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S01.E05: Persistent Romeo


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Louis has to hire a professional instructor to give the restaurant staff a sexual harassment seminar after Jessica's attempts fall flat. Meanwhile, Eddie tries to pass off the seminar's instructional tape as a "dirty movie" to his friends in an attempt to impress them and get them to come to his house for a sleep over.
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My favorite part was that quick montage of Jessica sitting on the couch watching the Nightly News and seeing the sightgags to go with it, like the announcer on TV  talked about date rape, then the next shot you see her with the shirt that reads No means No. Next the guy on TV says something about deadly chemicals in your furniture(or was it house?) then we see the couch she's sitting on all wrapped up.
I laughed out loud all through that!

 

Other good stuff:

 

Louis- "just play with the Legos I bought you."

Eddie: "Legos!!!   I love the way Eddie said that and the look on his face, it was so very " Are you effing kidding me?  :)

 

Raisins! they used to be grapes! :)

 

And the youngest son's  high pitched sounds after grandma took him for his giant stuffed animal in the poker game.

 

Edited by Valny
  • Love 10
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Was the stuffed animal "Hello, Kitty"? It looked like it.

I've given this show a try, but it's just awful. There are bits and pieces that are occasionally amusing, but they usually involve any scene without Eddie or the father (although I will give credit to them for their sex talk scene).

  • Love 1
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I did find Eddie a lot more interesting tonight. I can appreciate his yearning to be more popular. 

 

I didn't enjoy the sexual harassment storyline. The show has yet been able to create an episode where all the plots work. 

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I loved most of Jessica's completely inappropriate harassment talk except for her saying that men should be told how handsome they were was so completely out of character. The rest of the talk was about being direct/rude/not getting context which we have seen her do in other situations but that was straight out of nowhere for the character.

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This episode was a little weak.  The whole "I heard on the Nightly News" stuff got old by halfway through.  The whole poker thing was totally random, though it was amusing.  

 

The two younger kids are real scene-stealers.  It might be hard to sustain that once they grow up and lose the cuteness factor.  Currently, though, they bring in most of the laughs for me.

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I found the first four episodes universally hilarious, but this one had a bunch of cringe-worthy moments that I had to walk away from. Everything from the poker game onward was great, though, especially the sex talk.

  • Love 2
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Last week's eps were definitely much better than this one, but I still enjoyed it for the most part. 

 

I saw it coming a mile away, but I still liked how all the kids thought the sexual harassment video was a dirty movie. Loved the dad's honest sex talk with Eddie. Loved the poker game but hate that it was used in promos, which I try to avoid.

 

What I like best about the show is the characters and acting. 

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The two younger kids are real scene-stealers.  It might be hard to sustain that once they grow up and lose the cuteness factor.  Currently, though, they bring in most of the laughs for me.

 

The kid who plays Evan, the youngest, is particularly good. He was so great when Eddie said something about how if he couldn't go to the sleepover, he'd never eat again, and Evan sadly said, "Buuuuuddddy." I also loved the poker scene, especially grandma wearing her cataract sunglasses while playing.

 

This episode was weaker than the first few, but I hope ABC keeps it on a while and lets it find its audience. I thought they pulled the plug on Selfie way too soon, and that was also a show that had potential.

Edited by fishcakes
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Loved "K.I.D.S"... "Dad, we can spell!!!"

 

And big thumbs up for Brett Gelman.  While occasionally he annoys me when on @midnight, he worked well here.

 

That said, more of this episode was reaching and not quite getting there than working. There were a few standouts though--Jessica and her sexual harassment seminar, the Gelman bits, and Gramma and the kids playing poker.

Edited by Kromm
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I had to look up Bret Gilman because I know I have seen him before.  So funny!

 

I too liked how the dad had to really think and then gave a straight-up talk about sex.

 

I hope the mom and the neighbor lady both get jobs at the same place.  It would be fun to see them work together.  I am glad she made a brief appearance yesterday.

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I found the first four episodes universally hilarious, but this one had a bunch of cringe-worthy moments that I had to walk away from. Everything from the poker game onward was great, though, especially the sex talk.

Jessica's behavior during the sexual harassment seminar made zero sense in the context of the rest of the episode, nor with the previous four. I think the writers went for a few easy jokes, characterization be damned. But the rest of the episode was really strong so I don't think it's a problem.

The ratings were up in total viewers and 18-49 from last week, so unless it totally collapses against Voice next week, we should get a season two. NCIS, though a strong repeater, will be in repeats a lot the next few months after next week, so maybe some of those viewers will check out FotB?

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Jessica was 100% channeling my Mom with her nightly news freak-outs. As a kid, I couldn't do anything with Mom telling me about some horrific story she heard on the news, and how it could happen to anyone if they weren't careful. Hell, I still get those lectures to this day. 

 

I am absolutely going to tell her to watch this episode! Its like looking in a mirror!

  • Love 7
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I love this show. Mostly for Jessica. She makes me laugh so much. I loved her "Did you tell him not to date rape?" to Louis followed by her attacking Eddie with the giant stuffed Hello Kitty. Other great lines, "life is worth 1,000 I'm sorrys" and "this is grandma's now. She won it fair and square." I also loved the youngest son's high pitched wail when he realized he lost his giant Hello Kitty. I've never made that exact noise, but I am very familiar with the emotion behind it. The punch line of him just grabbing the toy from Jessica and running was great. I can't remember his name but the blond kid cracks me up. He's such a dick but also great. It's a shame he and Eddie are in competition with each other. If they teamed up, they would be unstoppable.

  • Love 3
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I love this show. Mostly for Jessica. She makes me laugh so much. I loved her "Did you tell him not to date rape?" to Louis followed by her attacking Eddie with the giant stuffed Hello Kitty bunny*.

The sex talk was awesome (especially as a contrast to the awkward sex talk ep of Black-ish because they're both so funny and realistic in different ways).  I think I shall employ Date Rape Hello Kitty to teach others that important lesson.

*In reviewing footage, it's a bunny, possibly Cathy from Sanrio, who apparently has been discontinued due to a dispute over her likeness to Miffy. I still like the idea of DRHK as a general approach. ^_^

Edited by Zalyn
  • Love 3
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I really love the actor who plays Evan. He got a few laughs out of me, especially that noise he made when we lost at poker.

 

I've been reading a lot of criticism for the character of Eddie and I feel a bit on the fence about him. I don't find him irritating, but I also don't find myself thinking his plots are the highlight or anything. Hudson Yang does a good job emulating the real Huang as a kid, but ehhhh. I hope the show figures out how to best use him and his character.

 

I also wasn't too fond of the sexual harassment seminar plot. I couldn't stop myself from thinking, "This was a funnier plot on The Office" even though these are two different types of shows and all that jazz. I wasn't sure about the way Jessica acted throughout the seminar she tried to give and something about it just wasn't working for me. Kinda out of character, I guess.

 

The whole Nightly News stuff was amusing though and I remember when I was growing up my mom never wanted me or my sister to sleep over at other peoples' houses. I distinctly remember she once cited the Polly Klaas case as to why I shouldn't go to sleepovers. So random, because for the most part my parents were comparatively much more lenient than other Asian parents.

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I loved most of Jessica's completely inappropriate harassment talk except for her saying that men should be told how handsome they were was so completely out of character. The rest of the talk was about being direct/rude/not getting context which we have seen her do in other situations but that was straight out of nowhere for the character.

 

I don't know.  I think she could be my Mom, in that way I get it.  She can act all conservative and prudish, but if a man is totally handsome she kind of throws all those rules out the window.  It's embarrassing so I don't want to delve too deeply into it. Haha.

 

I'm so obsessed with Evan, I think he is a miracle.

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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The punch line of him just grabbing the toy from Jessica and running was great.

 

And I love that she took off after him! She really took the rules of gambling seriously.

 

I can't remember his name but the blond kid cracks me up. He's such a dick but also great.

That kid has one of the all time punchable faces on TV.  It's too bad he was born a generation too late, because as an 18-27 year old he would be the perfect antagonist in 1980s teen movies.

 

I'm so obsessed with Evan, I think he is a miracle.

He and Emery are both ridiculously good.  Way, way funnier than most of the other supposedly funny kid actors I've seen on TV lately.

  • Love 5
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That kid has one of the all time punchable faces on TV.  It's too bad he was born a generation too late, because as an 18-27 year old he would be the perfect antagonist in 1980s teen movies.

 

He doesn't look like James Spader but damn if he doesn't give off a James Spader vibe. 

 

Date Rape bunny had me in tears. 

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After weeks of recreating music videos and Eddie laying out the red pumps and water hose to shot a Nicole video it is a sexual harassment tape causes this? It seems so weird this must be one of Hwang's real life stories

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I doubt if middle school students in 1995 would be impressed with a sexual harassment video or a SI swimsuit issue.  It is not like they had not grown up with  cable at home or have  seen a Hustler/Penthouse.  Even in 1964 (when married couples on tv slept  in twin beds) when I was in 7th grade I do not think I would have be excited by the video.  However, I do remember seeing my first SI swimsuit issue that year and being surprised they had pictures like that in a sports magazine.

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I really love the actor who plays Evan. He got a few laughs out of me, especially that noise he made when we lost at poker.

 

I also loved it when he told Eddie "Don't tell mom.  She relies on me" after he was kicked out of the video store for throwing raisins-they-used-to-be-grapes around 

  • Love 3
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The sexual harassment video cracked me up, because it was EXACTLY like the ones I was forced to watch around that time period. And yes, the scenarios are incredibly similar to the initial "plots" of pornos. The boys' reactions were awesome.

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1) My Grandma still obsesses about things she sees on the Nightly News.

2) I remember seeing some "dirty" movie at a friend's house at a sleepover when I was 11.  The movie? Parenthood (yes, with Steve Martin).

3) My mom got me a subscription to SI for my 15th birthday.  First issue I got was the 1994 Swimsuit Issue. That was harder than anything I had been exposed to.

4) My sexual harassment training at work last month went about as well as the mom's training did.  Painfully funny.

  • Love 2
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