8 Asians

Growing up there just weren’t a lot of Asians—let alone Asian Americans—on television or in the movies. And when there were, they were very rarely people I actually looked up to. However, when it came to my day-to-day playing, I was a G.I. Joe junkie. I watched the G.I. Joe cartoon religiously and spent hours upon hours playing with my action figures. I made up scenarios where the good guys always won. My two favorite […] Continue »

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 4, Episode  11: “Big Baby” Original airdate January 2, 2018. Synopsis:  Honey’s mom (Cheryl Hines!) comes to visit, just in time to cause the newly expectant mother all kinds of stress about their differing approaches to motherhood.  Jessica agrees to support Honey, but finds herself more often in agreement with Honey’s mom.  Since Jessica and Honey can’t use the free cruise they won on Wheel of Fortune before it expires, Marvin […] Continue »

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 4, Episode  10: “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Original airdate December 12, 2017. Synopsis:  Deirdre’s college roomie Holly (it’s Paula Abdul!) is visiting, and since she’s a “performance and movement” instructor, she offers to coach the homeowners’ association carolers.  Jessica (who still takes Christmas very seriously) doesn’t think most of her neighbors sing very well, so she insists that Holly conduct tryouts, limiting this year’s group to six participants.  […] Continue »

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 4, Episode 9: “Slide Effect” Original airdate December 5, 2017. Synopsis:  Eddie’s friends each sign up for school activities.  Trent’s the newest member of the Safety Patrol, while the others get into the school play, the book club, and the cheerleading team.  Eddie doesn’t like the image they project, and when Trent writes him up for breaking the dress code, he pushes back in order to cultivate what he hopes […] Continue »

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 4, Episode 8: “The Vouch” Original airdate November 21, 2017. Synopsis:  Jessica finally completes her novel, A Case of a Knife to the Brain, and Louis hates it but doesn’t want to hurt her feelings or discourage her.  She puts him in a difficult spot, asking him to pass her manuscript to Kenny Rogers, who will be in Orlando to visit Kenny Rogers’s Michael Bolton’s Cattleman’s Ranch.  Eddie and his friends […] Continue »

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 4, Episode 7: “The Day After Thanksgiving” Original airdate November 14, 2017. Synopsis:  Grandma: still taking an ESL course.  Louis: invites the ESL teacher to Thanksgiving dinner.  Jessica: agrees to host Thanksgiving dinner so she and Honey can use Grandma’s chair on Black Friday.  Eddie and Emery: take Evan to his first R-rated movie (I Know What You Did Last Summer).  Evan: gets spooked and takes a little trip to […] Continue »

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 4, Episode 6: “A League of Her Own” Original airdate November 7, 2017. Synopsis:  Nicole comes out to Honey and Jessica, sort of by mistake, but Honey handles it admirably, as do the other patrons of the Denim Turtle where it happens.  Jessica handles it well too, although she’s adorably mystified that lesbianism even exists.  Now she’s stressed about telling her father.  Louis is amped about the start of another […] Continue »

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 4, Episode 5: “Four Funerals and a Wedding” Original airdate October 31, 2017. Synopsis:  Louis is determined to help Jessica and her father establish a closer relationship before it’s too late.  Emery continues to deal with his bad luck.  Evan amends his will. Rad:  There are some laugh-aloud throw-away lines here.  I thought for a moment I was watching The Simpsons instead.  The paper-thin B and C stories mean there’s really only […] Continue »

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 4, Episode 4: “It’s a Plastic Pumpkin, Louis Huang” Original airdate October 24, 2017. Synopsis:  (deep breath) Louis, as always, is stoked about Halloween and he’s got Seinfeld-themed costumes planned for his whole family but the rest of the Huangs have other plans. He still has hope for Evan, who agrees to hang out with his dad and pass out candy, but then sneaks off to Deidre’s grown-ups party.  Eddie […] Continue »

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 4, Episode 3: “Kids” Original airdate October 17, 2017. Synopsis:  Jessica and Louis discover (to their amazement) that Eddie is responsible enough to be left alone in the house, and since he’s the last one to reach this level of maturity, they are now out of Kids Prison. They break out the nice furniture and make plans to go out for more than a hurried dinner. However, Honey and Marvin […] Continue »

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 4, Episode 2: “The First Day” Original airdate October 10, 2017. Synopsis: (deep breath) It’s the first day of school for the Huang boys. Eddie gets a little insecure when he sees the jocks flirting with Alison, so he tries out for the football team without his mom’s permission. Emery is excited to finally have middle school to himself, now that Eddie’s in high school, but the charmed life he […] Continue »

Inspired by frightening favorites like The Twilight Zone, the first animated series about Filipino horror folklore, Umbra will feature creatures and monsters from traditional Filipino folklore retold in the modern-day Philippines. The series includes stories about a flesh-eating, shape-shifting monster; the lost soul of a dead bride looking for a new husband to join her in death; and the conquest to destroy a murderous mermaid. I’m not into horror, but I’m down for anything bringing […] Continue »