Season 2 Discussion

[SmithW6079]

I thought they felt awkward and were afraid to offend because of the topic. At the beginning it was cringing and a few trying not to make eye contact. They didn't know Charlie had a gun until later in the scene.

Yes, exactly.

[albaniantv]

Great episode--I can see this being used in California high school classrooms, since we are already somewhat used to discussions about loaded words. Learned a lot from this discussion too.

[mtlchick]

I may have squeed when Laurence Fishburne bowed to Zoey a la Morpheus.  

[OnceSane]

Pops is pressured to see a doctor after he reveals that he hasn't had a checkup in years due to his strong aversion toward health care. His family members react differently when it's discovered that he has a clogged artery and needs to undergo surgery.

[attica]

All right, I'm perfectly content about Hannibal's cancellation now, if Pops can get more time here. Sick funny.

[WickedTuna]

All right, I'm perfectly content about Hannibal's cancellation now, if Pops can get more time here. Sick funny.

I love him. I never knew Fishburne could do comedy so well. More and more please!

[Mama No Life]

When ZoZo took off her head scarf and yelled "Mop the Floor!" with her hands up to the would-be intruder I almost lost it.  I rewound three times.

 

This show has slowly become one of my favorites.  It's got to be helping Modern Family too b/c I no longer turn off ABC when The Goldberg's go off....

[Dee]

Andre's weapons (undercounter switchblade, shower machete, blender nunchucks) were hilarious.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The shower machete was my favorite! I have to admit that I would have found his hidden weapons funnier if Dwight K. Schrute hadn't done it first on The Office.

[mansonlamps]

Yes, but the blender nunchucks turned out to be more useful as the neighbor got robbed while making a milkshake.  Just when you are at your most vulnerable.

[DearEvette]

Not as funny as last week, but still did a great job of hitting the speaking points of a debated topic in a funny way.  I especially liked the panic scene when they thought someone was breaking in because they all did the panic well and it brought everyone's separate 'defend our home' plots together.  Loved the quick shot of Jack & Diane doing the Home Alone face.

 

I liked the visual of Dre not being able to get the gun box open; and pointing the box (with his hand still in it) was both funny and really interesting.  Like last week's The WORD where we never actually hear the word, we never actually see Dre holding the gun do we?

 

Best use of Zoey in a while.  I loved ZoZo and her interaction with Pops.  Actually, thinking back I think Yara Shahidi shines the best when she is paired with Laurence Fishburne.

 

Second week in a row we get to see their neighbor.  I've always liked her smallish interactions with the Johnsons and she's a naturally funny actress.

[mtlchick]

 

I never knew Fishburne could do comedy so well.

 

Well he was Cowboy Curtis on Pee Wee's Playhouse.  But if you missed his cameo on The Muppets this week, watch it asap.  His heckling of Kermit was hilarious!

[attica]

In totally shallow news, I am really coveting that red print dress TER was rocking in the first scene.

 

I recently spent a weekend at a resort at which there were a number of helicopter parents and their progeny: Nicole Sullivan's checklist would have fit right in. It wouldn't have even been played for laughs.

[ari333]

I didn't find this one funny, but I'm still in.

This is shallow and stupid of me, but why cant a man pee standing at a toilet? Why does he have to have a urinal ?

Diane's hair is pulled back so tight it gives me a headache.

[Racj82]

I didn't find this one funny, but I'm still in.

This is shallow and stupid of me, but why cant a man pee standing at a toilet? Why does he have to have a urinal ?

Diane's hair is pulled back so tight it gives me a headache.

Well the urinal thing was a visual joke more than anything. In a practical sense, urinal = no residual splashing/clean up. Also, some dudes have a problem closing down toilet seats. It's a win/win for those cases.

[teebax]

I didn't find this one funny, but I'm still in.

This is shallow and stupid of me, but why cant a man pee standing at a toilet? Why does he have to have a urinal ?

Diane's hair is pulled back so tight it gives me a headache.

I think that was because Bow was complaining about his aim, or lack of aiming ability. So he, apparently, sits to pee since he can't control where it goes.

 

I thought this was another great episode, especially since my ex and I had a similar ongoing debate about guns in the home. We never did come to an agreement about it. 

[Shermie]

See, the show did a great job showing why a gun in the house is a stupid idea. It's only useful for self defence if it's loaded and accessible at all times. Having it locked in a drawer unloaded, with ammo locked elsewhere is akin to having it sealed in a mailing box. Equally useless. Yet, having it loaded and accessible is dangerous and foolish, which statistics bear out.

So there's no point in having a gun. People of Dre and Bow's means and lifestyle usually have a home security system, esp if they're paranoid.

[SoothingDave]

Well the urinal thing was a visual joke more than anything. In a practical sense, urinal = no residual splashing/clean up. Also, some dudes have a problem closing down toilet seats. It's a win/win for those cases.

 

A urinal flush uses less water, too.

 

This episode was fairly even-handed in handling the arguments between Bow and Andre.  But the caricature of the gun store and the boss were just that.  

 

Every gun store I've ever seen does indeed offer training and NRA safety classes.  They wouldn't let a woman wander around with a shotgun pointing it in random directions.

[KatWay]

As someone who lives in Europe where barely the police will be seen carrying guns and only a handful of people have hunting rifles at home, this argument continues to baffle me.

And the episode did a good job of showing why it's a stupid idea, even when it probably thought it was showing a compromise. 

[TiffanyNichelle]

I think they did a good job with the argument from both Bow and Dre's sides. Bow sees the fallout of guns every day at work. And I'm so happy that Dre's reasoning for wanting a gun wasn't to feel like a big bad man but because of where he grew up and how you *needed* a gun.

 

I'm surprised that the kids were so pro-gun and shocked that Dre didn't have a gun already.

 

Good use of Pops and no Ruby!

[peeayebee]

Good ep.  Not hilarious like last week's, but still good.

"I decided to get a gun to protect my sneakers."

 

"I've been keeping score. It's time for me to win!"

 

Dre: I can't believe I almost shot Pops.
Jr: Really? You can't believe you almost shot Pops?

Edited October 1, 2015 by peeayebee

[tennisgurl]

Another great episode!

 

Lots of Pops tonight, so that`s automatically a win for me. Laurence Fishburn is actually hilarious. Who knew? "Do you know how many black belts I`ve shot?"

 

The episode was interesting in that it was quite fair to Dre`s desire to have a gun (not just I AM HE MAN GUN GUY), but also showed why having a gun in the house is so dangerous. Especially with people with no training.

 

The twins Home Alone hijinks were funny, but it was caped off by their matching scream faces when they found out that Pops had gotten hit by their traps! 

[monakane]

I'm surprised that the kids were so pro-gun and shocked that Dre didn't have a gun already.

 

 

I had a discussion recently about how a lot of millennials are pro-gun and own guns so it didn't surprise me that the kids were pro-gun.

[Rockstar99435]

Is it weird that I assumed the boss started bringing his gun to work because he found out last week that Charles carries a gun?

[Racj82]

I said this elsewhere but I realized this morning but we had no discussion from the greek chorus (people at Dre's job). Glad they aren't using it as a crutch every week.

[After7Only]

Enjoyed this week's episode, but I would have enjoyed it more if the Carmichael show hadn't done basically the same story line a month  ago.    The Carmichael show was like a 6 episode burn off series that I think on NBC.... and maybe no one but me watched :).  Blackish did a far superior job with the with the topic.  The Carmichael Show tended to be heavy handed with it's after school special lessons.  

[DearEvette]

I'm surprised that the kids were so pro-gun and shocked that Dre didn't have a gun already.

 

I wonder if on some level it is because 1) they are kids and have no real concept of how real the danger is and 2) they live in a very safe place with very little threat to themselves so again, even with someone as old as Zoey who should know better, the reality of using a gun against another person for self defense with the very real possibility you can kill someone is only theoretical.

 

I found it interesting how the show managed to be both on the side of actual gun control -- Dre sent his back because he had neither the knowledge nor the stomach for it so it a wise decision to not have it; and on the side of gun ownership -- Pops has one and acknowledges unapologetically that makes a difference in a confrontation.

[BoogieBurns]

The Carmichael show was like a 6 episode burn off series that I think on NBC.... and maybe no one but me watched :)

 

Well, lucky you! It was renewed :-)

[peeayebee]

The twins Home Alone hijinks were funny, but it was caped off by their matching scream faces when they found out that Pops had gotten hit by their traps! 

I forgot about that! It was no surprise that they did that, but it still had me guffawing.

 

 

I found it interesting how the show managed to be both on the side of actual gun control -- Dre sent his back because he had neither the knowledge nor the stomach for it so it a wise decision to not have it; and on the side of gun ownership -- Pops has one and acknowledges unapologetically that makes a difference in a confrontation.

 

I thought Pops was keeping Dre's gun until Dre had training and felt ready for it.

[tennisgurl]

 

The Carmichael show was like a 6 episode burn off series that I think on NBC.... and maybe no one but me watched :).

I did too! It was pretty decent, actually. This show handled the whole gun issue way better, in my opinion. Still, I was glad to hear it was renewed :) 

[Raja]

See, the show did a great job showing why a gun in the house is a stupid idea. It's only useful for self defence if it's loaded and accessible at all times. Having it locked in a drawer unloaded, with ammo locked elsewhere is akin to having it sealed in a mailing box. Equally useless. Yet, having it loaded and accessible is dangerous and foolish, which statistics bear out.

So there's no point in having a gun. People of Dre and Bow's means and lifestyle usually have a home security system, esp if they're paranoid.

Anthony Anderson's Detective Bernard character on Law & Order had a similar back story as Dre does about growing up in Compton, where Anderson grew up, and how it affects him today. It is just a reminder to me about the big turn in the 80s from the relative safer 70s with the attitudes developed coming of age in the Southland.

 

One  big catch was the grandmother with her combat shotgun walking right out  of the store while Dre was waiting for the"unsafe" handgun.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Raja

[Eolivet]

Enjoyed this week's episode, but I would have enjoyed it more if the Carmichael show hadn't done basically the same story line a month  ago.

 

I think I would've enjoyed it more if I had seen it before the latest school shooting. To me, it was the living embodiment of "Too soon."

[4leafclover]

 

See, the show did a great job showing why a gun in the house is a stupid idea.

Actually, that is a matter of opinion, and one I do not agree with.  What is stupid is having a gun in the house and not respecting it and knowing how to use it.  For those of us who choose to have one and treat it responsibly, it is not stupid.

[peeayebee]

The ep showed both POVs.

[Mabinogia]

This was a really strong ep. It dealt well with a very complicated topic. My question would be, is it okay to say The Word to another black person if they don't think it's okay to say the word?I mean, where does it end? It's a really interesting topic. Personally, I wouldn't use the word because it's definition is to be offensive. But the word does, as someone upstream mentioned, only have as much meaning and power as you give it. It's just  a word. But it is a very unattractive word (I dislike the actual sound of the word. It's just not a pretty sounding word. I'm weird like that) with a terrible history attached to it, and I do think that those who were affected by that history have a better grasp of how and when it can be used and those of us who weren't oppressed by it for generations should respect that even if we don't entirely understand it.

 

And the show did a pretty good job of showing all the different sides to the discussion, and there are many.

 

I did like the final thought, though, that, while it is a word that can be used, there is a time and place for it. Just like if Jack had sang a song that used the C word to describe a female or the F word to describe a gay man, etc, etc. While those are okay in songs, singing them at a school assembly in front of parents and teachers, not a good idea.

 

I loved Diane saying she begged him to sing the radio edit. So true, Diane, so true.

[mojito]

 

I said this elsewhere but I realized this morning but we had no discussion from the greek chorus (people at Dre's job). Glad they aren't using it as a crutch every week..

I saw them on my TV.

 

 

I think I would've enjoyed it more if I had seen it before the latest school shooting. To me, it was the living embodiment of "Too soon."

But there's always a latest school shooting.....

Edited October 5, 2015 by mojito

[Racj82]

I saw them on my TV.

But there's always a latest school shooting.....

yes we did see them. I totally blanked out on that scene. Also, yes there is always shooting somewhere. It will always be too soon somehow. I rather they just make the show they want to make. I can change the channel if need be.

[Inquisitionist]

Got a visiting friend to watch this episode over the weekend.  He laughed a lot and was surprised that a show he considered "edgy" was actually on ABC.  I think he'll be watching again!

[SmithW6079]

I think I would've enjoyed it more if I had seen it before the latest school shooting. To me, it was the living embodiment of "Too soon."

I was surprised, actually, that the episode aired. If I recall, Fox cancelled the "American Dad" Krampus episode because of the Newtown school shootings  and also an episode dealing with a hurricane because of tornadoes elsewhere in the country. 

 

I know this is a UO, but I don't find Pops funny, and I especially didn't like him at the end of this episode (although getting Zoey to do his chores was funny). Basically, he's threatening his son because Pops has the gun, right? Most of the time, I think he's a bully.

 

Also, some dudes have a problem closing down toilet seats. It's a win/win for those cases.

 

I've never understood this. If women need the seat to be down, then the onus is on them to make sure the seat's down before sitting.

[needschocolate]

Last week, the Charlie pulls out a gun during a meeting and sets it down on the table.  This week, Charlie is telling the boss to get rid of his gun and that having one is not a good idea.  I can't decide if these episodes were shown out of order and we were supposed to not know that Charlie had a gun, or if we are supposed to think that something happened in the last week to make Charlie change his mind.  

 

I've never understood this. If women need the seat to be down, then the onus is on them to make sure the seat's down before sitting.

 

Men sit on toilets sometimes too.  I never understood why men can't just aim a bit better, the hole in the seat is not a lot smaller than the hole the seat covers.   

[ari333]

Oh please no with men peeing with the seat down bc I do not want to sit in pee. No aim is that good.

 

Also, it was disturbing to me that Charlie slammed the gun on the table. However, in this eppy I was with Dre wanting a gun in his home. I get it.

[BoogieBurns]

I can't decide if these episodes were shown out of order

 

They were flipped. This was the first episode filmed of Season 2, but "The Word" was a stronger way to start. I'm guessing next week Zoe's braids will be back. We shall see.

[Eolivet]

I was surprised, actually, that the episode aired. If I recall, Fox cancelled the "American Dad" Krampus episode because of the Newtown school shootings  and also an episode dealing with a hurricane because of tornadoes elsewhere in the country.

 

I think the latest school shooting was actually on Thursday, which meant everyone who watched live got to enjoy this episode for the interesting debate that it was, whereas those of us who watched later were simply reminded of the awful power and scope of what a gun can do in the wrong hands.

[HoosierJen]

So, I had my own experience with this word today and now am in the middle of a major shitstorm. A little backstory - I live in a very small (500 people), very rural, very white, very redneck town. And I'm not using the word redneck disparagingly - it's a badge they wear with pride around here. Somehow, I ended up the lone liberal in this place. Anyway, an adult  cousin of mine used this word on facebook last night....I replied to it and told him it was highly inappropriate and offensive and he should remove the post. I am now getting blasted repeatedly on social media...."she just shouldn't read it if she's offended" and "just unfriend him then" and so on. So, this is my question - what responsibility does an adult have - if any - to say something when another adult uses this word? It makes me really wish that the Johnsons were real and living in my neighborhood so they could address the issue.

 

I enjoyed this episode so much because it was along the lines of conversations we've had in my classroom when we read books like Huck Finn. I don't know if being in an all-white classroom made the conversation with my students easier or more difficult, but I always felt that they learned a lot about the history of that word and how it's more than just a "word." I teach junior high now, so we don't read Huck Finn, but I wish this episode had been around when I taught sophomores -- I totally would have shown it in the classroom!

[fishcakes]

I've never understood this. If women need the seat to be down, then the onus is on them to make sure the seat's down before sitting.

 

The lid should always be closed before flushing -- because otherwise you're just misting your bathroom with sewage -- meaning the seat necessarily would be down. That's what makes the idea of a urinal in a home bathroom so disgusting. When you flush it, you're basically spraying diluted pee mist around the room, which is why public men's bathrooms typically smell so much worse than women's bathrooms. To bring this somewhat back to topic, if Dre had managed to install the urinal in the master bathroom, I feel like Bow would have been justified in shooting him.

[shura]

Last week, the Charlie pulls out a gun during a meeting and sets it down on the table.  This week, Charlie is telling the boss to get rid of his gun and that having one is not a good idea.  I can't decide if these episodes were shown out of order and we were supposed to not know that Charlie had a gun, or if we are supposed to think that something happened in the last week to make Charlie change his mind.

 

Eh, it's Charlie. He doesn't really connect things. Going to a dinner party? No reason not to stop for a burger. Carry a gun to work? Got to tell the boss that it's horrible, horrible idea.

[WickedTuna]

That was a fantastic episode. Funny how we were just talking about how good Fishburne is. I couldn't stop laughing. Get up boy, you're fine!. Anthony Andersen took it over the top with the crying but that was the only worm in the apple. I was even laughing at the kids and I don't usually enjoy them that much. I can't wait for it to be on On Demand!

[sarkygal]

This was the funniest episode since the top half of the first season. I still haven't stopped laughing. Laurence Fishburne is a classic. Everyone had great zingers. So evil but I lost it with co-worker changing his dad's diaper every other day. 

[Dee]

Another great episode.

The writing has been fantastic this season.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Dee

[CousinOliver]

Anthony Anderson doing the Esther Rolle/Florida Evans "Damn, Damn, Damn" was a highlight for me.