8 Asians

Your co-main event for tomorrow night @alexa_grasso vs. Mizuki Inoue | #InvictaFC11

A photo posted by Invicta Fighting Championship (@invictafc) on Feb 26, 2015 at 6:34pm PST

Mexico’s Alexa Grasso defeated Japan’s Mizuki Inoue in last Friday’s Invicta FC11 event at the Shrine Auditorium in promotion’s first show in Los Angeles.

What an incredible performance from @alexa_grasso last night at #InvictaFC11!

A photo posted by Invicta Fighting Championship (@invictafc) on Feb 28, 2015 at 1:41pm PST

I was able to witness the fight in person this time, and I really like both fighters, so I was just excited to see the two of them go at it. There was a lot of support for the fighters from Mexico in the audience, so I focused on yelling and supporting Mizuki since Grasso was already getting so much love.

My own private nickname for Grasso is “Princess”, because for some reason, she gave off that vibe, not in a bad spoiled princess way, but just like she had some kind of noble blood in her or something. She didn’t look daunting when I first saw her step into the cage in previous Invicta fights because she seemed really prim and proper, but when she let those fists fly, I was impressed by her focus and skill, but I just kept calling her “Princess” after that. Later, I found out that it’s her father and family that run the gym she trains at, so I realized my name for her is quite appropriate, as she is technically Team Grasso’s MMA gym princess, or “O-jou-sama” as the Japanese would call her.

As expected, she and Mizuki won fight of the night and even got performance bonuses. Grasso was very gracious in her win, acknowledging what a tough opponent Mizuki was, repeatedly stating that she knew this was going to be the hardest fight she’s had so far, and it lived up to those expectations.

We’ve already passed the halfway mark for Season 1 of Fresh Off the Boat. (Catch up online: Episodes 1 and 2, Episodes 3 and 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, and if you haven’t downloaded the pilot for free on iTunes and Amazon Instant Video, definitely do that, too.)

Episode 6 ratings on (2/24) were solid, holding strongly against NBC’s show The Voice, according to FutonCritic: ABC’s Tuesday Holds Against The Voice Premiere – Fresh Off the Boat and Repeat After Me Gain Younger Viewers:

Fresh Off the Boat (8-8:30pm – 5.8 million and 1.9/6 in AD18-49): At 8pm opposite the start of NBC’s 2-hour The Voice premiere, ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat held steady week to week in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6) to match its best Tuesday performance. In addition, the new comedy was up for the 2nd week in a row in Adults 18-34 (+9%), tied a series high in Teens 12-17 and set a new series high with Kids 2-11 (+50%). The ABC freshman was Tuesday’s #1 comedy for the 3rd consecutive week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

Remember, aside from the ratings (which are most important), the network is also tracking legal downloads/streaming, as well as social media (Hashtag: #FreshOffTheBoat). So if you want to show the network your support, definitely watch, download, and tweet/post about it.

Multiple episodes are currently available for streaming using the “WATCH ABC” app for iOS. As of now, these downloads and streams are only legit available in the U.S./North America. Sorry to all our overseas readers that we can’t necessarily provide you links; you’ll just have to catch it on satellite for now.

EPISODE 7: “Showdown at the Golden Saddle” (S1E7)

• ABC.com (FREE for a limited time; sign in with a TV provider required)
• Amazon Instant Video ($1.99 SD; $2.99 HD)
• Hulu (Hulu Plus account required)
• iTunes ($2.99 HD)
• Verizon FiOS (Subscription required)
• Xbox Video ($1.99 SD; $2.99 HD)
• Xfinity/Comcast (Subscription required)

“Showdown at the Golden Saddle” – Things are looking up for the Huangs when Louis gets the restaurant a billboard in a prime spot in Orlando. They even get an invite to the country club. But when someone repeatedly vandalizes the billboard, they’re left wondering why. Eddie works hard to get the attention of the girl he’s crushing on (Luna Blaise as Nicole), but it doesn’t help matters when his mom hires her to babysit him, on “Fresh Off the Boat,” TUESDAY, MARCH 3 (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“Fresh Off the Boat” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format with a 5.1 channel surround sound.

About the show:
It’s the ’90s and 11 year old, hip-hop loving Eddie (Hudson Yang) just moved to suburban Orlando from DC’s Chinatown with his parents (Randall Park and Constance Wu). It’s culture shock for his immigrant family in this comedy about pursuing the American Dream. Fresh Off the Boat is based on Chef Eddie Huang’s memoir Fresh Off the Boat.

Fresh Off the Boat stars Randall Park as Louis, Constance Wu as Jessica, Hudson Yang as Eddie, Forrest Wheeler as Emery and Ian Chen as Evan.

Fresh Off the Boat is executive produced and written by Nahnatchka Khan and executive produced by Jake Kasdan for 20th Century Fox Television.

SEASON 1

• EPISODE 1 Review | Watch Online: Fresh Off the Boat Pilot (S1E1)
• EPISODE 2 Review | Watch Online: Home Sweet Home-School (S1E2)
• EPISODE 3 Review | Watch Online: The Shunning (S1E3)
• EPISODE 4 Review | Watch Online: Success Perm (S1E4)
• EPISODE 5 Review | Watch Online: Persistent Romeo (S1E5)
• EPISODE 6 Review | Watch Online: Fajita Man (S1E6)
• EPISODE 7 Review | Watch Online: Showdown at the Golden Saddle (S1E7)

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 1, Episode 7: “Showdown at the Golden Saddle”
Original airdate March 3, 2015.

*Watch Online*

Microsynopsis: Eddie plots to share his Parental-Advisory-stickered CD with Nicole in an attempt to show her how grown-up he is. Louis puts up a new billboard for Cattleman’s Ranch, but despite its effectiveness, it leads to trouble for him and Jessica.

Good: Evan and Emery are really funny. There are some good gags centered on the billboards. There’s some good relationship development for Louis and Jessica. Nicole gets a chance to be more than a caricature, and she even smiles at Jessica. Eddie reminds us that he’s still really a tweener, even calling out to his mom for comfort. It’s kind of sweet. This episode is rather plotty, leaning heavily on our familiarity with the characters to propel the story without too much explanation, and it works. My favorite thing about this episode is the way Louis continues to hold the show together: Randall Park’s acting is strong enough to let Jessica and Eddie be all over the place from week to week. I would never have predicted that he’d be the part of the show I look most forward to, but that’s what he’s turning into.

Bad: I’m really not fond of potty humor in a family show (or really any show), and one of the plots kind of depends on it. This is normally enough to turn me completely off, but I’m trying to think of a more horrifying situation for Eddie to find himself in while Nicole is over, and I have to concede that this is probably it. I thought last week’s episode was sappy (and admitted that I bought it), but this one’s sappier. I would like to have seen just a little bit of edge in Jessica’s and Louis’s opening up to each other, although that can be really tough to pull off. In a family show, none of us really wants sincerity to tip over into irony.

FOB moment: Jessica says, “They’re calling us sneaky Asians!”

Soundtrack flashback: Kool Moe Dee’s “Wild Wild West,” Ice Cube’s “Check Yo Self (clean version),” and The Notorious B.I.G.’s “One More Chance / Stay With Me Remix.”

Final grade, this episode: I’m totally down with the relationship-building between Louis and Jessica; I think we all want to believe that Eddie’s family is built to last, and that he can count on them for all the good parent things we should expect in a TV family. Yet I still think a lot of the silliness is too easy. You know that moment at the end, when Nicole says “Hey” to Eddie, who’s so stunned it takes him a long second to return the greeting? That’s a note-perfect moment when lazy writers might have hurried things along unrealistically. Moments like this tell us that there’s potential here for cleverer silliness, so I’m not letting anyone off the hook. B.

SEASON 1

• EPISODE 1 Review | Watch Online: Fresh Off the Boat Pilot (S1E1)
• EPISODE 2 Review | Watch Online: Home Sweet Home-School (S1E2)
• EPISODE 3 Review | Watch Online: The Shunning (S1E3)
• EPISODE 4 Review | Watch Online: Success Perm (S1E4)
• EPISODE 5 Review | Watch Online: Persistent Romeo (S1E5)
• EPISODE 6 Review | Watch Online: Fajita Man (S1E6)
• EPISODE 7 Review | Watch Online: Showdown at the Golden Saddle (S1E7)

Wendy Lee’s debut novel Across A Green Ocean presents the story centered around two siblings, Michael and Emily Tang, struggling to find their identity as the children of immigrants and after the passing of their father. When Michael finds a letter to his father sent from China, he decides to avoid his problems in the US–his unwillingness to come out to his family, his recent layoff–by finding the mysterious sender. In the process, he hopes to learn something of his equally mysterious father. His sister Emily pushes against her mother Ling’s yearning for grandchildren, throwing herself into her career as an immigration lawyer.

Touching on familiar themes of loss, identity, family, and immigration, Lee spins a deeply emotional and transnational tale. At various points honing in on the relationship between two specific characters–be it Ling and Emily, Emily and her husband, or Michael and his father’s childhood friend–the novel allows its characters to grow within these ascribed roles.

Overall, Across a Green Ocean is lyrical in what one might call an easy page turner (and by easy I don’t mean simplistic, but rather smooth and well paced). Not overly cheery in content, it is also not overly grim with a networked plot that flows swiftly without stalling–jumping time periods and focal characters without giving the reader whiplash.

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The New York Times does a nice 6 minute video overview of Koreatown in Los Angeles, even highlighting the Wi Spa that Conan O’Brien and Steve Yeun recently visited.

BY Fritzie Andrade, Max Cantor, Jessey Dearing, Louie Alfaro and Will Lloyd

As the most densely packed part of Los Angeles, Koreatown is also one of the city’s most strollable, with Art Deco buildings, palm-lined streets and East-meets-West restaurants.

FINALLY, Invicta FC11 is in Los Angeles! And to add frosting to that cake, co-headlining the event will be Japan’s Mizuki Inoue in a bout against Mexico’s rising star, Alexa Grasso. Although everyone’s totally excited to see Cris Cyborg back in action and there are a ton of other great match ups, the projected fight of the night is Inoue’s. Inoue has been recognized as a striking prodigy but is formidably skilled in all other aspects of MMA, and Grasso has razor sharp focus and is well-rounded as well.

Here’s Grasso in action:

The fight is on tonight starting 7pm Pacific of UFC Fight Pass!

I guess Aaron Takahashi is becoming the next Randall Park for commercials. The last commercial I saw him in was for Kmart. Here, Takahashi portrays a customer at Staples asking how does he know he’ll get the best prices at Staples? Apparently Staples has a price match guarantee.

Many Asian Americans are foodies, but Hannah Hong’s more than 1300 Yelp restaurant reviews (including review updates) since 2012 has put into higher level of foodie, the Yelp Elite Squad.   While there are individual Yelp reviewers who have generated more total reviews, but her pace of more than one review a day is incredible – that’s a lot dining out! Yahoo Food talked to her about her life, food, and reviewing.

Hong, 31, is an elementary school school teacher from Alexandria and was raised in Chicago.   She feels that her mom and Aunt’s cooking is the best Korean food that she has ever eaten. As you might have guessed, she doesn’t cook very much, and the Yahoo article says she can’t remember that last meal she cooked.  Her favorite place to eat is New York’s Masa Restaurant.

Her reviews are known for being rather lengthy for the form, ranging from 300-400 works and including a lot of pictures.  If you look at the screen grab of her Yelp Profile, you can see the enormous amount pictures that she has taken and uploaded.  Her rating distribution is fairly generous, with most places getting between 3-5 stars and lower ratings reserved for very bad food and service that is “rude, offensive, or non-existent.”

Seeing the amount of work she puts into this, I wonder what she and many other Asian American Elite Squad members get out of their efforts.  Hong says she writes to share her passion and experiences.   Yelp Elite Squad status does bring some perks like a special badge on profiles, invites to special events, and giveaways, although some have criticized the program for encouraging boorish behavior.

As far as daily evening news programs go, PBS’s News Hour tends to be a bit more serious and have a lot less fluff stories. So I was happy to see this News Hour segment this past weekend on ‘Fresh Off The Boat.’ The News Hour story provides some good context regarding ‘Fresh Off The Boat’, which also includes an interview with Wall Street columnist Jeff Yang, father of childhood actor Hudson Yang.

Image courtesy of PBS News Hour.

Here we are, Fresh Off the Boat is already up to Episode 6, and yes, you can catch up online in a number of ways. (Watch Episodes 1 and 2, Episodes 3 and 4, Episode 5, and if you haven’t downloaded the pilot for free on iTunes and Amazon Instant Video, definitely do that, too.)

Great news about Episode 5’s ratings on (2/17), the ratings for Fresh Off the Boat actually went up compared to the previous week, solidifying the show as Tuesday night’s top sitcom. Even better, when taking into account the “Plus 7 Day” ratings of the special Wednesday night debut, Fresh Off the Boat emerged as the #3 sitcom behind Big Bang Theory and Modern Family.

According to FutonCritic:

In Wednesday’s 8:30pm half-hour, the debut of ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat grew to a 3.4 Adult 18-49 rating (up +0.9 rating points) and pulled in 10.0 million Total Viewers (up +2.1 million viewers) after 7 days of playback. The new ABC comedy moved ahead of CBS’ Mom (which had the benefit of a Big Bang lead-in) to finish as the week’s #3 highest-rated sitcom among Adults 18-49, behind only Big Bang and Modern Family. Meanwhile, its The Middle lead-in at 8pm matched a season-high L+7 rating, with a 2.9 in Adults 18-49 (a gain of +0.7 rating points from its 2.2 L+SD rating).

All that said, this episode is the first time it is pitted against NBC’s show The Voice, putting more pressure on a fairly difficult timeslot.

Remember aside from the ratings (which are most important), the network is also tracking legal downloads/streaming, as well as social media (Hashtag: #FreshOffTheBoat). So if you want to show the network your support, definitely watch, download, and tweet/post about it.

Multiple episodes are currently available for streaming using the “WATCH ABC” app for iOS. As of now, these downloads and streams are only legit available in the U.S./North America. Sorry to all our overseas readers that we can’t necessarily provide you links; you’ll just have to catch it on satellite for now.

EPISODE 6: Fajita Man (formerly titled “Shaq Fu”) (S1E6)

• ABC.com (FREE for a limited time; sign in with a TV provider required)
• Amazon Instant Video ($1.99 SD; $2.99 HD)
• Hulu (Hulu Plus account required)
• iTunes ($2.99 HD)
• Verizon FiOS (Subscription required)
• Xbox Video ($1.99 SD; $2.99 HD)
• Xfinity/Comcast (Subscription required)

“Fajita Man” – Eddie is so desperate for a new video game named after his idol, Shaq, he goes to work at the restaurant. He expects special treatment since he’s the boss’s son, but is in for a surprise when Louis is determined to make him work hard for the money. Meanwhile, Jessica decides to look for a job of her own, on “Fresh Off the Boat,” TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“Fajita Man” was written by Matt Kuhn. Matt Sohn directed. This program carries a TV-PG,D,L.

About the show:
It’s the ’90s and 11 year old, hip-hop loving Eddie (Hudson Yang) just moved to suburban Orlando from DC’s Chinatown with his parents (Randall Park and Constance Wu). It’s culture shock for his immigrant family in this comedy about pursuing the American Dream. Fresh Off the Boat is based on Chef Eddie Huang’s memoir Fresh Off the Boat.

Fresh Off the Boat stars Randall Park as Louis, Constance Wu as Jessica, Hudson Yang as Eddie, Forrest Wheeler as Emery and Ian Chen as Evan.

Fresh Off the Boat is executive produced and written by Nahnatchka Khan and executive produced by Jake Kasdan for 20th Century Fox Television.

SEASON 1

• EPISODE 1 Review | Watch Online: Fresh Off the Boat Pilot (S1E1)
• EPISODE 2 Review | Watch Online: Home Sweet Home-School (S1E2)
• EPISODE 3 Review | Watch Online: The Shunning (S1E3)
• EPISODE 4 Review | Watch Online: Success Perm (S1E4)
• EPISODE 5 Review | Watch Online: Persistent Romeo (S1E5)
• EPISODE 6 Review | Watch Online: Fajita Man (S1E6)
• EPISODE 7 Review | Watch Online: Showdown at the Golden Saddle (S1E7)

Non-spoiler review of Fresh Off the Boat, Season 1, Episode 6: “Fajita Man”
Original airdate February 24, 2015.

*Watch Online*

Microsynopsis: Desperate to get his hands on the new Shaq-Fu video game, Eddie learns that working for a parent can be nearly impossible when Louis hires him to be the fajitas server at the restaurant. Jessica looks for an employer of her own who will appreciate her ability to do almost everything.

Good: This is episode 6 and for the first time, Eddie’s not a jerk. Randall Park as Louis continues to find his character’s groove. Emery and Evan keep being funny. Jessica does a pretty funny call-back to something in an earlier episode when she celebrates landing a job. I will admit that while this episode leans heavily sappy, it hit me positively in a few of my biases. My mother managed Japanese restaurants, and she was the toughest boss I ever had when I washed dishes for her in my junior year of high school. She was impossibly tough, so there were a few things I recognize in Eddie’s experience. And Louis does something at the end that my own father did a few times when I struggled to scrape some money together as a teen. There’s stuff here that’s just too silly, but it has notes of truth about work ethic, parenting, and grace. For once, I liked the sentimentality.

Bad: Jessica gets away with some pretty obnoxious stuff that’s good for laughs but compromises the show’s believability. Grandma pulls a Silent Bob in Chasing Amy that we were never really prepared for, and she does it straight, with no hint of the charm or wit she’s so far exhibited. There was probably a smarter way to deliver her sentiment.

FOB moment: Louis, speaking to Eddie, says, “My father, your Yeh Yeh.”

Soundtrack flashback: Kool Moe Dee’s “I Go to Work.” Here’s another one of my biases. I love Kool Moe Dee and think he doesn’t get enough play nowadays, and the soundtrack features a whole verse.

Final grade, this episode: This feels like one of those we’ve-found-our-groove episodes, with not much new stuff to show us in the characters or setting, but the development of Eddie’s relationship with his father is a worthwhile effort that can pay off big-time in future chapters. I appreciate the exploration of this relationship, but wish there had been similar effort on at least one other relationship in the show. Instead, Jessica’s story line feels silly and insipid, where it could at least have been silly and meaty. Again, this show rewards multiple viewings, as there are some great things in the details. There is something hilarious but easy to miss in the scene where Jessica is bleeped, which is pretty funny even without noticing it. Call me biased, call me a sucker, call me a sap, but I liked the overall niceness of this episode. B.

***See Mitchell’s previous Fresh Off the Boat episode reviews, with links on how to watch these episodes online***

SEASON 1

• EPISODE 1 Review | Watch Online: Fresh Off the Boat Pilot (S1E1)
• EPISODE 2 Review | Watch Online: Home Sweet Home-School (S1E2)
• EPISODE 3 Review | Watch Online: The Shunning (S1E3)
• EPISODE 4 Review | Watch Online: Success Perm (S1E4)
• EPISODE 5 Review | Watch Online: Persistent Romeo (S1E5)
• EPISODE 6 Review | Watch Online: Fajita Man (S1E6)
• EPISODE 7 Review | Watch Online: Showdown at the Golden Saddle (S1E7)

A note about Mitchell’s ratings scale:

The editors of 8Asians have not asked me to justify my grades on these episodes, much to their credit, but I will offer a quick explanation for those who feel I’m grading too harshly. With all of television history to compare itself to, Fresh off the Boat and any other new sitcom can consider themselves successful if they hit the B mark on a consistent basis. The best episodes of M*A*S*H, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, The Cosby Show, Roseanne, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Arrested Development are A-pluses, and the second tiers of those great sitcoms are As. Where does that put whatever you consider the best episode so far of Fresh off the Boat? Nothing in this fledgling show even approaches the worst episode of M*A*S*H or Arrested Development, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. But as much as I want this show to succeed, I can’t let it make excuses for itself. Nobody really wants a share of the first-place trophy just for trying. We all want it when we kick everyone else’s butts, with no qualifiers.

Our very own Koji Steven Sakai has just released his very first novel (massive applause!) throwing a fantastical twist on that famous Shakespearean play. In Romeo and Juliet vs. Zombies, “Romeo and Juliet must fight to overcome hoards of zombies that include Tybalt, Mercutio, and even Juliet’s nurse. Sakai’s version of the beloved tale forces Romeo to fight for Juliet’s respect…even if that means picking up a sword that (gulp) could actually hurt someone.” The eBook came out just last week with a print version arriving this week.

AND, because he’s one of us, we get to ask him all kinds of questions. So, your exclusive (ish) author interview with 8Asians’ most awesome screenwriter —

How did you decide what to write about? What was your inspiration?

I admit I have a terrible infatuation with Romeo and Juliet. Not only because it’s truly the only Shakespeare I could actually get through, but because it has spoken to me in different ways at different times in my life. When I was a teenager and believed in silly notions such as “true love” (please don’t judge me), I thought it was romantic. But as I got older, I see it for what it is—silly infatuations of hormonal teenagers. And that’s why I’ve written multiple screenplays about it. Four to be exact.

And then there’s my love for post-apocalyptic zombie stories. There’s something about the end of the world and a horde of reanimated corpses trying to feed on people’s brains that just makes me smile and feel good about myself and my life.

So for me, Romeo & Juliet Vs. Zombies was the first time that I was able to marry my two passions into one project.

Why zombies in particular? Why not other fantastical creatures?

I love all fantastical creatures—especially vampires, aliens, ghosts, and demons. But there’s something about zombies that gets my heart racing. The easy answer is that zombies are a metaphor for the masses of unthinking people, but I don’t think that’s quite it for me. I see zombies as representing something even more primal. To me, I’m fascinated with the question of whether I could survive an apocalypse—zombie or otherwise. Do I have what it takes to live?

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