The Last O.G. - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Your Media Topic!

[Meredith Quill]

Your Season 1 Topic!

[paulvdb]

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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An ex-con is shocked to see just how much the world has changed when he's released from prison after 15 years.

[EtheltoTillie]

I saw the sneak peek last night. It looks great. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I wanted to give it a chance because, duh, Tracy Morgan. Since I didn't have any expectations going in, I ended up finding it pretty funny. Tracy's reaction to gentrified Brooklyn reminded me of a food travel show (Huang's World or maybe No Reservations?) where the host talked to a Brooklyn local who had lived in the neighborhood long before gentrification happened. The guy said, "This used to be called Murder Avenue. Now there are white guys with beards pushing baby strollers."

I know we're supposed to root for Tracy and his girl to get back together, but dude, she didn't call, write, or visit while you were in prison for FIFTEEN YEARS. She's just not that into you.

There were some funny little moments too, like Tracy giving his cellie the recipe for his prison pad thai. Loved when Tracy's friend's little brother rolled up blaring Since U Been Gone. Ahhh, the modern day equivalent of Lloyd Dobler holding up a boombox in front of Diane Court's window.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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After getting turned down for a job at a high-end restaurant, Tray stumbles into a position at a chain coffee shop owned by Wavy, the drug dealer that Tray took the fall for.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

New York Times review of The Last O.G. - some minor spoilers for later in the season

[Empress1]

I am obsessed with Tiffany Haddish so I already knew I was going to watch this.

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I wanted to give it a chance because, duh, Tracy Morgan. Since I didn't have any expectations going in, I ended up finding it pretty funny. Tracy's reaction to gentrified Brooklyn reminded me of a food travel show (Huang's World or maybe No Reservations?) where the host talked to a Brooklyn local who had lived in the neighborhood long before gentrification happened. The guy said, "This used to be called Murder Avenue. Now there are white guys with beards pushing baby strollers."

I know we're supposed to root for Tracy and his girl to get back together, but dude, she didn't call, write, or visit while you were in prison for FIFTEEN YEARS. She's just not that into you.

There were some funny little moments too, like Tracy giving his cellie the recipe for his prison pad thai. Loved when Tracy's friend's little brother rolled up blaring Since U Been Gone. Ahhh, the modern day equivalent of Lloyd Dobler holding up a boombox in front of Diane Court's window.

One side of my family has lived in Brooklyn for a century (literally - great-grandfather immigrated in 1918, when he was 18). We have a LOT of conversations about gentrification. On the plus side, a lot of them own their homes so the values have skyrocketed.

Re: Shay not visiting - I mean, right? It doesn't seem like they had an agreement, like "I don't want you to see me like this, don't come." She just moved on. She didn't tell you about your kids! She's not your girl anymore, bruh!

There were some funny lines. "All they do [in jail] is rap and work out!" "You don't want your rectum to turn into a parking garage, man. That's not what you want." "Josh is a GOOD man. He writes voiceovers for Anthony Bourdain." (I don't know why that cracked me up so much, but it did.)

[meep.meep]

I thought the outtakes at the end with Tracy ragging on the white husband were funnier than anything in the episode.

And, it may just be me, but with what happened to Tracy Morgan, wasn't the joke about hitting the elderly donor with the car a bit inappropriate?

[possibilities]

I came for Tiffany Haddish. I hope in future episodes her role will be at least as central as Tracy Morgan's.

[AnimeMania]

Does anybody who understands drug culture know what Tracey Morgan was talking about when he says "Five girls, five boys." right before he is about to sell the drugs.

[AyeshaTheGreat]

6 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Does anybody who understands drug culture know what Tracey Morgan was talking about when he says "Five girls, five boys." right before he is about to sell the drugs.

Some time ago, I learned that girl and boy refer to cocaine and heroin, though I do not remember which is which.

As for this show, the pilot wasn't as funny as I would have liked.  Some of the jokes were old and corny.  However, I will keep watching the show.  I like the cast so I hope it gets better and is not a chore for me to watch.

[Empress1]

On 4/5/2018 at 8:32 AM, AyeshaTheGreat said:

Some time ago, I learned that girl and boy refer to cocaine and heroin, though I do not remember which is which.

As for this show, the pilot wasn't as funny as I would have liked.  Some of the jokes were old and corny.  However, I will keep watching the show.  I like the cast so I hope it gets better and is not a chore for me to watch.

Heroin is boy, cocaine is girl. I learned that watching Intervention.

[Raja]

On 4/4/2018 at 9:09 AM, meep.meep said:

 

And, it may just be me, but with what happened to Tracy Morgan, wasn't the joke about hitting the elderly donor with the car a bit inappropriate?

He's a comic it seems the be the way most of them deal with the tragedies of their lives.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Tray and Cousin Bobby intercept the kids at school and take them on a trip down memory lane. Shay tries to track down the kids, and her husband Josh reminds Shay that it's her lie that disrupted the family dynamic.

Edited April 18, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Cousin Bobby convinces Tray to try Tinder. Tray lands a great match but realizes that he's not emotionally ready for a new relationship.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Is it wrong that I laughed when Shay knocked out cousin Bobby?

Loved that the daughter's condition for accompanying Tray was that he had to answer all of their questions. Smart girl! I totally cracked up when the son puffed out his cheeks so we could see his resemblance to Tray.

Josh doesn't seem like the smartest crayon in the box.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Man, I do not trust Wavy. I know he sees cutting the expensive beans as just hustling but damn.

Cousin Bobby continues to delight me.

[Empress1]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Is it wrong that I laughed when Shay knocked out cousin Bobby?

Loved that the daughter's condition for accompanying Tray was that he had to answer all of their questions. Smart girl! I totally cracked up when the son puffed out his cheeks so we could see his resemblance to Tray.

Josh doesn't seem like the smartest crayon in the box.

If you're wrong, so am I. I fell out. "What happened? I took a nap."

The actor playing the son does incorporate some of Tracy Morgan's mannerisms. I noticed it this episode - it's impressive.

[msrachelj]

i like this show a lot! tracy can act pretty well comedy wise!  i first saw tiffany haddish on her comedy special and then in , ugh can't remember the name!, the movie about the vacation. love her too. it's a different plot and setting from most sitcoms. would you call this a sitcom?, but you get it. i hope it lasts a while. so happy to see tracy looks so well and seems to be healthy after his horrific accident. 

[nodorothyparker]

I like this a lot too.  I happened to catch this past week's episode on TV and liked it enough to go back and get caught up with the first two.  It's great to see Tracy Morgan doing well and back on TV again, although he should probably skip the 15-plus year flashbacks because he just can't pull it off.  Tiffany Haddish is doing nice work here as a woman who's put in the hard work and time to cultivate a very specific image of herself only to have her much rougher less polished self she thought she had buried leaking through at every turn because of Tray's return.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I liked Tray's tinder date so it's a bummer that things didn't work out with him. I know that Tray+Shay=OTP but it was nice to see him be relaxed and interact like a normal person (instead of the intense stalker he seems to become around Shay).

Loved the Casablanca callback near the end. Hee!

[Empress1]

Tray was cute on his date. I was glad that cousin Bobby pointed out that Shay had gone off and married a whole other person, so Tray needed to move one.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I also loved how enthusiastic cousin Bobby was about getting a good picture for Tray’s profile. He was loving that photo shoot!

[TV Diva Queen]

next week looks good.  I have a feeling that chick from This is Us will be able to pull off a prison stalker, adds money to inmates account person.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Best eulogy ever!

[Empress1]

"Now you just gonna casually bring up the devil in the house of God?" I howled!

It was fun to see Chrissy Metz in a comedic role. She seemed like she was having a great time.

[AnimeMania]

How can you just hand him a handful of loose Skittles, she could have at least put them in a Ziplock bag.

[nodorothyparker]

I'm not much familiar with Chrissy Metz but she was really terrific in this.

After finding last week's episode a little on the flat side, this one had me rolling.  I love a truthful eulogy, and I also love that Trey wasn't doing it to score points but because it was the right thing to do after watching these people tear Shay down over and over.  "Seriously, what was she gonna do with all them hubcaps?"  I also liked his little nod to Josh for being a standup guy for Shay.  There's definitely some comedic value there between those two characters if they can avoid going the love triangle route.

[Empress1]

On 5/4/2018 at 8:10 PM, nodorothyparker said:

I'm not much familiar with Chrissy Metz but she was really terrific in this.

After finding last week's episode a little on the flat side, this one had me rolling.  I love a truthful eulogy, and I also love that Trey wasn't doing it to score points but because it was the right thing to do after watching these people tear Shay down over and over.  "Seriously, what was she gonna do with all them hubcaps?"  I also liked his little nod to Josh for being a standup guy for Shay.  There's definitely some comedic value there between those two characters if they can avoid going the love triangle route.

Chrissy Metz stars in This Is Us, which is a very emotional drama. There are bits of levity in it, but suffice it to say this was a VERY different role. And it was probably fun for her to do something lighthearted after This Is Us, which likes to try to make you cry every week.

On 5/4/2018 at 2:28 AM, AnimeMania said:

How can you just hand him a handful of loose Skittles, she could have at least put them in a Ziplock bag.

If she used a Ziplock bag she could have brought him Reeses Pieces because the "traveling well" wouldn't have been an issue!

[possibilities]

I enjoyed seeing both dads bonding with the kids, but continue to be disappointed at how little Tiffany Haddish gets to do on this show.

[AgentRXS]

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

I enjoyed seeing both dads bonding with the kids, but continue to be disappointed at how little Tiffany Haddish gets to do on this show.

I almost felt like she was unavailable for much of the shooting of this episode, since she didn't share physical scenes with any other member of the cast.

I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by this show, as I usually cannot stand Tracy Morgan and I am on the fence about Tiffany Haddish. But I think its a cute show and the cast has great chemistry together.

[possibilities]

I'm starting to wonder if they just signed her for her name recognition, sort of like how Mindy Kalish is on the NBC "Champions" sitcom but only for maybe 15 seconds every 4th episode.

I do agree though that this is the first time I've found Tracy Morgan tolerable.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

51 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I'm starting to wonder if they just signed her for her name recognition, sort of like how Mindy Kalish is on the NBC "Champions" sitcom but only for maybe 15 seconds every 4th episode.

The main difference is that Mindy Kaling is the executive producer of Champions so she was signed to produce the show, not star in it. She created the show and her intention was not to be one of the leads. Her appearances on S1 were also limited by her pregnancy.

Tiffany Haddish, on the other hand, was cast as Shay in May 2017 before she really blew up in the mainstream thanks to Girls' Trip (which came out in July 2017) and hosting SNL (in November 2017), so although she had been working steadily before she was signed for The Last OG, she didn't have the name recognition/Q rating back then that she does now. I'm guessing she is going to ask for a raise for S2!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The Last OG has been renewed for S2

[msrachelj]

On 5/9/2018 at 8:00 PM, possibilities said:

I enjoyed seeing both dads bonding with the kids, but continue to be disappointed at how little Tiffany Haddish gets to do on this show.

yeah, what the heck? it's like they just used her to draw in her fans. i love tracy also but i was looking forward to both of them.

[TV Diva Queen]

On 5/9/2018 at 10:14 PM, AgentRXS said:

I almost felt like she was unavailable for much of the shooting of this episode, since she didn't share physical scenes with any other member of the cast.

I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by this show, as I usually cannot stand Tracy Morgan and I am on the fence about Tiffany Haddish. But I think its a cute show and the cast has great chemistry together.

Right??  me too.  I was never a fan, I was the opposite of a fan, I actively hated him.  LOL.  Then I heard his interview on Howard Stern and thought, this guy ain't half bad, so I gave the show a chance and me the hubby are really enjoying it.  

[Ottis]

Ok, I hated this episode where Tray slings crack and learns a lesson. How can you spend the whole season setting up Tray as someone who is starting over and not a threat and make him a drug dealer? Using it as a set up for Robin Hood jokes isn’t a good enough reason. You basically betrayed the entire basis of the show. His continued connection to everyone on the show except for Bobby is dependent on Tray being clean and not a criminal. Choosing to sell drugs for any reason was moronic. Is there going to be some “we’re all just human” moral where everyone forgives him? What a waste. And a terrible choice for the show. I might be out. 

Edited May 17, 2018 by Ottis

[AnimeMania]

I thought it was a teachable moment, it takes about a week to go from being a baller to being a hobo if you use crack. Trey also learned that it is not OK to treat people poorly because you believe they are different, it is not a us vs them, black vs white, rich vs poor situation, everybody is a person and should be treated justly.

[possibilities]

They certainly weren't condoning what Tray did. I'm just surprised his friend didn't reclaim the "insurance policy" and sell it a long time ago, given his general attitude.

[Ottis]

On 5/17/2018 at 12:41 AM, AnimeMania said:

I thought it was a teachable moment, it takes about a week to go from being a baller to being a hobo if you use crack. Trey also learned that it is not OK to treat people poorly because you believe they are different, it is not a us vs them, black vs white, rich vs poor situation, everybody is a person and should be treated justly.

There are 50 other ways Tray could have had the teachable moment without Tray being the one to sling drugs. In real life, is there now ANY reason Shay and her husband would let their kids be near Tray? If I'm J osh, it's over. Same for the halfway h ouse.  Will Tray next murder someone and then realize it was a mistake, his next teachable moment? Having him return to drugs was bad wri ting.

[TeapotWakeen]

Did you see the guy "rolling a blunt" from the meat tray? He had lettuce leaves, licked it longwise, was putting meat in there and rolling it --- I was ON THE FLOOR.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Yeah, I just watched it and I actually LOLed at that. 

Tray going off on Josh's heroin use also gave me a chuckle. 

Edited May 24, 2018 by Superclam

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Because nothing says "I'm sorry" like a meat platter and a VIP pass to the strip club with unlimited lap dances and prime rib!

[Mr. Sparkle]

I could forgive a lot for a good deli platter. 

[possibilities]

I liked that, too. Smoked meats!

Also, "I never USED the stuff!" was a twist I honestly didn't see coming, on a show I often find fairly predictable.

[wallofsound]

I have been loving this show every week and am so happy to be watching Tracey Morgan again, but ........ the thing with Josh being an NA sponsor ..... wouldn’t he have done this same thing before with other people in the program?   It just seemed like a easy way for the writers to make Tiffany Hadfish go nuts on Josh and possibly lead to a Shay/Tray reunion down the road, but realistically, if she knew he was a recovering addict, then this type of behavior wouldn’t really set her off.   Surely, he’s sponsored people before.  

[AnimeMania]

I can't believe they wouldn't all chip in to buy a loaf of bread to go with the deli tray.

[msrachelj]

On 5/16/2018 at 8:37 PM, Ottis said:

Ok, I hated this episode where Tray slings crack and learns a lesson. How can you spend the whole season setting up Tray as someone who is starting over and not a threat and make him a drug dealer? Using it as a set up for Robin Hood jokes isn’t a good enough reason. You basically betrayed the entire basis of the show. His continued connection to everyone on the show except for Bobby is dependent on Tray being clean and not a criminal. Choosing to sell drugs for any reason was moronic. Is there going to be some “we’re all just human” moral where everyone forgives him? What a waste. And a terrible choice for the show. I might be out. 

and didn't his selling crack lead to that guy's becoming an addict? i hated this episode. the whole idea was shitty. and what if he got caught again? never mind the immorality of it all. very disappointing. glad his daughter caught his lies and recorded it at the end.