Season 2 Discussion

[mtlchick]

This made up for last week and then some.  Earl's "seduction" was hilarious.

 

 

Go 'head Ruby! GATDAMN!!!

Seriously.  I don't blame her for a second.

[meep.meep]

I really liked this episode but someday they're going to have to explain how all these people live together.  Do Pops and Ruby *share* the guest house?  Is there a guest house?  Are they just in an unseen part of the actual house?  How did Ruby and her gentleman caller get outside Dre and Bow's bedroom if they are in a separate building?

 

I loved Bows "I am a doctor and he's not having a heart attack."

[DarkRaichu]

I really liked this episode but someday they're going to have to explain how all these people live together.  Do Pops and Ruby *share* the guest house?  Is there a guest house?  Are they just in an unseen part of the actual house?  How did Ruby and her gentleman caller get outside Dre and Bow's bedroom if they are in a separate building?

 

I loved Bows "I am a doctor and he's not having a heart attack."

Pop lives in guest house somewhere on Dre's backyard. This was where Ruby brought his supper / where Pop tried to seduce Ruby.

When Ruby is visiting (she visited A LOT ha!) she stays in the main house with Dre & family.  Ruby's room is just down the hall from Dre&Bow's. 

[DarkRaichu]

The scenes at Dre's work worked well without Wanda Sykes, although oddly I thought this was the one time her presence would have added more nuance to the scenes.

Edited January 14, 2016 by DarkRaichu

[possibilities]

I am really finding Dre totally obnoxious and unlikable, to the point that it's starting to ruin the show for me. He's just another stupid manchild trope at this point, and I can't stand shows that revolve around that kind of character. He wasn't always this bad. But more and more, they're making him an insufferable energy psuck, and marginalizing Bow even more than she was when the show began, turning her into the tropey sitcom wife who exists to roll her eyes at her partner's juvenile antics.

[fishcakes]

It was nice to see Curtis again, but I don't really see him dating older women just to get stuff. I wonder if that was originally written for Charlie; I can hear Charlie saying the exact words that Curtis said, and it being much funnier coming from him.

[peeayebee]

Fun ep. Pops and Ruby together are fantastic, but I also loved the montages of each of them with their dates from the past. Ruby's reaction to seeing her date on the couch apparently dead (but not yet) cracked me up.

 

I absolutely loved Jack's bear sweatshirt.

 

I know Dre was being a big momma's boy baby, but for some reason he didn't really bother me, not like he did in some other eps.

[Happytobehere]

The thing that disturbed me was the fact that none of Junior's siblings thought that anyone, especially someone that pretty could possibly be interested in him. They also took at too much joy in Junior's public humiliation and the thought of it being online.

[tenativelyyours]

I am really finding Dre totally obnoxious and unlikable, to the point that it's starting to ruin the show for me. He's just another stupid manchild trope at this point, and I can't stand shows that revolve around that kind of character. He wasn't always this bad. But more and more, they're making him an insufferable energy psuck, and marginalizing Bow even more than she was when the show began, turning her into the tropey sitcom wife who exists to roll her eyes at her partner's juvenile antics.

 

Yeah, the role of Dre for me seemed to scream that he be a bewildered voice of reason as his parents engaged in an escalating war of dating tit for tat.  Not him acting like he had a diaper full the whole time.  The heartattack scene while pplayed wonderfully by Traci. was so silly and over the top that once more what could have been a fun scene became simply too much to find any real humor in it.  The more Dre as a character becomes this screeching ball of need the more I lose any real interest. 

 

And not a single bit of originality in Jr. story.  I swear I have seen that plot line play out every single sitcom that incorporates the neebish socially awkward loser. 

How about some originality?  How about he was getting catfished but meets a girl who is perfect for him that was being catfished by the same person?  Something.  Something that did not put up billboards and scream "this is what is going to happen'.  Winter finally sets in, shows come back with new episodes and so far they are almost painfully bad.  I need to buy more books.

[luvly]

I haven't even finished watching the episode but Diane going " aka Babatunde Adebayo" made me laugh longer and harder than necessary for some reason. I know she's not everyone's cup of tea but I'll damned if she doesn't crack me up every episode.

[peeayebee]

Is Babatunde Adebayo a particular person? I googled and came up with nothing specific.

[attica]

I hope I'm right and that Dre's repeated rocking-clapping-eyes-closed-intoning of "My Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord" was a shout-out to the campfire scene (right before the big battle) in Glory. It's kind of an earworm.

[Noirprncess]

It was all in the delivery, but I loved, "Dislikes: Satan! ... Deeeemons ...Cilantro."

 

And, "There was a hornet! It came toward my draws! And then ..."

Which one of these things is not like the other?. Lol

This episode was hilarious... Definitely better than the Xmas episode

[KateeBar]

I loved, loved, loved this episode. The Babatunde line killed me, but I am one of the Diane enthusiasts overall anyway. I was not annoyed by Dre's antics; I laughed every time. 

 

Pops gets the overall win for me this time. His seduction scene, with that v-neck and the Cutty Sark....I was rolling. And I don't remember the exact line, but when he said women of Ruby's age just wanted companionship and someone to eat soup with? Hysterical.

 

Glad to see the show back to form, in my opinion, after last week.

[monakane]

Did anyone notice that one of the guys Dre pushed down the steps during the flashback scene had on a Cosby-type sweater?  

[MrWhyt]

Pops had the line of the night for me, when during the flashback he asked one of Ruby's old boyfriends "So how old were you when you started to write Leviticus?"

I loved his delivery of "He stopped breathing on your couch, he died in the hospital"

[Duke2801]

Now this is the show I fell in love with last season.  SO many funny moments. Pop and his Cutty Sark seduction was comedy gold.  I knew the Junior online lady was not going to be a Catfish, but it still played out in a very funny way. Dre is a big baby sometimes, but I still find the character amusing.  I even like Ruby this week!   

 

Are there completely different writers for certain episodes?  I don't get how certain episodes like last week, the Xmas episode and Chop Shop are so, so cringe-inducingly bad....  yet ones like this, Dr. Hell No, The Word, Churched and Charlie in Charge are so, so good!

 

Go 'head Ruby! GATDAMN!!!

 

 

mmmmmhmmmmmm  now that is what I'm talkin' about!

[Iamsweetdee]

Absolutely loved this episode!! Jr. screwed himself. He allowed his sibs to talk him into some catfish scenario and paid the price. Silly child!  Ruby's old boyfriends were hysterical. The new man, I approve. 

[SmithW6079]

I am really finding Dre totally obnoxious and unlikable, to the point that it's starting to ruin the show for me. He's just another stupid manchild trope at this point, and I can't stand shows that revolve around that kind of character. He wasn't always this bad. But more and more, they're making him an insufferable energy psuck, and marginalizing Bow even more than she was when the show began, turning her into the tropey sitcom wife who exists to roll her eyes at her partner's juvenile antics.

But that has been Dre's entire role since the start of the series.

[SmithW6079]

Plus, the "E" stands for "Ethical" which starts with short e not a long e.

PETA is anything but "ethical" considering how much they euthanize animals.

[Driad]

Ruby hating cilantro -- to some people, cilantro tastes like soap. It's apparently a genetic trait. I have it and so do some members of my family. If no one else on this show has it, maybe Dre did not happen to inherit it from Ruby.

[ShowsILoveToHate]

I agree with many of you who love most episodes, but some seem like they were written by other writers.

I happen to love this episode. Each time that Dre did the clapping and singing to self-soothe himself, I laughed more and more. :D

Loved Pops and Ruby!!

[Inquisitionist]

Are there completely different writers for certain episodes? 

 

 

I agree with many of you who love most episodes, but some seem like they were written by other writers.

 

 

Yes, and yes.  As I noted in the episode thread for last week,

 

Looks like this was the first actual writing credit ("written by") for Njeri Brown and Lisa McQuillan, who previously were credited only as staff writers.  I think they need to rewatch The Word to see how it's done.

 

[sinkwriter]

 

Dre's repeated rocking-clapping-eyes-closed-intoning of "My Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord"

 

Usually when Dre acts like a complete child, he annoys me, but every time he did this, I laughed. 

 

And Laurence's "how old were you when you started writing Leviticus" - that was a laugh that kept going. Sometimes his delivery just kills me, he's so funny.

[charmed1]

Tracee's booty in that jumpsuit. I'm hating so hard.

[nicepebbles]

I about died during the seduction scene. Pops just looked so off trying to seduce Ruby. I couldn't believe Ruby was getting hot and bothered over that medallion and Cutty Sark, whatever that is.

 

I knew Jr wasn't going to be catfished so it would work out. I didn't like the kids being so gung ho to humiliate him.

 

I also about died at Dre having a heart attack. Though if Ruby knew Dre was faking, why not tell him to then all she said the next day?

[nicepebbles]

I can't stand Diane. This episode just proved it more. I wasn't impressed with her voice.

 

I didn't think Bow as being insecure. She just felt left out, as Dre tends to do, which is be rude, inconsiderate and down right mean sometimes to her.

 

I do not like Wanda Sykes on this show. Having watched an episode and bits and pieces of another episode of his new show, I'm like, "Dude, you left Black-ish for this mess?"

[nicepebbles]

So it didn't feel true to me when it turned out Charlie's the best employee there.

 

All late with this, but I have to say this was the weakest part of the show for me, besides Wanda Sykes. It's not believable Charlie would be the best employee. Granted, the boss is who he is and Charlie was able to keep a job there says something.

 

I'm going to miss Charlie! Dre may have been right about Sha. That didn't mean Sha had to be a terrible house guest. Genius or no, you ain't coming into my house and be that kind of guest. Not when I have to put up with Ruby, too. Oh! Hell! Naw!

[Sile]

Did anyone notice that one of the guys Dre pushed down the steps during the flashback scene had on a Cosby-type sweater?  

 

 

That was the first thing I noticed.  I was sure we were going to get some type of reference from Young Andre to go with the Mutombo finger.

[topanga]

I hope I'm right and that Dre's repeated rocking-clapping-eyes-closed-intoning of "My Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord" was a shout-out to the campfire scene (right before the big battle) in Glory. It's kind of an earworm.

I thought so! Thanks. When Dre first started with the humming, I thought, "This reminds me of 'Glory.'"

 

 

The thing that disturbed me was the fact that none of Junior's siblings thought that anyone, especially someone that pretty could possibly be interested in him. They also took at too much joy in Junior's public humiliation and the thought of it being online.

I agree. I don't like that everyone gangs up on Junior: Dre, Ruby, Pops, and his 3 siblings. Rainbow is the only person in his family who seems to like him for who he is -- at least she used to until Ruby intervened. I know this is a comedy, but it bothers me that Junior is supposed to be this unlikable, embarrassing, untouchable person. And I totally disagree. He's cute, smart, caring, passionate, and an all-around nice kid. Maybe that doesn't make him a "cool" teenager, and maybe he is a little geeky, but so what? This kid's family is setting him up to be depressed, self-loathing, and suicidal. What happened to Junior's Republican girlfriend? She seemed to appreciate him for who he is. And what about his white friend who likes grape soda?

[RedHawk]

The scenes at Dre's work worked well without Wanda Sykes, although oddly I thought this was the one time her presence would have added more nuance to the scenes.

I was glad Wanda did not appear and could only imagine how funny it would have been to hear Charlie describing his reaction to his mom dating and his mom's boyfriends (with a flashback or two). 

Edited January 18, 2016 by RedHawk

[RedHawk]

To me, Wanda Sykes' flip flopping character did not add to the office scene.  I pretty much got what stereotype / archtype each character filled in the office (even dre's young black assistance) after a few scenes.  Wanda already appeared in 3 episodes and I still did not get or care what her character was about.

 

Dre was rude when he talked about his wife in Vietnamese in front of her at the nail salon.  Not trying to defend him too much, but maybe he was just used to talk in vietnamese when he and Gigi had their nails treated.  Noticed towards the end Dre and Gigi were arguing in vietnamese

Don't like Wanda Sykes' character at all. Wish they'd do an episode where somehow she loses her half of the company. Buh-bye!

 

The funny thing about Dre and Gigi speaking Vietnamese and even arguing in Vietnamese was that they apparently spend so much time the salon that they have leaned to speak Vietnamese!

[ari333]

I missed Wanda

[jhlipton]

I thought so! Thanks. When Dre first started with the humming, I thought, "This reminds me of 'Glory.'"

 

 

I agree. I don't like that everyone gangs up on Junior: Dre, Ruby, Pops, and his 3 siblings. Rainbow is the only person in his family who seems to like him for who he is -- at least she used to until Ruby intervened. I know this is a comedy, but it bothers me that Junior is supposed to be this unlikable, embarrassing, untouchable person. And I totally disagree. He's cute, smart, caring, passionate, and an all-around nice kid. Maybe that doesn't make him a "cool" teenager, and maybe he is a little geeky, but so what? This kid's family is setting him up to be depressed, self-loathing, and suicidal. What happened to Junior's Republican girlfriend? She seemed to appreciate him for who he is. And what about his white friend who likes grape soda?

 

Me too.  Dre treats Junior worse than Pops treated Dre. 

 

It sends a terrible message to nerds, especially black nerds, who get very little encouragement anyway.  The kids tend to gang up on each other -- that seems pretty but Dre running away every time Junior says something he doesn't understand is crappy parenting.

[Driad]

What does the title "Old Digger" refer to?  Maybe I missed a line.  adTHANKSvance!

[Iamsweetdee]

No, you didn't miss a line. It's a play on "Gold Digger."  It's referring to Ruby's man, he's an "old digger" -- digs older women. It  also plays into Ruby's stable of very old men. 

[peeayebee]

I feel like a dunce. That didn't occur to me. I, too, thought I'd missed a line, that maybe Pops referred to himself as that... for some reason. And now I'm picturing Digger the toe nail fungus character from TV commercials.

[greekmom]

Please tell me where did Rainbow get that Ramones t-shirt?!?!?! I really want one!

[tennisgurl]

"None of us have gotten possessed"!

 

"Stop proving my point for me". 

[Dee]

Great episode!

 

I love when the show writes Rainbow & Andre as equals. Bow taunting Dre about needing to go on a diet and telling Dre she took a nap in a wheelchair and got tagged as a psych patient at work, as a result from washing her hair with dollar store conditioner, had me in stitches.

 

I also loved the flashback to D'Alicia giving Mini!Rainbow a lesson on the evils of money (an artificial masculine construct that fosters hostility & war and builds a wall between you & love) over mung beans. More please!

 

Speaking of flashbacks, I was near tears at Pops posing in his black leather pants and denim vest flashback.

 

Loved Curtis having backup outfits in his cubicle & his immediate 'What Are Those!' reaction to Dre's off-brand kicks.

 

Junior writing one of his multiple emergency survival plans in Dothraki was fantastic. Equally fantastic was Diane telling Junior that she loved him thinking he could wildly change his personality from week to week and expect an outcome other than failure. Never change, you two. Never change.

 

Jack's totally nonplussed reaction to Junior's plan to rifle through Zoey's garbage cracked me up.

 

Hi John Witherspoon!

Edited January 21, 2016 by Dee

[GHScorpiosRule]

Oh my lord, this was hilarious! I laughed from beginning to end! Pops was great, as usual, and Curtis and Dre had me rolling in their scenes! And Bow's hair!!!

More episodes like this, please!

[Writing Wrongs]

"There's moments in life where you gotta tuck your balls, other times you gotta let'em hang." I died.

[Mama No Life]

Maybe I have my own issues with money because I didn't find this episode as funny as I usually do.  There were, as always, some good parts, such as the Diane quote from above re: Junior's wildly changing personality, but I was so annoyed with the broadness of the plot that I didn't enjoy it as much as usual.    There is a middle ground between organic hair products and dollar store stuff, Bow.  And you don't have to wear ugly loafers just because you only have 100 pairs of sneakers Dre. 

 

I also was disappointed that the parents never found out about the day trading (did they? I might have missed it).  That would have brought a little more 'family' into it.....

[tenativelyyours]

I liked this one much better of the second half of the season.  I think because there were some really fun truths that the writers didn't seem to try too hard with.  I loved the comment by Pops about the credit scores being basically the same within a certain range and learned it on Charlie Rose.   I liked the sort of serious reflection because it felt like part of the actual dynamic the writers see for the two leads.  The only thing I did not care for was the overly typical ending to the Jr. storyline.  Iwish they would get a little more daring and original with his storylines.  I feel so head sore from the anvils dropping as soon as they set anything with him up.  I would have preferred to just have him drop a load of cash in front of his parents at the end and that's when we find out he has been using his sister as his trend template all along.  I wouldn't mind a little more nuance to his character if they are going to use him so much.

 

I loved the scenes at Dre's work particularly.  Having just the four bouncing off one another kept the dialogue tight and flowing.  No matter who they are going to use as co-workers, I hope that is something they are realizing.  Have more than one scene but keep it to a smaller group no matter who they are.  It just seemed so much sharper than the previous weeks in the regard as well.  I also like when Dre is is foolish but not a fool.  The play against his boss works so much better when Dre is not almost incoherently manic in his idiocy.  And it makes his antics more enjoyable when they then are related to a 'real' issue.  In this case wanting to attain things he felt were the gold standard in his youth but always out of reach. 

[Dee]

The only thing I did not care for was the overly typical ending to the Jr. storyline.  Iwish they would get a little more daring and original with his storylines.  I feel so head sore from the anvils dropping as soon as they set anything with him up.  I would have preferred to just have him drop a load of cash in front of his parents at the end and that's when we find out he has been using his sister as his trend template all along.  I wouldn't mind a little more nuance to his character if they are going to use him so much.

 

The one thing that bothered me about the kids B story was if the writers were going to pivot Junior & Jack from daytrading to monetizing Zoey's style, then she should have been a bigger part of their story, since she proved mega successful doing just that, herself, last season.

 

A better B story would've been to dump the daytrading angle altogether & make the crux of Zoey's issue with her brothers scheme about her not being compensated enough, instead of at all, which makes her look clueless and them excessively selfish.

Edited January 21, 2016 by Dee

[attica]

How adorable was Jack in his tiny suit?!

[DarkRaichu]

I could not remember the exact line, but I liked the whole Dre's boss had not touch real currency in a long time, yet he noticed money was made with the same material as the thing used to snort coke :D

 

I also liked how Pop told Dre that his money problem was of his own design.  There was no yelling, miscommunication, or any other sitcom tropes, just straight up facts

Edited January 21, 2016 by DarkRaichu

[Boofish]

Please tell me where did Rainbow get that Ramones t-shirt?!?!?! I really want one!

http://www.blueandcream.com/w_madeworn/MADEWORN-13.html?ref=cj&utm_source=CJ&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=CJ

 

Here you go! And for $195.00 it can be yours :)

[Perfect Xero]

http://www.blueandcream.com/w_madeworn/MADEWORN-13.html?ref=cj&utm_source=CJ&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=CJ

 

Here you go! And for $195.00 it can be yours :)

 

I think I just figured out another source of their money problems ...

[peeayebee]

Loved when Dre kept getting sweatier and sweatier. And then of course when Bow would get instant sweat stains in her armpits.

 

The Dothraki was great. 

 

Diane (re the zombie apocalypse): You thought after the apocalypse you'd still have internet.

Jack: Or eyeballs.