Can't say enough about how much I enjoyed the Season Finale about the family tree in so many ways. The storyline with the hilarious transitions back and forth in time in Pops' story where one of the family members interrupts him to doubt his credibility about a previous family member's role in real-world history, and he tells them something complimentary about the ancestor in question, then goes on to tell them that they resembled the ancestor to manipulate them into wanting him to go on with his story (which I believe were done already maybe seven times before the last credit for the wonderful Jonathan Groff was done) was all wonderfully written, executed, acted, directed, edited, etc., etc.
And the historical sequences had the greatest MGM-type updated versions of that point in time in Harlem with the club scenes. From the sets, the music and the band, the dancing girls with their costumes, hair, and makeup (especially those of Tracee Ellis Ross; she looked amazing!), the club's hip crowd and dancers, the gangsters and thugs. Everything. It reminded me of the most recent film remake of "The Great Gatsby" by Baz Luhrmann.
Guest artists Sean Combs and Mary J. Blige turned in terrific performances as well. In fact the surprising transformation in the first scene in which he and she are together after he's been all rough and tough with "Ass-boy" and now being all cocky and narcissistic with her about his appearance after she compliments him on it when she first approaches him, and he suddenly gets all self-conscious and insecure and goes in the back to change was so adorable and funny.
The older and younger daughters were great as usual. While I have always absolutely adored adorable little Marsai Martin, some of the different sarcastic, scheming and downtrodden expressions on Yara Shahidi's face when she spoke some of her lines as Zora the coat-check girl were hilarious in and of themselves.
And FINALLY they highlighted little Miles Brown's amazing dancing abilities that I've been reading so much about. Of course, while Anthony Anderson did do a fair share of the actual dancing in the dance-off with him near the end of the story, it was easy to see that most of it wasn't really Anderson. But the choreography for both of them, as well as that for the dancing girl sequences and crowd dancers were all really well done and performed, while having to vary in different styles, eras, and even hybrids of dance.
And when Rainbow points out to Dre that all during the time that Pops is telling his fish-story none of the kids are texting, posting, or streaming, but that they're all just listening and being a family, well what more can you say about the lack of physical interaction in families and especially children and youngsters in today's hand-held technological world? Great topic to think about.
(I'm not even going to get into the most racist, but unfortunately true to its time, scene in the business meeting. Not only the most hilarious, but was cleverly written to merely make outrageous caricatures of Dre's present-time office team in the highly racist past, especially Crazy Charlie.)
Overall probably my favorite of all the episodes of this first season which were all great if you ask me. Highly enjoyable. Can't wait till next season!
"Who's tellin' this story???"
And the historical sequences had the greatest MGM-type updated versions of that point in time in Harlem with the club scenes. From the sets, the music and the band, the dancing girls with their costumes, hair, and makeup (especially those of Tracee Ellis Ross; she looked amazing!), the club's hip crowd and dancers, the gangsters and thugs. Everything. It reminded me of the most recent film remake of "The Great Gatsby" by Baz Luhrmann.
Guest artists Sean Combs and Mary J. Blige turned in terrific performances as well. In fact the surprising transformation in the first scene in which he and she are together after he's been all rough and tough with "Ass-boy" and now being all cocky and narcissistic with her about his appearance after she compliments him on it when she first approaches him, and he suddenly gets all self-conscious and insecure and goes in the back to change was so adorable and funny.
The older and younger daughters were great as usual. While I have always absolutely adored adorable little Marsai Martin, some of the different sarcastic, scheming and downtrodden expressions on Yara Shahidi's face when she spoke some of her lines as Zora the coat-check girl were hilarious in and of themselves.
And FINALLY they highlighted little Miles Brown's amazing dancing abilities that I've been reading so much about. Of course, while Anthony Anderson did do a fair share of the actual dancing in the dance-off with him near the end of the story, it was easy to see that most of it wasn't really Anderson. But the choreography for both of them, as well as that for the dancing girl sequences and crowd dancers were all really well done and performed, while having to vary in different styles, eras, and even hybrids of dance.
And when Rainbow points out to Dre that all during the time that Pops is telling his fish-story none of the kids are texting, posting, or streaming, but that they're all just listening and being a family, well what more can you say about the lack of physical interaction in families and especially children and youngsters in today's hand-held technological world? Great topic to think about.
(I'm not even going to get into the most racist, but unfortunately true to its time, scene in the business meeting. Not only the most hilarious, but was cleverly written to merely make outrageous caricatures of Dre's present-time office team in the highly racist past, especially Crazy Charlie.)
Overall probably my favorite of all the episodes of this first season which were all great if you ask me. Highly enjoyable. Can't wait till next season!
"Who's tellin' this story???"
