The Carmichael Show - General Discussion

[LydiaMoon1]

I will watch David Alan Grier in anything! He is so funny and ridiculously talented. The Cosby episode was shocking and pretty funny, too, but in an uncomfortable, edgy way.

Jerrod Carmichael is the weak link in the cast. I hope this leads to DAG's own show - he deserves it. Loretta Divne is pretty great, too. Heck - build a show around *them*!

 

 

ICAM.  Every time I watch the show it occurs to me that the show would be soooo much better if was about DAG and LD's characters.

For all I care, they can replace the rest of the cast (because they're totally uninteresting), and Carmichael can just be an occasional guest star (because he's just that terrible).

[wonderwoman]

"something about how her family would have starved -- that's the part I can't recall:) -- but it was funny on a number of levels."

I finally remembered the gist of the line: Maxine said something about how if she hadn't been allowed to cook when she used the "n" word her family would have starved.

[AyeshaTheGreat]

Can't remember the line verbatim, I loved it when the brother was handing the canned goods to Maxine, who said she was glad that Paula Deen was back, and something about how her family would have starved -- that's the part I can't recall:) -- but it was funny on a number of levels.

 

 

"something about how her family would have starved -- that's the part I can't recall:) -- but it was funny on a number of levels."

I finally remembered the gist of the line: Maxine said something about how if she hadn't been allowed to cook when she used the "n" word her family would have starved.

I am not that great on names but I believe Maxine is the girlfriend and the mother's name is Cynthia.

 

As for this season, I am still enjoying the show though I may not be laughing as much as I did last season.  I do agree that Loretta and David are the absolute best part of the show but then I realize how much longer they have been doing this than the rest of the cast.

 

One thing I hope they do is have more guest stars or just random interactions outside of the C6.  Since it is an updated version of a Norman Lear show, I would like to see them around other people a little more often.

[xander874]

 

If so, then why didn't anyone cheer when Florence showed up?

I noticed that too. It seemed like there was a pause for people to do it, but maybe they weren't 100% sure it was her and by the time they did, the scene had moved on. I did like the funeral episode, especially the scene between Jarrod and his dad. I do like that this show can switch to serious. It can be a little jarring but it was still effective. And the scene with Maxine and her mistaking the cousin for Jarrod made me laugh a lot for some reason.

 

I like this show. It isn't perfect, but it's refreshing to me. And I agree that Jarrod is a weak link with his acting, he has improved to me. I think the worst is the brother. He is terrible to me. His delivery is awful and his range is so one-note. I don't mind the sister-in-law, but I would be fine if they would have the two of them reunite and run away and introduce a long-lost cousin or something to replace him.

[zxy556575]

Didn't finish watching the gentrification episode. Done.

 

Bobby and Nekeisha are sitcom cartoons, Maxine and Jerrod have zero chemistry and I have no idea why they're even a couple. DAG isn't reason enough to watch.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Do the writers think the viewers are stupid? Or that they don't know what gentrification means?  When Jerrod pontificated and explained to his mother what it was, and then Maxine said what it was, I felt like I was getting a lecture/lesson on what the meaning of gentrification is. Instead of just talking about it without having to 'explaaaain' it.

 

Another dud for me. Well, except for when Bobby walked out. I wish they hadn't gone for the laughs the second time--and just had him continue to walk out the front door of his parents' house. But no, he had to come back in because bees? And left through the back door.

[possibilities]

I thought the gentrification episode was one of the most offensive, insulting bits of bullshit I have ever seen on television. The idea that poor people are just not tough enough and working hard enough at their goals is such a load. Most people who are being gentrified out of their homes are WORKING. I doubt a guy as smug and soft as Jerrod would cope for five minutes with the kind of grinding hardship most people in poverty deal with all the time. Also, as has been said upthread, stop making the parents seem like dummies. They were sharp and not even slightly out-matched by Jerrod or Maxine before, so turning them into clueless buffoons now is a huge insult to everyone involved. Maybe Carmichael's success has gone to his head and turning him into an arrogant schmuck. He's working with people who can give him greatness, don't dumb down their characters to make his own acting deficiencies seem less glaring. It's inexcusable and it's not working!

 

Season 2 has been less funny and less insightful and less interesting than Season 1, and I don't know if it's coming from Carmichael himself (his behavior on The Late Show makes me think that's possible) or if it's coming from the network dictating a change in tone, but either way, it's a real disappointment.

[tenativelyyours]

This show has gone downhill so fast it could win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. 

 

You know how you say something and someone will respond to your comment by simply saying the same thing, just slightly different, but act like they are correcting you or acting like what you are saying is missing some key element and they are so graciously expanding on that tiny grain and making it a field of thought?

 

That is what the show seems to be doing to me as a viewer now.  I'm not sure if it is mainly Jerrod or whether someone else has a stronger say in the topic and writing.  But I am already tired of the "talking down" tone that the show as adopted so quickly and now so thoroughly.  Before it was fun how it seemed to present various sides.  Now it seems to have one side to a topic and opinions are only there to be knocked down.  Even the Cosby episode was really about saying "yes there are a lot of opinions, now lets us dismantle them and leave the only one, one that that buys into the idea that talent trumps morals, standing even as we pretend we were nuanced and balanced". 

 

For me there is a definite shift of presenting various sides and showing a growing understanding of the other side in the first season to this season seeming to be more of a smug preaching.  Because that is the other element, especially this last one, that I find really annoying.  Is that it is not just the tone that assumes it is instructing on something viewers already probably know.  It is not just patronizing in "helping the viewer" see the way but also condescending in that the tone suggests if it wasn't for the insight shown on the show (now usually by Carmichael's 'character') the viewer would never have been able to figure it out anyway.

[possibilities]

Usually shows start getting stupid after a few seasons, when the writers are out of ideas, of if the ratings are low and everyone is panicking about doing something different to get more viewers. This show was a ratings success, and it's been less than a full season of episodes, so they really don't have either excuse. It's disappointing, whatever the cause of the change in approach.

[GHScorpiosRule]

To hear Carmichael, one would think it's just the opposite--that this season is sooo much better; they're tackling "issues" in a unique, more realistic, yet funny way.  And what I've seen makes a lie of that. Unless we have different meanings for what is supposed to be funny.  That's what he said on Real Time with Bill Maher, and he's on Trevor Noah this week.  

 

I'm disappointed because I really want to like this show, but the creator and main character continue to treat me like I'm an uneducated, nimrodic maroon, and I feel like I'm being talked down to, which I don't appreciate. I can't recall any other show that I've watched, where I felt that way.

[mansonlamps]

Wow. I never even heard of this show and it came on after I believe Little Big Shots so I just left it on. I really didn't know what to make of it. It was preachy and not the least bit funny and just really really poorly acted in my opinion. And now I'm reading that it's actually in its second season ? That's crazy I hope it was much better in its first season and has just gone drastically downhill. Regardless I would never turn this on again intentionally .

[GHScorpiosRule]

Last night's episode was just another fucking insulting episode.

[Skyfall]

Last night's episode was back to season 1 form!

[tenativelyyours]

Aaaaannnnddd, I'm out.

[pennben]

Usually shows start getting stupid after a few seasons, when the writers are out of ideas.......

 

 

I'm disappointed because I really want to like this show, but the creator and main character continue to treat me like I'm an uneducated, nimrodic maroon, and I feel like I'm being talked down to, which I don't appreciate. I can't recall any other show that I've watched, where I felt that way.

 

That's it in a nutshell, it's not that the show is getting dumber, it's that they think we are all dumb.

 

I do laugh at times, but every damn episode is "set up hot topic"; "debate hot topic in superficial 'shocking' terms"; "resolution, usually with Carmichael being right".

 

I feel like they are close to something being really good here, but they haven't gotten there and it seems like they are happy where they are. Gaaaahhhh!

[zxy556575]

I feel like they are close to something being really good here, but they haven't gotten there and it seems like they are happy where they are. Gaaaahhhh!

 

Jerrod was on Seth Meyer's show last night and seemed pretty damned pleased, mostly with himself, but also the show. He said his goal was to treat the audience like adults. Pfft.

 

He's apparently also been hired for more acting gigs! (Not covered in the above clip but the full show/interview is on NBC.)

[teebax]

Last night's episode was just another fucking insulting episode.

 

 

Last night's episode was back to season 1 form!

I wasn't a fan of the last episode, but I laughed when I saw these two posts back-to-back. 

 

For me, my problem with the show is that it's taken on a tell me don't show me approach. There is too much of the characters sitting around talking about an issue. Yes, there was some of that in Season 1, but the characters also went and did things, like going to the protest, which is still one of my favorite episodes. Now there's very little action and mostly just them sitting around and being told by Jerrod what they should think. 

 

I'm trying hard to support this show, but it just isn't working for me. 

[msani19]

I'm going to try again with the show tonight...we'll see...

[possibilities]

UGH! What I used to like about the show was that it managed to air multiple perspectives on an issue and create a conversation that was both nuanced and funny.

 

The gun episode was brilliant for how it did this.

 

The gender episode was sensitive without being preachy or uptight.

 

The protest episode was complex, funny, at times surprising, and didn't shy away from controversial choices.

 

But season 2 has been lacking humor, nuance, and complexity. The characters seem like idiots, and the show seems to think the audience is, too. They definitely take a side, and are not even thoughtful about advancing that conclusion, because everyone is just basically one dimensional and there are no surprises either. I don't think anyone watching would be persuaded or made to think about any of the issues they've featured, because there's no real exploration of anything, just different characters saying stuff and not them challenging each other or having any kind of actual dialogue.

 

Tonight, they had a disagreement, but there was no real back and forth. In the early episodes, they did more than assert hardened positions, they would actually engage and go back and forth talking about it in ways that showed how and why they thought what they did. And it wasn't always simple.

 

At best, the current episodes seem lazy and shallow. But most of the time I also find them actively offensive-- relying on stereotypes, and portraying things as overly simple, instead of undermining stereotypes and developing both character and topic with complexity like they did before.

 

I don't feel anything for the characters anymore. The show claims it is based on All In The Family-- but I remember that show and you felt invested because you cared about the characters, it was emotional and you understood why they were the way they were and why they thought what they thought, even when they were wrong. But the past few Carmichael Shows have elicited none of that. Everyone is just spouting a position and holding to it without any actual reasons to back it up. And they aren't providing any of the character stuff that could make us care why they think whatever they think, either.

Edited April 11, 2016 by possibilities

[Jaded]

Last night's episode was the first one I've seen from this 2nd season and it was sad to see how true everyone else's comments are about the quality. Everybody seemed so stupid of course with the exception of Carmichael. This episode made it seem like Maxine's brain had all but disappeared compared to last season. I didn't really laugh or find much of it funny.

[GHScorpiosRule]

And what was I supposed to "learn" or take away or laugh about last night's episode?

 

Hell, even the actress who plays Maxine--her laugh at the end before the tag--sounded so forced and faked. Or maybe she broke character. I honestly don't know.

 

Seriously. What was the "lesson" or "issue"?  That we should give friends who went to jail for being a drug user a second chance because they may have learned the error of their ways? Except, not really. Because this friend learned to try "very, very hard, not to get caught" the second, third, fourth...time around?

 

And I continue to fail to see just what Maxine sees in Jerrod, or why she's with him.

 

Why do I continue to watch?

[msani19]

 

 

And what was I supposed to "learn" or take away or laugh about last night's episode?

Hell, even the actress who plays Maxine--her laugh at the end before the tag--sounded so forced and faked. Or maybe she broke character. I honestly don't know.

Seriously. What was the "lesson" or "issue"?  That we should give friends who went to jail for being a drug user a second chance because they may have learned the error of their ways? Except, not really. Because this friend learned to try "very, very hard, not to get caught" the second, third, fourth...time around?

And I continue to fail to see just what Maxine sees in Jerrod, or why she's with him.

Why do I continue to watch?

Thank you! Exactly what I was going to say! 

I think what is bothering me about the show is that is seems they are trying to do too much yet they don’t actually get any point across. Like last night was a mess and I don't know what their point was. 

The other thing that has started to make me nuts is that Jerrod “acts” with his arms. He’s always flapping them around, I just don’t think he knows what to do with them. His arms should get an acting credit. His arms, like Jerrod, are ALSO terrible actors. So stiff. I'm also asking why do I continue to watch? 

[DeLurker]

Why do I continue to watch?

This is the first ep I saw.  Caught Carmichael on The Daily Show and from the discussion of his show, it sounded pretty interesting.  This ep?  Not so much.  It does sound like some of the prior ones were though.

[GHScorpiosRule]

This is the first ep I saw.  Caught Carmichael on The Daily Show and from the discussion of his show, it sounded pretty interesting.  This ep?  Not so much.  It does sound like some of the prior ones were though.

 

Yeah, and I rolled my eyes at what he said in the interview. Because this show, his character actually does talk down to its audience and treats them like idiots who need to have what is going on explained to them.

Edited April 11, 2016 by GHScorpiosRule

[zxy556575]

I'm thinking everyone could save a ton of money and just turn this into a three-panel Cathy comic:

 

Opinion A

Opinion B

Ack!

[Skyfall]

After last week I was hoping they had regained their form but this week was the end of the road for me. If it somehow improves will someone PM?

[Kromm]

The change in the shows is weird, because it's been hard to pin down the factor that changed things. If you look at the credits, not only does the Season 1 writing crew seem to be intact for Season 2, but so are the episode Directors. Same people. So it's puzzling.

[Skyfall]

The change in the shows is weird, because it's been hard to pin down the factor that changed things. If you look at the credits, not only does the Season 1 writing crew seem to be intact for Season 2, but so are the episode Directors. Same people. So it's puzzling.

Pressure after a surprise renewal? Network meddling?

[GHScorpiosRule]

Was doing my taxes and watching Black Sails while doing so last night...so, should I bother watching last night's episode?

[paulvdb]

There was no new episode. There was a double episode of Crowded, probably to make sure that Crowded and Carmichael both have their finale on the same day.

[Kromm]

Pressure after a surprise renewal? Network meddling?

Maybe some form of the first. Perhaps they'd been working on those Season 1 scripts for a long time and didn't have more good scripts IN them. 

[Court]

Ugh, tonight's episode annoyed me. I didn't laugh one time.

I really love this show. It needs to go back to S1 form.

[msani19]

Missed last night cause I watched Game of Thrones. If this is up against Game of Thrones, the show is not going to last much longer. Not that the writing has done it any favors. Totally squandered it's potential.

[xander874]

I admit this show isn't as fun as last season, but Loretta Devine is a hoot. She makes me laugh. Her feud on Facebook was hilarious. I think I'd like a show about the parents. I could watch them discuss things all night.

[Skyfall]

Show was renewed, again if it gets better someone should PM cause season 1 was great.

[possibilities]

Yeah, I talked up season 1 to some friends but have finally given up watching because season 2 has varied from boring to obnoxious to pathetic. Even my DVR seems to have a problem with it-- a few different times I specifically set it to record and it mysteriously failed to do so, even after multiple attempts to re-set it when it disappeared from the list. When I then tracked down the missed episodes online, I found myself feeling like I couldn't wait for it to be over. Finally I just stopped trying.

You know they CAN make a terrific show. If they do it again, I'd love to hear about it and will come running back. But the crap they dished out for the first several of season 2 has driven me away.

I'm also finding Jerrod to be incredibly annoying in interviews, to the extent that I stopped giving him more chances to redeem himself and now avoid or FF any media where he appears.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I will not lie-I was hoping Shadoe would play Maxine's dad.

That's all I got.

[pennben]

22 hours ago, possibilities said:

Yeah, I talked up season 1 to some friends but have finally given up watching because season 2 has varied from boring to obnoxious to pathetic. Even my DVR seems to have a problem with it-- a few different times I specifically set it to record and it mysteriously failed to do so, even after multiple attempts to re-set it when it disappeared from the list.

Same! Look I loved the first season, this one, not so much.  But I'm interested in what you are saying about episodes not recording.  That happened to me on Sunday, also happened to me once a few weeks ago.  What the hell is going on with that?

I'm honestly not interested so much in the show anymore, but I am curious about the weirdness in the recording issue. 

[msani19]

Despite the show getting renewed for a season 3, the enthusiasm I had going into season 2 is completely gone. I've missed the last few episodes and I haven't even tried to watch them online or on demand, which just tells me that the show has lost me. I agree that Jerrod comes off like a douche in his interviews. Is he trying too hard? Whatever, he's not a good salesman for the show, in addition to his terrible acting. I think the supporting cast is wonderful, Maxine even grew on me. Perhaps she seems like a thespian compared to working off Jerrod!

Wish them luck with season 3.

[possibilities]

I'm honestly not interested so much in the show anymore, but I am curious about the weirdness in the recording issue.

Do you have DirecTV? (I do)

[pennben]

No. Comcast for me.

[wonderwoman]

Quote

 

Happy this is back. Love how it manages to present all points of view on a  controversial topic like what defines rape and consent and not lose sight of the funny -- "bad sex." 

Edited June 2, 2017 by wonderwoman

[Jaded]

I thought these first two episodes back were better then what I saw from last season. The dog part of the 2nd episode cracked me up especially at the end.

[possibilities]

I had given up on this show because after what I thought was  agreat start, they strarted to turn in scripts I found more obnoxious than funny or thoughtful. But I gave it another chance and I did think the two new episodes this past week were a shift back in the right direction. I wonder if the lapse in quality was because they were rushing to production and simply didn't put as much thought and time into the ones last season that annoyed me. If so, I hope they've figured out a more viable production schedule for this new crop. When the show is at its best, it's really terrific. But when it goes wrong, it's really bad.

[wonderwoman]

Not sure why this show isn't getting more attention in the forums. But, here's an interesting piece on the 3rd season.

 

http://www.vulture.com/2017/05/the-carmichael-show-season-three-review.html

[msrachelj]

Is assisted suicide legal in the state they were in with grandma? I don't think so. Seemed a little too blasé  for the story of a son and 2 grandsons offing grandma so quickly. Not even talking to her doctor etc. It gave me a bad feeling. 

[TheOtherOne]

Last night's was the first one I've seen this season. Some good stuff, but after a while, I got to the point where I wondered why Maxine is sticking around these people. They're terrible. And it's not like Jerrod's some prize that makes dealing with his family worth it.

[After7Only]

On 6/15/2017 at 2:52 PM, TheOtherOne said:

Last night's was the first one I've seen this season. Some good stuff, but after a while, I got to the point where I wondered why Maxine is sticking around these people. They're terrible. And it's not like Jerrod's some prize that makes dealing with his family worth it.

I'm not a fan of Maxine's character, and I've now realized it's because she doesn't fit in with the rest of the family.  I too wonder why she would date Jerrod.   Both Jerrod and his brother get the side eye for commenting so negatively on Maxine's coworkers appearance.  Neither of them will ever end up People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive issue.....LOL 

Edited June 19, 2017 by After7Only

[wonderwoman]

I didn't pay too much attention when the episode that aired was different from what was listed. Here's the explanation: 

https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/6/16/15821538/nbc-carmichael-show-mass-shooting-episode

[Irlandesa]

I realized it was a different episode because I had just read a press release describing the sixth episode which is the one they showed.  Usually those are released a few weeks in advance so I was surprised to see it so soon.  And I double checked because my DVR still had the old description.

I get both perspectives.  I wish they would at least air it next week instead of in two weeks.