The New Edition Story (2017) - General Discussion

[Racj82]

So, BET has been running the three part miniseries on the R&B group New Edition. Parts 1 and 2 have already aired. Part 3 airs tonight.

Has anybody been watching?

I have to admit that this has been really well done. Lots of great actors all around and it feels a bit more unfiltered than your average biopic. 

I honestly never realized how much Ralph tresvant was looked at as the lead. Also how little money they made even though it's obvious from what we know about record companies. Gold albums and still living in the projects 

[SimoneS]

I heard about this and was looking for a thread. I haven't looked at it. I might record it since I have heard good things about it.

[DearEvette]

I just finished the second installment.  I must say this is very well done.  Excellently cast.  I think the idea to do it as a three part mini series was a great decision.  It gives the story the time and room to breath.  Lost of good details included.

And as well as the boys are cast i need to shout out to the women who play their mothers.  The scenes with the mothers and the relationship between the mothers is also interesting to watch.  They all bring it.  I was especially happy to see Lisa Nicole Carson on my tv screen again.

Also another black group bio pic that tells how the record companies had them finanically over a barrel.  I have to shake my head at the fact that these guys were in the business for years, selling mucho records and concerts they still couldn't move their mothers out of the projects.

Looking forward to the finale.

[Racj82]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

I just finished the second installment.  I must say this is very well done.  Excellently cast.  I think the idea to do it as a three part mini series was a great decision.  It gives the story the time and room to breath.  Lost of good details included.

And as well as the boys are cast i need to shout out to the women who play their mothers.  The scenes with the mothers and the relationship between the mothers is also interesting to watch.  They all bring it.  I was especially happy to see Lisa Nicole Carson on my tv screen again.

Also another black group bio pic that tells how the record companies had them finanically over a barrel.  I have to shake my head at the fact that these guys were in the business for years, selling mucho records and concerts they still couldn't move their mothers out of the projects.

Looking forward to the finale.

I swear every time one of the mothers came on screen my brain was like "Who is that"? It was Lisa Nicole Carson. Thank you. The mothers were great and while all different, they all came across as strong mothers. Not a lot of fathers alone clearly but unsurprising sadly.

I feel really bad for Tresvant. Him being loyal may have killed his career. If he had went out on his own when he was super young or when Bobby did, he may have been huge. Not that he didn't have hits but a Michael Jackson he was not. Him and Gill were the best singers but Bobby ended up being the biggest star worldwide and Bell Biv Devoe easily have the biggest non New Edition hit with Poison. At least, the most well remembered.

[spiritof76]

Finished the last installment tonight. Wow! This was really, really well done. I'm always the first to call out BET when they get wrong, so I must give credit were credit is do when they get it right. And they got this movie very right. The cast, the vocals, the moves, the fashions. I felt like I just relived my childhood! I may or may not have stood in front of my TV and did the "If It Isn't Love" dance routine! LOL! I can neither confirm nor deny. 

Biggest revelations for me, I don't think I ever really got just how young they all were they started and got famous. I mean they'd had two hits records and Bobby was out of the group by the time they were 17. We were over halfway through the movie and they still needed guardians and tutors! They were babies having to make adult decisions. 

I had no idea Ricky Bell had a drug problem. That was new information for me. 

But really this was a very well done movie.

[DearEvette]

5 hours ago, spiritof76 said:

I had no idea Ricky Bell had a drug problem. That was new information for me. 

Yes.  This was shocking.  Had to look up his wife too,  They are still together.

Also, good to know Mike Bivins was good with managing his money.

12 hours ago, Racj82 said:

I feel really bad for Tresvant. Him being loyal may have killed his career.

And yes, he came off as really sweet but his loyalty to the guys did seem to hurt him.  TBH, I was never a huge Ralph fan outside of the group.  I thought his music was too R&B Treacly for me.  As much as I think he is an asshole, I liked the harder charging stuff of Bobby Brown.  My Prerogative my jam back in the day!

[SuburbanHangSuite]

6 hours ago, spiritof76 said:

I may or may not have stood in front of my TV and did the "If It Isn't Love" dance routine! LOL! I can neither confirm nor deny. 

Ummm...I do the routine everytime I see the video and the video has been in heavy rotation on the BET Soul channel. "Every Little Step" gets a similar reaction from me.  No shame in it, Spirit. Come sit by me.

New Edition was my first concert waaaay back in '86 (New Edition w/ the Force MDs @ The Tower in Upper Darby!) and I LOVE these guys so I'm just as surprised as everyone to find out about Ricky.  

I just saw NE last year here in Philly and they did not disappoint!  Still doing the damn thing (Johnny was a little winded on the dance numbers though!). I've always thought they could make a killing if they have a tour with just them.  No opening acts--just Ralph, Johnny and Bobby as solos then BBD and close with the whole group.  Sigh. A girl can dream.

[love2lovebadtv]

2 hours ago, absolutqt said:

Ummm...I do the routine everytime I see the video and the video has been in heavy rotation on the BET Soul channel. "Every Little Step" gets a similar reaction from me.  No shame in it, Spirit. Come sit by me.

New Edition was my first concert waaaay back in '86 (New Edition w/ the Force MDs @ The Tower in Upper Darby!) and I LOVE these guys so I'm just as surprised as everyone to find out about Ricky.  

I just saw NE last year here in Philly and they did not disappoint!  Still doing the damn thing (Johnny was a little winded on the dance numbers though!). I've always thought they could make a killing if they have a tour with just them.  No opening acts--just Ralph, Johnny and Bobby as solos then BBD and close with the whole group.  Sigh. A girl can dream.

Count me in on that tour!

[FairyPrincess]

I watched all 3 installments and will watch again this weekend as a marathon on my DVR.  I thought it was one of the best biopics of a music group or artist that I have seen.  Looks like BET went all out with budget, casting and music.  It was as good as Straight out of Compton to me and that was on the big screen.

I also saw NE last summer in Nor Cal and the show was great.  It was almost as you described @absolutqt but no Bobby and BabyFace was the opener. 

Edited January 27, 2017 by FairyPrincess
Wrong tag

[SuburbanHangSuite]

^^^  We probably saw similar concerts, FairyPrincess!  NE was the headliner but they were on the bill with Jazmine Sullivan, SWV, Tyrese and Jill Scott.  I was exhausted by the time NE hit the stage and I kept thinking they could've kept all those other acts and just given me NE.  And now that I think of it, maybe keep Tyrese too just cuz he's pretty and I'm shallow like that. 

[DearEvette]

3 hours ago, FairyPrincess said:

Looks like BET went all out with budget, casting and music.  It was as good as Straight out of Compton to me and that was on the big screen.

Yup.  I immediately thought about Straight Outta Compton.  Is easily on par with that movie.

[Negritude]

Loved this! Especially part 1, those little boys did the damn thang, special shout out to Little Ralph and Wood Harris. And that little Bobby! I bet as soon as he walked into the audition they were like, kid you got the part lol. So can we all agree that BET should just handle all the Black biopics from now on and a restraining order should be put out against Lifetime from doing so?

I remember seeing an episode of Unsung Hollywood (or at least I think it was) featuring Lisa Nicole Carson and they showed her on the set of this and she was so excited for the gig. I'm happy for her that it was a smash and I hope it opens more doors for her.

Yvette Nicole Brown (that's her below) who was actually signed to Mike Bivins back in the day playing his mom was cute.

[spiritof76]

7 hours ago, Negritude said:

And that little Bobby! I bet as soon as he walked into the audition they were like, kid you got the part lol

Yes! That little  Bobby! I'm not convinced that's not  Bobby Brown's child! LOL! Ya'll know how Bobby used to get down! LOL! (I know it's not). But yes, that little boy had the attitude, the moves, the body rolls, down pat. Bobby's been cutting up since day one.

I really enjoyed the little kid cast I was almost sad when they had to grow up. But uhmmm the adult cast made up for it. LOL! 

The only thing missing for me, was I really wanted to hear, "I'm Still In Love With You" from the Home Again album. That is my jam! 

[luckyroll3]

I just marathoned this and it was fucking fantastic!   I'm very surprised there aren't more comments.  I have to give a slow clap to BET because I thought this would be another Lifetime-type fatal error (Whitney Houston, anyone??).  But it was really good.  As y'all have already said, the actors were all on point, the dancing and lip-syncing were great (heard they all had to attend bootcamp), and the story had a good pace (thank goodness for the return of the mini-series).

[Sheenieb]

This was great. I must give a shout out to Bryshere Gray, though. I didn't see not one trace of Hakeem.

I was a child when My Prerogative came out, but that song still holds up. I still smile when I listed to Cool it Now.

I didn't know Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis moonlight as The Blues Brothers.

[GaT]

I didn't have any plans to watch this, but I keep reading all these great things about it, so maybe I will.

[spaceytraci1208]

I enjoyed the hell out of this, despite the excessive and poorly-placed commercial breaks lol. Little Bobby was especially well cast, and the performances were on point . 

[Racj82]

55 minutes ago, spaceytraci1208 said:

I enjoyed the hell out of this, despite the excessive and poorly-placed commercial breaks lol. Little Bobby was especially well cast, and the performances were on point . 

That's why my dvr is one luxury I can't do without. The special also made me want to seek out this segment I always loved from the vh1 black to the future special. Just jump to 7:22 

[DearEvette]

23 hours ago, Negritude said:

So can we all agree that BET should just handle all the Black biopics from now on and a restraining order should be put out against Lifetime from doing so?

Ha!  People were dragging Lifetime on twitter during this.  I had completely forgotten about the egregious casting of Missy Elliot in the Aliyah bio-pic.  But as they say, the Internets never forget!

[hula-la]

My white BF, who had never even heard of New Edition, is currently glued to the Marathon that's playing on BET right now. That's a testament to how good it is. Though, he won't be singing along like me. Someone on Twitter posted a photo showing the original interview (I think it was on BET) and the mini-series version. The wardrobe department nailed it! I can't attach the photo, but here's the link to the tweet. 

Edited January 29, 2017 by hula-la
It's a mini series, not a movie

[DearEvette]

The ratings have been fantastic.  1.9 in the demo and over 4 million viewers all three nights.  To put in context, it had better demo numbers than all the shows it aired opposite on all four major networks on each night it aired except for This is Us, Greys and Scandal. That is really impressive for cable in general and BET in particular.

[spiritof76]

19 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

the dancing and lip-syncing were great (heard they all had to attend bootcamp)

According to the producer the actors  (both kids and adults) re-recorded the songs. So that's them singing. 

[crimsongrl]

9 hours ago, GaT said:

I didn't have any plans to watch this, but I keep reading all these great things about it, so maybe I will.

This was me! After reading all the positive reviews I recorded the episodes this morning and watched the entire mini series straight through! I really enjoyed this. I forgot I knew all the words to 'Is this the End' because my sister would sing that damn song in her bedroom acapella-style when I was little. :)

[ridethemaverick]

Amazing!!! I can't say enough good things. BET gets dragged consistently for some good reasons but as far as I'm concerned, they're forgiven for everything. Uncut, Cita's World, all of it.

I'm currently listening to very album the guys ever did on tidal and I've already watched a million old videos. I grew up on this music and it brought back so many memories. The casting, music, everything was just on point.

Also, I so appreciate that they have us full versions of the songs and some of the performance sequences. The choreo and singing were everything, darn near exact replicas of the originals. The attention to detail was amazing.

The only weak spot for me was Poison, but I can let it slide.

Let me go. I could talk about this all damn night!

[luckyroll3]

5 hours ago, spiritof76 said:

According to the producer the actors  (both kids and adults) re-recorded the songs. So that's them singing. 

Very cool!  At certain points I thought some of the songs sounded different, but that just makes this production even better.

[Dee]

All the actors, both big and small, were well cast; but Jahi Winston and Caleb McLaughlin sang their little behinds off.

[Ohwell]

Whew!  I started watching at 1:00 and finally finished at 7:15.  I thought it was awesome, and I haven't enjoyed a show so much about a group since The Five Heartbeats.   I loved all the actors, especially the ones when they were kids.  That one kid looked just like Bobby Brown, lol

I cracked up though when they were kids, and pissed off Kurtis Blow said they looked like Nation of Islam dressed up in their suits and bowties.

I don't know if it will get any kind of awards but it really doesn't matter to me.  I enjoyed it so much!  Thanks to BET for airing this.

[mtlchick]

This made up for 5 years of horrible Lifetime "biopics."  (Except for the ads because there was a LOT).  This was pretty damn good.  I wasn't a big fan of them way back when simply because I was a bit young at the time they came out but the solo songs took me back to 1990 in a major way.  

 

If anything, casting should get an Emmy for finding baby Bobby Brown.  

[Racj82]

One thing I forgot to point out is that I felt the time jump from 1990 until the reunion tour felt too big. We were told of failures during their follow up albums but didn't get to see it. Also, I feel like they weren't allowed to touch on whitney/bobby too much as that is a big missing part in terms of Bobby. 

Also I was reading up after I saw the series and new kids on the block isn't just kind of rip off of new editions flavor. The same team that new edition was with and screwed them over made the new kids on the block. It was planned to be the same formula just with white kids. It's very telling that both groups need to tour all the time. I bet none of either group have money to show from the early days. Like they never really got any. The ones that are okay have other success elsewhere pr other ventures.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, Racj82 said:

Also, I feel like they weren't allowed to touch on whitney/bobby too much as that is a big missing part in terms of Bobby. 

 

During the closing credits they showed everybody with their families, but I missed what they showed for Bobby, did anybody notice what picture they used?

The series was pretty good, & all the actors did a great job singing & dancing. Was the group really that big? Of course I had heard of them, but I never had the impression they were such a big deal.

[luckyroll3]

3 hours ago, Racj82 said:

Also, I feel like they weren't allowed to touch on whitney/bobby too much as that is a big missing part in terms of Bobby. 

I thought this as well.  Although, some scenes may have been cut as there was as actress credited as Whitney on IMDB, but I can't remember Whitney showing up at all on the show.

[Ohwell]

7 hours ago, GaT said:

Was the group really that big? Of course I had heard of them, but I never had the impression they were such a big deal.

They were that big.  

[FairyPrincess]

Quote

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

They were that big.  

They were huge in CA.  I remember one Summer, they came to Oakland three separate times and each concert sold out within hours. That was huge because back then you had to really go to the record store and stand in line for a ticket.  

[Keepitmoving]

This movie was so freaking good, I'm so happy for them, getting their due.  And yes, I cosign that they were that big, at least to Generation X'ers in the black community.  One time my friend spent all her damn lunch money to buy a magazine with Bobby Brown half-naked on the cover, no make that nekked, LOL. So I died laughing every time the the guy playing Bobbie showed up on screen with his shirt off, grinding, LOL. I was like damn, they have so captured it all down the to a T, Great stuff.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Keepitmoving

[mtlchick]

12 hours ago, Racj82 said:

It's very telling that both groups need to tour all the time. I bet none of either group have money to show from the early days. Like they never really got any.

As a long time NKOTB fan, their manager Dick Scott was not related to anyone in NE's camp and their manager encouraged them to invest early so they were not hurting for cash when they disbanded in 1994.  (Oddly enough, one of the touring acts with NKOTB this summer? Boyz II Men.)  It seems there are no hard feelings between the groups as they recorded a song together for NKOTB's 2008 reunion album. 

 

Quote

Also, I feel like they weren't allowed to touch on whitney/bobby too much as that is a big missing part in terms of Bobby. 

It wouldn't surprise me if production said "We all saw what happened with Whitney/Bobby, but not about the rest of the group" and cut anything involving Whitney out.   Not to mention, Bobby probably didn't want to rehash losing Whitney and to a lesser extent, Bobbi Kristina.  Wounds are still too fresh and I think that would have come off as too exploitative.

[Racj82]

59 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

As a long time NKOTB fan, their manager Dick Scott was not related to anyone in NE's camp and their manager encouraged them to invest early so they were not hurting for cash when they disbanded in 1994.  (Oddly enough, one of the touring acts with NKOTB this summer? Boyz II Men.)  It seems there are no hard feelings between the groups as they recorded a song together for NKOTB's 2008 reunion album. 

 

It wouldn't surprise me if production said "We all saw what happened with Whitney/Bobby, but not about the rest of the group" and cut anything involving Whitney out.   Not to mention, Bobby probably didn't want to rehash losing Whitney and to a lesser extent, Bobbi Kristina.  Wounds are still too fresh and I think that would have come off as too exploitative.

Maurice Starr, who we saw in the movie formed new kids on the originally as a answer to new edition leaving them. By, the time they came out, things might have changed and didn't get as raw of a deal. Let's be honest, none of these groups at the time were rolling dough. But, if you saved and spent wisely, you could have been able to come out of it okay. New edition had to a point where they were actually making good money and a lot the members blew their money trying to floss.

Regarding Whitney, I wasn't even looking for too much involving their issues but I figured we seem them meet or at least the early days before things went bad. They skipped over the darkest times for them time-line wise anyway. But, it was just something I noticed. Their early years were the most important part of this story. Which is telling because according to imdb, they wanted to this movie back in 1990 which has of course would have only been about their rise with none of the fall to come.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Racj82

[AZ Curls]

2 hours ago, Racj82 said:

Maurice Starr, who we saw in the movie formed new kids on the originally as a answer to new edition leaving them.

 

Maurice Starr wrote like almost every single song on NKOTB's first, second & third albums.  Also, Maurice Star wrote NE's "Is This The End" and also NKOTB's "Please Don't Go Girl"  which is why those songs sound exactly the same.  I never really liked New Kids because they felt like a rip-off of NE. 

 

This movie was amazing, I don't watch Empire so I'm not familiar with Bryshere Gray's acting, but he was great as Mike Bivins, he had the accent down really well.  Weird how the movie had to change Ralph's first wife's name and didn't bring up his drug problem.  I was shocked about Ricky's drug problem though.  I know they couldn't show every event in their lives, but I wish they woulda shown Ralph's and Ricky's double wedding that they had 2 years before Ronnie's wedding that they did show. 

[CaughtOnTape]

I was 100% blown away by this movie and how good it was.  I set aside homework, dinners with friends, and conference calls to make sure I could watch it uninterrupted.  Took me right back to my childhood when they were the earworm I couldn't get out of my head.

I had no idea Ronnie DeVoe wasn't in the band from the beginning nor did I know that Ricky Bell had that severe of a drug problem.  I also didn't know that the band stayed so closely interwoven after Bobby was voted out.  I always thought he took off and went into the stratosphere and left them behind.  It was nice to see that I had some of their personalities totally wrong too.  I had no idea Ricky Bell was that quiet and reserved.  I thought Ronnie DeVoe was a total cocky dick (I have reason to think that, I saw them on the Home Again tour and he very much carried himself that way on stage) and I had no idea Ralph wanted to go solo that badly.  I always thought he was 100% NE all the time.  I always thought he only did the solo record because the others did and he had nothing else to do.  (Stone Cold Gentlemen is my JAM though.  Still.  To this day.)

It was also kind of funny to see how Mike Bivins just kind of stumbled into being a record exec.  Had it not been for BIIM would he ever have gone there?  I wonder.

The actors were amazing, Algee Smith was especially interesting to watch.  He has a very expressive face.

I hope this continues.  Let's do a BIIM biopic now.  I'm so ready.

Incidentally, Ralph Tresvant can impregnate me with all the babies he wants.  Holy crap that man is good looking.

[Ohwell]

I'm still thinking about this show and how good it was.  Those kids were just adorable and I'm old enough to be their grandma but I was dancing along with them when they did "Candy Girl." 

I would love to know how long it took to cast the kids and the older ones.  I can just imagine how competitive it must have been but the casting director did a great job. 

Wood Harris was great, too.  

[configdotsys]

I am commenting before reading the comments here and am so glad there is a thread for it. I was so happy to see this was coming on TV because I just loved New Edition. I thought they were so incredibly talented. I saw a Behind the Music ep on VH1 years ago and they did get sent back to the projects with a check for a dollar something and it just enraged me that they were so taken advantage of. For years and years I held in such anger or those that ripped off these super talented kids who knew nothing about the business and were ripe for being taken advantage of. 

The only real disappointment in this series was Michael Bivins' attitude when he became the man behind the desk. The scene of him on the phone saying "You don't get [money] for that. Didn't you read the contract" made me think he turned into the same type of jerk that ripped him and his friends off and I was sad to see that.

[ribboninthesky1]

On 1/28/2017 at 11:25 AM, Sheenieb said:

This was great. I must give a shout out to Bryshere Gray, though. I didn't see not one trace of Hakeem.

I was a child when My Prerogative came out, but that song still holds up. I still smile when I listed to Cool it Now.

I didn't know Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis moonlight as The Blues Brothers.

Ma'am! I am unable! 

I usually have zero interest in biopics, but like others, I kept hearing good things about this one and decided to watch.  Agreed with the consensus - really well done.

I've not watched Empire beyond the 1st 6 episodes, and I wasn't impressed by Bryshere at the time.  But he nailed Mike Bivins - my mind has been changed! Also, who knew Tank was a decent actor? Not me. 

Shallow note - I thought the actor playing older Ronnie was considerably more attractive than real deal Ronnie.  Sorry, Ronnie.

I wasn't that surprised by Ricky's drug problem.  I'd recently watched some BBD videos, and Ricky was looking off in "Dope," particularly.  

Can You Stand the Rain will always be my main jam.  It was so fitting to cut to that recording after the Johnny/Ralph talk.  I know a lot of people love them some Bobby (and I enjoyed some of his solo songs), but Johnny brought that "grown ass man" voice to the group that it sorely needed. I was born in late '77, so I wasn't as much a fan of their earlier music.  But NE Heartbreak? To this day, it stays on rotation. 

I think Ralph was talented, but I'm not convinced he would have been successful solo, even if he did it before Bobby.  He can sing, but he's not soulful.  Bobby isn't, either (and word on the street is that Ralph did background vocals for some of his songs), but he's more of a performer and had the benefit of great production. Plus, the bad boy edge that girls and young women would have loved. I think New Jack Swing was coming into vogue right around that time, too, which I think helped Bobby. 

Also, the references to Staci Lattisaw made me go back and listen to "Where Do We Go From Here." I hadn't heard that one in decades.  They sang that song, hear?

[MsDiva2007]

My understanding is Ralph did some of the singing on Every Little Step because Bobby was high and out of it. The Rumor for years has been that Ralph is The father of Bobby's oldest son because alot of people says he is a dead ringer for Ralph. The mom was apparently with both of them in the same period of Time.

The mom is divorcing the guy who played Theo's best friend on the Cosby Show.

[ribboninthesky1]

Which mom @MsDiva2007?

[AZ Curls]

Shes talking about Landons mom. She was married to Carl Anthony Payne II for 20 years, they got divorced a few years back.

[DearEvette]

10 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

Johnny brought that "grown ass man" voice to the group that it sorely needed.

I swear, I wouldn't be surprised if Johnny Gill had that Teddy Pendergrass voice when he was five.  LOL.

 

10 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

Also, the references to Staci Lattisaw made me go back and listen to "Where Do We Go From Here." I hadn't heard that one in decades.  They sang that song, hear?

Whenever I think of Staci Lattisaw and Johnny Gill it is always Perfect Combination I hear.  Always!

 

[ribboninthesky1]

43 minutes ago, 8th Light said:

Shes talking about Landons mom. She was married to Carl Anthony Payne II for 20 years, they got divorced a few years back.

Ah, thanks for the explanation.  I was totally off in left field somewhere, as I thought she was referring to one of the actresses playing the moms!

37 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

I swear, I wouldn't be surprised if Johnny Gill had that Teddy Pendergrass voice when he was five.  LOL.

Whenever I think of Staci Lattisaw and Johnny Gill it is always Perfect Combination I hear.  Always!

Johnny probably came out the womb singing "My, My, My..."

Related to them, I googled Staci, and the top search result was a Grio article claiming her family was very unhappy with what the mini-series implied about their break-up. 

[AyeshaTheGreat]

I echo those who really enjoyed this miniseries.  I have been watching the repeats because I just can't get enough.  The kids were awesome and really set the bar for the quality to come.  I can't get "Holding On" by LTD out of my head.  Between that and "Stop...", those youngsters were bringing it.  Caleb almost makes me want to watch "Stranger Things".

As for the older version of the group, everything was fine until they got to "Poison".  (Yikes!)  Loved "Can You Stand the Rain".  And I can't forget that transition from the kids to the older guy.  You can tell that the people involved from BET to the outside production had a real care about presenting this NE story right.

Personally, New Edition was my J5.  The first album I purchased with my little money as a 5/6 year old was "New Edition".  I was so proud to own that record and played it so much until I scratched it up.  These guys will always have a special place in my heart.  Even when they all went their own way, there was still success to be found.  And I have never loved a replacement member as much as I love me some Johnny Gill.  NE is all six members to me.

Lastly, from watching, it is clear that Ralph was not interested in sharing all of his truth.  I do not fault him.  Everyone doesn't have to be ready to share at the same time.  But I was also surprised by Ricky's drug use.  Well, maybe not the actual use but the fact that we didn't really know about it until this movie.  Great movie and I am ready for what other biopics BET has in store for us (I hear Nas is next.).

#NE4Life

[AZ Curls]

The guys really need to go on tour right now and take advantage of the new fans.  Even though their albums are probably seeing a resurgence in sales, I don't think any of the members are making money off it it (per the Johnny Gill Unsung episode when he stated he had to sell all his rights to pay off the bills on that failed Home Again tour).  I've seen all six of them on tour and it was the most amazing show, but recently they've been doing shows without Bobby and Bobby has been touring on his own, so I think something might have happened between him and one/some of them when Bobbi Kris died, so we might not ever get a tour with all 6 of them again.

[Dee]

If all 6 members of NE are committing to an album and a tour, Bobby and Johnny have got to get in a gym soon.

They both are still capable performers, vocally, but they get easily winded on even the slightest dance routines over the past couple of years.

[Ohwell]

16 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

Shallow note - I thought the actor playing older Ronnie was considerably more attractive than real deal Ronnie.  Sorry, Ronnie.

Yeah. Bless his heart.

 

19 hours ago, configdotsys said:

The only real disappointment in this series was Michael Bivins' attitude when he became the man behind the desk. The scene of him on the phone saying "You don't get [money] for that. Didn't you read the contract" made me think he turned into the same type of jerk that ripped him and his friends off and I was sad to see that.

I was so disappointed to see him acting like a jerk in that scene.

 

5 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

Johnny probably came out the womb singing "My, My, My..."

And "Rub You the Right Way."

 

16 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

I've not watched Empire beyond the 1st 6 episodes, and I wasn't impressed by Bryshere at the time.  But he nailed Mike Bivins - my mind has been changed!

Same here.  I haven't watched Empire since 1st 8 episodes and I couldn't stand Hakeem, but I liked Bryshere as Mike Bivins.

Edited February 2, 2017 by Ohwell