Season 1 Discussion

[AnimeMania]

Bob Hearts Abishola premieres Sept. 23 at 8/9c on CBS.

Bob Hearts Abishola puts a comedic yet uplifting spin on the life of an immigrant who’s just trying to achieve the American dream – all while navigating her way through the romantic gestures of an unexpected suitor.

Chuck Lorre's Bob Hearts Abishola Is a Love Story That Crosses Boundaries

[eel21788]

I saw the first episode as part of a focus group. It's funny, but it isn't politically correct funny. I'm not sure if that is going to be okay with the snowflake generation. 

[jewel21]

I had seen a 2-3 minute trailer of this a couple of months ago and I wasn't sold on it, but I'm glad I tuned in tonight. It was actually funnier than I thought it would be and the cast is charming and amusing. 

I will tune in next week and see how it goes. 

[meatball77]

Wow, that was something else.  Not in a good way.

[shapeshifter]

The 1970s called. They want their show back. 

[SpiritSong]

I didn't find this particularly funny, but it was just the pilot episode, so I'm not going to condemn it just on the very first show. I liked the leads, and the nurse's family was okay. I think Bob's family is going to get very old, very fast if they don't improve the writing. I couldn't help but compare this a little to Mike and Molly, where the leads were just okay, but the supporting cast was absolutely stellar. They were why I kept watching. 

I'm glad to see Vernee Watson as a member of the cast. Loved her dry delivery.

[Guest]

28 minutes ago, SpiritSong said:

I didn't find this particularly funny, but it was just the pilot episode, so I'm not going to condemn it just on the very first show. I liked the leads, and the nurse's family was okay. I think Bob's family is going to get very old, very fast if they don't improve the writing. I couldn't help but compare this a little to Mike and Molly, where the leads were just okay, but the supporting cast was absolutely stellar. They were why I kept watching. 

I'm glad to see Vernee Watson as a member of the cast. Loved her dry delivery.

Vernee Watson is the main reason I’m going to give it a few more chances. Her line about selling Abishola out for $100 is the only time I laughed. 

There’s a lot of actors I’ve liked in other shows but it needs to be funnier. 

[piccadilly83]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

Vernee Watson is the main reason I’m going to give it a few more chances. Her line about selling Abishola out for $100 is the only time I laughed. 

There’s a lot of actors I’ve liked in other shows but it needs to be funnier. 

Yeah, I definitely liked her character. She was funny. I was also thrilled to see Shola Adewusi.  She played the mom in Michaela Coel's Chewing Gum and I loved her in that. It seems she's playing a similar character here.

I also agree with whoever said the writing for Bob's family is going to have to improve.  I kind of got what they were going for, and there were a few good jokes, but it still felt sort of forced if that's the right word.

ETA:

There was one more thing that bugged me about this episode. I didn't like when Abishola asked about the other kid's grades in the principal's office. That was really immaterial to the whole discussion.

Edited September 24, 2019 by piccadilly83

[Winston Wolfe]

5 hours ago, piccadilly83 said:

There was one more thing that bugged me about this episode. I didn't like when Abishola asked about the other kid's grades in the principal's office. That was really immaterial to the whole discussion.

Actually it was very material to the whole conversation.  As with many immigrants, Abishola's family is all about reaping the benefits of living in America. Right or wrong, she wants her son to become a Doctor and academic performance is key to that. She sized the other boy up based on his mother and wanted to convey the sentiment "oh that no-class idiot isn't going to hold my son back." Maybe Abishola could have handled it more skillfully, but I endorse her stance. For what it's worth, the Principal came off really badly here, especially if both students weren't suspended.

[msrachelj]

This was horrible. Billy Gardner was perfect as a heart attack victim, he looks larger than he did in Mike and Molly. It is sad that it is hard for some people to come down  to a  health weight. I don't even like to watch this as all I can think of is John Candy etc.  I loved him on Mike and Molly but for some reason, not here. No chemistry?

I am going to give it a second go but it was not funny, did not like the whole feel. Not invested in any of the characters.  I have a feeling this one isn't going to last very long. 

[piccadilly83]

3 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

Actually it was very material to the whole conversation.  As with many immigrants, Abishola's family is all about reaping the benefits of living in America. Right or wrong, she wants her son to become a Doctor and academic performance is key to that. She sized the other boy up based on his mother and wanted to convey the sentiment "oh that no-class idiot isn't going to hold my son back." Maybe Abishola could have handled it more skillfully, but I endorse her stance. For what it's worth, the Principal came off really badly here, especially if both students weren't suspended.

It may have been material to the scene to establish Abishola's worldview, but it was not material to the conversation Abishola was having with the principal and the other kid's mother. It made her look like a presumptuous jerk, IMO. My mother was an immigrant and my dad grew up working class. Both of my parents had the exact same attitude about academic performance that Abishola held.  There's a downside to that however, one of which we saw during that argument. She wanted to display that her kid was of better character, not because of how he defended himself from an attack, but because of his grades.  Wrapping up someone's character, central value, or worth in their GPA is a mistake IMO, especially a child's.  

Edited September 24, 2019 by piccadilly83

[tennisgurl]

I normally am not a big Chuck Lorre fan, but I was decently intrigued by the premise so I gave it a watch. It got a few chuckles out of me, and I like the actress who plays Abishola a lot, she is very likable and funny, so I might give it a few episodes to see if it settles a bit. Like, just get that fart joke out of the way fast, and see if anything good follows. 

Like a lot of Chuck Lorre shows, it feels like its somehow both based around timely trends while also being a good twenty years behind the times. If I keep watching I hope that Bobs family is toned down, they were the worst part of the show.

[AnimeMania]

28 minutes ago, piccadilly83 said:

She wanted to display that her kid was of better character, not because of how he defended himself from an attack, but because of his grades.  Wrapping up someone's character, central value, or worth in their GPA is a mistake IMO, especially a child's.  

Maybe that was why she let him participate in track. She believed her son was perfect and his life in America was perfect. She needs to lighten up a little and let him have a little control of his life and a little fun.

[CrazyMoon]

Billy Gardell is a whiz at playing a doofus....Bob is a serious doofus whose had a life changing event. He woke up to find an 'angel' at his bedside...aaannndddd GO!

Bob's family needs to chill, but that explains his stress induced cardiac symptoms. Him arguing in Chinese with his manufacturer shows he's not just a lumpy rube. 

Abishola is a great character...and I liked her family. She deeply cares for her son & his welfare. The punishment is spot on...(my kids referred to ugly extra chores as pig chores). Vernee Watson is an under rated treasure.

I'll give it more chances....pilot episodes are generally not the best a show can do.

[lovett1979]

I'd just like to point out that Christine Ebersole is only 16 years older than Billy Gardell. It's not impossible that she's his mother, but geez...

[Ms Lark]

It was better than I thought it would be. I really like Abishola, so I'll give it a couple more episodes. I hope it settles in and gets less stalker-y.

[wendyg]

I've liked (the first few seasons of sometimes) enough Chuck Lorre shows to give this a chance to develop. I didn't care for MIKE AND MOLLY despite the cast, but this strikes me as potentially more interesting.

It was at least fun seeing so many of Lorre's repeat actors show up: Matt Jones, for example. Vermee Watson, too - I hope she gets to do more. That woman has played *so many* nurses - including the one in the BIG BANG THEORY pilot.

[zoey1996]

Some of this first episode was pretty funny.  However it edged a bit too close to stalkerish behavior, and also the trope “man pursued woman who is not interested until she gives in” just isn’t funny in the age of Me Too.

That said, I’ll probably watch again; I like the main characters.

[SoMuchTV]

3 hours ago, lovett1979 said:

I'd just like to point out that Christine Ebersole is only 16 years older than Billy Gardell. It's not impossible that she's his mother, but geez...

Haha.  There's a podcast that I think some of the people who run this site are involved with - Extra Hot Great.  Every episode has a tv trivia quiz for the panel, and the theme this time involved "years between" - like age difference between an actor and the character they played, or between the actors who played a parent & a child.  Based on what I learned there, 16 years is downright respectable.

[CrazyMoon]

16 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

 Based on what I learned there, 16 years is downright respectable.

The Waltons is a classic example. Richard Thomas was just 12 years younger than Michael Learned, who played his mother Olivia Walton...no one noticed or cared....

[parrotlover]

2 hours ago, wendyg said:

It was at least fun seeing so many of Lorre's repeat actors show up: Matt Jones, for example. Vermee Watson, too - I hope she gets to do more. That woman has played *so many* nurses - including the one in the BIG BANG THEORY pilot.

I'm not a Chuck Lorre fan but I kept seeing this advertised, so decided to give it a shot. It's definitely not a laugh riot, but I could see potential. As has been said, they need to improve the writing for both families. I didn't even realize that was Christine Ebersole! I will keep watching for now.

Regarding Vernee Watson - The first thing I remember seeing her in was Welcome Back Kotter where she played Freddy "Boom Boom" Washington's girlfriend - have always liked her. And it was so funny to see her playing a nurse which she has done a lot, and docs too - Days of Our Lives and ER - because I had just recently re-watched an episode of House and she played a nurse on a couple of episodes there too.

[eel21788]

4 hours ago, lovett1979 said:

I'd just like to point out that Christine Ebersole is only 16 years older than Billy Gardell. It's not impossible that she's his mother, but geez...

I thought she was his sister.

[eel21788]

6 hours ago, wendyg said:

It was at least fun seeing so many of Lorre's repeat actors show up: Matt Jones, for example. 

I'd actually like to see Matt Jones' character disappear, so he can go back to Mom. My favorite role of his was on NCIS, but I know they can't resurrect him there. That ship has sailed.

Edited September 25, 2019 by eel21788

[SoMuchTV]

11 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

I'd actually like to see Matt Jones' character disappear, so he can go back to Mom. My favorite role of his was on NCIS, but I know they can't resurrect him there. That ship has sailed.

Looks like he's in the upcoming Breaking Bad movie.

[CrazyMoon]

I'd like Matt Jones back on "Mom" as well. He's a great piece of Christy's past to continue to nag at her ongoing successes. Like the bluegrass tune says "Don't Get Above Your Raisin''

[ItCouldBeWorse]

17 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

For what it's worth, the Principal came off really badly here, especially if both students weren't suspended.

The school probably has a zero-tolerance policy for physical altercations.  The other boy used his words.

[Guest]

I deleted it after the first 3 or so minutes.  Opening with a fart joke and then quickly switching to a pee joke so quickly is just not funny to me. The premise sounded intriguing, but if the best they have for the pilot is bodily functions, I'll pass.

[Dbolt]

Was I the only one thinking that if Abishola wants her son to be a doctor, she should realize he will need a scholarship and being on the track team not only opens up opportunities for athletic scholarships, but extra curricular activities help with getting academic scholarships too. 

[joanne3482]

47 minutes ago, Dbolt said:

Was I the only one thinking that if Abishola wants her son to be a doctor, she should realize he will need a scholarship and being on the track team not only opens up opportunities for athletic scholarships, but extra curricular activities help with getting academic scholarships too. 

I had that exact same thought, but then I also thought that not being from the US she may not fully appreciate our worship of sports the way we do. 

I really like Abishola. She's the reason I'll keep coming back. Hers is an interesting story. 

[Browncoat]

Abishola’s son will definitely need some extracurriculars for just college, never mind med school.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be sports, but if he’s interested, then sports are a great way to go.

[Lady J]

On 9/24/2019 at 1:18 AM, Dani said:

Vernee Watson is the main reason I’m going to give it a few more chances. Her line about selling Abishola out for $100 is the only time I laughed. 

There’s a lot of actors I’ve liked in other shows but it needs to be funnier. 

I liked when she asked if they were magic socks. 

[SmithW6079]

I liked it. In fact, I've been anticipating the show since I saw the first commercials for it. I'm not sure why -- I think I liked the interactions between Bob and Abishola. 

I think Bob's family is miscast. Christine Ebersole would be better as Bob's older sister, and the ones playing his siblings are too young. I thought they were his kids or his niece and nephew at first.

I liked Abishola's family and her friend from the bus. 

Has Vernee Watson made a career out of playing health care providers?

[JenLily]

I'm a simple creature. The fart joke amused me and I laughed out loud at the pee joke ("Should I just go?" "No! Don't just go!"), being on the receiving end of that question from parents who have woken up after procedures in the hospital not 100% certain if they've been catheterized or not. 😂 I was delighted to see Baxter from Mom and Mr. Lily was even more excited since he loved the actor in Breaking Bad. All that being said, I'm not sold on the show yet. There was a lot of overacting on the part of Bob's family and dare I say a bit of underacting by Billy Gardell and Folake Olowofoyeku. I'll give it a few more episodes to see if the cast can learn to gel but so far this isn't must see TV for me.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

I've been anticipating the show since I saw the first commercials for it. I'm not sure why -- I think I liked the interactions between Bob and Abishola.

I had the same reaction to the previews.
But --as a few above have already noted-- there were a lot of cringe-inducing plot points regarding socio-economic, racial, gender, and even geo-political and religious issues --even though I'm sure the intent was to use humor to deconstruct these societal habits and customs.
The Neighborhood's pilot was the same, and it's still on the air.
Good call to schedule Bob ❤️ Abishola right after The Neighborhood.
Both shows seem inspired by Norman Lear productions of the 70s. I wonder what he thinks of them.

For those wanting to re-watch the Pilot or who have interested friends & family who missed it,
Note: The Pilot is re-airing this Saturday at the start of the first hour of prime time, not as the half hour.

[DoYouLikeMutton]

I was unimpressed with the pilot episode as the best lines were ones from the trailer commercials.  But all shows need time to get their rhythm and stride so I will watch a few more episodes.   

Shouldn't the show be called "Bob Loves Abishola" rather than "Bob Hearts Abishola", as the latter sounds awkward.  I get that he had a heart attack and Abishola was his nurse . . . .

We'll see how this one plays out.

[SmithW6079]

2 hours ago, DoYouLikeMutton said:

Shouldn't the show be called "Bob Loves Abishola" rather than "Bob Hearts Abishola", as the latter sounds awkward.  I get that he had a heart attack and Abishola was his nurse . . . .

I never made the connection with Bob having a heart attack, but the heart symbol and its pronunciation as "heart(s)" is shorthand for "love(s)."  It's the slogan for New York state tourism.

https://www.iloveny.com/

[SpiritSong]

Is there a reason this show was immediately put under "Other Comedy" while other brand new shows get their own topic in the forums? 

[AnimeMania]

11 minutes ago, SpiritSong said:

Is there a reason this show was immediately put under "Other Comedy" while other brand new shows get their own topic in the forums? 

I just created a quick topic for the show because one didn't exist the day before the show was to air. I wish I knew how to create one of those multi-topic/episode things, I am not sure if average members can create those. Maybe somebody will change it if we get lots of posts.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I just created a quick topic for the show because one didn't exist the day before the show was to air. I wish I knew how to create one of those multi-topic/episode things, I am not sure if average members can create those. Maybe somebody will change it if we get lots of posts.

Only site administrators can do that. But if you want to request that it be made into a full forum, you can request it here.

[shapeshifter]

12 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I just created a quick topic for the show because one didn't exist the day before the show was to air. I wish I knew how to create one of those multi-topic/episode things, I am not sure if average members can create those. Maybe somebody will change it if we get lots of posts.

Thank you for starting the show thread, @AnimeMania! 

2 hours ago, deaja said:

Only site administrators can do that. But if you want to request that it be made into a full forum, you can request it here.

And thanks for the link, @deaja!

Maybe we should wait a few weeks before requesting a board? You know, to see if there are enough posts to warrant more than a single thread?

[SpiritSong]

12 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I just created a quick topic for the show because one didn't exist the day before the show was to air. I wish I knew how to create one of those multi-topic/episode things, I am not sure if average members can create those. Maybe somebody will change it if we get lots of posts.

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for doing that. If the show becomes popular maybe we can get it moved.

[Harvey]

I think this show shows a lot of promise. Let's face it: Pilot episodes are never the best thing a show is able to offer. But this one was passable. I am curious about how it all unfolds!

[MaryMitch]

I've always found Billy Gardell to be very likable, and he is in this role (although a little stalkerish). But I hate the mustache!

[CrazyMoon]

55 minutes ago, MaryMitch said:

But I hate the mustache!

I think Abishola will also hate the mustache...stay tuned. 

[KLovestoShop]

I like Billy Gardell and Verne Watson has always been a favorite, but I had a difficult time understanding Abishola’s lines.  And Billy’s mustache reminds me of a 1970’s porn stache 

[Keywestclubkid]

Awww I liked mike I mean bob 

[jewel21]

I re-watched the pilot episode this evening and liked it better the second time. It had some funny lines that had me laughing, and some sweet moments as well. I'm curious as to how it'll progress as time goes on. 

[possibilities]

I find myself saying "Bob" the way I'm used to, and then the way Abishola does it, to reproduce the feeling he had, that her way is better.

Edited September 29, 2019 by possibilities

[AnimeMania]

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

I find myself saying "Bob" the way I'm used to, and then the way Abishola does it, to reproduce the feeling he had, that her way is better.

I just call him "Boob" that is what he is and they feel good and they make me feel good.

[msrachelj]

On 9/27/2019 at 1:08 AM, SpiritSong said:

Is there a reason this show was immediately put under "Other Comedy" while other brand new shows get their own topic in the forums? 

Because hopefully they know something we don't and it will be cancelled soon?!