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Founder, PlanetNoun.com and Planet Noun podcast
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Preachers, swingers & mama-daughter drama: Greenleaf episode 6

So Grace finally agrees to preach while Bishop is out of town. Bishop is the king of Planet Greenleaf, so he simply, more like outright, told her she ain’t got a choice since he’ll be out of town. Gracie’s not feeling it, but brokers a deal in the process…. She agrees to take the pulpit the coming Sunday IF she can start a support group for sexual abuse survivors.  Lady Mae thinks the group is an affront to her and to Bishop. One survivor who joined the Sisters of Tamar group is also being physically abused by her husband. Grace tries to get her to leave him but the woman, Stacy, grew up without a father and refuses to let her daughters to grow up without theirs.

Jacob attempts to salvage his self-worth after Bishop told him he has no place

Meanwhile, Jacob attempts to salvage his self-worth after his daddy told him he has no place at the church. [Hot dang… that still stings to me, and Jacob ain’t even real!] So he links up with a man who is part of a Christian network to see about getting Bishop some television airtime.  And guess who’s coming to dinner? The exec and his wife. This couple hints (not so subtly) their enjoyment of swings… and not of moods or playground equipment.   They invite Jacob and Kerissa for a romp at their rustic pad in the woods. Looks like this other couple has a thought-out arrangement.  Who knows, they may even have real swings to swang at their little cabin in the woods.

Lady Mae continues to bat for Jacob, asking Bishop to reinstate him. She hints at some past indiscretion of his, but doesn’t go into it.

Cut to Kevin as he swipes through photos of men on a smartphone dating app, while Charity is struggling over a stack of resumes–candidates to fill the minister of music slot.  After a difference of artistic opinion, the previous director hinted that he’d have more artistic freedom at Triumph Church. So Charity encouraged him to bounce.

Back to the resume pile.  Kevvie tells Charity  not to think too hard about it. Just put the “maybes” in one pile, the “nevers” into another and keep it moving. “Like one of those dating apps?” Charity asks. Only she doesn’t know her hubby’s looking at such an app right under her nose.

Charity’s hire is excited about the job, but reveals he’s openly gay. Carlton informs her up front because he didn’t want anyone to be surprised because he’s planning to bring his partner to church. He says he wasn’t up front with his previous employer and trouble found him when they found out about his partner.  Charity is in his corner from the start.

Lady Mae’s interactions with Grace are the sweetest acid

So…Lady Mae visits Grace’s suite in the mansion… I could tell the interaction would be laced with drama. Her mom’s look toward her daughter is always steely—smiling yes, but no tenderness carried with it. Lady Mae told her she’s putting her trust in Grace as she preps for the big day in the pulpit… followed by her hopes that Grace would use the opportunity for “institutional purposes” and not to verbally chastise the family in public…. maybe she suspects Grace will blast them about Uncle Mac molesting  Faith?

To that,  Gracie replies, “Momma…Do you love me at all?”  [I’ve been wondering that myself]. All Lady Mae’s interactions with Grace are the sweetest acid. Lady Mae always has an agenda… her interactions never seem to be straightforward when dealing with folks, especially Grace. I’m trying to figure out why. She did say she loves Grace, and Bishop and the church. Maybe she’s just trying to protect everyone from scandal. But it still seems she has a beef against her oldest child that seems to go beyond abuse accusations against Uncle Mac.

Episodic observations:
The church has real, live gay people attending each week who LOVE Jesus. Let me repeat—Christian churches have real, live gay congregants who LOVE Jesus.  Greenleaf, I think, is subtly showing  how progressive some minds can be–even in some Christian churches, some which aren’t always known as receptive to openly gay individuals and/or couples.  But some of those same churches will gladly suction up the time and talent of gay musicians, as long as they ensconce their gayness in a corner, alcove… or closet.

Loving the one you’re with

In addition to the physical abuse/domestic abuse storyline in this episode, is another thread about spousal appreciation and the idea of ownership. When Jacob learned Kerissa would be willing to swing to advance Jacob’s status at Calvary, all of a sudden he again became interested in her as a sexual being. His reason? He doesn’t want another man touching her. “Because you’re mine,” he says.

I was tempted to be like “Awwww… Jacob’s come back around to wifey!” But that didn’t last for long because I noticed no love in that statement of ownership. He just didn’t want another man fiddling with his wife. Now that someone else is interested, he’s all in again.  Funny thing… seems he’s treating Kerissa like a body. Didn’t he just complain about that in a previous episode?  Wack, Jacob. You got one point for  un-cheating on your wife, but I snatch-eth it  back, homie.

*Don’t count on catching Greenleaf full episodes. They’ve been raptured to OWN’s glory.  Not sure when they’ll be available again online or on demand.

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More than promised: Charley learns the real deal about Davis in Queen Sugar episode 6

Nova’s been getting media traction after her article hit the front page. This episode opens with her and a local activist being interviewed by a couple of morning shock-jocks. Of course, the jocks keep bending attention to Charely and the messy allegations against Davis West. If you haven’t peeped Queen Sugar, Davis is a star player with a Los Angeles basketball team. I’m a bad viewer, ‘cause I don’t even remember the team name. It ain’t the Lakers… And I’m only a fair-weather fan for them, so whatever.

She caught Nova’s response and jumped from zero to pissed a nanosecond flat.

Poor Nova kept trying to keep attention on the injustices her article pointed out, but jokers be jokers. Somewhere in the segment, they asked Nova’s point of view about the Davis West mess. She didn’t get down into Charley and Davis’ biz-nizz, but she DID ask one question: When it comes to rape cases, why is the victim always assumed to be guilty or at fault somehow?

Somewhere on the other side of them-there airwaves, Auntie Vi was listening when Charley moseyed back in after a run. And, of course, she caught Nova’s response and jumped from zero to pissed a nanosecond flat.

Unrelated side note: Auntie Vi changed her hair to a more homely marm-bob. She actually looks like she could be their aunt.

Continue reading More than promised: Charley learns the real deal about Davis in Queen Sugar episode 6 →

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Hard-Headed Charley bumps her head in Queen Sugar episode 5

I’ve had it with Charley Bordelon.

She’s showing all her flaws in this episode. The main one: she doesn’t LISTEN.

Ol-girl visits Davis’ accuser in Houston to up the sit down and shut up price of $500,000 to make the rape case against Davis go away. His accuser asks a valid question. “How do you un-rape someone?” Sex worker or not, that’s a good question. Rape is rape. And there’s a rape kit. No idea if it contains damning evidence against Davis, but sources are saying the kit exists.

Snap, what was that? Oh, it’s big sister Charley snipping off baby Ralph’s cojones.

But Charley also has a good point, too. Sex workers do what they do to get paid. She wants her husband’s accuser to call her when she determines her price.

Well dang. If she’s lying, I’m sure she’ll come up with a figure. If she isn’t lying, she should take this thing through the courts. Famous or not, rape is rape and all-lem fools should go to prison if they did it.

But she calls a figure, $3 million bucks, a face to face with Davis. She wants him to admit what he did. But his accuser says she’ll slide out their lives for good of they agree to her terms. Davis is looking more rapey by the episode. Maybe he’s just a serial liar. Maybe they were all down for the get-down, but his accuser didn’t give explicit consent. I don’t know what to do with this storyline, but I do know what it’s like to have explicit consent circumvented. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

Anyway, Davis’ lawyer wasn’t too thrilled Charley went behind her back to see Davis’ accuser.

So Charley finds out about Ralph-Angel’s cane sugar debacle, and says she’s going to take over all farm business.

*Snip, snip, snip* Snap, what was that? Oh, it’s big sister Charley snipping off baby Ralph’s cojones.

Ralph confronts his coworker about the bad seed cane and asks for his money back. No can do, his coworker says.

*Snip, snip, snip* Snap, what was that? Oh, it’s… wait… what else is there to cut? Ralph’s cojones are already gone. Thankfully this is fiction, and in my world—cojones can regenerate faster than starfish arms if allowed.

More snippage in the works for poor Ralph. He picks up his check and finds it’s lacking some ducats. He’s short 8 hours. Ralph confronts the guy passing out checks, and this fool has the nerve to tell Ralph that he’s “been inside so maybe you forgot, freedom ain’t free, bro.”

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Smut and sordid dirty-dealings exposed in Queen Sugar episode 4

Charley’s back in Los Angeles getting checked out for every living STD known to mankind. Meanwhile, Ralph Angel’s in charge of getting seed cane for the farm. They’re only going to farm 300 acres of the 800 their daddy left in his will.

Failure. Seems that’s what Nova and Charley expect from Ralph-Angel 

Nova’s back pursuing stories—this one exposes the dirty dealings that target young, mostly black, youth in New Orleans’ Ninth ward… A sordid trysting between the police force, the courts and private prisons.

The prisons make money per inmate, which they can lend out to businesses in the area for money. The prisons skim money off the top and funnel it to law enforcement agencies. Seems the courts come in by sentencing the young folks who were brought in on excessive, trumped-up charges and who were also encouraged to take plea deals.

Her story makes the front page.

Ralph Angel goes to buy seed cane for the farm. Meantime, Charley and Nova keep on him to make sure he’s going to get things done. Of course he wants to be the man, to show he’s capable. A co-worker covers for him while he runs to get the seed cane. He learns when he sees Remy Newell in passing that he has to register with the sate before he gets his cane. Ralph Angel seemed a tad bothered, as if Remy’s words were a revelation that he forgot a step. The man who sold the seed cane said it was all out. So since it wasn’t explicitly stated that Ralph Angel didn’t register with the state, it isn’t crystal clear if Ralph Angel really forgot to register with the state or if Sam Landry pulled his snake-like strings to make sure the Bordelons don’t farm their land this planting season.

Failure. Seems that’s what Nova and Charley expect from Ralph-Angel at the end of the day, when hope tuckers out.  But he’s also holding hope they’ll do better, too.

A co-worker at Ralph Angel’s job learns what happened and says his cousin knows farming, but won’t be planting this season. He has a bunch of seed cane to get off his hands. So Ralph drops $15-thousand and buys it.

The catch is—it’s worthless. Remy Newell looks it over and shows Ralph it’s infected with smut. No good.

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NBC’s Timeless lesson: don’t mess with mother nature or father time

So what would’ve happened if the Hindenburg didn’t blow the fork up? NBC’s Timeless is all about that, and more.

Yes, I also watch another NBC show–The Good Place. What the fork did you think? Some of their shows are so boss this fall, I can’t bring myself to say a durn cuss word.

So let’s get into Timeless.

My favorite line in this pilot: “I am black. There is literally NO place in American history where that would be awesome for me.”

Lucy Preston is a history professor who is pissed she didn’t make tenure at the university where her sick mother used to work. No, I don’t think her mom was some kind of degenerate. She’s really sick. I’m guessing cancer, but they don’t say. All we know is she’s hooked up to a heart/vital signs monitor and has been unconscious for a while. Lucy confides in her sister about the disappointment. Amy advises Luch to start making her own future instead of worrying who she’ll disappoint by taking a different path than their mother.

Rufus Carlin is a total coder geek (that word is NOT a pejorative in my world), a brotha who’s taken a fancy to a fellow nerd at the lab where he works.

About that lab… it’s housing a project so top secret that the gov’mint doesn’t even know about it. Well… they didn’t until gun-toting capsule thieves commandeer suck it away to the Hindenburg disaster date—May 6, 1937—a few hours before it’s supposed to combust. Side note: It isn’t lost on me that the capsule resembles the logo of longtime network competitor CBS.   Is that intentional?

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Two, four, six, eight! The nation endured another debate!

Folks in the Twitterverse had plenty to say during the first presidential debate between candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.  NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt moderated six segments on topics ranging from jobs and prosperity, taxes, discussions on racial healing, cybersecurity and nuclear weapons.
On Trump’s temperament:


On Trump’s debating skills:

So… who won?


On tax returns and emails


And the most important thing (I think) to remember:

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Napkin designs, computer snooping, boot knocks and call-outs in Greenleaf Episode 8

Do you know of any man who cares about napkin designs? Even for his own wedding?

But Isabel is hoping Noah’s choices will align with hers sometime during the planning process. Keep wishing, girlfriend. He just wants to wed so he can finally have full-on sex with you.

Her words spewed prayer intentions, but her tone communicated “B!#%h, you better stay away from my man, ‘fo I pray your @$$ away.”

Sooo… Grace stops by Noah’s office at the church to chat with him. There is an exchange between the ladies that’s snippy and topped with petty sprinkles. Lets me know they only tolerate each other. They greet… Grace asks Isabel if there is school that day [My interpretation: Heifer, why you ain’t at work? Go away so I can talk to your man…who used to be my man]. Isabel then asks Grace who’s her  plus one going to be at their wedding. Grace says it’ll be her daughter Sophia… Isabel asks if she has someone special because it’s going to be a romantic weekend and says “maybe you’ll meet someone on the dance floor.”  With the fake drivel pulled from the dregs of the Christianese playbook, she adds, “I’ll pray for you.” What’s wrong with that? You ask.  See, it wasn’t the prayer part. It was how she said it. Isabel just sounded so fake. Her words spewed prayer intentions, but her tone communicated “B!#%h, you better stay away from my man, ‘fo I pray your @$$ away.”

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Queen Sugar episode 3: gun pulls, cheap offers, southern (dis)courtesy

This episode opens with a reading of Ernest Bordelon’s will. Ralph Angel, Nova, Aunt Vi and Charley are present.

Aunt Vi gets the boat. The kids get the land, and Ernest wants them to farm it. Charley and Nova want no part of it. First order of business is to take care of business (i.e., sell the land) so Charley can return to her mess of a marriage in Los Angeles, and Nova can to back to her life in NOLA.

Ralph Angel gets upset because his sisters don’t want it. He’s looking at this inheritance as a chance to start fresh.

As the siblings tiff it out, Charley calls Sam Landry, who says he’ll make them an offer in person.

Vi didn’t purposely shut the door… she just didn’t expend the energy to leave it open for him.

Back at Vi’s house, Davis shows up. Vi ain’t feeling his tail, not even enough for the perfunctory response when Davis says “Hello.” She turns around, puts her watering can down and walks into the house. Davis follows her… and meets a screen door slam. Vi didn’t purposely shut the door… she just didn’t expend the energy to leave it open for him.

Inside, Hollywood offers Davis some coffee. Auntie Vi let everyone know all the coffee is gone… and the sweet tea. She kind of sounds like the cafeteria lady from Cedric The Entertainer’s short-lived sketch comedy show.

Charley walks into the room, basically seeps from her pores that she doesn’t want anything to do with the air that liar breathes.

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A mid-season perv’s dream, audits and family frazzles in Greenleaf episode 7

OK, so the opening scene in this one disturbed me from jump. Uncle Mac wakes up, clothed in a wife beater.  Some young thang is sound asleep next to him. Looks like this mo-fo is at it again. Well, assuming he molested his niece and other girls in the first place… After all, those are only accusations. But this brotha seems guilty as sin, hell, death, and the grave.

But it was a dream. He woke up for-real. And alone.

Not everyone thinks he’s slime. He’s up for an award… Memphis Man of the Year.

Mac preps for the day, goes downstairs. In the lobby stands the teen girl of his dream… who’s having trouble with her mom. She seems vulnerable. The perfect prey.

The rundown
So, the church is in the midst of an audit. That’s the centerpiece of this episode.

Another storyline is Uncle Mac’s problem with Carlton. Charity wants him to join Calvary’s music ministry. She was concerned folks would feel or act some kind of way because Carlton is gay. Uncle Mac doesn’t give a hoot about Carlton’s sexual orientation. During the background check, Mac found out Carlton’s filed past lawsuits against prior employers (yes, plural) for wrongful termination. His concern: Carlton might be litigious.

Family (un)ties
Uncle Mac and Lady Mae’s daddy shows up at the church. For some reason, they do NOT want that man in the building. Sir Pops told Mac he HAD to show up because he saw his boy on the front page of the newspaper, and was proud of him. Mac gives Pops a spot of cash. Pops walks out of the office… with a struggle it seems. Wonder if he’s a drunk… Or sick. No se. But WHY are they both so adamant about him never stepping foot on church property?

Anyway, while Mac talks to Noah about not letting his dad anywhere near Calvary anymore, he gets the sense Noah’s regard toward him has shifted somewhat. He tells Noah “Well you know Gigi’s been saying things about me and they’re not true.” Looks like Uncle Mac has an idea why she decided to stay in town.

Meantime, Jacob is still trying to get his dad back on television, and back in his good graces. He talks to Mac about it over food truck vittles. Mac asks him why he keeps trying. Jacob says he has to do something. Mac replies all of his trying makes him look desperate and with all the stuff that he’s pulled his dad is not going to reinstate him.

So my mental rewrite for that line?  “You been dirty in the church-house for years, yo! And God ain’t struck you… So help my daddy reinstate me.”

“But you’re still here,” Jacob responds.  So my mental rewrite for that line?  “You been ridin’ dirty the church-house for years, yo! And God ain’t struck you… So help my daddy reinstate me.”  Maybe Jacob knows something about Uncle Mac… Either about him molesting Faith, or maybe he’s pulled some other shenanigans that makes Jacob say that. What else has Uncle Mac been up to?

Later, Uncle Mac gives Bishop a report on the audit’s progress. Says it’s plain peachy—as far as audits go. But after getting copies of records from the past three years, the auditor notices there are a number of “Freewill Offerings,” or something of that sort. It has a pretty nebulous title, so she asks where that money goes. Old girl isn’t satisfied with Mac’s answer, so she asks for a personal audit of The Greenleaf’s finances (or is it Greenleaves). And Bishop is mad! These nosey mo-fos are about to go digging around in the Garden of the Lord!

So Uncle Mac gets pissed at Grace, quietly storms by her office and tells her to stay up out his business. He verbally seethes at her saying if she keeps pulling threads she’s going to unravel the whole business. WHAT BUSINESS? What is Uncle Mac trying to hide? This sounds like there’s more sordid goings-on in addition to these molestation accusations. Another question: How dirty are Bishop’s hands?

After Bishop chews Mac up and out, and Mac barks at Grace, he runs into Charity in the hallway… Charity tells him that she won’t be a party to any discrimination against Carlton. Mac ain’t thinking about that man, so he tells Charity to do whatever she wants. Looks like they’ll have a new music director.

So now let’s go back to uncle Mac and Lady Mae’s dad… Something interesting… He called her a “high yellow whore.” That’s mean for a dad to say. What dad with love for a daughter would call her a whore? Even if she was a stank-a-dank ho, I imagine she’d somehow still be daddy’s little girl in his heart.

Sir Pops also shouted, “She ain’t even mine!” If he’s not her daddy, who is her daddy? And why she got to be a whore? Why does she did detest him so much? What kind of skeletons are hiding in that closet?

Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

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