Season 1 Talk

[Bastet]

I think this has potential, although it will be a balancing act to see how many stereotypes are parodied versus how many are perpetuated.  I like that Andre's narrow definition of what it is to be black was both coming from a loving place and called out as ridiculous, so I'm hopeful.  And it was funnier and less sexist than I expected it to be based on the clips I'd seen, so that was refreshing.

 

I enjoyed Tracee Ellis Ross and Laurence Fishburne a lot.  The two older kids felt like fairly realistic kids, but the young ones felt very much like TV kids.  But it's a pilot, so that could very well smooth out.

[TVFAN]

I enjoyed the show a lot, and I suspect that it will only improve as the characters become more fully developed.  I hope ABC gives the show the time to do just that.  This is the best attempt I've seen to fill the 9:30 slot.

[auntiemel]

"What makes you think I'm wearing the awful cologne again?"

"Because it smells like you're wearing the awful cologne again."

Haha!

All in all, I found it pretty funny. I was distracted by the voice-over and the flights of fantasy (like the medieval feast sequence). Every time I started getting into a scene and riding the rhythm of it, it broke and went to one of those. I think I would have enjoyed it ten times more if it was much less stylized and just focused on the interesting characters, clever family interaction dialogue, and observational humor and storylines. Maybe it will skew that way more as time goes on.

[Trini]

I have a question; where is AAnderson working, or what is his business? I wasn't sure.

[Bastet]

He works for an ad agency.

[mrsdalgliesh]

I only got halfway through the pilot.  I really like actors and I like the premise -- but I felt like the whole thing was being presented to a very slow audience.  Every point they wanted to make was SPELLED OUT.   I found myself imagining the alternate universe version of this show -- one in which we would understand Andre's reactions to his kids lack of "blackness" without unrealistic (for a modern sitcom) rants and demands.  One in which his job situation would be exactly the same, but the white folks' cluelessness would be more real by their not being so clownish.  I got frustrated -- because it *is* such a good premise and the on-screen talent is so good.

[twoods]

I liked it. Love that the wife is reasonable and very successful, yet a mom who cooks dinner for her kids. Everyone else was likable and looking forward to the characters getting developed more.

[coloradoqt]

 

 

No, that is Tracee's older sister Rhonda that is Barry Gordy's daughter. So Tracee Ross really is biracial. Her bio father is white.

 

Thanks, my bad! still I never thought of her as bi-racial.

[possibilities]

becoming a bar or bat mitzvah doesn't require you to do anything except turn 12/13

This has never been true in any synagogue or Jewish family I have ever met or heard of, including my own. You can do it at 12/13, or an older age, but whenever you do it, you have to study, learn and present prayers, etc., and it is not just a party, it has major religious significance. I was raised in both Conservative and Reform temples and this was true for both. Most people study for an entire year in order to prepare.

 

Speaking as a Jew, it was funny to me that I rebelled by refusing to do exactly what "Andy" was rebelling/disappointing his father by asking to do. Also, the idea that names he was proposing for himself might make him cool and get him closer to boob-holding? Hilarious! Those are very conservative old man names, not hip teenager ones.

 

While I'm on the subject of names: "Rainbow"? Really? And she's a surgeon? I immediately started trying to imagine her backstory.

 

I am a little worried they are setting up a "reasonable but constantly criticizing wife" plus "buffoonish dopey manchild husband" dynamic, which is one of the TV tropes I despise, so I hope there's a course correction in that regard. On the other hand, I liked that the daughter was the one most vocal about wanting to see the gunshot scar.

[tvallthetime]

I only got halfway through the pilot. I really like actors and I like the premise -- but I felt like the whole thing was being presented to a very slow audience. Every point they wanted to make was SPELLED OUT. I found myself imagining the alternate universe version of this show -- one in which we would understand Andre's reactions to his kids lack of "blackness" without unrealistic (for a modern sitcom) rants and demands. One in which his job situation would be exactly the same, but the white folks' cluelessness would be more real by their not being so clownish. I got frustrated -- because it *is* such a good premise and the on-screen talent is so good.

I get your point, but in my experience I have had some white people say and do things so absurd that they DO appear clownish (the behavior, not the person necessarily). As it's sitcom, it's amped up, but not by much, in my view. (I mean when people are asking you if you "tan" in the sun? Come on! Is my brown skin impenetrable to the sun?)

I was pleasantly surprised by this show and find it relatable on several wavelengths. It seems smartly written and thoughtful. If it continues down that path (with hilarious lines from Laurence Fishburne), I'll definitely keep watching.

So happy to have Tracee Ellis Ross on network TV again!

Edited September 26, 2014 by tvallthetime

[peeayebee]

While I'm on the subject of names: "Rainbow"? Really?

I was just coming here to post the same thing. I figure there's going to come a time when the show addresses this, like she has hippie parents.

[TiffanyNichelle]

 

While I'm on the subject of names: "Rainbow"? Really? And she's a surgeon? I immediately started trying to imagine her backstory.

I really want to know about her story and how her name is Rainbow. What's her parents' story? You don't just randomly give the name Rainbow to a character you're going to make a surgeon without there being a larger back story.

[mrsdalgliesh]

 

I get your point, but in my experience I have had some white people say and do things so absurd that they DO appear clownish (the behavior, not the person necessarily). As it's sitcom, it's amped up, but not by much, in my view. (I mean when people are asking you if you "tan" in the sun? Come on! Is my brown skin impenetrable to the sun?)

 

I appreciate that -- and I admit, I'm probably not the targeted audience. :-)  (Lord, I hope I've never been that clownish!)  Still, I'm going to hope they tone everything down and trust the irony more, especially with Anthony Anderson, who is capable of getting the point across no matter what the tone is.

[sweetaspie]

Initially I was going to skip this show, but decided at the last minute to give it a shot. Surprisingly I liked it. I think there are definitely some kinks they need to work out but overall not a bad start. It was not the cringe worthy train wreck I was expecting.

 

My husband had a bit of a problem with it and is on the fence. I am black and he is white and it really bothered him that the white characters came off as over the top idiots trying to be "hip" (his words). I laughed and told him now he knows how I feel when I see the overweight sassy black woman on tv.

[Cherry Cola]

Nope. And I like Anthony Anderson.

Flip it to a show called White ish. You think that would fly? Hell no. So why is this ok?

[Mozelle]

Nope. And I like Anthony Anderson.

Flip it to a show called White ish. You think that would fly? Hell no. So why is this ok?

 

So, I thought I would have a simply one- or two-sentence response for this, but I don't. Because of that, I've crafted a longer response, which you can find in the Social And Race Issues thread.

 

While I'm on the subject of names: "Rainbow"? Really? And she's a surgeon? I immediately started trying to imagine her backstory.

 

Apparently Kenya Barris, the show's creator, is actually married to a doctor and her name is, in fact, Rainbow Edwards-Barris. This is according to his IMDb biography. 

[After7Only]

My husband had a bit of a problem with it and is on the fence. I am black and he is white and it really bothered him that the white characters came off as over the top idiots trying to be "hip" (his words). I laughed and told him now he knows how I feel when I see the overweight sassy black woman on tv.

 

Great comeback. And the perfect analogy.  Which leads me to......

 

Flip it to a show called White ish. You think that would fly? Hell no. So why is this ok?

 

This is a show about a Black family trying to balance Black American culture within the confines of larger American culture.  There's been tons of shows that have taken similar approaches from other American culture groups.  Blue Bloods - Irish American family, Golden Girls - Italian/Sicilian, Swedish Americans...  Movies like My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

 

If you think it about culture rather than race, maybe that will help you see the difference.    

[ridethemaverick]

I personally wouldn't give two shits about a show called Whitish, since the only difference between that show and 90% of the shows currently on TV would be the name.

Anyway, I wonder if Jack and Jill will come up at all.

Edited September 26, 2014 by ridethemaverick

[tobia]

I had high-ish hopes for this show based on the promos but was disappointed. Primarily because I didn't find it that funny but also because it seemed to be half the dad getting offended at stereotypes being applied to him and half him being disappointed that his children... didn't conform to those stereotypes? That seemed weird to me.

[mojito]

I generally dislike comedies. I did not expect much of this one, as I generally dislike all ethnic comedies because the humor is just too juvenile and the "jokes" are too obvious and simple, and the audience track of people whooping when a couple kisses is just too....1970s.

 

So I was surprised that I enjoyed this show. I'm hoping that the 25+ mentions of the word "black" was only a pilot show setup; if it continues, I will have had enough. We get it, they're black. We don't have to be hit over the head. If this show can do like Bernie Mac did--just being black without announcing that he was--the show could have a chance.

 

Some have commented on the inconsistency of the main character telling his wife that she wasn't really black. I think that's the whole point! He's so hung up on hanging onto his blackness that he's not even rational. The rest of his family members have achieved balance in their individual worlds; Dre is a guy from the 'hood who hasn't.

[DearEvette]

I agree with the earlier comment about the sly humor.  I enjoyed this because they managed to sneak in some very clever lines, not necessarily LOL, but witty.

 

Tracee Ellis Ross is fantastic.  I loved her in Girlfriends so I am sooo happy to see her again.  For me she was the MVP.  She is a natural comedienne and her line delivery is excellent.  I wasn't bothered by AA him calling her 'half-black; or whatever.   My husband is white (I am black) and I always tease him about his 'white man tears' whenever he complains about things that frankly he shouldn;t be.  He's usually very smart about cultural nuances, it is his profession, but one in awhile his privilege shows.  I think there is an intimacy with your partner where you can joke about sensitive things that wouldn't go over well otherwise.

 

Laurence Fishburne comes in a close second.  I think he gets the 'curmudgeonly, wryly observant grandfather' role just right without letting it go into caritcature.

 

The older son is great.  And the oldest daughter -- looked so familiar.  I also think they struck just the right tone with her.  That is exactly how a kid would be at that age. Also, I remember the actress from the movie 'Butter' with Jennifer  Garner.  She was good in that.

 

Strangely enough, Anthony Anderson seemed the more problematic part.  He seemed like he was working too hard to deliver the character.  The effect was that it came off as frenetic rather than relaxed.  He had this really great line:  'Heretoforth, we'll keep it real."  That line encapsualtes his entire dilemma, the pretension of the upper class bourgoisie with the word 'heretoforth' juxtaposed with the urban argot 'keep it real.'  But Anderson rushed the line and it didn't land with the punch it should have.

 

Anyway,  I enjoyed the show.  And yeah, I want to know more about Rainbow.

[BoogieBurns]

And the oldest daughter -- looked so familiar.  I also think they struck just the right tone with her.  That is exactly how a kid would be at that age. Also, I remember the actress from the movie 'Butter' with Jennifer  Garner.

 

That's where she's from? Thank you

[pookat]

Overall, I liked this show. There was a lot of exposition and I don't think I laughed out loud, but as others have mentioned, the sly humor and societal observations are what make it fascinating.

I found it very relatable, especially since much of the humor is derived from that tension one feels when one is kind of, but not really, part of the majority and is trying to keep it real while simultaneously going with the flow.

Because it's a pilot, I'm also cutting it some slack since I think it has a lot of potential to better balance laugh out loud humor with sharp observations based in truth. It reminds me of The Mindy Project pilot, which wasn't great, but had enough shrewdness mixed with sweetness to bring me back for a second look and subsequently hooked me in.

As for being an "ethnic" comedy, I am frankly thrilled to see a comedy that provides a different perspective from a TV hegemony dominated by the likes of Two and a Half Men and its ilk (and this is spoken as a BBT fan).

[Happytobehere]

The show itself was better than the horrendous title would suggest.

I thought the office stuff was an ode to that episode of "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong," from the Dave Chappelle show. You know the one where the office guy goes crazy, flashes the Wu-Tang sign and ends up as the window washer at the gas station.

Love Lawrence Fishbourne and Anthony Anderson. Traci Ellis Ross's wonky eye is getting wonkier and more distracting (although that could be residual Joan from Girlfriends shade), but I still liked what she brought to the role.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Happytobehere

[Happytobehere]

I liked it. It was pretty funny. The only part I didn't like was Andre telling his wife she wasn't really black. Not cool.

Which begs the question of how Mr. 150% Black Man wound up married to her. I'm not mixed, but those comments bother me because, of how it plays into conc onions of what is really black, but I guess that was the point of the joke.

[formerlyfreedom]

Folks, I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of our main rule here at PTV - The Social Contract, which basically says, "Don't be a dick."

 

Some posts have been deleted that were deemed to be 'dickish.' Head over and read that post, and if you need clarification, please feel free to PM me.

[Cherry Cola]

Great comeback. And the perfect analogy.  Which leads me to......

 

 

 

 

This is a show about a Black family trying to balance Black American culture within the confines of larger American culture.  There's been tons of shows that have taken similar approaches from other American culture groups.  Blue Bloods - Irish American family, Golden Girls - Italian/Sicilian, Swedish Americans...  Movies like My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

 

If you think it about culture rather than race, maybe that will help you see the difference.    

Ahh, I see what you are saying...yes that makes sense. 

[futurechemist]

When I was watching, I kept getting distracted by how badly synchronized the audio and video was.  Honestly, I've seen better matching lip movements in a Godzilla movie.

 

That being said, I like the show.  There's chemistry with the cast, and it's an interesting take on the more wholesome sitcoms like The Cosby Show or Family Matters in how it's approaching race head on.  And Laurence Fishburne is fun.

 

On the Bar Mitzvah side, as a reform Jew, I was taught that by turning 13, a Jewish child automatically becomes an adult in the religious law sense, with or without a religious service.  The religious service is about being the first to treat the child as an adult by letting them read from the Torah and lead the congregation in prayer.  The the party is just a party, same as a wedding reception.  And both are a chance for the extended family to celebrate the milestone.  I guess I never thought about a Bar Mitzvah as a status symbol for a non-Jew.

Edited September 27, 2014 by futurechemist

[kris4n6]

 

I enjoyed Tracee Ellis Ross and Laurence Fishburne a lot.  The two older kids felt like fairly realistic kids, but the young ones felt very much like TV kids.  But it's a pilot, so that could very well smooth out.

 

I thought the younger ones were a little 'tv kids' in the bit about their classmate, but I loved the part where the family was at dinner discussing that Obama was the first black president and they didn't know.  Kids, especially that age, are like that - I still remember my father being amazed that I didn't know the Pope was Catholic when I was 6.  I barely knew who the Pope *was* - I knew he was a religious figure at least (though I apparently thought he was Baptist - I just knew he wasn't *our* sect, Methodist).

[angora]

I love how Laurence Fishburne is basically playing a 21st-century black American version of Maggie Smith's character on Downton Abbey, just kind of sitting in the background and snarking on people.

I thought the pilot was fairly uneven, but there's enough potential that it could be great. While I thought some points/jokes were belabored too much, that's nothing new for a pilot - I love the first few seasons of How I Met Your Mother, but there were moments in the pilot of, "I swear to God, if he says 'suit' one more time..." Some good laughs and engaging cast chemistry; looking forward to seeing where it goes.

[Irlandesa]

I liked it.  I had read reviews that said the show wasn't funny yet but had a strong foundation to build on.  I agree about the foundation but I actually laughed more in the pilot than I expected to and I don't typically laugh during pilots.

 

The foundation is the most important part, though.  Trophy Wife had it last year.  Black-ish has it this year.  It has a well developed point of view that meant I didn't have to have personal experience with what they experience in order for me to understand where each character was coming from. 

[MaryMitch]

The actors all have presence, even the young ones - the older son, Andre Jr, is excellent. I think the adults have chemistry. That's probably the most important thing to see in a pilot. Keeping my fingers crossed that writers can bring it.

[poppy-]

I love whole family, and I'll keep an eye on the weird little girl.  I love that the kids were interesting.

 

I enjoyed "you're not really black" - and I don't think the audience was meant to agree with him.  He's not a buffoon, but he's not right about everything either.  Nice balance.

 

I also laughed at the bit about him just slightly missing being a big scary guy to white people. Good writing with a distinct point of a view, not just setups with punchlines.

[ethalfrida]

I haven't seen the show. Was waiting until I read your input on it first. But while I was reading I kept "hearing" Alonza Boden. He would be such a great addition to the writing staff or even the cast. No one does this theme as well as he does. Anyways, I am going to catch up later tonight.

[C0mputerGeek]

So, I just re-watched the pilot preview, and I have a continuity question. Much of Andre, Sr.'s instance of the family not being "black-ish" starts because, or is exacerbated by, Andre Jr. wanting a bar mitzvah. Senior at one point says that Junior is 12 going on 13, but then later when they talk about the field hockey issue versus playing basketball, Junior says that he's a freshman in high school. 

 

Does anyone have any ideas about what is going on there with the age/grade of Andre, Jr.?

When I started the ninth grade at Westchester High School in Los Angeles - many, many years ago - I was 13. I turned 14 in January. My assumption is that Andre Jr skipped a grade or two.

 

I liked it. It was pretty funny. The only part I didn't like was Andre telling his wife she wasn't really black. Not cool.

As a technically multi-racial woman who also happens to be nerd, I cannot even count the number of times I have been told I was not really black.

[Nanrad]

I think Andre wanting to have it both ways describes the experience of some black people in America. They don't want to match stereotypes while at the same time believing that certain behavior makes them real black people, which highlights the dual identity/fragmented states of those blacks. When you are black in America, you are constantly reminded of this at times and/or defined by your race from within and outside of your race. Look at Andre's position at work, and then look at what his father says to him.

And I don't know what others thought about the title, but I loved it for the double meaning: 1. Somewhat black 2. Black shit (situations that black go through). Andre getting promoted to a position because he was the expert on blacks since he is black, Rainbow is being called black ish by her husband because she's bi racial/light skinned (a group of blacks who, on averaged, gets treated differently better than dark skinned blacks), Andre and his father determining what is and isn't black enough. That's all black shit--stuff that is done to blacks by others and themselves.

IRL, some whites are ridiculous and cartoonish. They are ignorant on how offensive their behavior is. I didn't see that as spelling it out, but a reflection of some interaction between blacks and whites. I had a white roommate tell me, "you're not like the other black people I know." Huh? I saw this white girl pat a black girl's Afro and say,"oh my god, that's so urban!"

Or even with Andre jr renaming himself--that happens a lot to blacks with "black" names. Either they rename themselves due to being around a lot of whites or whites rename them.

I think Andre has started to think about his blackness and status in life because of the impending and eventual promotion. He's accomplished what no other black person has at his job, but it also made him more reflective of his identity. Although it shouldn't be a black/white thing, I think "being black" is about retaining culture as a way of not forgetting history, which is very whitewashed and doesn't educate Americans much of black/minority place in said history. Blacks are largely responsible for remembering our history even though we've been stripped of our original culture/past.

[LJonEarth]

I only got halfway through the pilot.  I really like actors and I like the premise -- but I felt like the whole thing was being presented to a very slow audience.  Every point they wanted to make was SPELLED OUT.   I found myself imagining the alternate universe version of this show -- one in which we would understand Andre's reactions to his kids lack of "blackness" without unrealistic (for a modern sitcom) rants and demands.  One in which his job situation would be exactly the same, but the white folks' cluelessness would be more real by their not being so clownish.  I got frustrated -- because it *is* such a good premise and the on-screen talent is so good.

 

This is the stuff of pilots. There tends to be a lot of exposition and broad humor. But, for those of us who have experience clownishness surrounding this topic from people of all races (including our own), the show hit home even with the voice-over and OTT nature of AA. I could write for days about the white co-worker who referred to me as "not a normal black person" or the white boss who couldn't fathom my father listening "white (Paul Simon) music." Or the trouble I had with other black kids when I first started college because I grew up like the kids in this show. Real life gets this clownish.

 

I did tell my friends who all watched the premiere that I was concerned that even the mention of these topics let alone how much of it was crammed into this pilot would turn off people who don't get or who haven't experienced this. I suppose there are two strategies. Come out hard or ease everyone into it. They clearly chose the former.

 

Which begs the question of how Mr. 150% Black Man wound up married to her. I'm not mixed, but those comments bother me because, of how it plays into conc onions of what is really black, but I guess that was the point of the joke.

 

 

 

From what I heard from AA in interviews, he was supposed to have had an epiphany about his kids and life. AA apparently had one in his own life. I don't think he was always Mr. 150% Black Man.

 

I think the comment was more about trying to win an argument (and the writers trying to get that joke/piece of info in about her ethnicity).

[Mozelle]

When I started the ninth grade at Westchester High School in Los Angeles - many, many years ago - I was 13. I turned 14 in January. My assumption is that Andre Jr skipped a grade or two.

 

I'm going to assume that, too, because I was having such trouble with this 12-ish year old boy talking about being in 9th grade. 

 

I think Andre wanting to have it both ways describes the experience of some black people in America. They don't want to match stereotypes while at the same time believing that certain behavior makes them real black people, which highlights the dual identity/fragmented states of those blacks. When you are black in America, you are constantly reminded of this at times and/or defined by your race from within and outside of your race. Look at Andre's position at work, and then look at what his father says to him.

 

I think you hit the nail right on the head. DuBois called it "double consciousness" over a hundred years ago. 

[romantic idiot]

Exactly. I really liked the show, and found the pilot very relatable. As an Indian who reads English books and watches mostly English television, works in a "multinational" corporation, which by definition means Western culture, the question of how much of your culture can you discard and still be part of it, resonates. I felt I understood Andre's point of view. He doesn't want to be the black man, but he doesn't want to be a white man in all but name either. And how does he find the line? Fascinating. And honestly, I feel they'll be able to be smarter and more subversive because as a comedy they'll be forced to be so, versus a drama would become too dramatic, honestly, and dreary, for a tricky subject like this. 

 

I liked this... I felt like the actors had good chemistry and I liked the humor and writing. I also had a problem with the "you're not really black" comment, and I was a little uncomfortable with the whole, "there's a right way to be black (and that's sticking to the stereotypes)" vibe, but I feel like that's the show's main story, discovering and discussing what it means to be black, so I'll continue to watch.

Exactly. And while there is no right way to be black, I've been feeling recently that a lot of stereotypes are negative not in and of themselves but because they are not traditionally "white heterosexual male". In which case the battle should not be to deny those stereotypes but to remove the negativity associated with them. 

While I'm on the subject of names: "Rainbow"? Really? And she's a surgeon? I immediately started trying to imagine her backstory.

It's not like she chose her name. Is the surprise how the daughter of people who would name their child rainbow, would grow up to become a surgeon?

 

Nope. And I like Anthony Anderson.
Flip it to a show called White ish. You think that would fly? Hell no. So why is this ok?

The poster before me who put this in terms of culture said it brilliantly, and I am grossly stereotyping but I don't think many non-ethnic folks, even if they embrace a lot of Black / Indian / New Age hippie culture, worry about losing / inadvertently rejecting / sacrificing their roots to do better in a corporate world.  So I don't the concern translates. 

 

I think Andre wanting to have it both ways describes the experience of some black people in America. They don't want to match stereotypes while at the same time believing that certain behavior makes them real black people, which highlights the dual identity/fragmented states of those blacks. When you are black in America, you are constantly reminded of this at times and/or defined by your race from within and outside of your race. Look at Andre's position at work, and then look at what his father says to him.

And I don't know what others thought about the title, but I loved it for the double meaning: 1. Somewhat black 2. Black shit (situations that black go through). Andre getting promoted to a position because he was the expert on blacks since he is black, Rainbow is being called black ish by her husband because she's bi racial/light skinned (a group of blacks who, on averaged, gets treated differently better than dark skinned blacks), Andre and his father determining what is and isn't black enough. That's all black shit--stuff that is done to blacks by others and themselves.

IRL, some whites are ridiculous and cartoonish. They are ignorant on how offensive their behavior is. I didn't see that as spelling it out, but a reflection of some interaction between blacks and whites. I had a white roommate tell me, "you're not like the other black people I know." Huh? I saw this white girl pat a black girl's Afro and say,"oh my god, that's so urban!"

Or even with Andre jr renaming himself--that happens a lot to blacks with "black" names. Either they rename themselves due to being around a lot of whites or whites rename them.

I think Andre has started to think about his blackness and status in life because of the impending and eventual promotion. He's accomplished what no other black person has at his job, but it also made him more reflective of his identity. Although it shouldn't be a black/white thing, I think "being black" is about retaining culture as a way of not forgetting history, which is very whitewashed and doesn't educate Americans much of black/minority place in said history. Blacks are largely responsible for remembering our history even though we've been stripped of our original culture/past.

This, So very much it deserved to be shown twice. 

[honybr]

I would watch Laurence Fishburne read the phone book and I'm a big fan of Anthony Anderson, so I'll keep watching.  I loved Anderson in The Shield (Antwon Mitchell).  He's a great dramatic actor too.  I hope the show works out for him. 

 

 

This pretty much sums up how I feel.  I can't actually think of anything I didn't like either of them in so I really enjoyed this.  We laughed out loud several times and could relate to a lot of it.  We live in a state with 1.8% black people.  My son goes to private school and when black people are touring to see if they would like to send their children there it never fails they go straight to his classroom (he's the only black student in his class and one of less than 10 in 197 students).  No matter what the grade.  So that tour bus at the very beginning? That sold it for me.  

Edited September 29, 2014 by honybr

[topanga]

 

I thought the younger ones were a little 'tv kids' in the bit about their classmate, but I loved the part where the family was at dinner discussing that Obama was the first black president and they didn't know.  Kids, especially that age, are like that - I still remember my father being amazed that I didn't know the Pope was Catholic when I was 6.  I barely knew who the Pope *was* - I knew he was a religious figure at least (though I apparently thought he was Baptist - I just knew he wasn't *our* sect, Methodist).

My children were 5 and 7 when Obama was elected in 2008. They knew that Obama was black, but they couldn't understand why his race was such a big deal. My older son even said that it made no sense that in America's 200+ year history, only white men had been "allowed" to be President.

 

I hope the Obama conversation on the show doesn't mean that the Black-ish family (I forget their last name) never talks about race.

[twoods]

I'm sure they do but it's realistic for the younger kids to not get it. That's why I loved Rainbow for telling Andre that it was great when her younger kids were describing the weird girl in their class as anything but the "other black girl." Young kids don't see race, and she was so happy that they didn't whereas Andre didn't like it at all. I wish adults acted like children sometimes- look past the race and get to know a person first before they judge.

[Atony]

Love that the wife is reasonable and very successful, yet a mom who cooks dinner for her kids.

 

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.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Atony

[Primetimer]

Tara Ariano's here to tell it to your hair AND your ass.

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[SmithW6079]

According to Wikipedia: "In 2011, Ross appeared in four episodes of CSI as the estranged wife of Laurence Fishburne's character." So she went from being his wife to his daughter-in-law.

 

I liked it. I laughed out loud a few times -- mostly the breakfast scene with the family.

[ohjoy]

This was pretty good, especially Tracey Ellis Ross. Loved Rainbow's comeback to not really being black, and also her response during their argument after she interrupts the ceremony Andre had concocted for his son. The scene went to commercial after she expressed her frustration with his inability to figure his overdramatic self out, and I turned to my sister and said, "She's not wrong." Apparently I took the words right out of my sister's mouth. :-)

 

 

As a technically multi-racial woman who also happens to be nerd, I cannot even count the number of times I have been told I was not really black.

 

As a black female who is both into both classic rock and sci-fi, I am right there with you. I've heard it from black people as well as white.

[jackierow]

Also, the kids were pretty good! I hate pretty much every kid on every tv show on right now, but these ones had some decent acting chops.

[damalanop]

I personally wouldn't give two shits about a show called Whitish, since the only difference between that show and 90% of the shows currently on TV would be the name.

Anyway, I wonder if Jack and Jill will come up at all.

 

Having been part of that organization I LOL'd about the J & J comment.  You probably didn't mean it as funny, but I laughed for some reason!  My first thought was "I hope not".  But then again, since the pilot focused on Anthony Anderson's character trying to get his children back in touch with the culture, then I wouldn't be surprised if J &J or something of it's ilk is proposed in future episodes. 

 

As for the show overall, the best parts for me were Laurence Fishbourne's quips.  He nails his part!  Hopefully, AA and Tracee will gel over time, but based on the pilot, I didn't particularly feel anything watching their relationship.  I'm not even sure that I like their kids either, but I am keeping an open mind.

[SimoneS]

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

 

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

 

The kid who plays Junior is so much fun. His horrified reaction to his father opening the door on him masturbating and his over sharing was very well done.

 

I love the twins. They are so cute.

Edited October 2, 2014 by SimoneS

[Maude]

This show is now definitely on my Must Watch List.

Both story-lines tonight seemed predictable at first, but the whole thing was written so well that it didn't feel like something I'd seen before. The discovery of the "hand to gland combat" and subsequent sex talks were excruciatingly funny. The actors were all perfect, especially Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross (I still miss "Girlfriends") and the eldest son who is very well cast. The twins were so cute as well and Fishburne is the icing on the cake.

Excellent episode. More please.