Kim's Convenience

[Doug Eastick]

I have set my PVR. 

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/kims-convenience-tv-show-asian-cast-1.3800295

[Doug Eastick]

CBC has been pumping up the promo's for their latest sitcom - Kim's Convenience.  It's about a Korean family that runs a convenience store in Toronto.  They were supposed to air the pilot on Sunday, but rescheduled due to the Blue Jay's ball game (not the debate).

I just watched it and LOL'd a few times.   I asked my 20-yr old daughter to watch and after the first 10 mins she said "I don't find this as funny as you do" and then went to another room.

If you can find the pilot online, I suggest you watch it.  There is a reference to Anderson Cooper.    The main thing I was thinking while watching it was "oh there's so many of the trump-states that would not like this".

If you can't find it online to watch, then maybe try this link I might keep up for a week or so......

.... 700 mb .MKV file.  Use VLC player to watch it if your default doesn't do it for you.  please be gentle and don't share this link.  I have to pay for data.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/tvornottv/KC.S01E01.mkv

[Tom Wolper]

On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 9:45 PM, Doug Eastick <eas...@mcd.on.ca> wrote:

CBC has been pumping up the promo's for their latest sitcom - Kim's Convenience.  It's about a Korean family that runs a convenience store in Toronto.  They were supposed to air the pilot on Sunday, but rescheduled due to the Blue Jay's ball game (not the debate).

I just watched it and LOL'd a few times.   I asked my 20-yr old daughter to watch and after the first 10 mins she said "I don't find this as funny as you do" and then went to another room.

If you can find the pilot online, I suggest you watch it.  There is a reference to Anderson Cooper.    The main thing I was thinking while watching it was "oh there's so many of the trump-states that would not like this".

I downloaded and watched the pilot. It's tough to review a sitcom pilot because they have to introduce all the main characters and define their relationships while setting a tone for the series. I thought they did a decent job of covering all that business. I also think they succeeded in the setup: having the main family be Korean and making them comprehensible and sympathetic to a diverse (and mostly white) audience.

I had one big problem with a character and that was the manager of the car rental agency. Maybe she is there to be a comic foil or maybe her character will evolve in later episodes but her basic insecurity and lack of authority as a manager irritated me.

The other issue I had might relate to your daughter's reaction. I'm 56 and when in conversation with educated young adults it becomes obvious that their viewpoints are based on different core assumptions than mine are. Just as they are digital natives, they are also diversity natives and they have a comfort level with gender and orientation diversity as well as immigrants from other cultures. I think the show tried to base its comedy on tensions built around the gay community and the Asian immigrant experience and those tensions are absent to the younger generation. So the jokes don't have a strong payoff.