美国国家公共电台 NPR From 'This Is Us' To 'Master Of None,' The Year's Groundbreaking TV Shows

 

RAY SUAREZ, HOST:

We're going to take a moment now to talk about some of the year's groundbreaking moments in television - well, groundbreaking according to our very own TV critic Eric Deggans. And a warning - this conversation may contain some spoilers, so if you're not caught up on "This Is Us" or "Master Of None," close your ears for a few minutes. Eric, welcome to the program.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE¹: Hi.

SUAREZ: The first show you want to talk about is "This Is Us." What was the groundbreaking moment for you?

DEGGANS: So to set the scene, this show is about three people born on the same day. Two of them are biological siblings². One of them is adopted into the family. And the one who's adopted into the family is an African-American male named Randall, and he has spent his life looking for his biological father. He finds him in the first season but then also loses him to cancer. And it comes at the end of this poignant³ episode that we saw in the middle of this year where they had spent time in his dad's Memphis home town. And then finally, the father, William, passes away in the hospital.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THIS IS US")

RON CEPHAS JONES: (As William Hill) You deserved the beautiful life you've made. You deserve everything, Randall, my beautiful boy.

DEGGANS: That's Ron Cephas playing William. And Sterling⁴ K. Brown played Randall. And this is just amazing work, two great actors working together. And fathers and sons are always a complicated business but especially for black men, who are so often separated. And so to see this storyline play out on a major successful TV drama, it was wonderful to see and very poignant.

SUAREZ: Eric, what show do you want to talk about next?

DEGGANS: Well, I want to talk about the Thanksgiving episode of "Master Of None." Now, this is the Netflix series starring Aziz Ansari, who a character close to himself - a performer who's trying to make it. But his best friend is an African-American woman who's gay, played by Lena Waithe. And this Thanksgiving episode shows the two of them hanging out together on successive Thanksgivings. They're best friends from high school. And she slowly starts to realize that she's gay and that she wants to come out to her mother, who's a very traditional, very strong black woman played by Angela Bassett.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MASTER OF NONE")

LENA WAITHE: (As Denise) Mom, I'm gay. Mom, why you crying?

ANGELA BASSETT: (As Catherine) I just - I don't want life to be hard for you. It is hard enough being a black woman in this world, now you want to add something else to that?

WAITHE: (As Denise) It's not like this was my choice.

DEGGANS: Now, Aziz Ansari asked Lena Waithe to co-write this episode because he said, you know, it's your story. You can tell it better than anyone. She won a comedy writing Emmy with him for this episode, the first black woman to win a comedy writing Emmy. It's so authentic⁵ and such a great exploration of a story that is not often told well.

SUAREZ: Now, the last show on your list is more of a one-woman show, right?

DEGGANS: Yeah. This is a show called "The Rundown With Robin⁶ Thede" that's on BET. People may remember Robin. She was the head writer for Larry Wilmore Show's on Comedy Central, "The Nightly Show." BET has given her a similar show but it's from the perspective of a black woman. And this show is drenched⁷ in black culture. Slate⁸ called it like black Twitter on TV and it is definitely that.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE RUNDOWN WITH ROBIN THEDE")

ROBIN THEDE: Attorney General Jeff Sessions has plans to solve America's opioid crisis, but the consequences are coming for black people faster than a killer⁹ in a horror flick¹⁰.

DEGGANS: So you can hear, Robin is talking about the politics of the moment but talking about it from the perspective of someone who's steeped in black culture. And even though some of the other shows, especially "The Daily Show," have done a good job of including the perspectives of people of color, Robin is an expert at writing the stuff from the ground floor. And she's an amazing TV talent, too. She's very engaging. And people don't expect a show like this on BET, so I was really glad to see them try it.

SUAREZ: Is there a new show coming in 2018 you're excited about?

DEGGANS: I'm a comic book geek, so the CW is going to do a show called "Black Lightning." It's going to be the first of the modern superhero TV shows to feature a black character, so I can't wait to see that. And FX is going to do "The Assassination¹¹ Of Gianni Versace" as the next installment¹² of its "American Crime Story" anthology. And people who remember when they did OJ Simpson and what a great show that was can't wait to see what they do with this story of a designer who was murdered in Miami.

SUAREZ: And unlike the bad old days, if you miss it, you'll be able to watch it over the next 40 years over some device. That's NPR TV critic Eric Deggans. Eric, thanks a lot. Happy holiday.

DEGGANS: Thanks for having me. Same to you.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

3 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

4 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

5 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

6 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

7 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

10 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

11 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

12 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。