S01.E06: Fajita Man

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Eddie is so desperate for a new video game named after his idol, Shaq, he goes to work at the restaurant. He expects special treatment since he's the boss's son, but is in for a surprise when Louis is determined to make him work hard for the money. Meanwhile, Jessica decides to look for a job of her own.

[Valny]

Damn, missed it!  I thought this was on at 8:30EST for some reason!  Was it a good ep?

[Blakeston]

It was definitely my favorite episode so far. It was the first time I actually liked Eddie, so that's saying something.

 

Lots of terrific Constance Wu moments, too.

[solotrek]

"Equal pay for equal work, you can have it all ladies." How timely.

 

Loved the whole Jessica storyline.

[peeayebee]

I didn't like this one as much as the others, though I do agree that Eddie was very likable.

[biakbiak]

I would pay all the money for a 9 to 5 video game!

[SpectreH]

This was my favorite episode so far.  I also remember the "discovery" of fajitas in the 90's.  I loved Jessica doing the pimp walk at the end, that made me LOL.  I felt like she should have done that with Dr. Dre's "Nuthin' but a G Thang" playing in the background.  That would have been even more awesome.

[memememe76]

At first, I thought those fajita dishes were those sizzling iron plates found in Chinese and Japanese restaurants. 

 

I found Jessica irritating. Eddie, on the other hand, was fun. 

[Camera One]

Eddie was great in this one.  I also liked how the mom found something she was good at. Hopefully, we'll get to see her trying to study for those realtor exams.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I loved how excited the kids were when they got to "crank the A/C up to low". 

[DrivingSideways]

Jessica is the best.  Even some of the lines which are super corny, Constance Wu kills it.  I about died when she told the furniture salesman "It's okay... Jessica is here now."  Also the final scene with the 9 To 5 videogame where it said "Doralee Wins", I lost it.  I had low expectations for this show and that makes the hilarity even sweeter.

[fishcakes]

Just as a period piece for the 1990s, this show is great with details. 8-bit video games and fajitas pretty much sum up the middle part of the decade.

[idiotwaltz]

For once, I actually really enjoyed Eddie's storyline!

 

Emery and Evan are such scene-stealers! I'm glad Grandma had more to say this episode, though I prefer her playing poker than dispensing sage advice to Louis. 

[solotrek]

8-bit video games and fajitas pretty much sum up the middle part of the decade.

 

Don't forget the Sqeeze-it drink Eddie had at lunch!

[Matt K]

Don't forget the Sqeeze-it drink Eddie had at lunch!

 

I was pointing it out to my wife.  Being only a little older than Eddie at that time there's so much nostalgia, including Shaq-Fu (although I never bought the game).  The only issue I had was the 8-bit graphics.  At this point it was pretty much exclusively 16 bit or better.  But I loved that storyline so oh well.  

[Rockstar99435]

Did they replace Eddie's douchebag white friend with a new actor? The kid who got the 9to5 video game was new, and the kid who was competing with Eddie over the slumber parties was gone. I like the new kid. I loved how he went from disappointed that his mom got him the wrong game to getting excited about getting to a new level to crying and clapping while finishing the game.

 

Jessica was great as always. "I can get by with 2 sons. Think about that." Her line readings are the best.

 

I liked that Louis got to bond with Eddie. And it was great to see Eddie go from whining about having to work to actually working hard and being good at his job. And it was nice to see Louis have a scene with his mom.

[solotrek]

I just realized that the kid who was getting sicker and sicker for that Shaq Fu game is a kid from Kids React on Youtube. Good for him.

 

Also I learned that Shaq Fu was a real thing, and is apparently still a thing.

 

“I keep getting distracted by the misfortunes of Cathy. None of those swimsuits are right, Cathy. None of them.” Sunday comics gold right there.

[Maharincess]

Why was the one kid so weak and hungry? I must have missed something. At one point he talked about how hungry he was while there was a big pile of food in front of him.

[Matt K]

Why was the one kid so weak and hungry? I must have missed something. At one point he talked about how hungry he was while there was a big pile of food in front of him.

He was using his lunch money to instead pay for Shaq-Fu.  

 

Also I learned that Shaq Fu was a real thing, and is apparently still a thing.

 

It got a ton of publicity in gaming magazines at the time and as per the show it was a crappy game.

[Maharincess]

That's what I figured but at one point when he said he was weak he had a huge thing of food in front of him. That's why I was so confused.

[joanne3482]

Did they replace Eddie's douchebag white friend with a new actor? The kid who got the 9to5 video game was new,

 

I thought that kid was the one who lived across the street and had the super shitty dad. 

[arc]

That's what I figured but at one point when he said he was weak he had a huge thing of food in front of him. That's why I was so confused.

I think that was the other kids' food, not his?

[Expat]

I still haven't been able to warm up to Louis. He just seems so...fake...to me. I think the actor is maybe trying too hard.

 

Still love the 2 younger boys and Jessica though. Her 'I'm so awesome and know best' attitude would be annoying in real life (my little brother tends to have that attitude and I wanna smack him), but she's hilarious.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

Probably Eddie at his most likeable. I know it is a lot more heart-warming that Eddie decided to work off the game on his own but realistically the dad should have told him it was an advance. At least Eddie did not open his copy, hope he kept the receipt,!

[Rockstar99435]

I thought that kid was the one who lived across the street and had the super shitty dad. 

 

You're right. He was the neighbor kid. Which makes sense. He said his mom bought him the game because she felt guilty that his dad forgot him at a Walmart. Poor guy.

 

I loved Louis's response about not having air conditioning, "That's your mother's thing. She runs the house. Don't drag me into it."

Edited February 26, 2015 by Rockstar99435

[Dagny]

Her 'I'm so awesome and know best' attitude would be annoying in real life

 

You have no idea. My old boss's wife was from Hong Kong who also worked at the office. Once she yelled at one of the guys for not telling her not to change something. He had given her some documents with pencil markups. I still have a physical reaction to remembering those times.

[solotrek]

I still haven't been able to warm up to Louis. He just seems so...fake...to me. I think the actor is maybe trying too hard.

 

Louis reminds me of a Daily Show correspondent doing a bit with Jon Stewart, so obviously playing an over the top character. It works for that show. It doesn't work here.

[Kromm]

The Jessica story was great.  I loved the scene when she walked into the furniture store LIKE A BOSS.

 

The rest of the episode?  Not so sure about it.  Eddie in particular grates.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I loved Louis's response about not having air conditioning, "That's your mother's thing. She runs the house. Don't drag me into it."

 

That was the best line of the episode. 

[fishcakes]

I loved Louis's response about not having air conditioning, "That's your mother's thing. She runs the house. Don't drag me into it."

 

One of the great things about this show is the way it refutes the myth of the subservient Asian woman. I'm half-Asian and sort of mouthy and if I had a dollar for every time someone told me that I don't "seem very Asian," well, I'd have about thirty dollars. But still that's a lot of times to be told you don't seem like what you are. Most stereotypes have some basis in truth, albeit an outdated and overgeneralized truth, but I don't think I've ever known any Asian women who fit the stereotype, so it's always puzzling to me where it comes from.

[tennisgurl]

I literally squeed when I saw Eddie`s Sqeeze it drink! Those were the absolute best thing to find in my lunchbox, in elementary school. Ah the memories...

[SmithW6079]

Ugh. Eddie is awful -- both the actor and the character. Louis was right -- he's an entitled little prick (I might be paraphrasing).

Jessica and the other two sons are the only good thing about this show, and they're not enough to keep watching.

[Constantinople]

I think this was Eddie's best episode to date.  Partly, I think it was just enjoyable to seem him do something well as Fajita Man (just as his mother is the real estate pimp).  But I think his character is the only one in the family that is the straight man, and that worked best this episode.

 

From memory, so it may not be the exact quote:

Evan: What's your thing?
Emery: I know you want me to say the ladies, but I'm too classy for that

[solotrek]

Ugh. Eddie is awful -- both the actor and the character. Louis was right -- he's an entitled little prick (I might be paraphrasing).

Jessica and the other two sons are the only good thing about this show, and they're not enough to keep watching.

I find the character of Eddie to be pretty awful, but I'm not a fan of the real Eddie either. The kid does a great job bringing in the swag I expect real Eddie had at that age.

[Perfect Xero]

That's what I figured but at one point when he said he was weak he had a huge thing of food in front of him. That's why I was so confused.

 

He had a bunch of chicken nuggets in front of him at the end, but the game has so awful that it had killed his appetite, so he still couldn't eat.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I literally squeed when I saw Eddie`s Sqeeze it drink! Those were the absolute best thing to find in my lunchbox, in elementary school. Ah the memories...

They were so much easier to open than Capri-Suns! Or maybe it's just because my mom never let us have Capri-Suns (which she said were too expensive) so I never got enough practice. I remember the few times I did have them, I either couldn't get the point end of the straw to pierce through or I shoved it straight through both sides of the pouch.

 

I love that the show is making an effort to get things right with little details like Squeeze It (and not just the bigger things like the Shaq Fu game). It makes a difference to me. One of the things I hated about The Carrie Diaries was that they sometimes used things that were from later in the 80s than when the show took place and it always took me out of the moment.

 

I know it's wrong but I laughed when the waiter and the waitress were deliberately burning each other with the fajita pans.

 

At least Jessica was pretending to shop in order to use the free air conditioning at the grocery store. I remember the episode of Married...with Children when the Bundys just straight up camped out in the freezer section with lawn chairs.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

One of the great things about this show is the way it refutes the myth of the subservient Asian woman. I'm half-Asian and sort of mouthy and if I had a dollar for every time someone told me that I don't "seem very Asian," well, I'd have about thirty dollars. But still that's a lot of times to be told you don't seem like what you are. Most stereotypes have some basis in truth, albeit an outdated and overgeneralized truth, but I don't think I've ever known any Asian women who fit the stereotype, so it's always puzzling to me where it comes from.

 

People who think Asian women are subservient and timid usually don't know any/many Asian women. 

[fishcakes]

I love that the show is making an effort to get things right with little details like Squeeze It (and not just the bigger things like the Shaq Fu game). It makes a difference to me. One of the things I hated about The Carrie Diaries was that they sometimes used things that were from later in the 80s than when the show took place and it always took me out of the moment.

 

I really like that too. Not paying attention to detail is why I could never warm up to The Goldbergs; it uses references from every part of the decade within the same episode even if it makes no sense.

[Racj82]

I was pointing it out to my wife. Being only a little older than Eddie at that time there's so much nostalgia, including Shaq-Fu (although I never bought the game). The only issue I had was the 8-bit graphics. At this point it was pretty much exclusively 16 bit or better. But I loved that storyline so oh well.

I hate to say that's the joke. But, the 9 to 5 game was clearly an old game made around the time the movie came out that mother got instead of Shaq fu. And if you don't have a certain amount of money, your probably still doing the 8 bit thing.

[gameoff]

Jessica had some funny lines in this episode, but the only characters I am finding likable are Louis and the two younger sons.  

[Kromm]

Jessica had some funny lines in this episode, but the only characters I am finding likable are Louis and the two younger sons.

Louis comes off more as hapless than likable. He's not UNLIKABLE, but he's not especially endearing either.

Jessica, as harsh and Tiger-Mommyish as she is at times, has a great deal of charm (coming from an actress who's got bags of charisma). So when we see her pull some of her Jedi mind tricks, its really fun and makes us like her (like when she was talking to the salesman and totally sold herself awesomely--even if the plot didn't allow her to get that job--or how she totally aced the real estate stuff). Also, having the best comedic delivery of the cast helps too.

[TigerLily20]

One thing that I noticed in this show was the old school $50 bill, oddest thing of all to pinpoint but it just made me giggle.  I do love the touches they put in to make it feel like the 90's.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Evan:  "It's like getting kissed by a snowman."

 

I adore that kid.

[theatremouse]

I hate to say that's the joke. But, the 9 to 5 game was clearly an old game made around the time the movie came out that mother got instead of Shaq fu. And if you don't have a certain amount of money, your probably still doing the 8 bit thing.

And yet the kid was using a SNES controller? So while the joke certainly could have been that the mom was swindled into buying an old/unpopular game instead of Shaq Fu, it doesn't make sense to imply it was something that came out when 9 to 5 did. The movie predates the system by 10 years.