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 Two episode premiere - February 4th at 8:30 | 7:30c, then an episode of Modern Family, then the second episode at 9:30 | 8:30c on ABC You might have heard about this show in passing, based on the memoir of the same name by Eddie Huang. A lot of people including some Asian Americans, probably already decided to hate it because Asians pretty much hate anything with Asians in it. But all kidding aside, the reviews so far seem generally positive and the show should be promising. I'll cut the obligatory "this is the first Asian American family sit-com in twenty years!" and "finally Asian Americans can tell their story!" commentary for now since you probably already read it elsewhere. Some people already took issue with the title of the show. Eddie Huang himself has been candid with all the ways the show has and hasn't captured the spirit of his book. (I haven't read it myself.) If you haven't looked up all the blogs and whatnot talking about the series, maybe it'd be interesting to start the show without that baggage. The show stars Randall Park aka The Interview's Kim Jong-Un as the dad, Constance Wu as the mom, and Hudson Yang as Eddie. You might be familiar with his father Jeff Yang, who's a writer and columnist for The Washington Post. Jeff's been begging people to give the show a fair chance. The AV Club's review of the pilot It's uncertain how committed ABC is to this show, but for now let's see how it goes. Echo Chamber fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Feb 5, 2015 |
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Feb 4, 2015 18:39
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As an Taiwanese American born in 1987, there's already a lot of little details the show gets right. We all had those bowls, for example.
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Feb 5, 2015 02:39
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The previews for this show had me interested. Liking it so far, especially the weird younger brothers. Constance Wu is also really hot.
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Feb 5, 2015 02:42
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That restaurant that the white guy thought was a chain reminds me of the Indian-owned fake Pizza Hut that Joel Stein took issue with in New Jersey a few years back.
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Feb 5, 2015 02:50
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I'm Vietnamese-American and my parents were refugees (literally boat people), so while I probably won't be able to identify with every little aspect, that moment in the preview where the mom is at the American supermarket is basically my mom in American supermarkets, to this day.  The OP says Feb 7, but everywhere I'm seeing Feb 4th (today). Time to download the Watch ABC app I guess; when does ABC usually put new episodes up?
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Feb 5, 2015 02:58
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Oops that was a typo; my bad. It's today, folks. So far, I find some of the stuff familiar and unsurprising, I kind of have to pretend to watch this like a white guy that's unfamiliar with the children of Asian immigrants experience. I'm hoping other Asians aren't tuning out because they think a lot of this is 101 stuff.
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Feb 5, 2015 03:09
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It's not the worst so far, hoping it'll pick up a bit more in the second episode.
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Feb 5, 2015 03:21
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Ok this episode owns. Edit: Holy poo poo this episode owns so hard. LOL SHE RAN OVER SOME KIDS WITH A CAR Tezzeract fucked around with this message at 03:54 on Feb 5, 2015 |
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Feb 5, 2015 03:36
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Good cast and Nahnatchka Khan brings the goods, I've got high hopes for this one.
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Feb 5, 2015 04:02
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Yeah the second episode was better and funnier than the first. I'll admit I was concerned with the Tiger Mom angle of the story, not so much for the idea itself, but because such a story would be used by Asians as an excuse to give up on the show. But I found it to not be agonizing because it's set in 1995 with first gen parents and also because they showed the mother to be sympathetic and not two-dimensional.
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Feb 5, 2015 04:08
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You're allowed to say chink on TV?
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Feb 5, 2015 04:11
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"My body's cold...." "Thats because it's shutting down." Constance Wu owns.
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Feb 5, 2015 05:52
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I watched it, and to be honest the hardest laughs it got out of me was how it portrayed white people, especially that white kid smashing a basketball into his own face with a trampoline as the asian kid looks on wistfully.
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Feb 5, 2015 18:53
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Echo Chamber posted:I'll admit I was concerned with the Tiger Mom angle of the story, not so much for the idea itself, but because such a story would be used by Asians as an excuse to give up on the show. But I found it to not be agonizing because it's set in 1995 with first gen parents and also because they showed the mother to be sympathetic and not two-dimensional. I just got around to watching it and I'm really, really glad they gave her a lot of nuances. I had undiagnosed ADHD as a kid and dealt with a LOT of adults who didn't get I wasn't trying to mess up getting my homework done, so Tiger Moms usually set me into an irrational rage. Still had to swallow it down a bit while watching, but the writing actually manages the miracle of making it funny for me.
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Feb 6, 2015 09:29
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This show is off to a really good start. The kid actors are great and the parents are nuanced instead of being straight trope-y dumb sitcom dad and overbearing sitcom mom. "I was just going to flip through sports games on TV and look for my dad in the crowd..." i am the bird fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Feb 6, 2015 |
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Feb 6, 2015 16:24
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Constance Wu is the best part of this show. I (asian) enjoyed the show but not as much as my (white) wife. Perhaps because things the stories were a lot more familiar to me and not as "fresh" in my eyes as they were to her. Still, I'll be following this show not only because I like seeing people who look like me on tv, but also because it was actually pretty funny.
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Feb 6, 2015 16:33
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Really fun and most of the characters are at least interesting straight out of the gate. Glad Nahnatchka Khan has stuff back on TV, she seems to be a consistently solid writer and creator. Another two episodes next week and looking forward to them both. Probably my favourite new network sitcom of this season, which I honestly wasn't expecting (don't think I realised Khan was involved until recently, and I found that piece by Huong that went around recently to be quite unreadable).
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Feb 6, 2015 16:37
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EL BROMANCE posted:Really fun and most of the characters are at least interesting straight out of the gate. Glad Nahnatchka Khan has stuff back on TV, she seems to be a consistently solid writer and creator. Another two episodes next week and looking forward to them both. Probably my favourite new network sitcom of this season, which I honestly wasn't expecting (don't think I realised Khan was involved until recently, and I found that piece by Huong that went around recently to be quite unreadable). Please indicate whether you're asian or have a learning disability so I know if I can take your opinion seriously. Thanks.
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Feb 6, 2015 16:43
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I was predisposed to not liking this and was extremely suspect when ABC trotted out what looked like 'Black Modern Family' and 'Asian Modern Family' in short order, but this show is great, and is much sharper than White Modern Family. A lot of the jokes are extremely applicable to my (Indian) family as well. The kids here are fantastic.
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Feb 6, 2015 16:55
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Nanatchka Khan makes good shows. American Dad is a good show. Don't Trust The B' was a good show. This show is good, and will be good.
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Feb 6, 2015 18:27
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Like it so far. My wife is Chinese and immediately noticed that the father was Korean. She didn't like that so much. Neither of us understand what's up with the mom's accent. She likes the grand mother and appreciates the use of Chinese in the show.
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Feb 6, 2015 18:32
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The worst thing about this show is the parent's accents. I understand they are immigrants and shouldn't speak perfect English, but it is a bit distracting. I hope they either tone it down or the actors start to sound more natural in their faking of asian accents as they do more work in the roles.
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Feb 6, 2015 19:09
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Agreed, but the dad doesn't have much of an accent other than "growing up with asian parents." The mom's is pretty bad.
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Feb 6, 2015 19:22
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Yup, casting Asian-Americans in Asian roles tends to be jarring when it comes to accents. I'm sure the people that are bothered the most are us Asian-Americans though, and I'd rather see Cool People like Randall Park and Constance Wu get cast then 1) change the story so the parents are Asian-American 2) cast the roles for Asian actors from China/Hong Kong/etc.
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Feb 6, 2015 20:45
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antisocial posted:The worst thing about this show is the parent's accents. I understand they are immigrants and shouldn't speak perfect English, but it is a bit distracting. I hope they either tone it down or the actors start to sound more natural in their faking of asian accents as they do more work in the roles. I have no problem with a Chinese accent. I have no loving clue what accent the mom is going for. Sounds nothing like I've ever experienced. Had a similar issue with Sook in The Inteview. She sounded more Spanish/Latin American than a Korean speaking English.
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Feb 6, 2015 20:57
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Like I hinted at before, when it comes to Asian/Asian American representations in American media, the biggest haters are usually Asians Americans themselves. Accents and playing different ethnicities are usually two of those many red flags (or more accurately, excuses) to start hating on Asians. Pick a random somewhat successful Asian American in show business, and you don't need to look too hard to find many asians who hate him or her. In general, many asians find anything that falls short of their esoteric version of the perfect depiction of Asian Americans to be racist. I'm pretty surprised in a good way, despite all the PR hiccups before the premiere, how well the creators, showrunners, and asian bloggers supporting FOTB messaged the show to marginalize any preemptive backlash. Echo Chamber fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Feb 6, 2015 |
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Feb 6, 2015 21:03
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Show runner is aware of the accent issue so maybe it will be better going forward: "I know there’s also been some bad feedback about Randall Park and Constance Wu’s accents. As soon as we got picked up, Randall immediately enrolled in Mandarin classes. So since May, he’s been taking Mandarin and working on his accent. Constance is Chinese herself and has really been studying. They’ve been working hard on getting the accents specific to their characters. It’s a work in progress. Look, you’re never going to please everybody—but when I look back at the pilot and I look at these new episodes, it’s like, “Wow, they’ve really done a lot of great work on their accents.” http://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/03/fresh-boat-showrunner-making-show-deals-race-without-being-racist I thought the first couple episodes were great. The episodes of Black-ish that worked for me were the ones with more pointed racial observational comedy and less broad sitcommy stuff from Anthony Anderson and this show seems to be better on both accounts.
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Feb 6, 2015 21:25
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Both Randall and Constance have "white person trying to sound asian" accents. I can live with it because so far this show is pretty good and it's really meant to open up this world to people who didn't grow up in this environment. The fact that it exists is kind of amazing so I'm not gonna complain about the small things. And for all the stereotyping perpetrated on immigrants on this show I like that they show they're not above it either, as the dad exploits white stereotypes hoping it will help his steakhouse.
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Feb 6, 2015 21:28
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Constance Wu is absolutely killing it on this show. She throws shade so hard. Hitting the kids with her car was amazing.
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Feb 6, 2015 21:28
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Zuhzuhzombie!! posted:I have no problem with a Chinese accent. Not to derail this with Interview chat, but I'm Korean and I didn't think Sook's accent was too bad. It was actually more jarring with the other Asian cast members in that movie where it was really obvious they were non-natives and they sounded like they weren't even trying. Echo Chamber posted:In general, many asians find anything that falls short of their esoteric version of the perfect depiction of Asian Americans to be racist. I'm pretty surprised in a good way, despite all the PR hiccups before the premiere, how well the creators, showrunners, and asian bloggers supporting FOTB messaged the show to marginalize any preemptive backlash. Eh, I don't think it's completely fair to write off Asians who criticize certain accents as just them wanting their own "esoteric version of the perfect depiction of Asian Americans." There are pretty distinct differences in Asian-American accents that I'm sure anyone who grew up in an Asian household would pick up on and appreciate. It's a subtle distinction to most viewers but still an important one, especially in a show that's meant to subvert America's tendency to just lump all Asians together.
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Feb 6, 2015 21:36
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Um also it's kind of worth tuning in for Paul Scheer.
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Feb 6, 2015 21:41
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Well I'm not complaining even though the parents speak in English the entire time to their children at home. Dunno how specific that is, I really don't mind.
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Feb 6, 2015 21:44
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Sober posted:Well I'm not complaining even though the parents speak in English the entire time to their children at home. Dunno how specific that is, I really don't mind. It's broadcast TV. I would never expect main cast to have subtitles all the time. On top of that you'd get whiners complaining about Randall's fake mandarin accent, why isn't he speaking Taiwanese, etc etc.
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Feb 6, 2015 21:55
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Yeah if you're going for realism, the conversations in the car and at the dinner table should mostly be in Chinese; but with English in between the kids. Obviously, something like that won't be on network television and maybe you won't have an actor as funny as Randall Park.Mira posted:Eh, I don't think it's completely fair to write off Asians who criticize certain accents as just them wanting their own "esoteric version of the perfect depiction of Asian Americans." There are pretty distinct differences in Asian-American accents that I'm sure anyone who grew up in an Asian household would pick up on and appreciate. It's a subtle distinction to most viewers but still an important one, especially in a show that's meant to subvert America's tendency to just lump all Asians together. I knew the accents were off (I was reminded of Park's Kim Jong Un in a few moments), but there are a some people (not you) who make the short cut that "media having Asian accents = racist". This complaint often comes from second/third generation Asian Americans determined to show that not all asians are "fresh off the boat".
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Feb 6, 2015 21:58
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Echo Chamber posted:It's just that I've heard many stories from Asian actors talking about how when they announce to their friends that they got a role, the first question the friends ask is "Do you have an accent?" instead of "What kind of character do you play? Is he/she funny? Have lots of screen time?" Yeah, that's totally fair, and I can attest to that (few Asian friends of mine just knee-jerk rejected the show after seeing the trailer because they thought it'd just be more racist fodder for white people). Hopefully this show'll change some minds and single-handedly undo a generation of 'so ronery' memes. I don't know. Either way, I'm enjoying it for what it is.
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Feb 6, 2015 22:07
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I have those bowls! I think my family stopped using them because they were afraid of lead paint but those are the most nostalgia inducing bowls ever.
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Feb 6, 2015 22:17
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Were those bowls a Chinese thing too? All my Vietnamese friends had them My Korean family had corningware dishes like we were midwestern 
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Feb 6, 2015 22:32
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Echo Chamber posted:Yeah if you're going for realism, the conversations in the car and at the dinner table should mostly be in Chinese; but with English in between the kids. Obviously, something like that won't be on network television and maybe you won't have an actor as funny as Randall Park Jane the Virgin manages it well enough. A MIRACLE posted:Um also it's kind of worth tuning in for Paul Scheer. Scheer is completely underutilized in this show, the same way Eric Andre was underutilized in Apt. 23. I get that this show is about the little fat kid, but god drat, if you have a funny dude in the cast, give him a chance to be funny.
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Feb 6, 2015 22:44
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Steve Yun posted:Were those bowls a Chinese thing too? All my Vietnamese friends had them Viet here. My family has those dishes, but my grandma had the Chinese bowls.
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Feb 6, 2015 22:48
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Also one thing I was pleasantly surprised they got is that a LOT of asian kids in the 90's secretly wished they were black. Just like white people
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Feb 6, 2015 22:49
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