Season 5 Chat

[Empress1]

1 minute ago, qtpye said:

Issa's coworkers can be a little ignorant but do not reach the "too stupid to live" level of Dre's office.

I would argue that Issa's boss (or rather, former boss) gets pretty close, but point made. 🙂

[MaryMitch]

I appreciate how this show talks about a variety of black issues. There are probably a lot of people who think black inner city neighborhoods are "ghettos".

[jhlipton]

On 4/24/2019 at 7:01 AM, readster said:

 Same goes with Dre and Bow's up and down money issues. Now, Dre's sister calls him out how he has money lying around. Yet, four episodes ago, they were talking about they are wasting money on things and missing a bill or two.

And Dre tears up $400 worth of tickets "just to prove a point" -- the point being that he's an idiot.

[readster]

7 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

And Dre tears up $400 worth of tickets "just to prove a point" -- the point being that he's an idiot.

Yes to all of that.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 4/24/2019 at 11:15 AM, tennisgurl said:

Now I just want to read Riverdale recaps as done by Charlie. 

This needs to be a real thing!

[Dee]

After all these years I re,aom surprised the show dropped Junior's potential friendship with Charlie's kid.

[readster]

1 hour ago, Dee said:

After all these years I re,aom surprised the show dropped Junior's potential friendship with Charlie's kid.

They basically dropped Charlie's kid.

[xander874]

On 4/24/2019 at 9:13 AM, Tryangle said:

Wasn't there an episode where Dre had finally "had enough" of his co-workers' behaviour?

Yes and it was a long time coming (and welcome). And things have been good for a while. But once a race plot happens, they fall right back into their old ways. There are plenty of ways to show ignorance without outright racism. It's just not funny anymore for them to be so clueless about race. I don't mind them being elitist, but this is tiring.

[readster]

7 minutes ago, xander874 said:

Yes and it was a long time coming (and welcome). And things have been good for a while. But once a race plot happens, they fall right back into their old ways. There are plenty of ways to show ignorance without outright racism. It's just not funny anymore for them to be so clueless about race. I don't mind them being elitist, but this is tiring.

Same goes for how people are treated at Bow's hospital where they SHOULD know better. Hospitals and doctors and sued all the time and for much less than how they treat Bow. It's just absurd now. 

[MakingBacon]

On 4/24/2019 at 2:14 PM, Empress1 said:

Does Dre have white friends? His coworkers and his boss aren't his friends.

Do Dre or Bow even have any friends? Every family sitcom/drama the adults always have some type of recurring friend to round them or a storyline out. Charlie really isn’t Dre’s friend because I don’t get the idea Dre would ever spend much time with him outside the office. Granted, I think it would be more fun to spend time with Charlie than Dre. 

I grew up a couple of blocks from Leimert Park as show on the show. Just because it is a primarily black area doesn’t mean it was dangerous. I always say I grew up on the most boring block on the planet. The area really is fine. I don’t see how Dre wouldn’t know that the area isn’t a war zone. I can’t see how the kids had never been to the neighborhood even with Ruby Or Pops to pick something up or to see and badger Rhonda. You know those two would go down there for the food alone. 

[Empress1]

Just now, MakingBacon said:

Do Dre or Bow even have any friends? Every family sitcom/drama the adults always have some type of recurring friend to round them or a storyline out. Charlie really isn’t Dre’s friend because I don’t get the idea Dre would ever spend much time with him outside the office. Granted, I think it would be more fun to spend time with Charlie than Dre. 

Much was made about Bow getting a friend in a previous episode - she met another Black doctor at work. That friend turned out to be ... a lot. We've also met some of Dre's old friends from before he came up (Cedric the Entertainer was one), but neither he nor Bow seem to have current friends. Bow interacts with other moms but they're not her friends. They also have their neighbor (I don't know her character's name but she's played by the actress who played Holly on King of Queens), but again, she's not a friend. So no, I don't think they have friends that they deal with on a regular basis.

[jhlipton]

Nicole Sullivan (who came to fame on MadTV) plays their neighbor Janine (is that who you were thinking of, @Empress1?) but, again, they are not friends unless they need something from her.

I haven't been to Leimert Park, but it sounds fun.  I'll have to try it some time.

[qtpye]

14 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Much was made about Bow getting a friend in a previous episode - she met another Black doctor at work. That friend turned out to be ... a lot. We've also met some of Dre's old friends from before he came up (Cedric the Entertainer was one), but neither he nor Bow seem to have current friends. Bow interacts with other moms but they're not her friends. They also have their neighbor (I don't know her character's name but she's played by the actress who played Holly on King of Queens), but again, she's not a friend. So no, I don't think they have friends that they deal with on a regular basis.

Wasn't Tyra Banks supposed to be Dre's best friend?

[readster]

23 hours ago, MakingBacon said:

Do Dre or Bow even have any friends? Every family sitcom/drama the adults always have some type of recurring friend to round them or a storyline out. Charlie really isn’t Dre’s friend because I don’t get the idea Dre would ever spend much time with him outside the office. Granted, I think it would be more fun to spend time with Charlie than Dre. 

Shows are really bad at this, it's been going on for years. They either have that constant friend that is basically a re occurring character or they have "idiots" who just never leave them alone. Honestly, I think the last show that did friends right was Cheers. You had random people at the bar, but... they were the SAME actor and interacted with everyone and at times hung out with specific characters at the bar or outside the bar. It actually felt like real people. These days, they either have people annoying a person or its that of friends you question why they people hang out with them. 

[Empress1]

17 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Nicole Sullivan (who came to fame on MadTV) plays their neighbor Janine (is that who you were thinking of, @Empress1?) but, again, they are not friends unless they need something from her.

I haven't been to Leimert Park, but it sounds fun.  I'll have to try it some time.

Yep, that's who I was thinking of. I never saw her on MadTV but she was a regular on King of Queens for most of the show's run (they brought her on a few seasons in).

[Dee]

Andre has tons of friends. Tyra Banks GiGi is his best friend, and he has a string of other friends from the hood (usually played by comedians/comedic actors ala Faizon Love/Ron Funches/Affion Crockett/Chris Spencer/etc.)

Rainbow has very few friends (at work or otherwise). Usually she ends up bonding with the nannies/housekeepers they hire. She recently made a friend (Angela) who was a hot mess, but she hasn't made any appearances beyond a single episode.

[LGraves65]

During the black neighborhood montage, there was a picture of Daisy Gatson Bates/MLK Drive street signs and I went Hey! That's in Little Rock! (Random: There's a Church's Chicken at that intersection.)

[Dee]

Jack turning when Rainbow told him to recite the alphabet backwards had me on the floor.

[Raja]

On 4/26/2019 at 6:26 AM, MakingBacon said:

Do Dre or Bow even have any friends? Every family sitcom/drama the adults always have some type of recurring friend to round them or a storyline out. Charlie really isn’t Dre’s friend because I don’t get the idea Dre would ever spend much time with him outside the office. Granted, I think it would be more fun to spend time with Charlie than Dre. 

I grew up a couple of blocks from Leimert Park as show on the show. Just because it is a primarily black area doesn’t mean it was dangerous. I always say I grew up on the most boring block on the planet. The area really is fine. I don’t see how Dre wouldn’t know that the area isn’t a war zone. I can’t see how the kids had never been to the neighborhood even with Ruby Or Pops to pick something up or to see and badger Rhonda. You know those two would go down there for the food alone. 

Dorsey or Crenshaw? I had a chuckle when Dre punched the address into his GPS. "East" 45th Place for Leimert Park. It reminded me of Dragnet or Emergency where parallel running streets were announced as cross streets on their radios.

In any case the home owners in the area are starting to look like  the new couple on The Neighborhood on CBS as most of the potential parent age folks buying in are the white folks whose grandparents white fled the area being totally gone by the late 1960s.

[Arcadiasw]

On 4/26/2019 at 6:26 AM, Dee said:

After all these years I re,aom surprised the show dropped Junior's potential friendship with Charlie's kid.

Wasn't he the same age as Junior? Would make a good story to show he's in college, had doubts like Junior but instead of leaving, he stayed and it's working out for him. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

And again, Dre makes it all about himself at his kid's expense. At least he eventually saw the light.

Jack's voice has really deepened.

When Diane and her boyfriend were on the patio was anyone but me looking for the male stripper? No? Okay then.

Devante is adorable.

[Snapdragon]

There has got to be a better way to bring up sponsors in the episode than that awkward Target ad that they did at the end.  That was just painful to watch.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Jack's voice has really deepened.

And Jack is giving Junior a run for his money in the moustache department.

[Traveller519]

3 hours ago, Snapdragon said:

There has got to be a better way to bring up sponsors in the episode than that awkward Target ad that they did at the end.  That was just painful to watch.

That and the Buick App spot last week were just so terribly blatant. I almost have to wonder if they production team has just decided to be so bad with them because they hate doing them.

Early on they leveraged the Office for the Product placement, since whomever the sponsor was could jut become the client of the week, but I suspect that the BRANDS(tm) want to see people actually "interacting" with their offerings.

Jack and Diane were great this episode. As they've matured they've become much more nuanced while maintaining that bit of comic relief notes. And of Course Pops is still Pops. But Everyone aged from Junior to Ruby seems to be getting the Eric Matthews treatment.

[tennisgurl]

That Target add was next level awkward. Maybe next time just have all the main characters stop the episode and just stare into the camera to tell us the joys of shopping at Target, complete with where to download the App.

Why does Junior even want to live in that house anymore? Why would he possibly want to be around a father that constantly tells him what a loser disappointment he is and how he doesent love him? This "gap year" is such a total mess, and Junior used to be one of my favorites on this show. And Dre is just such a selfish jerk, its not really funny anymore. 

Jack and Diane were great though, and I admit I enjoyed the play by play commentary on Dres football obsession. 

[MakingBacon]

16 hours ago, Raja said:

Dorsey or Crenshaw? I had a chuckle when Dre punched the address into his GPS. "East" 45th Place for Leimert Park. It reminded me of Dragnet or Emergency where parallel running streets were announced as cross streets on their radios.

In any case the home owners in the area are starting to look like  the new couple on The Neighborhood on CBS as most of the potential parent age folks buying in are the white folks whose grandparents white fled the area being totally gone by the late 1960s.

Our neighborhood high school was Dorsey but I didn’t go there. Yes, the demographics have changed and the housing prices are rising. Everyone wants in the neighborhood now because the houses are a nice size with good sized lots. 

[SmithW6079]

On 5/1/2019 at 4:32 PM, tennisgurl said:

Why does Junior even want to live in that house anymore? Why would he possibly want to be around a father that constantly tells him what a loser disappointment he is and how he doesent love him? This "gap year" is such a total mess, and Junior used to be one of my favorites on this show. And Dre is just such a selfish jerk, its not really funny anymore. 

I stopped watching this show after the second season (maybe even during the second season) because I came to hate, hate, Dre, an insecure man-child. My DVR records the first minute of the show after "The Kids are Alright," and so I saw the start of this episode, where Jack announces he's joined the football team, and Dre shouts with glee -- with, I believe, Junior in the room -- something to the effect of "Now I have a son!" Gah, what a d-bag.

[readster]

6 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

I stopped watching this show after the second season (maybe even during the second season) because I came to hate, hate, Dre, an insecure man-child. My DVR records the first minute of the show after "The Kids are Alright," and so I saw the start of this episode, where Jack announces he's joined the football team, and Dre shouts with glee -- with, I believe, Junior in the room -- something to the effect of "Now I have a son!" Gah, what a d-bag.

Junior's character has been completely ruined with this "gap year" crap this year. He has not only been acting out of character, but others are enabling his behavior. He gets called on it and just keeps going with his: "I'll work a great job and NEVER have to go to college!" It's crap and at times you can tell the actor doesn't believe what he is saying. 

[Dee]

How has Junior been acting out of character?

He's the same self righteous snot he's always been.

[Diapason Untuned]

4 hours ago, Dee said:

How has Junior been acting out of character?

He's the same self righteous snot he's always been.

Whatever else you could say about Junior, he was always a conscientious student before, now he's dropped his education by the wayside for a really contrived reason.

[readster]

2 hours ago, Diapason Untuned said:

Whatever else you could say about Junior, he was always a conscientious student before, now he's dropped his education by the wayside for a really contrived reason.

Right, that completely went against the character and the way he has been acting and others have been dealing with it is also out of character. Yes, Zoey got cut off for being an idiot by cheating, but it was still in character for Zoey. With Junior, it hasn't made sense since Day 1 and it just got worst and worst. Even after getting the job at Dre's company he told his siblings: "Now, by getting this job I will never have to go to college AGAIN!" Which is where his character just went out.

[Dee]

3 hours ago, Diapason Untuned said:

Whatever else you could say about Junior, he was always a conscientious student before, now he's dropped his education by the wayside for a really contrived reason.

Not all high school students, even the good ones, are able to make the often difficult transition to college.

And further, it's not out of character for Junior who admitted to being a gigantic mama's boy, and semi-jokingly, identified his need for a gap year, all on his own, long before the HU debacle.

The problem is the writers have Junior engaging in menial tasks, like obsessing over DeVante and chaperoning Diane's dates instead of committing to rigorous character development the character so desperately needs.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Dee

[Diapason Untuned]

19 hours ago, Dee said:

Not all high school students, even the good ones, are able to make the often difficult transition to college.

And further, it's not out of character for Junior who admitted to being a gigantic mama's boy, and semi-jokingly, identified his need for a gap year, all on his own, long before the HU debacle.

If we had actually seen Junior struggle, I might have agreed with this.

But he didn't struggle, he just instantly gave up on Howard, the same college he decided to go to in spite of his mother's wishes and despite his father's usual shenanigans, in what was one of his best episodes yet.

He was presented as being ready for college, and then he...instantly gives up, which is hardly in character for him.

Quote

The problem is the writers have Junior engaging in menial tasks, like obsessing over DeVante and chaperoning Diane's dates instead of committing to rigorous character development the character so desperately needs.

I agree with the menial tasks bit, not so much the other stuff. Despite the overall shoddiness of the gap year arc, Junior has had some solid development with his relationship with his dad.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Diapason Untuned

[Dee]

1 hour ago, Diapason Untuned said:

But he didn't struggle, he just instantly gave up on Howard, the same college he decided to go to in spite of his mother's wishes and despite his father's usual shenanigans, in what was one of his best episodes yet.

He decided to go to HU after a single visit. Visiting a school and actually attending the school are two different things. Hearing how actively unprepared he was for his future, from his roommate, instantly punctured all Junior's initial hype about attending college. That is not unusual.

During his campus visit, Junior only focuses on the variety of blackness at HU, not it's academic record or what he, himself, wants to do in the future.

It's entirely fine for him to have reservations about attending college. It's the exact same thing his older sister is also currently experiencing. He could've handled the situation better, but he's no obligated to attend college, if he feels ill equipped to handle the experience. That's a waste of resources, and it clears a spot for a kid who actually wants to be there.

Quote

I agree with the menial tasks bit, not so much the other stuff. Despite the overall shoddiness of the gap year arc, Junior has had some solid development with his relationship with his dad.

Junior has had TONS of development with Andre, long before this season. The Andre & Junior of Season 1 is NOT the Andre & Junior of Season 5, which is a great thing.

[OnceSane]

Quote

Dre has concerns about Jack and Diane spending the weekend with their friends' family in the desert; Pops is forced to come to terms with how he treats women after he helps set Junior up.

Airs May 14, 2019.

[Marley]

Didn’t Junior only drop out cause his roommate scared him. That is a stupid reason to leave college and he honestly didn’t even try. He’s extra annoying now and so entitled that he thinks he should have a top job instantly at a marketing firm. I’ve never liked Junior tho he’s always been an annoying idiot to me.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 5/7/2019 at 4:32 PM, Dee said:

During his campus visit, Junior only focuses on the variety of blackness at HU, not it's academic record or what he, himself, wants to do in the future.

I do wonder if the same thing would have happened had he decided to go to Stanford, a school which is much harder to get into than Howard (but which came with no scholarship.)

[readster]

4 hours ago, Marley said:

Didn’t Junior only drop out cause his roommate scared him. That is a stupid reason to leave college and he honestly didn’t even try. He’s extra annoying now and so entitled that he thinks he should have a top job instantly at a marketing firm. I’ve never liked Junior tho he’s always been an annoying idiot to me.

Yes! That was the main reason, his roommate scared him and when he tried to do it to Jack, Jack just looked at him like: "What is wrong with you are why are you saying this?" I know many have posted that Junior dropped out for a legitment reason, but he didn't! He was scared, never really told anyone why and has been in his: "I'll never have to go to college if I get a great job!" It's completely BS.

[Dee]

How is Junior's being scared 'bs' though? It's a legitimate reaction to college. Just because you're a good student doesn't mean college is for you. Part of becoming a grown up is being allowed to change your mind.

And Junior never tells anyone (Jack doesn't count) about his feelings, because he doesn't have any recurring or semi-recurring characters on the show to act as his confidant.

The character who previously served that purpose (Zoey) is over on her own show, having her own come to jesus meeting, about her own college experience.

Edited May 9, 2019 by Dee

[joanne3482]

I think the BS is the "I'll never have to go to college if I get a great job" not the being scared is BS.  Never getting a degree for that type of work will limit his potential certainly.  Unless he  somehow invents something amazing or goes out on his own, he'll never be a top at a company without some sort of degree. To me he doesn't have the personality or the drive to start his own business and be the kind of success that lets him keep that life he currently enjoys. 

I will also say, to me, it is BS that Junior dropped out because he was scared.  Junior has lived a very privileged life. Running at the first challenge is not a good look for him. College is scary for most people. It should be.  That's how you grow, by challenging yourself.  Back in my day (OMG I'm that old now?!)  college visits weren't common and most people I grew up with didn't have the funds to do them anyway.  We all just packed ourselves up and went, sight unseen, pre-internet. I do agree that it isn't good to continue along a path that you know will not work and waste everyone's time and money but he didn't even try. After one semester he could have found his niche or figured out it wasn't for him, but at least then he knows it wasn't for him for the right reasons and not just because he was scared. 

Devonte is growing up cute and if Dre wants his football player he still has a chance with that one. 

[possibilities]

One thing I like about Junior is that he's not the kind of kid who has to be nagged to pitch in around the house. He is actually interested in participating. It's actually a really rare thing to see on TV, and I like it. A kid who isn't whiny and lazy. It makes the gap year even more strange, because he always did have ambitions.

I think they just did it to keep him on the show, and they and all the characters have totally handwaved the whole thing. It could have been really interesting to see him at Howard, and I had hoped they'd spin it off into its own show like they did with Zoey, instead of regressing him to inexplicably back home and being afraid of life.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This episode made me glad I don't have kids so I don't have to deal with telling a child that I don't want him to play a sport because it might end up killing him or doing major damage to him. Mr. EB looooooves football and even he said he wouldn't let a kid play these days.

The issue with Junior's storyline is that if the show knew that they wanted to keep him around for S5, there were so many options. They could have had him go to a school in the LA area (because there are a ridiculous amount of colleges within an hour or two ranging from large public universities like UCLA to small private colleges or less well known state schools (people who live in California know about UC Riverside or Cal State Northridge but most people outside of California usually only know about the schools with nationally ranked sports teams) which would have made it totally plausible for him to come home often enough to justify his presence. They could have even made it a running joke that he was always home for a zillion different reasons. They could have had him say that he wanted to live at home and attend a local community college. They could have had him research internships last season and had him PLAN to take a gap year. Instead the writers had him decide to go to a school on the other side of the country and then high tail it home before classes even started so he could get a job where Dre works? WHY?

[readster]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

This episode made me glad I don't have kids so I don't have to deal with telling a child that I don't want him to play a sport because it might end up killing him or doing major damage to him. Mr. EB looooooves football and even he said he wouldn't let a kid play these days.

The issue with Junior's storyline is that if the show knew that they wanted to keep him around for S5, there were so many options. They could have had him go to a school in the LA area (because there are a ridiculous amount of colleges within an hour or two ranging from large public universities like UCLA to small private colleges or less well known state schools (people who live in California know about UC Riverside or Cal State Northridge but most people outside of California usually only know about the schools with nationally ranked sports teams) which would have made it totally plausible for him to come home often enough to justify his presence. They could have even made it a running joke that he was always home for a zillion different reasons. They could have had him say that he wanted to live at home and attend a local community college. They could have had him research internships last season and had him PLAN to take a gap year. Instead the writers had him decide to go to a school on the other side of the country and then high tail it home before classes even started so he could get a job where Dre works? WHY?

Right and those would have been more plausible. They could have had it where he was spending more time at home than at school. Still putting in his "scary roommate" as a reason or that he just wasn't ready to be on his own. Or he even putting in Baby D being more of being the reason, which would had played with his girlfriend calling him out on his obsession with his baby brother. But oh no!

  They had NO IDEA, only they wanted to keep Junior in season 5 and turn him not only into a big baby, but take his emotional attitude down to a 3 year old. Plus having both Dre and Bow and yes even Ruby and Pops skating over the fact he wasn't just spinning, but was turning into: "I need to just feel safe in life." I've read critics and casual viewers who are a lot more critical than we are. They completely call the season focus on Junior' "gap year" as complete crap!

[Empress1]

Dre sadly pouring sand out of his shoes had me in stitches.

[Mr. Sparkle]

"M'Granpa" made me lol. 

[OnceSane]

Quote

Junior gets an offer for his dream job working with Migos, but Dre and Bow are determined to convince him to return to college and get his degree.

Airs May 21, 2019.

[Dee]

Diane wanting to learn the desert because she intends to bury something out there one day and Jack wanting to visit the desert because he's never been somewhere where you can pee anywhere & it's ok, had me howling!

[LadyintheLoop]

Go, Eustace!

Awww, Devonte. You're lucky your father's found a use for you.

[Gothish520]

I'm 100% with Dre when it comes to eating raw seafood and dealing with gas equipment - hell no to both.

I liked seeing Junior and Pops spending some time together.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Did Black-ish actually namecheck Empire? That's hilarious. It'll be interesting to see which show is the last one standing.

Charlie adresses his son as Mr. Eustace. All this time he's made it seem like Eustace was a neglected child. Guess the tables have turned. 🤔

Jack's voicemail message. OMG.  He's like a little pimp running under the radar.