Cristela - General Discussion

[SmithW6079]

And the show returning time and again to this weird philosophy the family seems to have about achievement isn't any less strange.

Maybe Ama came to the US illegally, and that's why she has a "keep your head down, don't make waves" philosophy? Maybe it's a secret she's kept from her children?

[Kromm]

Maybe Ama came to the US illegally, and that's why she has a "keep your head down, don't make waves" philosophy? Maybe it's a secret she's kept from her children?

Wasn't that actually already a plot point on Jane The Virgin (with the grandmother there)? 

[Irlandesa]

So not only did they bring that back this last episode, but ramped it up with the mother actually proving to have sabotaged Cristela in her childhood, based on this bizarre logic that potentially being made fun of is somehow worse than having your opportunities at better paying jobs removed.

Cristela said that she lifted that from a similar incident in her real childhood.    Ama didn't see it as sabotage.  She legitimately thought she was doing the best thing for Cristela at the time.  Even though Cristela didn't agree with what she did, the episode did have her at least acknowledge that Ama had good intentions. 

[DB in CMH]

That doesn't undo the large impact of her original action. And the show returning time and again to this weird philosophy the family seems to have about achievement isn't any less strange.

It's really not that uncommon for people from the lower class. Like myself. It's sort of the attitude of getting too big for your britches. It's strange and hard to explain, but I've experienced it. But I don't buy this family as lower class - they're lower-middle/middle class if anything. 

 

I'd really like a reboot in season 2, but it doesn't look like there will be a season 2, so there's that. I think Cristela Alonzo is a star, but the rest of the cast pales in comparison and drag the show down. 

[Kromm]

It's really not that uncommon for people from the lower class. Like myself. It's sort of the attitude of getting too big for your britches. It's strange and hard to explain, but I've experienced it. But I don't buy this family as lower class - they're lower-middle/middle class if anything. 

 

I'd really like a reboot in season 2, but it doesn't look like there will be a season 2, so there's that. I think Cristela Alonzo is a star, but the rest of the cast pales in comparison and drag the show down. 

The show got a quick back 9 approval last fall after the initial 13 episode commitment, so that's generally a sign of early confidence in a show. Putting aside the first few episodes (always higher for any show) and a December drop (which happens for all shows, at least in the US market), the show's numbers in October, November, January and February were all pretty consistent.  There was even a ratings bump on January 9th, because of Roseanne, and while the show didn't keep those extra viewers, it didn't lose it's normal base after that episode either.

 

The numbers would probably have had to fall more for them to not follow that precedent into a second season, considering that Friday nights are not a place for super-high ratings no matter what.  Or they'd have to really have a crowded promising bunch of pilots or a totally new concept for Friday nights other than comedy.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Kromm

[DB in CMH]

The show got a quick back 9 approval last fall after the initial 13 episode commitment, so that's generally a sign of early confidence in a show. Putting aside the first few episodes (always higher for any show) and a December drop (which happens for all shows, at least in the US market), the show's numbers in October, November, January and February were all pretty consistent.  There was even a ratings bump on January 9th, because of Roseanne, and while the show didn't keep those extra viewers, it didn't lose it's normal base after that episode either.

 

The numbers would probably have had to fall more for them to not follow that precedent into a second season, considering that Friday nights are not a place for super-high ratings no matter what.  Or they'd have to really have a crowded promising bunch of pilots or a totally new concept for Friday nights other than comedy.

 

This is getting a bit industry-talkish, but a 0.9/1.0 isn't great. The Neighbors aired a full season last year with similar numbers, but did not get another. That was more an admission that ABC didn't feel it was worth bothering to try to launch another show on Fridays than a vote of confidence for The Neighbors. I'm running on the assumption that ABC will renew every Wednesday sitcom (pretty much a give-in) and Fresh of the Boat (also a give-in, unless it crashes). Last Man Standing is a question mark given its cost. That's 5, possibly 6 certainly-renewed half hours out of 8. Assuming no new sitcom hours, Cristela becomes the odd man out as the lowest rated show. ABC won't launch only one new sitcom. ABC could also dump sitcoms on Fridays altogether and go with something cheaper.

 

I would love to have seen Cristela get Wednesday exposure like FotB, but Cristela (as a multi-cam) doesn't fit the feel of any other ABC show but LMS. Personally, I'd kind of like to see the show get cancelled so Alonzo can move onto something better. The show isn't bad, but it's not great, and I think Alonzo is far better than the material (even though she writes a good deal of it).

 

A really good example of this are this weeks episodes of FotB and Cristela, both of which dealt in some way with issues of race/ethnicity and privilege. FotB was multi-layered and subtle yet very effective (and still hilarious), while Cristela just sort of barreled through it and upped the laugh track. Cristela also had the potential to be this generation's Roseanne (and Alonzo very obviously has that in mind), but actively avoids issues of class except to make the rich characters look like clueless buffoons. There's no layering, no subtlety, no soul. 

 

Sorry for this turning into a bit of a rant. I find Alonzo appealing enough to keep watching (I'm also an academic and am going to write an article about the show this summer), but see so many ways that it could distinguish itself and really stand out that it completely fails to capitalize on.

[Kromm]

The 1.00 is clearly the natural number for the show and the 0.9 the holiday decline.  I agree even the 1.0 is fairly terrible, but Friday night is always a wasteland, so that's a big factor, and consistency is better than a lack of it.  The show got the back 9 based on the 1,0 assumption (because it happened in late November) and the show returned to those numbers after the holidays.  So the real question has to be based around if ABC comes up with something better for the slot, or changes all of Friday just for the hell of it.  Or if they've just undergone one of those periodic shifts, where they have one attitude one quarter and a different one a few quarters later (the back 9 could have just been the result of nothing better to put in mid-season, for example, but they might expect a better crop for next fall).  

 

I actually haven't seen the most recent episode yet, but do understand the frustration. The show is FAR from bad, and I don't think 100% of the appeal is JUST Alonzo, but there certainly are places it can be even more ambitious with the race/class commentary and isn't.  But I do think there are some surprisingly complex characters--the boss' daughter for example, where they've actually avoided the easy road with her and written her quite cleverly.  Maybe that one is balanced out by Cristela's brother in law, who does have a few surprise moments (a few times when they've had him agree with Cristela), but who is mostly just a stock character.  

[quetzal]

I've kinda lost track of which weeks Cristela is on and when there's a week off so I just catch up OnDemand when I remember to. The breaks in between take me out of it.

 

Despite the numbers talk I'm not hopeful for a Season 2.

[imjagain]

I loved this episode. It's was so real and honest.  Bravo Cristela  Alonzo!

[Irlandesa]

I loved this episode too. It had me smiling from start to finish.  I think the thing I loved the most was seeing how often Josh smiled.  He has a beautiful smile and I think it's a surprisingly rare talent to make amusement and happiness feel real.  Yet, that's what I get from him when he was smiling or laughing at something in the background.  It came across as genuine reacting to whatever was going on.

 

But I don't buy this family as lower class - they're lower-middle/middle class if anything.

That's where they are now, which is a credit to Ama.  But it's quite possible that's not where they started.

 

I don't think 100% of the appeal is JUST Alonzo, but there certainly are places it can be even more ambitious with the race/class commentary and isn't.  But I do think there are some surprisingly complex characters--the boss' daughter for example, where they've actually avoided the easy road with her and written her quite cleverly.

I agree.  Alonzo is great but I like this show for more than her.  I think her family is great.  And I like her work place too. I don't think the rich people are cartoons.  Like you said, Maddie has been somewhat surprising at times.  She walks a fine line between spoiled ditz and clever, almost-caring co-worker.  Even her father, who has a lot of the cliches of an older, white, rich lawyer, is often portrayed as being on the same wave length as Cristela.

[Kromm]

More than good, I thought this last episode was maybe even excellent.  I think this episode hit a lot of the points it's been missing.  It drove forward the stalled plot that Cristela liked Josh. It used the mother character about as well as they ever have.  It hit some subtle issues of race and class up.  

 

That said, assuming there's another season I really want to see them go further with the race/class issues.  For example, all of the people cast for the Gonzalez/Hernandez family are on the light-skinned side.  Like with African-Americans, I know there are issues with skin tone to explore with Mexican-Americans, and this show hasn't gone near it.  They're also, as has been said, very much middle class, and the show hasn't admitted and dealt with it in comparison to both the true rich and true poor Mexican-Americans in Texas (so far not even admitting those three versions of Texas Mexican society exist).  

But overall it did hit the themes a little more solidly.

[SmithW6079]

I'm in agreement with everyone else that this episode was excellent, especially Ama's insistence on Josh as Cristela's white boyfriend and that dating white meant they were moving up in the world.

I must say, Maria Canals-Barrera looked absolutely stunning at the quincenera.

I kind of don't like that they're making Izzy the smart-aleck kid, but I loved her "Not upstairs yet," as Danielle started to lash into Ama.

[quetzal]

Biggest laugh I let out in a while was when Natalia was gift wrapping the foil to make some 'to go' plates and her excitement at their "trophy wife" at the door. 

 

I really enjoyed this past episode.

[Kromm]

Hmm.  No talk on not one but TWO episodes paired together last Friday?

 

The idea of the first episode was decent (Cristela being a token at a trial to influence the jury) but it went very over the top with the level of her boss' ignorance of how he'd come off to minorities.  It was way too cartoonish.

 

The B story was Alberto was actually okay--surprising given how annoying the character typically is.  The plot also gave some depth to Nathalia, which was nice.

 

The second episode was kind of dull other than I liked once again how the show reinforces that Maddie is far from dumb. The show so could have had Maddie be the typical mean boss' daughter character, or just a ditz, and she's neither of those--in fact she communicates actually being kind of sweet.  But something about the actual writing of this episode made it kind of a snoozer for me.

 

So next episode apparently we get Tim Allen and a crossover with his crappy show.  Oh joy! (not).

[possibilities]

I really like the show a lot, but I rarely have much to say about it. It doesn't make me want to nitpick, it just has a throughline of the same great qualities I appreciate week after week. For instance, i love how Cristela has decent self-esteem, at the same time as being well-aware of her social position and how that makes her insecure in some social situations, but over-confident in others. And when she gets smacked with reality, she deals with it, usually in ways I admire, but always in ways I can understand. yes, the show is silly in some ways, and they exaggerate things for comedic effect or plot convenience, but it still has a complexity to the relationships and characters that I really like.

[momtoall]

Hmm.  No talk on not one but TWO episodes paired together last Friday?

 

And therein lies the problem with the show.  There is no meat, substance or buzz to the content that generates comment.  Cristela, the show, is just meh ....

[SmithW6079]

The idea of the first episode was decent (Cristela being a token at a trial to influence the jury) but it went very over the top with the level of her boss' ignorance of how he'd come off to minorities.  It was way too cartoonish.

 

It didn't make sense to me. For starters, I really can't believe that there are absolutely no Hispanic associates at the firm -- other than an intern -- who would have been considered to sit at the counsel table. Also, if Troy wanted to show that his client wasn't a bigot, and wanted to sway the jurors, shouldn't he have had Cristela there during the voir dire, not just the last few days of the trial? I did like Cristela's explanation of the differences among how Latinos view one another.

 

The B story was Alberto was actually okay--surprising given how annoying the character typically is.  The plot also gave some depth to Nathalia, which was nice.

 

I like Alberto, partly because I like Gabriel Iglesias. I thought their story was really sweet, and I might have teared up when Alberto was talking about how Ama stepped in after his mother died.

 

The second episode was kind of dull other than I liked once again how the show reinforces that Maddie is far from dumb. The show so could have had Maddie be the typical mean boss' daughter character, or just a ditz, and she's neither of those--in fact she communicates actually being kind of sweet.  But something about the actual writing of this episode made it kind of a snoozer for me.

 

It seemed a step back. They've shown that Maddie has done good work before, so her being lazy all of a sudden didn't work for me. I am glad they followed through with showing that she is good when she puts her mind to it.

 

I loved seeing Felix featured with his kids, and I loved his advice to Henry about how you treat women. They flirted with him being a moron dad, but I think they pulled it off that he really wasn't. I also thought Ama was hilarious with her feud with Juanita at the church bake sale. (I didn't get the deal with the cakes -- she says she made hers with three leches, which is Spanish for "milk," but Juanita made hers with five. Three different types of milk?)

 

It's funny -- over at the "Odd Couple" forum, there was discussion about the updating of the ex-wives' names, but that you really couldn't change the names "Oscar" or "Felix" as the main characters, even though they were old-fashioned. Yet, I totally buy Carlos Ponce as a "Felix." (Maybe it's because he's hot, and "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.")  

Edited April 1, 2015 by SmithW6079

[readster]

I love the show but they really need to stop with Cristela's: "I don't want a relationship because it will get in the way of my career." Which we know went on hold after her mother got sick after the death of her father. Now, she is ready to finally be a lawyer after so much delay and I can understand it but they have to stop with it. If Cristela doesn't want to date in any form, she should just ignore everything and start making arrangements now once she has a full time job to move out of her sister and brother-in-law's house. That way she will have less pressure on her. The cast is still great and I do enjoy the storylines but they need to put the "anti-dating" to rest.

[SmithW6079]

Have they said the father is dead? I thought he abandoned the family when Cristela was 4 years old, and Natalia raised the three children as a single mom.

I love the show but they really need to stop with Cristela's: "I don't want a relationship because it will get in the way of my career."

Why did they need to introduce the associate as a potential love interest? Just to make Josh jealous? Or because Cristela Alonso needs the validation that her character is desirable to men?

After the sweet story line with Ama last week, I was disappointed to see how awful Alberto was this episode.

Edited April 7, 2015 by SmithW6079

[readster]

The story was a little too close to life. I was in the same situation back in 2010. We lived with my in-laws and I was getting ready to take a very important test. Then I lost my job and my in-laws were all: "You get a job!" "You have a kid on your way and the test can wait." I didn't spend the money for it but the test was radically changed a few months later. As a result it took me 4 tries before I passed it after everyone told me it was a walk in the park. But the test had changed so dramatically they had to retake it for recertification and their reaction was: "What test is this?" "This is extremely hard!" I hated the forced cliffhanger though, just let us know if they passed.

[BooBear]

 I hated the forced cliffhanger though, just let us know if they passed.

 

Yeh. I ended up just watching this show because I am too tired to change the channel on Friday nights... take note ABC.  I enjoy it. At first I was offended by Cristella's BIL being so insulting but I think they pulled it back.  I love Josh and think they have a natural friendship and he had a great smile.  Love that he went to see her mom.

[readster]

Yeh. I ended up just watching this show because I am too tired to change the channel on Friday nights... take note ABC.  I enjoy it. At first I was offended by Cristella's BIL being so insulting but I think they pulled it back.  I love Josh and think they have a natural friendship and he had a great smile.  Love that he went to see her mom.

 

 Oh I completely got the mother's reaction, as they told her, she lived, she escaped the villiage. Yet, she still thinks that way. The biggest problem was is how the sister lost the job. I was in the same position years ago as I started earlier but they let me finish the full day and then took me to the office and told me I was being let go. Of course, I've heard worse where a friend of mine was about to come in on a Monday and was stopped at the front desk. Told to wait and then were told they were done after three years. Saying they were doing away with his position and they were putting two of his co-workers to share the responsibilities. He was not happy and even told them why did they not tell him the previous Friday instead of waiting until the moment he walked in the door. They told him the decision as made weeks ago. Yet they waited until Monday morning. Of course the people who made the decision are no longer there and they were also told: "We don't need you anymore." As Andrew said: "When is someone going to worry about what you want." I hate to say this, by why can't the mother get off her butt and get PT job?

[greekmom]

There are a few things that bothered me with last night's episode. 1. Daniela loses her job and Cristela has to get a job and forfeit her money for the bar. 2. Why couldn't Daniela get the job sweeping at the beauty shop?  3. Ama's lowering Cristela back down to menial labour when Cristela has higher aspirations.  

 

I was hoping that Culpepper would find out and actually pay Cristela's bar exam fee (because he knows she has potential) or that he would offer Daniela a job at the law firm (wasn't the position of Administrative Assistant open or something in the mail room in a previous episode?)

Anyways, I don't like the fact that they fired Daniela from her job.

[Sparger Springs]

Don't you pay exam fees ahead of time. I thought that was a stupid plot line. I'm guessing Chris passes the test and stays because her sister is now jobless.

[readster]

  Also, as pointed out, its a retread of why Cristela waited to become a lawyer to begin with. Her father died and then Ama got sick from the situation. She dropped out to take care of Ama with Daniela and to help with the kids since Felix said he was working more then. All of a sudden, Daniela is out of the job and Ama apparently pays all the bills for the house and makes the money so she tells everyone they have to return, drop out and get this money. I agree, why couldn't Daniela get the sweeting job at the beauty shop? Also, since Daniela was fired, she can get unemployment. It was the classic: "Change the characters so the story will work when it doesn't make sense." Also, as said, why is keeping another excuse from happening in 6 months when taking the bar exam again?Ama can get off her high horse and get a job!

Edited April 11, 2015 by readster

[Ms Lark]

Comcast's description of next week's season (probably series) finale has spoilers for the cliffhanger:

In the Season 1 finale, the results of the bar exam are in, and of Cristela, Maddie and Josh, only two of them pass, one of whom is Cristela, who is offered an attorney position by Trent. Returning home with the good news, Cristela is greeted with an unexpected surprise by Daniela.

 

I'm guessing,

since the obvious choice to fail is Maddie, they'll go with Josh not passing. Although, I hope that isn't the case.

[readster]

That does make sense.

I can see Josh not passing as he was the least worried and he was the most supported. Maddie makes sense too since I've known many people who are like her and then pass without problems. As for Daniela's news, either she gets a new job or her boss rehires her.

[greekmom]

Meanwhile on wiki....

The results of everyone's bar exams are revealed. Cristela and Maddie (much to everyone's surprise) passed; Josh, unfortunately, did not pass. Trent offers Cristela a position at the firm, with the option to hire an assistant. Josh happily takes the role of Cristela's secretary in order to avoid having to move back with his parents. Cristela ecstatically races home with the exciting news, but Daniela has other ideas about how Cristela should spend her new life.

 

Which the last part does not make sense. 

[Kromm]

Don't you pay exam fees ahead of time. I thought that was a stupid plot line. I'm guessing Chris passes the test and stays because her sister is now jobless.

It's the logic to keep her in that house, I agree.  She stays and (finally) pays rent, to make up for Daniela's lack of salary.  

 

The mother's logic in village mode of course makes no sense, but I guess that was supposed to be the whole joke (not that it was even that funny).

 

Re: the spoiler above?  For some reason I was actually expecting that result.  And I suspect I know which variation of that plot they went with as well (the same a few others of you guessed above)

[readster]

It's the logic to keep her in that house, I agree.  She stays and (finally) pays rent, to make up for Daniela's lack of salary.  

 

The mother's logic in village mode of course makes no sense, but I guess that was supposed to be the whole joke (not that it was even that funny).

 

Re: the spoiler above?  For some reason I was actually expecting that result.  And I suspect I know which variation of that plot they went with as well (the same a few others of you guessed above)

 

  I also agree, if there is a season 2 then this sets everything to move forward but at the same time keep everyone under the same roof to keep the dynamic of the show.

[Pollock]

I loved seeing Felix featured with his kids, and I loved his advice to Henry about how you treat women. They flirted with him being a moron dad, but I think they pulled it off that he really wasn't. I also thought Ama was hilarious with her feud with Juanita at the church bake sale. (I didn't get the deal with the cakes -- she says she made hers with three leches, which is Spanish for "milk," but Juanita made hers with five. Three different types of milk?)

Reaaaaaaaaally late to the party but I just caught up with the last few episodes : yep, three types of milk.

It's a delicious. Please note that I'm not american nor latina, never had it except the ones I made, so I'm not privy to the subtilities of the cake and don't know what the canon is but I use this recipe and it's absolutely fraking delicious (and even more the day after) : http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tres-Leches-Milk-Cake/Detail.aspx?evt19=1 

Except for the whipped cream for which I use a lot less sugar than here. Just so you know, because we are pigs at home and I love big cakes (this one is thin), I doubled everything once for the same size of pan and it was awesomly big and moist. Calories count must had be through the roof but hey, it's milk, calcium is good for you.

It's super simple et mega mega mega awesome. My husband can't get enough of it, my friends love it and I'm crying with glutony just reading the recipe again so I guess I'm gonna have to do it again this week-end.

 

I'm curious what could be the fifth milk her nemesis uses if you count the cream as a milk. Half and half maybe, I read you can use it instead of the evaporated milk.

[Irlandesa]

I liked that season finale but I'm not sure how I feel about Cristela leaving the house.  It has the potential to separate the comedy even more. 

 

But I do hope it comes back for another season.  It was comforting.  It also could be somewhat deep. 

 

Cristela Alonzo wrote a blog post about the show.  She doesn't know if it'll be renewed or not but this is a great read about what influenced the show.

 

http://cristelaalonzo.com/blog/2015/4/17/my-letter-as-a-possible-goodbye-cristela-season-finale-tonight

[pookat]

I love Cristela's post. I shouldn't get so attached to a TV show, but I really like this one and reading Cristela's post makes me sad that we might not get another season.

I may not have been very active on this thread, but I watch the show live every week plus I actually purchased ALL of the episodes online. I even sit through Last Man Standing (which is meh at best, IMO) every Friday just to watch Cristela.

She addresses class issues in a way that I haven't seen before. This show fills an important niche and every ep just makes me want to cheer more for the Cristela within the show and in real life. There is a poignancy with which she shows the experience of women who may have been on the outside as girls, but are smart and work hard to the point that they're on the verge of getting that golden key to access the inner circle. Yet they still feel a little like outsiders because of both internal and external factors. Cristela really gets it.

It's not splashy or outlandish like Jane the Virgin, but it has a good solid foundation and a charming protagonist. I am thrilled that we now have more than one show on network TV with a predominantly Latino cast. I sincerely hope that TPTB realize that TV is big enough to accommodate both shows and maybe give Cristela a fighting chance in a better timeslot rather than letting it languish on Friday nights. Personally, I like relaxing at the end of the week with this sweet show, but I wish they wouldn't expect Modern Family ratings given where they chose to hide Cristela in the weekly lineup.

Edited April 18, 2015 by pookat

[DB in CMH]

She addresses class issues in a way that I haven't seen before. This show fills an important niche and every ep just makes me want to cheer more for the Cristela within the show and in real life. There is a poignancy with which she shows the experience of women who may have been on the outside as girls, but are smart and work hard to the point that they're on the verge of getting that golden key to access the inner circle. Yet they still feel a little like outsiders because of both internal and external factors. Cristela really gets it.

 

 

I've been of the opposite view that the show doesn't go far enough. They've scratched the surface here and there of class issues, but haven't done enough with it. I think it bugs me because Cristela takes much of its inspiration from Roseanne (obviously), but hasn't developed a voice  about class like that show did. It did take Roseanne two seasons to gel, but the strong class issues were there from day one. If the show does get a second season, I'd like to see them explore Daniela struggling to find another job, which is not unrealistic given her age. The implications of that could produce very fertile grounds for comedy, and would keep Cristela living in the house.

 

I think the show really gelled in this past run of 7-8 episodes and would like to see a second season. A big point of improvement for me is that the mom has become far less cringy, with the exception of her going into "village mode." I really hated that. There are ways to show her being overbearing and negative without saying "Back in my village" every episode. 

 

But tonight really felt like a series finale, leaving some doors open in case they get picked up. If they don't, I assume that ABC is grooming Cristela Alonzo for a permanent host spot on The View considering how much she's guest hosted there this year.

Edited April 18, 2015 by DB in CMH

[Kromm]

I like what Cristela says in the post about the social and economic realities of her upbringing and how it's represented by the show.

What I don't like is that the show acts like the other versions of Latino reality don't exist. It seems to me that the culture conflict between the segments of the community is something that needs to be acknowledged, even though of course it's not shown as Cristela's own experiences. But the point of her working at a law firm (vs. what she did in her real life) is that THAT fictional version of Cristela WOULD encounter rich Latinos--and it fact part of the WTFness of the show is the interactions with her boss, where he acts like an impossible White Guy in Texas--the white guy who's ONLY met poor Latinos. Which might work in some parts of the country but has always seemed patently ridiculous in that setting for that kind of character (a lawyer--who'd be representing, or at the very least opposing) all kinds of people in his dealings.

In other words, her argument/points in that piece are great--but they ONLY apply to the "home" portion of the show. The same logic applied to her workplace in the show seems silly and unrealistic at best, and insulting at worst. Because while Cristela the actress/stand up comedian might have not had those experiences, that's NOT WHO SHE'S PLAYING ON THE SHOW.

[Daffodilicious]

Josh: smart, kind, easy smile... I love his vibe, but at the beginning of the series, wasn't he promoted as gay? I missed a lot of eps between then and the season finale and was surprised by an apparently pending/hopeful romance between him and Cristela.

 

Was there an ep that explains his "transition" to straight, as improbable as that sounds, or did I just dream there was an alternate Josh??

[Irlandesa]

 I'd like to see them explore Daniela struggling to find another job, which is not unrealistic given her age. The implications of that could produce very fertile grounds for comedy, and would keep Cristela living in the house.

Given her age?  Maybe.  But given the way she looks?  Less likely.  There's the double edged sword of hiring someone who looks like that and acknowledges her beauty.

 

I think this show went far enough...for now.  It was clearly meant to be more light hearted than a sitcom like "Mom" for instance.  It's a fine line to touch on race and class without  embracing a cynical tone.  It can be done but the multi-cam sitcoms that have pulled it off are pretty rare. It's easy to point to Roseanne but that was a classic sitcom unique in the fact that it did do such an amazing job at pulling it off. The positive I saw in the first season is that the show is at least willing to talk about it.  And has been willing to go deeper when it came to Cristela's relationship with her mother.

What I don't like is that the show acts like the other versions of Latino reality don't exist. It seems to me that the culture conflict between the segments of the community is something that needs to be acknowledged, even though of course it's not shown as Cristela's own experiences. But the point of her working at a law firm (vs. what she did in her real life) is that THAT fictional version of Cristela WOULD encounter rich Latinos--and it fact part of the WTFness of the show is the interactions with her boss, where he acts like an impossible White Guy in Texas--the white guy who's ONLY met poor Latinos.

During the case when Trent asked Cristela to sit next to him in court because his client was being sued for discriminating against latinos touched a little bit on how they're not all the same nor do they appreciate being lumped together.  Not much, no but  she did touch on it.  If this show lasts, I'm sure we'll touch on more. 

 

As for Trent thinking there are only poor Mexicans, it fits into the "I can't be racist, I have black friends" situation.  Sure, I'm sure Trent has met some well-to-do Mexicans but I'd also bet that they're the exception to him, not the rule.  There are racists who voted for Obama. Ask them about him and they'll say he's so well-spoken.  Ask them about the black family across the street and they have far less kind thoughts. 

 

Was there an ep that explains his "transition" to straight, as improbable as that sounds, or did I just dream there was an alternate Josh??

I've seen every episode of this show and never felt the show implied he was gay.  The only thing they've gone back and forth on is how much he and Cristela like each other.  But even then, I don't think they went back and forth on it but rather had them see each other as friends with a hint of something else underneath that caused mild jealousy every once in a while.

Edited April 19, 2015 by Irlandesa

[Kromm]

I think they've always been clear Josh is straight. They've gone back and forth a bit on if he was into Cristela, but they definitely STARTED in a clear place that he was even from the first episode or two. They weren't overt, but he seemed to consistently find her funny and witty, for example, and the actor used body language that, if not showing overt physical attraction, did show ease with her.

[JAYJAY1979]

I wasn't surprised Maddie passed...she seemed very intelligent yet was unmotivated to try. Yet when an occasion came, she proved she had an insight into certain matters

[Daffodilicious]

Well, thank you Irlandesa and Kromm for setting me straight (no pun intended) on my "Josh" issue.

 

'Guess I must have been dreaming, inventing my own subtext for the show – as if race and class weren’t enough! :)

[readster]

Looking at how this ended, if there is a season 2 then Cristela staying works because she can pay rent to make up for Gabriela's loss of salary. Then when the family is doing better, she can move out on her own. Also, it gets Felix's wish of not having Cristela around as much because she would put in long hours on some cases and others she be home by certain times. The kids are growing up and they aren't going to need a babysitter around as much now. As for Ama, be interesting to see how she treats Cristela now that she is finished with school, has a license and is practicing law at a high firm. If the show is done, well I can say it did have a nice end to things in the long run. Most first season shows don't even get that.

[quetzal]

Loved Cristela's "possible goodbye" post. 

 

I'm not hopeful for a renewal (because I'm a pessimist like that) but I am so glad that I stuck out the show and got to learn more about Cristela. 

[Kromm]

Looking at how this ended, if there is a season 2 then Cristela staying works because she can pay rent to make up for Gabriela's loss of salary. Then when the family is doing better, she can move out on her own.

It may work in theory, and the second to last episode seemed poised to feed into that if needed, but the actual last episode of the season torpedoed the idea.  They seemed to reconfigure things to have Cristela forced to have her mother as a roommate, and Alberto as her wacky neighbor, and the rest of the "home cast" would be scarce/limited to artificial scenes where the stories force her back to the old home set or they're magically visiting her apartment.  Frankly it seems more like a setup to ditch those extra cast members (Daniela, Felix and the kids) totally, or at the least limit them to a few episodes per season max.

[Irlandesa]

Kromm, that's the sense I got too...or at least feared.  i know shows retool at times but that's not how I would retool this show. 

[SmithW6079]

It may work in theory, and the second to last episode seemed poised to feed into that if needed, but the actual last episode of the season torpedoed the idea. They seemed to reconfigure things to have Cristela forced to have her mother as a roommate, and Alberto as her wacky neighbor, and the rest of the "home cast" would be scarce/limited to artificial scenes where the stories force her back to the old home set or they're magically visiting her apartment. Frankly it seems more like a setup to ditch those extra cast members (Daniela, Felix and the kids) totally, or at the least limit them to a few episodes per season max.

I hope that's not it. Part of the charm of this show is the family life portions: Ama, Felix and Daniella; the kids, not so much (at least since they started making Izzy the smart-ass, too-mature kid).

I was disappointed in the finale. Not so much because of the twist-not-a-twist (Josh fails, Maddie passes), but in the set-up to keep Josh on the show. I think it likely that, as an associate, Cristela would share a secretary with other associates, not have one of her own. It was also a reversal of Josh's belief that taking an assistant position is a dead-end for someone with aspirations to be a lawyer. I don't find it believable that he would do that. Culpepper is not the only law firm in Texas, and Josh would not be the first attorney to have failed the bar on his first attempt.

Also, while they brought up the subject of paralegals (Cristela suggests it to Josh), I didn't care for Josh's dismissal of paralegals as "lawyers who failed the bar." I'm not a paralegal, but I've worked in a law firm. Paralegals are not failed lawyers; it is a career path unto itself.

At the end, did Maddie force her dad to hire her also as an associate?

I liked the show; I hope it comes back for another season.

Edited April 22, 2015 by SmithW6079

[possibilities]

I love this show, and I love Alonzo's blog commentary. They really didn't promote the show at all, and maybe if they had, it would have been different. I know the ratings are terible, but I still wish they'd bring it back.

 

I hope theywere exposing her on The View so she will have enough of a following that it will carry over into people watching Cristela; it's probably too late now, but I think having her on The View  exclusively would be such a waste, if that's the only exposure she'd be getting.

 

I would be sad if they ditched the family -- I really liked Daniela and Felix.

 

I thought the chemistry between Josh and Cristela was palpable from the first episode onward. Having him be her assistant is a little awkward, and doesn't seem very realistic given not only his previous views on assistants, but also the idea that he stayed in town because of his affection for her. How does that work, if she's his boss? They can't date under those conditions. Maybe they should have had him stay in town and rent a room from her sister and Felix (cheaper than a whole apartment), while waiting tables or something like that-- while he studies to re-take the Bar. Or he could work part time for Felix or something, to pay bills.

 

I thought Gabriel Iglesias' character was terrible, and there was no reason to move him into Cris's old room. I know he's a bigger name so they probably wanted to keep him for that reason, but the writing for his character was the worst thing about the show, worse even than the kids. Though with Ama and Cris both moving out, there'd be room for both him and Josh in the house-- which would give more reasons for the family to be seen, even as Cris moves into her own place.

 

I dunno. I just really love this show and wish they'd give it another chance, with more promotion and no budget cuts.

[Kromm]

I love this show, and I love Alonzo's blog commentary. They really didn't promote the show at all, and maybe if they had, it would have been different. I know the ratings are terible, but I still wish they'd bring it back.

 

I hope theywere exposing her on The View so she will have enough of a following that it will carry over into people watching Cristela; it's probably too late now, but I think having her on The View  exclusively would be such a waste, if that's the only exposure she'd be getting.

 

I would be sad if they ditched the family -- I really liked Daniela and Felix.

 

I thought the chemistry between Josh and Cristela was palpable from the first episode onward. Having him be her assistant is a little awkward, and doesn't seem very realistic given not only his previous views on assistants, but also the idea that he stayed in town because of his affection for her. How does that work, if she's his boss? They can't date under those conditions. Maybe they should have had him stay in town and rent a room from her sister and Felix (cheaper than a whole apartment), while waiting tables or something like that-- while he studies to re-take the Bar. Or he could work part time for Felix or something, to pay bills.

 

I thought Gabriel Iglesias' character was terrible, and there was no reason to move him into Cris's old room. I know he's a bigger name so they probably wanted to keep him for that reason, but the writing for his character was the worst thing about the show, worse even than the kids. Though with Ama and Cris both moving out, there'd be room for both him and Josh in the house-- which would give more reasons for the family to be seen, even as Cris moves into her own place.

 

I dunno. I just really love this show and wish they'd give it another chance, with more promotion and no budget cuts.

Did we watch the same episode?  My takeaway wasn't that Alberto was moving into Felix's house, but that they'd gone around Cristela and already secured her a new apartment (with mother in tow, unasked) that was right next door to Alberto's apartment. 

[possibilities]

I got that they were having Cris and Ama move out together, without asking Cris first. I also heard Alberto recommending the apartment "across the way" because he wanted to look in her window (I hate how unrepentantly sleazy he is and how the show seems to think it's somehow funny). I didn't catch that they had actually rented the place for her already, but that is probably because I was so taken aback that they were making all her decisions for her, and she was going along with it. She actually has choices now that she has income. She can't stay with them if they don't want her, but everyone including Cristela was acting like they were in charge and she would do whatever the rest of them decided, and that had me a little stunned. And I did think Alberto was moving in with Felix and Daniela. I somehow leapt to the conclusion that the apartment was across from their house, and he wanted to look in the window from there, not from his old place. But what you say, Kromm, does make more sense. I think I was tracking the rest of the episode, though. I just got a little kerfluffled at the end.

[SmithW6079]

I also heard Alberto recommending the apartment "across the way" because he wanted to look in her window (I hate how unrepentantly sleazy he is and how the show seems to think it's somehow funny).

 

Which is odd, because Gabriel Iglesias's act is not sleazy, at least from what I've seen on Comedy Central (I don't know how he is live).

 

According to The Cheat Sheet, the show is on the verge of cancellation.