

 

This! And that they only had 1 bumbling security guard looking for the kid, but when she walked out with the purse, all of a sudden there were 7 or 8 surrounding her and ready for action!  I laughed so hard because it was so true and hit way too close to home.

Edited November 3, 2014 by luckyroll3

[joanne3482]

Rainbow: It takes you two HOURS to find a little black boy and then you're here in two seconds when I accidentally steal a clutch! You know what, I'm keeping it!

 

The part that had me in tears, though, was that they didn't do anything about her keeping it. They didn't follow her out. They just let her go. It STILL makes me laugh. 

[Rinaldo]

Am I being overly literal and mundane to wonder how she's going to remove the security thingie from the clutch? (Those things can be impossible.)

[nicepebbles]

This episode had the hubby and I rolling. This hit close to home. We've had the do we or don't we debate. We both got spanked and whooped. Neither one of us thinks we're better for it. We would've turned out fine anyway. You never know though, right? Anyway, the guilt was spot on as is the kid trying to be cute to get out of it.

Bow's reaction in the store from the time she noticed Jack missing to their leaving was priceless. I love TER so much more for that.

I agree with the comments about handing such a topic the way they did. For a show about black people they didn't go the obvious route on why to spank so it didn't become about they're less black because they don't want to do it.

Edited November 3, 2014 by nicepebbles

[dusang]

I was actually surprised Bow was the one to introduce spanking as the punishment -- you'd think coming from a hippie nudist family she'd be anti-spanking.

[nicepebbles]

We watch DVR'ed episodes because we have no time during the week. I had to pause during the dishwasher scene and said to hubby, "Have they been taping us?" I don't know how many times we've talked about the dishwasher situation. This episode totally nailed the dynamic. I will say though my hubby is not as bad as Dre when wanting his gold star.

I couldn't relate to Bow not being able to relax. My button would've been at the spa all day or something. She crazy. LOL.

[Rinaldo]

That kinda fit to me. It seems to me that when people start their own household, particularly if they've gone off to college or otherwise gotten away from their family environment, they'll often make a point of not doing things just the ways their parents did, not "making the same mistakes." If their parents were strict, they want to be looser; if they grew up in a permissive family, they'll enforce more boundaries. Not always, but often.

[topanga]

 

Who is "K.D." in the list?  Kevin Durant?

Yes. Kevin Durant's line of shoes, socks, and other clothing is labeled "K.D."

 

 

Bow is awesome. Regardless of her "doctor of all trades profession" (though on her doctor coat it does say anesthesiologist so maybe she intubated the drowner really quick and gave him meds to prevent brain damage?), she is hilarious and not a nagging wife like a lot of sitcom moms are.

I love this show. I buy them all as one big family because they act like one. Junior is my favorite, down to him being so adorkable (his ranting about the Legos and Dre telling junior that Sophie wouldn't have his number).

I like the entire family, but right now Diane is my favorite because of her hilarious line delivery. She steals just about every scene she's in.

 

But Zoe intrigues me. Right now her character is a typical teenager: doesn't like her younger brother, always on her phone, and suddenly doesn't like her mother to touch her or talk to her.  But in this epiosde, I saw the potential for a more complex performance from the actress. When Zoe told her dad she didn't want to do pranks anymore, she was very believable, but I also detected the tiniest of smiles on her face. It was subtle enough that until the end of the episode, I wasn't sure if Zoe was playing her dad or if she really had outgrown Holloween.

 

And as far as Bow's career is concerned? I'm stumped also. Sometimes she sounds like an ER doctor--ER doctors do a little of everything--they intubate people, perform minor procedures (sutures, place tubes into the stomach, up the butt, etc.), and they deal with a variety of traumas in the Emergency Room setting. But when she said she was meeting with a guy to discuss his upcoming surgery, that made her sound like a surgeon or an anesthesiologist. Someone mentioned that this might be a running gag. Seems like it already is!

 

Oh, and I forgot about the scene where Dre dressed up like the chair and scared Junior. Hilarious. And I admire the craftmanship of his costume.

[mojito]

The chair made me laugh, too. I'm one of those who sticks my nose up at most juvenile humor, but show me someone being frightened to death, and I'm seven years old.

 

If they ever want Bow to get away for an episode, they can have her fly somewhere to harvest a kidney for transplant later. That'll really get people scratching their heads.

[topanga]

Nothing turns me off from a show faster than overly precocious children, so I too hope they use them a bit more sparingly.  Both are adorable, but Diane in particular bugs because she's just too cool for school.

While I agree that Jack is sometimes the cutesy sit-com kid, Diane seems more complex than that. She's definitely more mature and worldly than her twin, what some people call an "old soul."  Like when Jack said "President Obama's black?," Diane put her face in her hands and shook her head like, "I can't believe he just said that."

 

In this episode, she was the precocious smart-aleky kid until Pops suggested that all 4 of them could get a spaking. At that moment, all four of the kids acted like scared kids. But then she returned to her old soul ways when she said "Dead man walking' to Jack.  And in "The Nod," she went from a wise-ass who criticized her mother for wearing scrubs every day to a wide-eyed little girl who was shocked by and fascinated with ER trauma.

[crgirl412]

So funny!!!  The one liners are hysterical!!! 

[SimoneS]

Another fun episode. The kids in white, posing, and tossing the bills around cracked me up.

 

Jack and Diane telling the neighbors that they need food and that things aren't going well for their parents was sooo bad, but hilarious.

 

Dre's boss and co-workers are hysterical telling him to give the kids more stuff. Then, there is Charlie being hit by a car, he will never be right.

 

Junior drinking the coffee and not sure that he even got decaf.

 

Bow and the Mercedes borrowed from the dealer.

[mtlchick]

I don't know what I loved more: Tracee's Oprah voice or Robot voice.  (Side note: the writers clearly love Oprah so much, it's like they're angling for a guest spot from her.  If she can be Pop's ex that cleaned him out, this will win at LIFE.)

 

The kids in their pimp suits was a hoot AND adorable.  

 

Charlie was hit by a car and now has no molars.  Explains a few things. 

[crgirl412]

 

Charlie was hit by a car and now has no molars.  Explains a few things.

Like he'll never have taffy, not real taffy. 

[20PearlGirl]

I'm sure the "PC police" will have something to say but one of the funniest lines to me was the correction Dre's boss made when he said the boss' father was transient.

[MadyGirl1987]

So funny! Really well done all around. Loved the kids especially. Also thought Bow with the neighbor was hilarious. I swear I have seen something like that, where Neighbors thought a family was having hard times, done on another show, because this was better. Am I crazy in thinking that?

[Eegah]

 

I swear I have seen something like that, where Neighbors thought a family was having hard times, done on another show, because this was better.

 

What immediately came to mind to me was the Seinfeld episode where George's girlfriend's mother keeps seeing him in situations that make him look like a bum.

[twoods]

This episode was great, but what tipped it over to hilarious was Bow and her obsession with not looking poor to her neighbors. Her strutting out at night in diamonds and her stethoscope cracked me up.

Junior continues to be my favorite- his comedic timing is perfect, especially when he smashed into the doors and commented how hot the coffee is.

The music on this show is awesome- I haven't heard "Drivin' dirty" since college, and that song was perfect for the scene.

Edited November 13, 2014 by twoods

[omgsowicked]

I let out a hearty cackle at Charlie rolling through one of Dre and Zoey's conversations. "Get that money, girl!"

[dirtypop90]

I am in love with this show and every single character on it. 

[Mozelle]

Where's Laurence Fishburne? He's been MIA these past two episodes.

Anyway, I don't even know where to begin on this episode. Bow talking about how she passed as Pacific Islander ("I look Samoan" is what I think what she said) to get some scholarships cracked me up.

That "All About the Benjamins" interlude was made of win. The kiddie all-white party was just the perfect reference to (literally) wasting money. (I also continue to blame Diddy for these themed parties. It's 2014 and, I'm still getting to invited to "All White parties.")

But how about Zoey is a YouTuber and Dre (and presumably Bow) don't know?

Edited November 14, 2014 by Mozelle

[Shermie]

Love this show, but I thought it was a weaker ep. The kids were great and I enjoyed the plot line about them needing jobs to appreciate stuff, but it works better when they work for other people in the real world, not in their dad's office getting coffee.

And the daughter turning her fashion blog into a potential moneymaker? Was done on Modern Family this year. And is very unrealistic. Are teen girls going to think taking selfies of their clothes is going to make them rich? Yes, because TV says so!

Didn't like Bow's storyline. The tired trope of a crazy misunderstanding that escalates to ridiculous proportions - but could be corrected with one sentence - is weak. If someone came to my door with a casserole because my kid said we had no food, I'd say things are fine, but we were teaching them a life lesson about appreciating what they have. See? Done.

And I know someone will say, but it's a sitcom, or that then there won't be a plot, but you can have funny sitcoms with realistic plots without resorting to dumb tropes. This show is usually really good at that.

[Dancingjaneway]

Once again this show nails it. I thought the idea of the kids getting jobs was weak but what they did with the concept was wonderful. I loved Bow calling the lawn care guy by a spanish name and then him correcting her by saying his name was Edward and he has 65 employees. Charlie on the scooter going by while Dre and Zoey talked yelling "get that money girl!" Junior asking if the check was going to clear. I also loved how the one co-worker after Charlies molar story slowly started to stick his finger in the back of his mouth to check his molars.

[MelsW]

I loved Bow calling the lawn care guy by a spanish name and then him correcting her by saying his name was Edward and he has 65 employees.

 

Pedro!

[Inquisitionist]

Love this show, but I thought it was a weaker ep. The kids were great and I enjoyed the plot line about them needing jobs to appreciate stuff, but it works better when they work for other people in the real world, not in their dad's office getting coffee.

 

Agreed.  There were some individual lines and scenes that truly made me LOL, but the overall pacing and direction felt "off" compared to earlier episodes. 

[airbefore]

And the daughter turning her fashion blog into a potential moneymaker? Was done on Modern Family this year. And is very unrealistic. Are teen girls going to think taking selfies of their clothes is going to make them rich? Yes, because TV says so!

 

It's actually not all that unrealistic. There are quite a lot of people who have monetized their YouTube channels and make decent money off of it. Rich might be a stretch but it's been enough to enable some to quit their day jobs and become full time 'content creators'. 

[Mozelle]

And the daughter turning her fashion blog into a potential moneymaker? Was done on Modern Family this year. And is very unrealistic. Are teen girls going to think taking selfies of their clothes is going to make them rich? Yes, because TV says so!

 

 

I actually don't think that it's TV giving these girls hope. There are a lot (a lot!) of young women on YouTube racking up subscriber numbers because they're doing what Zoey did--playing around in make-up, doing tutorials, showing the clothes that they bought. 

[teebax]

What immediately came to mind to me was the Seinfeld episode where George's girlfriend's mother keeps seeing him in situations that make him look like a bum.

I thought about the same episode while watching this one.

 

This was one of my favorite episodes, although I find myself saying that every week (except Halloween, which was still good but my least favorite). The kids at the white party were hilarious. (I'm also still getting invited to those things - ridiculous.) 

 

The only complaint I have is another episode without Laurence Fishburne. I wonder if he's shooting something. If IMDB is accurate (ha ha), he's shooting the Batman vs. Superman movie. But I don't know how long that's been in production or when Black-ish was filmed. I miss Pops!

[dusang]

And the daughter turning her fashion blog into a potential moneymaker? Was done on Modern Family this year. And is very unrealistic. Are teen girls going to think taking selfies of their clothes is going to make them rich? Yes, because TV says so!

 

Strangely, just this morning, I saw an article in the commuter newspaper about this study.   As others have mentioned, it may not work but the kids are doing it.

Edited November 13, 2014 by dusang

[BoogieBurns]

Pretty sure Laurence Fishburne is on two shows at once. So he will come and go.

 

We learned a few things this episode. 

1) The kids can swim (and do it in their own pool). This was a topic in the Social/Race thread of Blackish.

2) Rainbow's dad is her white parent.

3) Pretty sure that Andre has a sister named Niecy. Since they went to Beef Plantation to celebrate something she did while they were growing up.

[mtlchick]

 

And the daughter turning her fashion blog into a potential moneymaker? Was done on Modern Family this year. And is very unrealistic. Are teen girls going to think taking selfies of their clothes is going to make them rich? Yes, because TV says so!

Take Bethany Mona, currently on DWTS.  She's 18 and MILLIONS on subscribers on Youtube for doing tutorials.  Crazy, but she's now doing events for Youtube all over the world.  It's the digital age. 

 

 

I loved Bow calling the lawn care guy by a spanish name and then him correcting her by saying his name was Edward and he has 65 employees.

 

His name was Eric.  Which makes you wonder how the hell she got Pedro out of THAT.

Edited November 13, 2014 by mtlchick

[TiffanyNichelle]

I would have liked Pops to be involved in this episode. Just a snarky comment or two from him about the kids not working while he lives in the pool house drinking White Russians. I just miss Pops.

 

Finding out that Charlie was hit by a car explains so much, lol.

[ribboninthesky1]

We learned a few things this episode. 

1) The kids can swim (and do it in their own pool). This was a topic in the Social/Race thread of Blackish.

2) Rainbow's dad is her white parent.

3) Pretty sure that Andre has a sister named Niecy. Since they went to Beef Plantation to celebrate something she did while they were growing up.

 

Not at all surprised by #1, but I thought #2 was interesting! I assumed Bow's mom was white, for reasons, but it looks like they aligned with Tracee's real-life parentage.

 

I was meh overall about the episode, but every one can't hit it out of the park.  The Beef Plantation experience really hit home for me.  Golden Corral and Shoney's being the real-life restaurants of choice.  When you don't have much money but want to feed a gang of people on the cheap, those all-you-can-eat buffets are every.thing.    

 

My favorite line came from Zoey:  "I don't use bronzer, because I have good skin...."

 

[Empress1]

Pops would have worked nicely here, talking about how in his day he had three jobs or whatever. I know Fishburne is busy, but I really like him on this show.

[Athena]

Another great episode. This was the first one I really one where I liked all of Charlie's scenes and lines. Ha.

 

I thought Dre and the kids were perfect as always, but I continue to love Bow so much more. I haven't laughed at a sitcom scene so hard as I did in the credits sequence. She looks so great and I loved her black dress in the first few scenes.

 

Zoe's YouTube thing isn't a surprise. A lot YouTubers make good money through the YouTube Partner program and with corporate deals. She may not become rich, but it's not bad pocket change and she could get a lot of free stuff with her subscriber count. I also can see how popular she would be as a YouTube personality.