S01.E01: Becoming Bow

[Meredith Quill]

Quote

In the premiere, a young Rainbow Johnson recounts her experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the '80s, and the dilemmas they face to acclimate in the suburbs while staying true to themselves. Bow's parents, Paul and Alicia, decide to move from a hippie commune to the suburbs to better provide for their family. Their experiences illuminate the challenges of finding one's own identity when the rest of the world can't decide where one belongs.

Airs September 24, 2019.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Already don't like Santa Monica. Too sitcom-y over-the-top, IMO.

Still feeling some type of way about Tika in this role but dang if she isn't absolutely gorgeous.

[AnimeMania]

I was kind of surprised that Rainbow's grandfather seemed to be really happy spending time with his son's entire family and very supportive.

[readster]

5 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I was kind of surprised that Rainbow's grandfather seemed to be really happy spending time with his son's entire family and very supportive.

I know, but also how everyone else is acting. I know people change over the course of 30 years, but part of me just doesn't see how Bow's family ends up the way they do by the time Black-ish starts.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

So Rainbow grew up in the commune depicted in Wild Wild Country?

[UNOSEZ]

Aunt dee-dee said Johan looked like a runaway house slave... Lol also I'm always here for Gary Cole... And the divergence between identities for Johan and Santi started early.. And I've seen it in other mixed kids too.. Who go completely in one direction or another... Lucky for me.. Both my parents are also mixed so I just couldn't be bothered and ended up pretty neutral 

[ctmd]

the actress playing the mom is GORGEOUS, but looks nothing like her Black-ish older counterpart. The older version is multiple shades lighter than the younger version. I'm not aware of people "fading" with age without having full-body vitiligo!

[2727]

I give every new Fall show a try but probably won't keep this, almost solely because of the dad. He comes off a very inconsequential to me, like a kid playing dress-up in a cotton poncho shirt and messy hair. I don't buy him as a dedicated hippie, communist, environmentalist, or anything else. And why did his vegetables die? Is suburban soil somenow too middlebrow and conformist to grow plants?

[biakbiak]

One thing I thought was funny is that in one of the cult scenes Blake from Workaholics was briefly shown and I can only imagine this was a holdover from when Anders Holm was playing the dad.

[tennisgurl]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

Blake from Workaholics was briefly shown

"Lots of people have three wives!"

I would say that kid Santa Monica is too sitcom-y but her adult self is pretty over the top too, so I guess it fits. I think that the younger dad, Bow, and Santa Monica look decently like they could later become their older selves, but the younger mom (who is gorgeous!) and Johan dont look much like their older counterparts. 

Could be a fun show and I like exploring Bows mix race identity and how she felt like she had to "choose sides" and how she and her siblings all went in really different directions. 

[JenLily]

4 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

Lol also I'm always here for Gary Cole.

Same. I absolutely cracked up when he said, "This is why I don't do cocaine. I am cocaine. (pause) I do cocaine."

I'll keep watching. In addition to my deep, abiding love for Gary Cole, I have a soft spot for Zack Morris, Santamonica is adorable, and I have a feeling I'm going to like Aunt Dee Dee. So yeah. . . I'll hang in there. 😊

[msrachelj]

Bo's siblings were terrible. Bad casting, nothing like their grown up counterparts . Bo's mother is gorgeous. Both parents do not resemble their current actors now either. I do like it so far, looks interesting. Gary  Cole is a wonderful comedic actor. 

[biakbiak]

I stopped watching Black-ish long ago because I can’t stand Anthony/Dre so I will probably watch a few more episodes to see if I like it and than watch it the same way I watch Young Sheldon as totally separate from the show they came from and don’t compare the characters. 

[Unraveled]

I absolutely loved Gary Cole. I was pleasantly surprised as I didn't know he was on this show.

While I do like Mark Paul Gosselaar, I couldn't buy him as the free spirited dad. Anders Holm is much better at this.

Grown-ish was just a little too much for me. I'll give this show a few more episodes.

[In2You]

1 hour ago, Unraveled said:

I absolutely loved Gary Cole. I was pleasantly surprised as I didn't know he was on this show.

While I do like Mark Paul Gosselaar, I couldn't buy him as the free spirited dad. Anders Holm is much better at this.

Grown-ish was just a little too much for me. I'll give this show a few more episodes.

I preferred what I saw of Anders Holm in the original trailer. Some of the jokes just didn't land the same way in this retaped pilot.

I can already tell Auntie DeeDee, SantaMonica, and Grandpa Harrison are gonna be the ones keeping me watching.

Mark was trying really hard to imitate Paul as he was on Blackish but he was the least funny person in this episode.

Edited September 26, 2019 by In2You

[truthaboutluv]

20 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I was kind of surprised that Rainbow's grandfather seemed to be really happy spending time with his son's entire family and very supportive.

To be fair, he still doesn't seem to like his son much but I think he respects Bow's mother for actually getting her degree and probably thinks she's the brains behind his useless son. 

[possibilities]

Looked to me like the dad didn't water the plants. But also, he sure wasn't growing nearly enough to feed a family, even if it hadn't died.

[mammaM]

On 9/25/2019 at 7:27 AM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

So Rainbow grew up in the commune depicted in Wild Wild Country?

And when she wanted to run away, said she heard about a commune in Waco!

[truthaboutluv]

11 minutes ago, mammaM said:

And when she wanted to run away, said she heard about a commune in Waco!

Yup, caught the Waco line which did make me chuckle and then I felt guilty. 

[Snapdragon]

I'm only halfway through the episode but I'm already annoyed by the fact that the show is acting as if the only mixed people in the world are those who are half black, half white.  If they want to point out that interracial marriage wasn't legal everywhere in the United States until 1967, that's fine but to pretend that Bow's family was basically the first interracial family ever is ridiculous.  

[UNOSEZ]

4 hours ago, Snapdragon said:

I'm only halfway through the episode but I'm already annoyed by the fact that the show is acting as if the only mixed people in the world are those who are half black, half white.  If they want to point out that interracial marriage wasn't legal everywhere in the United States until 1967, that's fine but to pretend that Bow's family was basically the first interracial family ever is ridiculous.  

Well this particular show is focused on someone who is half white half black who's first experiences with race were in 1985 in a school that seems pretty segregated socially and racially... Also if my math is right she was born in 73 or so so her parents got married basically right after the loving act was passed.. In her speech she say they were one of the 1st legal interracial marriages.. And unlike her siblings who seemed to both pick opposite sides she's gonna be trying to navigate this right down the middle

[mtlchick]

I love me some Mark-Paul (and I miss Pitch so much) but show, please stop thinking he grows up to look like Beau Bridges.

I thought it was an ok debut, but you can tell what scenes were re shot after it was picked up and Mark Paul was swapped in.  Santamonica and Johan grew a few inches in that time frame. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

6 hours ago, Snapdragon said:

I'm only halfway through the episode but I'm already annoyed by the fact that the show is acting as if the only mixed people in the world are those who are half black, half white.  If they want to point out that interracial marriage wasn't legal everywhere in the United States until 1967, that's fine but to pretend that Bow's family was basically the first interracial family ever is ridiculous.  

I predict if the show is around long enough, they'll meet different sorts of "mixed" kids, who will compare their trials and tribulations.

[Snapdragon]

2 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

Well this particular show is focused on someone who is half white half black who's first experiences with race were in 1985 in a school that seems pretty segregated socially and racially... Also if my math is right she was born in 73 or so so her parents got married basically right after the loving act was passed.. In her speech she say they were one of the 1st legal interracial marriages.. And unlike her siblings who seemed to both pick opposite sides she's gonna be trying to navigate this right down the middle

That's the thing though, they wouldn't have been one of the first legal interracial marriages in the United States.  Before the Loving Act was passed, whether people could marry someone of a different race depended on the state they lived in and the races involved.  My Japanese grandmother and white grandfather got married in 1950, thirty-five years before this show is set.  Heck, The Jeffersons premiered in 1975 with a black/white married couple with two grown children so while interracial marriages and mixed kids weren't as common as they are now, they certainly weren't unheard of.  And in California, where the show is set, interracial marriage had been legal since 1948.  So yeah, while I get that since Bow is half-black, half-white they're obviously going to concentrate on that particular mix and the struggles it involves, but when they have her make statements like, "My parents were one of the first interracial marriages" it's simply not true and continues Hollywood's annoying habit of acting as if black/white is the only mix that exists.

[GHScorpiosRule]

So while I checked out from watching Black-ish, I thought I’d give this a try because while Zach Morris irritated me from time to time, I’ve always thought Mark was a good actor.

But I can’t believe that the person that he’s playing, ends up being the wonderful man that was played by Beau Bridges.

And as for the actress who plays Wee SantaMonica-she reminds me of Raven Symone on speed. She’s just too precocious.

But Gary Cole!!!! ❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️

I’m conflicted as to whether I should continue to watch.

[DearEvette]

I think Hollywood or even anecdotal popular culture seems to single out black/white as the go to  interracial mixture when using or commenting on interracial marriage is because of all pairings that is the one, historically, considered to most taboo.  So it is the one that I suppose tends to lend itself best to drama?

The first Anti-Miscegenation laws were written  to prohibit black/white marriages, not just white/non-white, but singled out white & black.  And many of them pre-date non-white major immigration waves. 

I once read a statistic somewhere that there were like 30 states with anti-miscegenation laws on the books and of those only 8 were general, the rest prohibited white/black intermarriage specifically.  A lot of that had to do with the fact that racially speaking non-black POC were often granted a "favored nations" status where they were considered either white or near enough white that they were not subject to some of the same laws that affected blacks.  Major League baseball is an illustrative example of this effect where Native Americans, Hispanics and Pacific Islanders were considered white and thus were allowed to play in MLB but blacks were prohibited.

[Traveller519]

On 9/25/2019 at 1:37 PM, JenLily said:

Same. I absolutely cracked up when he said, "This is why I don't do cocaine. I am cocaine. (pause) I do cocaine."

I'll keep watching. In addition to my deep, abiding love for Gary Cole, I have a soft spot for Zack Morris, Santamonica is adorable, and I have a feeling I'm going to like Aunt Dee Dee. So yeah. . . I'll hang in there. 😊

In a few years, when Santa Monica and Johan stumble across Saved By the Bell during one of their Idiot Box Marathon Sesssions, they are going to lose their minds at how much their dad looks like the Principal! (err... I mean like an older version of the protagonist)

[sandrajane]

On 9/26/2019 at 3:46 PM, UNOSEZ said:

Well this particular show is focused on someone who is half white half black who's first experiences with race were in 1985 in a school that seems pretty segregated socially and racially... Also if my math is right she was born in 73 or so so her parents got married basically right after the loving act was passed.. In her speech she say they were one of the 1st legal interracial marriages.. And unlike her siblings who seemed to both pick opposite sides she's gonna be trying to navigate this right down the middle

The show is simplifying the matter and playing loose with the facts.  The Lovings were legally married, just not in Virginia.  The Loving Act struct down remaining anti miscegenation laws.   Isn't the show taking place in California?  Because theirs was 1948.  My grandparents (white/black) got married in Washington state in the 40s.  They actually lived in Oregon, but it was still illegal for them at that time.

I found the show incredibly boring.  I agree with other fonts on the little sister being very sitcom-y in her acting.  And MPG is totally wrong for this role.

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, sandrajane said:

The show is simplifying the matter and playing loose with the facts.  The Lovings were legally married, just not in Virginia.  The Loving Act struct down remaining anti miscegenation laws.   Isn't the show taking place in California?  Because theirs was 1948.  My grandparents (white/black) got married in Washington state in the 40s.  They actually lived in Oregon, but it was still illegal for them at that time.

I don’t think they were saying that it was illegal everywhere when they married just that the fact that it was still illegal in several stated made it still unusual when they did marry.

I don’t watch Black-ish so don’t know what they have said about Bow’s childhood but given that the kids are going to the Walter Mondale School, I assumed this show is taking place in Minnesota not California.

Edited September 27, 2019 by biakbiak

[bybrandy]

Look, I'm of the age that I grew up with a crush on Zach Morris so I am totally in for MPG.  But he seems wildly miscast here.  I wonder who looked at this character and thought, I know... MPG.   He just felt like he was playing dress-up.  Ugh.

But Gary Cole, so....   

[Marley]

I have opposite opinions apparently cause I really liked this show and thought the actors worked really well lol.

Rainbows voice as narrator almost didn’t work for me at first and I don’t know why but I liked it in the end.

The end with the water fight had me worried the food would get wet lol.

Edited September 28, 2019 by Marley

[ouinason]

Aunt DeeDee dressed a lot like my mom did in the 80's, which was my biggest impression about the whole show.

[DearEvette]

The commentary on the movie Breakin' by the Johnson kids was hilarious.  I remember the movie but even then rolled my eyes at the  leotard wearing main character.  But did not remember Jean Claude Van Damme was in it.  That smallish clip they showed was hysterical.

On 9/25/2019 at 11:12 AM, UNOSEZ said:

And the divergence between identities for Johan and Santi started early.. And I've seen it in other mixed kids too.

Also that they chose based on what appealed to them best after watching tv.  Which, if you think about it, is a lot to unpack.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Dre's self-righteous speeches usually leave me rolling my eyes but for once I was with him - Breakin' is an awesome movie! I mean, yes, the dialogue is terrible and some of the acting is not great (which I'm fine with because they cast actual dancers in these roles, not actors who could sort of dance or dance doubles), but the movie itself is still awesome.

Plus ridiculously hilarious cameos! Jean Claude van Damme dancing like a fool at Venice Beach! Christopher McDonald as the uptight agent who finally gets why Kelly loves breakdancing! Ice-T as the DJ at the Radiotron!

[Evagirl]

I guess I'm in the minority here (so to speak).  I watch comedy shows only for escapism and entertainment.  There is so much drama in real life these days, that I don't take the time to figure out if things make sense.  I go along for the ride, take the show at face value, and leave it at that.  

This is a show about Rainbow's coming of age and there's where it starts and ends for me.  I don't try to cross over (no pun intended) to black-ish to see if things match.  If I did, I'd declare that baby girl in real life probably isn't "mixed", but just a light-skinned little black girl.  As Aunt Dee Dee said, "She has edges." Man, that statement had me screaming with laughter!

[CurlyATX]

I think Bow is exactly a year older than me.  I grew up in CA during this time and I had two classmates who were black dad/white mom.  I only remember the biggest thing being that everything thought they were black and they'd always talk about being white too, and wearing a "kiss me I'm irish" pin.  

This brings up another in continuity.  In an earlier episode (I think the one where she's mad Junior has a white girlfriend) there is a flashback where Bow doesn't know what to list herself as for a test (as what looks like her being in 3rd grade) and the teacher saying "you're black, baby."  So Bow did go to school before the commune and had been struggling with this before.  

I also find it hard to believe that a school in CA did not have any kids who were mixed.  Most friends of mine who identify as African-American also have various bloodlines. 

[biakbiak]

16 minutes ago, CurlyATX said:

I also find it hard to believe that a school in CA did not have any kids who were mixed. 

Again did they ever say it was in California? I find them naming the school after Walter Mondale would make absolutely no sense if that were the case.

[CurlyATX]

8 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Again did they ever say it was in California? I find them naming the school after Walter Mondale would make absolutely no sense if that were the case.

Good catch.  It would only be Minnesota, right? My guess is that's a joke since he just lost to Regan.

[biakbiak]

12 minutes ago, CurlyATX said:

Good catch.  It would only be Minnesota, right? My guess is that's a joke since he just lost to Regan.

Yes I assumed that was the joke but it would be stupid of them to do that for such a background joke if they weren’t in Minnesota but who knows.