Chinese New Year Off the Boat

     Tonight was a winning episode of Fresh off the Boat, one of my favorite shows of 2015. Just in time for Chinese New Year, the Huangs are planning a family trip to Washington D.C. to celebrate the special holiday. Treasures such as fireworks, red envelopes of money and pork buns await, but they missed their flight by a whole day. Now, the family is stuck in Orlando, trying to find another Chinese group to spend the holidays with this year.  First, Louis and Jessica look through the phone book for other Chinese families. "Yang is the Chinese Smith," remarks Louis. They also try to track down a Chinese man they saw when they were on a city bus. After a failed attempt at the Orlando area Asian American group (AAAoO for short) and make several jokes saying "Ayy" like Fonzie and "Ay-Oh!" like Tony Danza. The group is of course, a disaster and a disappointment as it was formed by members from all parts of Asia, with people from India and Russia populating the event), and a terrifying dinosaur dancing like it came from a basketball halftime show. Then the family return back to their restaurant, where the neighbors and staff throw a great party to celebrate the Huangs' tradition. In the end, Jessica explains that nearly everything is meant to bring luck and wealth to the family.

     This is one of the episodes where the family dynamics truly make the episode, similar to the season opener where Jessica and the boys tag along on Louis' business trip. (In that episode, Jessica fights the hotel about the number of guests they are paying for in their room, among other things). Eddie and his little brothers are completely upset about missing the trip because they won;t get any little red envelopes full of lucky money. While Eddie hopes for enough to afford new Air Jordans, baby brother Emery wants to start a business by buying a Snoopy Sno-Cone maker (an amazing toy that my friends had when we were little) and middle brother Evan is so worried about grumpy Grandma,who will not give out any money in red envelopes. Truly brown in the wrong era, oddball Evan hopes to buy a fedora and bring back an era of rail travel, and dressed up in a suit in the hopes of the airline upgrading him to first class. Sweet little Emery puts on a Seinfeld-esque comedy show to cheer up Grandma. In an amusing moment, Grandma explains to people that their supposed "Chinese symbol" tattoos don't mean what they thought they did. This episode is a must-see and hopefully it will become a traditional episode in the coming seasons.

Fresh Off the Boat

     It took me a hit-and-miss watching of the first season, but I now officially am a fan of ABC's Fresh Off the Boat. Season 1 began in February and a full season 2 kicked off in September. The family sitcom is based off Eddie Huang memoir of the same name, about growing up in Orlando in the 1990's with traditional Chinese parents. Eddie is a middle schooler who loves gangsta rap and his mom's best friend, Honey. Eddie's two adorable younger brothers Emery and Evan are very wise, young souls and give sage advice beyond their years. Mom Jessica (Constance Wu) is cheap, wants the kids to work hard, and ends up making people's lives more difficult. Completing the family are grandma Huang, who only speaks Mandarin and doesn't get along well with mom, and father Louis (Randall Park), a true believer of the American Dream.

     The family moved to Orlando from a tight-knit Chinese community in Washington, D.C. for Louis to open an all-American steakhouse, Cattleman's Ranch. His oddball staff mean well, but often get the family into more financial woes during the first season. The restaurant faces many struggles as they try to draw anyone in, and get them to order something besides water and soda. As a special not, The League's Paul Scheer plays waiter Mitch. The show's 90's nostalgia is one of the reason I think I connect to it. When Eddie's school throws a Fall Ball, his dad insists on teaching him and his boys to how dance. The boys think they're taking a girl to the dance, only to find out the girls had chosen someone else in the group as their date (which led to a tense roller rink group date). When Eddie is broken up with said girlfriend, he plays BoyzIIMen's End of the Road on repeat until the whole family sings the song. Jessica competes with her sister for who mom loves more, including a mad run to a store on Thanksgiving eve.

     The show has also had notable guest appearances by NBA players and singers of the time including  Scotty Pippen, DMX and Shaq as the proprietor of Shaquille O'Neal Motors. Jessica keeps demanding to speak to the top executive at the car dealership, finally begin shown into the office of Shaq himself. In tonight's episode, The Real Santa, Jessica tells the boys that Asian Santa is the real Santa and ends up dressing up in a suit to encourage her sons to study hard and get into good schools. I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store. Maybe an episode about Chinese New Year?