S01.E03: The Shunning / S01.E04: Success Perm

[TaxNerd]

Heh. I went to high school with Eddie and that young actor has him down. The swagger and annoyance at the mundane is just what I remember.

Cool! Any good stories?

I'm loving this show. It's a lot more subtle than Blackish or Modern Family, but they are laying an amazing foundation with the character development.

[Raja]

Regarding the OJ stuff, his nickname was "The Juice", and no, the OJ imposter theory was not really a thing. At least not among anyone whose hat wasn't made of tinfoil.

 

I tell you, people being too young to know that OJ was called "The Juice" makes me feel incredibly old. 

The only thing I can think of getting to the impostor theory was the other man theory with OJ also being in the crime scene????

 

For those not on Wiki "OJ" was slang for Orange Juice which got shortened to just The Juice when we took OJ and applied it to Simpson. Latter his teamates on the Buffalo Bills offensive line took on the nickname "The Electric Company" since their blocking sprung The Juice, as in electrical power, on his record breaking runs

[Camera One]

These two episodes were funny.  The two younger kids are hilarious, as is the mom.  The 90s setting add another angle for humor, in addition to the immigrant experience and Asian cultural material.  

 

I was wary about the sister rivalry from the episode description, but that competitive yet loving relationship was pretty easy to relate to.  

[idiotwaltz]

I enjoyed both of these episodes, though I didn't like the storyline about Eddie trying to get a girl in order to be cool ... and then it works. I know it's for laughs, and 11 year old boys seriously think that way (although my brother at age 11 was only about Pokemon), but it just rubs me the wrong way, especially with the butt grab at the end. 

 

I love the two younger boys, especially Evan. Him sipping the tea at the neighborhood block-party planning committee was hilariously adorable. I enjoyed both grandmas as well, and the cousin being all emo. 

 

Jessica really went above and beyond with the stinky tofu. I can't stand the smell of it and have never tried any. My dad swears it's delicious but, um, no. I'll pass. Same with durian. She should've started with gyozas (or jiaozi, in Chinese) and eased her way in ... but then she would've have found a BFF in Honey. 

[TrininisaScorp]

 

Jessica really went above and beyond with the stinky tofu. I can't stand the smell of it and have never tried any. My dad swears it's delicious but, um, no. I'll pass. Same with durian. She should've started with gyozas (or jiaozi, in Chinese) and eased her way in ... but then she would've have found a BFF in Honey.

idiotwaltz, I agree with you.  You need a gateway food to introduce people to a different culture's cuisine, especially if they may be hesitant or less open with cuisine.  I don't think those women would have been accepting, but stinky tofu seems like o to 100.  Plus, I find it funny that people sometimes assume all ppl of a culture like or have even tried all of the food tied to their culture.  

 

TaxNerd, heh.  We were in some honors classes together and had mutual acquaintances; actually, I was in the Honors English class with the teacher he mentioned in his book that was creepily obsessed with the Holocaust where he perpetually got in trouble (and made the class laugh and be slightly uncomfortable)  Also, I vaguely recall that during Senior Week, he chose to wear nothing under his togo and a ridiculously windy day caused him to flash his ass at the entire student parking lot.  Heh.

 

Another piece I appreciated and related to was the familial competitiveness.  I find our family does that with the success of their children ("oh, X is doing so well, she has a good job in a big company with perks and benefits...she and her good husband just bought a house in a good neighborhood").  Indeed, it comes from a place of love, but can become a little catty.  I thought that was used with Jessica and Connie, as well as Louis and Mazuka, nicely.  

Edited February 15, 2015 by TrininisaScorp

[JellyFishQueen]

My problem with this show is I found the kid Eddie to be really boring. He likes hip hop? And?

 

I much prefer the parents and the younger kids, they get the best lines.

[SmithW6079]

My problem with this show is I found the kid Eddie to be really boring. He likes hip hop? And?

I much prefer the parents and the younger kids, they get the best lines.

I don't care for Eddie, nor do I like the father. He's tries so hard to be ingratiating that it comes across as needy. It might also be because I saw "The Interview" not too long ago, which started out mildly funny and then turned excruciating. Unfortunately, his portrayal of Kim Jung Un was part of that.

And it was just creepy the way Eddie just kept perving on the trophy wife.

Edited February 18, 2015 by SmithW6079

[Kromm]

I actually really liked the episode with the visiting family.  Yes, every other show of this type has done this plot before, but they did a good job here.

 

About the only thing I disliked was the Urban Folk Hero angle of the "Juice is on the Loose" joke.  Treating OJ like D.B. Cooper, simply because he's time appropriate for the era of the show, doesn't give you license to folk-heroize the bastard.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Kromm

[Kromm]

And it was just creepy the way Eddie just kept perving on the trophy wife.

Nah, I think it's something a lot of former teen boys empathize with/remember.  Go watch Fountains of Wayne's "Stacy's Mom" video, for another example.

 

I also liked the flip-side of that plot, from Jessica's side.  We got some shading on her personality that revealed that under the "Tiger Mom" part of her personality is a really nice woman.  I thought her character really needed something like that.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Kromm

[mehtotheworld]

I was a little young for the grunge scene, but I used to love that Live song. Shut up, Eddie! I'm currently YouTubing the hell out of 90s alternative rock, so I'm obviously a bit sensitive...

 

Love the rest of the family, but Eddie is kind of annoying. I enjoy it more when they focus on the parents, especially Jessica. 

[HawaiiTVGuy]

"My mom is a nurse, and she helps sick people get better!" <-- it's lines like these that make me feel like there's a bit of the spirit of Apt 23 in this show.

I didn't really grow up with stinky tofu and lemme tell you, as someone who first encountered it much later in life, it can be intense. I was at a street market in HK once where I couldn't continue walking down because all the stinky tofu vendors were at that end. It was eye-wateringly foul. So yeah, people who aren't used to it wouldn't want it, but really, they woulda put a lid on it or kicked Jessica out for the day immediately. No way they even pass that plate around.

I think there are various types of the "stinky tofu" that have various types of "stinkiness". The one that Zimmern ate in Taiwan on Bizzare Foods was definitely different than what I usually eat when I go and visit.

[fishcakes]

I was in a restaurant once that had both Stinky Tofu (Chou Doufu) and Double Stinky Tofu (Chou Doufu Ru) on the menu. I asked the waiter what the difference was and he said, "oh double stinky smells much worse!" He was just so happy about it.

[Ciarrai]

And it was just creepy the way Eddie just kept perving on the trophy wife.

 

This! It totally took me out of the show when he was tossing coupons at her and asking her to dance; I don't think any 12-year-old boy would think that was okay. Granted, none of my friends growing up liked hip hop, so perhaps it's just a different context.