Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 7, Episode 12 “Things Done Changed” (C+)

This episode was the weakest of the seven that I screened this season and serves as the lackluster last of the six submitted for Best Comedy Series consideration. Dre has been distracted more easily by smaller things in the past, and the lengths he went to in order to try to prove the continued existence and relevance of hip-hop were predictably excessive and ineffective. Having everyone laugh at him and having to go to Charlie of all people for affirmation wasn’t a high point, but it was nice to have a dramatic moment with Leslie, who acknowledged that hiring Dre was the best decision he had made. Bow got just as nostalgic about the music that she felt defined her, and Junior being busy gave Jack the opening he needed to get close to his mom. While he was initially impressed with himself, he soon discovered that he wasn’t cut out for some of her beloved activities, like the Sudoku video game that played out at a truly glacial pace. I enjoyed seeing this different, more competitive side of Jack while his terrifying sister was busy going to war with her father, and Bow had a blast cracking up at the notion of Junior being her best friend. Dre asking Bow if he doesn’t know how great he is was probably one of the least self-aware things he’s done on this show, but his sense of how others perceive him and his ability to read the room have never been strengths for him.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 7, Episode 9 “First Trap” (B+)

Even if some of the plot developments in this episode were pretty expected, I enjoyed it. This also seems like it could have been a better Emmy submission for Tracee Ellis Ross than the one she picked, since it was fun to see her grapple with the fact that she wasn’t able to be a role model in the way that she wanted, first for Crystal and then for Olivia. I’ve seen Olivia a couple times over the course of this season, and it was great to see her take on a more established role in this episode, first excited at the idea of learning from Bow and then horrified at the negativity that she expressed about everything she had been through to get to where she was. Junior is definitely way too concerned about what his mother thinks about his girlfriend, and he nearly broke up with her because he thought that Bow didn’t like her. As usual, Dre got far too into something when he was finally pointed out to him and got wildly off course, which was the case with his desire to support Black executives. His meeting with Darren went remarkably poorly, and it was good to see that he eventually rectified the situation by trying to befriend him and see eye-to-eye with him rather than turn him into something he’s not. Jack photographing the whole thing helped to capture the awkwardness of Bow and Dre realizing that not everyone saw them in the light that they thought.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 7, Episode 8 “What About Gary” (B+)

This episode is one of the show’s six installments submitted for Best Comedy Series, but also serves as Anthony Anderson’s choice for a showcase of his work. Anderson has had great submissions in the past, including one mostly dramatic episode that I thought might have won it for him a few years ago, and this one is pretty good in comparison. Dealing with a white family member who was suddenly into the cause of racial justice was a very relatable storyline, one that I know I consistently saw and heard people of color express when they thought this was all a new problem that they could solve overnight. Casting Rob Huebel from “Transparent” as Gary worked well since he has the right kind of energy to play something who gets in way over his head but is then easily able to pull back and realize that it’s not for him even though, just moments earlier, he made it seem like the most important facet of his life. Dre got him when he didn’t want to send his kids to public school, and making a music video telling white people to Google it at the end of the episode was a perfect end to this particular lesson. Olivia giving Jack advice on how to stand up to Diane made things awkward between him and Junior, and I haven’t seen enough of this to know if she truly understands how terrifying Diane can be to every member of her family, no matter how old they are.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 7, Episode 5 “Babes in Boyland” (B)

This is a bit of a head-scratcher. This is the only episode of this show that I’ll be screening this year not submitted as part of the six installments chosen as representation for Best Comedy Series. Instead, it’s Tracee Ellis Ross’ episode, which doesn’t make a lot of sense since she has almost no role in it. If it was Anthony Anderson’s, that might be more logical, but this one barely gives Ross all that much to do and just doesn’t let her shine in the way that she has even in other episodes I’ve watched from this season. The idea that Diane, who has always been clever even from a young age, would be very active on social media in a way that her parents wouldn’t like was a great opportunity for them to realize the double standards they were holding their daughter to when they would let Jack get away with anything. To her credit, Ross did handle the continued realization that she was judging Ashley more harshly than Jack in a funny way, and she and Anderson got to have fun surprising both kids by giving them equal punishments since they had in fact lied to them. Such behavior didn’t work out well for Junior either, even though his grandmother coached him to do it, since Olivia’s world food tour was killing his insides. When Junior came around to being open and direct with her, he even got his grandparents to communicate in a more transparent way than they had in years if not ever before.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 7, Episode 4 “Our Wedding Dre” (B)

I don’t watch this show often enough to know if certain characters are first-time guest stars or more known recurring players, and so I assumed that we had seen Danny Glover’s Uncle Norman before when he showed up in the middle of quarantine to attend this wedding. After episodes one and three really focused on the pandemic and conversations around systemic racism, this show leaned much more into its characters’ existing universe and forgot about all that, with a printed-out test that wasn’t even confirmed as real somehow satisfying Dre’s concerns. The bigger issue then became, of course, that Dre didn’t want people he barely knew – or anyone – using his own bathroom or cramping his space in general. It was interesting to see how Pops stepped in to confront Norman when he felt that Dre was being taken advantage of, even if Dre was perfectly happy to help. Having Norman show up just as the wedding was starting was a sweet acknowledgment that family does sometimes triumph over enduring disputes. I enjoyed that Bow was somehow considered a plus one for Dre even though she was hosting the wedding, and for some reason Ruby wanted a family photo without her, something she was resigned to accepting even though it was ridiculously offensive. I think my favorite part was Jack asking if Pops was telling him to get out when he shouted at everyone to leave, and Diane responded to him that he was. He’ll really do anything she has, and she’s well aware of the power she has over the poor guy.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 7, Episode 3 “Age Against the Machine” (B+)

Like the first episode of the season that accounted for another one of the six episodes submitted for this show’s Best Comedy Series sampler, this one deals extensively with current events, or at least things that were very much in the news around a year ago. As usual, Dre is a step behind in understanding his role in everything and how it’s not all that different from how he remembers it, but rather that he’s in a new role now. I enjoyed how both Bow and his father corrected his memory about going to the Million Man March, which was just an extension of how Pops also claimed to have participated in something that he admittedly planned to but hadn’t actually gotten around to going to. In typical fashion, Dre went overboard after accusing Junior of phoning it in and then promptly left him in the middle of a riot, which of course he ended up finding very powerful. The barbs they traded weren’t terribly sophisticated, but Dre was quite proud of himself for calling Junior a black square. I’ve always found Diane to be an entertaining character, and now that she’s a real person, she’s still funny, exhibiting so much control over her brother who idolizes her, is scared of her, and generally just wants to hang out with her. Ending this episode on a serious note with a montage of Black Lives Matter protests was very effective, reminding that comedy isn’t always everything and that some messages are more important.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 7, Episode 1 “Hero Pizza” (B+)

This is one show I used to somewhat look forward to watching each year when it was nominated for Best Comedy Series, but of course that hasn’t been the case the past few cycles, so I was left with just an odd episode or two. Now, the show is back in the race as it heads into its eighth and final season this fall. I don’t watch a lot of network television and so I sort of figured that “This Is Us” was the only show actively incorporating the pandemic into its storylines, but that’s definitely not the case. I think I enjoy watching other people do things that I did or saw other people doing early on in the pandemic, like looking at a window at the horror of people being too close to each other or hugging, or alleging that they were doing everything safely while forgetting about a few key activities that contradicted that sentiment. I was pleased to recognize Judy Reyes from “Scrubs” and Parminder Nagra from “Alcatraz” as the two doctors tired of eating pizza with Bow, and I thought they were regular characters who had joined the show, but apparently this is their only appearance. Junior’s deception was an entertaining subplot, especially since he was the one seemingly maintaining the strictest of rules. Dre wanting to be considered an essential worker and creating ads that didn’t quite track with reality was relatively similar to fake SuperBowl ads portrayed in an Emmy-submitted installment of “Saturday Night Live” I just watched, but the plotline worked decently, especially considering how Dre always like to be the center of attention and this was no exception.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fifth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 6, Episode 23 “Love, Boat” (B)

Context is obviously necessary for this show, and I’m not sure that, even with the (approximately) twenty-two episodes of this show that I’ve seen, I know too much about the relationship between Dre’s parents. It was clear here that Dre had negative associations with it from the past, and that he doubted that his father was going to treat his mother well this time. The way that they renewed their romance was rather excessive, describing how they had secretly had sex in every part of the house and replacing a photo of them that Bow had taken down from their mantle just hours earlier with an even larger print. Whether it works or not is a question that may be answered in season seven given that this was the season six finale, but I’ll only know if it comes up in an episode that’s nominated next year. This episode is the submission for Anthony Anderson, who has actually been nominated for every season of this show, an impressive feat given that the series as a whole has only contended for the top category in half of those years. While his episodes in previous years were more dramatic in nature, last year’s was all about his startled reaction to his kids not knowing Prince. This installment is like that, seeing him freeze and shriek in horror when he walked in on his parents and then try to police their relationship despite his lack of any real power. It was fun to see Bow tell him that she was going to pretend to be supportive since she knew he wasn’t listening anyway, and she even muttered to herself that she paid for most of the down payment on the home, but he could have that one. It’s far from Anderson’s strongest submission and I don’t think there’s much buzz for him or his show this year, but it’s an entertaining choice.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fifth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 6, Episode 13 “Kid Life Crisis” (C+)

I’ve watched a good number of episodes over the show over the course of the past six years, and this year there are only two installments to screen. Tracee Ellis Ross wasn’t nominated last year but returns this time around with a fourth overall bid for playing Bow. I couldn’t remember when I started watching this episode whether it was her submission or costar Anthony Anderson’s, and the truth is that it shouldn’t have been either of theirs. There’s no big moment at which their talents, either comedic or dramatic, are readily apparent, and when they do come together to realize what’s possible and therapeutic for him, it’s a joint experience rather than one that gives Ross anything particularly memorable to do. Part of it for me also is that I watched the first few episodes of “#blackAF” since last screening this show, and while I didn’t completely love that show either, its edginess and unfiltered nature appealed to me more. The actor doing the most in this episode was Marcus Scribner, who I unexpectedly encountered in a dramatic role in the film “Farewell Amor” at Sundance, as Junior, who was the recipient of an unmistakable romantic advance from the first girl he saw on vacation but had to contend with two sick younger siblings instead of getting the chance to spend time with her. Overall, there was nothing particularly bad about this episode, it was just unremarkable and not all that entertaining, an attribute I do usually expect from this show.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fourth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 5, Episode 4 “Purple Rain” (B-)

I’ve become accustomed to watching a handful of episodes of this show each when it’s been nominated for Best Comedy Series, but now, it’s back to one single nomination, for star Anthony Anderson. Some of his past submissions were actually very strong, to the point that he could have won, but I don’t think that’s the case this year. In addition to the fact that the show not being represented in other categories weakens his chances, this episode was considerably sillier than others. Dre explaining how your children eventually come to disappoint you was a moderately humorous introduction to the fact that Diane and Jack had no idea who Prince was, and it took them some time to be convinced of his overall value and incomparable appeal. Having each member of the family dress up like Prince and perform part of his songs was fun, though that made this more of an ensemble presentation than a specific showcase of the typically outspoken Dre, who, in this case, was supported by most of his family as they agreed with him and shared their own experiences of transformative moments related to Prince. Song and dance sequences aside, this felt like a very typical sitcom installment, with the whole family gathered around to talk about their culture and an influential part of their lives. The best payoff of it all was Jack, who wasn’t a believer and couldn’t understand, suddenly getting in when his crush and study partner showed up and he sprung right into action.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the third year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 4, Episode 21 “Blue Valentine” (C)

Well, this was a dark and gloomy way to end my sampling of this show with its sixth and final submitted episode for Best Comedy Series. While there were moments of political commentary that approached seriousness to be found in some of last season’s selected episodes, I really didn’t see that at all in any of the other installments I watched this year. Evidently, in the time between Junior having sex for the first time and this half-hour, much has happened, and the state of Dre and Rainbow’s relationship has devolved considerably. There was barely any hint of sunshine or laughter in this episode, with flashbacks to much happier times meant to represent how far things have come and how a change might be needed, though this hardly seemed like the same kind of cinematic parody that I’ve seen previously, not that the film “Blue Valentine” starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling is a beacon of positivity. While this episode does manage to show that reality isn’t always as colorful as television, this episode didn’t make much sense in the scheme of things since it’s so unlike all of the other episodes this show has produced, and certainly those it has submitted. I wouldn’t know what to make of this episode if I screened it as a sample provided for Best Comedy Series, since it’s not funny and not nearly as emphatic or as worthwhile as other dramatic efforts by shows that are usually more comedic. The other five are better, if still imperfect, representations that would make me rank this show eighth out of eight if I was voting in this category.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the third year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 4, Episode 14 “R-e-s-p-e-c-t” (B-)

We’re skipping ahead a few episodes into the middle of the season for the fifth of this show’s six submitted episodes for Best Comedy Series. This was a definite example of over-the-top portrayal of something that happens in real life, which has become this show’s token way of highlighting issues in a comedic way. Dre picking up on the fact that Junior had sex for the first time led him to celebrate like crazy, with Lucy at work as the lone female perspective that no one wanted to hear. In a time of #metoo shedding light on sexual harassment being so prominent in Hollywood, this is one way to deal with that, though I didn’t find it particularly funny. What worked a lot better was Bow turning the tables on Dre by pointing out that Zoey has had sex, prompting what seems to be the frequent parodying of popular media on this show, mocking “Get Out” with Dre falling into the sunken place. Their joint anger at Junior for dumping Megan was humorously reframed by his predictable admission that she was the one who broke up with him. I obviously missed something about the twins and whatever happened with their former friends who are truly brilliant, and the antics with Ruby were most worthwhile for the appearance of Amy Hill, who plays Josh’s mother on “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” as Nana Jean. Diane and Jack not being to tell whether their latest lecture was a trip was a humorous note on which to end.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the third year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 4, Episode 6 “First and Last” (B)

This was probably the most solid of this show’s six submitted episodes for Best Comedy Series that I’ve seen thus far, the fourth and the first that gets us away from the first few episodes of the season. This show does manage, every once in a while, to be relatively poignant even as it typically overextends itself on its representation of what family dynamics can be like. Diane was at perhaps her most believable in this episode, telling her very eager mother that she knew what it meant to get her period, as Bow had to resist the suffocating presence of both Alicia and Ruby, who had their own ways of dealing with this momentous event. Jack calling Zoey to come console her younger sister was very sweet, and I enjoyed the fact that she was, for her, very nice and appreciative to him as he was thrilled to discovered that he was going through his own transformation requiring the immediate and frequent application of deodorant. The Junior that I’ve seen in almost every episode of this show that I’ve watched has been a major dunce, and therefore it was strange to see him catch on so quickly to Dre’s psychological warfare scheme to knock him off his game before their big match. Ultimately, Dre did win by not letting him have that victory, staying one step ahead of him on the mental battlefield. The overarching plotline of Connor trying to kill his father is moderately amusing and probably one of the stronger recurring comedic elements I’ve seen on this show.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the third year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 4, Episode 4 “Advance to Go (Collect $200)” (B-)

I’m not sure if this show has featured a family game episode before, but things devolved pretty quickly in this pretty over-the-top half-hour. Not only is this the third of this show’s submitted episodes for Best Comedy Series, it’s also the choice for Anthony Anderson, who is on his fourth consecutive nomination for Best Actor. Last year, I actually thought that Anderson could win based on his post-election episode stressing unity in divisive times. He didn’t, of course. An installment in which he plays Monopoly and gets way, way too into it hardly seems like as poignant a showcase. That’s mainly because, instead of making a triumphant speech that shows how noble and idealistic he is after he just makes joke for a while, we see his descent into isolation and then a less-than-serious apology and reconciliation with Bow before having to shell out $100 in real money to each of his family members because he, as usual, flipped the board when he got angry. Bow had some problems with Junior’s white girlfriend Megan in her submitted episode last year, and now she’s downright ignoring everything she says. Megan knows just how to play that though, tempting Junior with the allure of her hot tub if he takes her side. Ruby and Pops make quite the formidable and brutal team in the game, and now it seems like they may be giving their relationship a shot again after what I presume has been many years of separation.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the third year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 4, Episode 3 “Elder. Scam.” (B-)

This is the one episode of this show that isn’t among the six half-hours representing this show in the Best Comedy Series category. It’s Tracee Ellis Ross’ submission, marking her third consecutive nomination. This show has yet to win an Emmy in any category, but Ross actually won the show’s only Golden Globe on her first try back in 2017. It’s interesting because, especially compared to the previous episode, this one doesn’t feature her all that much. Whereas in last year’s submission, she took issue with her son coming home with a white girlfriend, in this one she reacts to her daughter’s new friend, who may or may not be a boyfriend, and has an incredibly awkward but entertaining moment of pretending to be cool. That was about all that she did, making this a puzzling choice for her to win over Emmy voters. The bigger star of the half-hour was Jenifer Lewis as Ruby, who got Dre nervous after she got scammed and started to behave erratically, only to reveal that she was still kicking and more than alert enough to con her own son into buying her a new car because he was very concerned about her, particularly after his coworkers made him start thinking about how she was behaving. All of the antics with Diane and then Ruby being obsessed with Aaron and asking him to choose between them and his far more age-appropriate fellow college student were moderately amusing but, as always with this show, a bit too over-the-top to be truly funny.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the third year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 4, Episode 2 “Mother Nature” (B-)

It’s always strange to see a completely serious episode of a sitcom that presents itself without initially seeming that way, and that’s just what this half-hour, which is the second of the six submitted episodes for this show in its contention for Best Comedy Series, does. I had to double-check to see if this was Tracee Ellis Ross’ choice for her own nomination, but it turns out that it’s the next episode. It’s probably for the best since this is far from a comedic showcase for Ross, allowing her instead to have Bow act far less enthusiastic and sunny than usual, highlighting a real issue in a relatively straightforward and uncomedic way. What we got instead was Junior leading a babyproofing effort of the house that ended up frustrating his father and grandfather much more than it did any good, while Dre tried to push Bow to feel better when that really wasn’t the kind of encouragement and pressure she needed. Lashing out at Ruby for feeding the new baby formula as an unsubtle knock at her parenting was an important moment, and one whose implications will likely be played for laughs in future episodes, as they already have with her being banned from the pool and restaurant at the hotel for being topless. Diane’s cruel thank you notes were really something, and though her character isn’t remotely believable, it did make for a bit of entertainment, particularly in the final short montage of Dre’s coworkers receiving and reading them, arriving at different conclusions as a result.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the third year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 4, Episode 1 “Juneteenth: The Musical” (B)

I usually enjoy watching a handful of episodes of this show, nominated for Best Comedy Series for the third year in a row, every time Emmy season rolls around. It’s also often a bit much to take, an entertaining enough series that, in my book at least, is far from the best comedy on the air today. Its inclusion this year is notable because it’s officially the only broadcast network series included in the lineup for the first time ever. This is the first of the six submitted episodes in the top category, and I’ll be screening a seventh that serves as lead actress Tracee Ellis Ross’ submission. I feel like I remember hearing about Juneteenth before, and I guess it’s from the season one “Atlanta” episode of the same name. This representation is obviously much more over-the-top, with Dre interrupting his kid’s play to declare racism and then ceding, for once, the floor to someone else to create a peculiar musical take on this less-celebrated holiday. This take on “Hamilton” wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as it could have been, but it was still decent fun. What’s more puzzling about this episode than its inclusion in the six-episode slate for the series as a whole is the fact that it’s also the selection for guest actress Wanda Sykes. Whereas she had an actual showcase last year, she only appears briefly in this half-hour, with one crack about someone eating her Chinese food as her only real line. I would be shocked – and disappointed – if she managed to win with this paltry offering.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the second year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 3, Episode 2 “God” (B)
Black-ish: Season 3, Episode 3 “40 Acres and a Vote” (B+)
Black-ish: Season 3, Episode 14 “The Name Game” (B+)
Black-ish: Season 3, Episode 16 “One Angry Man” (B+)


These are the other four installments of this show to be submitted along with the previously reviewed “Being Bow-racial” and “Lemons” that serve as the sampling Emmy voters will get for consideration for Best Comedy Series. I don’t mind this show all that much, though I don’t find it quite as enjoyable to watch as I did “The Big Bang Theory” back when I used to screen anywhere from six to ten episodes each year at Emmy time.

The first of these episodes deals with Dre freaking out about his daughter declaring that she doesn’t believe in God, not helped one bit by the presence of his obnoxious brother-in-law Johan, played by Daveed Diggs from “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” Anthony Anderson definitely comes on a little strong in this installment, which was the first one I watched of the six, and I think the others were more balanced in terms of his intensity.

The next episode had a lot to do with the election and the history of black voting laws in the United States, with Junior running for class president. Laurence Fishburne’s Pops revealed that he doesn’t vote and Diane managed to prove to her grandmother that, despite blindly voting for the Democratic candidate each year, she actually aligns perfectly with Trump. This was all pretty exaggerated but for good reason, and it even included Junior wearing a women’s pantsuit and being Hillaryied. This show isn’t scared of controversy, having the idiotic boss lament the fact that certain American kids have never known a white president.

The third of these episodes was centered on the gender-reveal party and Dre’s obsession with naming him Davonte, something that was humorously knocked by the barista’s complete inability to pronounce it. The excitement of the parents for the new baby was an amusing source of continued offense to their existing children, one of whom got a great spotlight in this episode. Junior may well rate as this show’s funniest character, and Zoe’s friend Shelly showing interest in him in this episode led to a totally ill-advised introduction between Megan and Shelly on Valentine’s Day, leading the two of them to lead together. Junior and Diane hanging out together as the end as two misfits was sweet. I appreciated the brief appearance of Diane Farr as the corporate evaluator who said that men are monsters, and I’m curious how extensive her role on this show was.

The final episode was all about jury duty, a subject often covered but done pretty well in this case. Junior reassembling Dre’s shredded form and sending it in for him was the opposite of what he wanted, and the lawyer’s unpreparedness and Dre being the only black person on the jury led to him getting very passionate about the notion of giving him a chance. Naturally, it was the white woman who changed her vote at the very end who got all the credit for saving the kid, but that’s just what happens in this black-ish world. Rainbow allowing her children to swear in the house so that she could get to know them better seemed harmless enough at first, but in addition to being pretty shocking, it also led to them telling her way too much stuff that she didn’t want to know.

Overall, I think this show is fine, but it wouldn’t rank anywhere near my top comedies of this past season.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the second year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 3, Episode 12 “Lemons” (B+)

This episode, in addition to being one of the six submitted for Best Comedy Series for this show, is the individual choice for both guest star Wanda Sykes and lead actor Anthony Anderson. Opening with the election aftermath, with Rainbow wearing all liberal insignia and the kids getting a day of reflection, was funny, and of course no one was able to do any work because of Trump, to the point that they put off the project for weeks until it was finally due. There were some intense conversations in this episode that make it a clear choice as an example of what this show is all about. Sykes, who earns her first Emmy nomination for acting for this role, has a superb opportunity to equate the white woman at the table’s vote for Trump as a vote for racism, and she’s considerably tamer and more subdued, yet still just as full of passion, than she tends to be in other parts. Anderson was the one who got the great monologue, however, talking about how people are waking up and knowing what it feels like to be black, and underscoring the importance of understanding what other people are thinking even and especially if we don’t agree with them. That’s an excellent message and one that’s sure to resonate with voters, so don’t be surprised at all if Anderson’s name is called when his category is announced. This show straddles the line of comedy and drama well without being too over the top since just about anyone who watches this show can probably relate to the post-election slump felt all around the country.

Emmy Episodes: Black-ish

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the second year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Black-ish: Season 3, Episode 8 “Being Bow-racial” (B)

This show is back with its second nomination for Best Comedy Series. I’ll be looking at the two episodes that serve as individual acting submissions separately, and then the remaining four that make up the six-episode selection in one shot. This installment, which deals with Rainbow’s complicated relationship with her biracial heritage, serves as Tracee Ellis Ross’ sampling for voters. Ross was nominated last year for an Emmy, and then managed to win the Golden Globe on her first shot earlier this year, beating out two immediate past winners, two previous winners, and one hot new nominee. That bodes well for her going into a crowded race, but let’s look at the quality of the episode itself. Everything started in this one because Junior came home with a white girlfriend, and Rainbow had much more of a problem with it than Dre did, who was busy being scared of the white woman Microsoft sent. Much of this episode was devoted to pointless discussion of how to talk to people (women) of different cultures, and the absurdity of Charlie having two John Mayer tickets in his back pocket for every single day, which came in very handy when he needed to salvage a sticky situation. Rainbow was able to achieve a sentimental moment with her dad, played by Beau Bridges, that helped her to come to a solid realization. And Zoe took on the project of remodeling the twins’ room. This wasn’t the most poignant or the funniest of the episodes, but it’s a decent half-hour with a fairly good message.