The Racialicious TV Round-up: Oct. 28-Nov. 8

By Guest Contributor Kendra James

Jamie Chung as Mulan on “Once Upon A Time.” Image via seat42f.com

The Roundup’s missed a few weeks due to NYCC, Hurricane Sandy and a weird flu bug, so, in addition to weekly news, we’ll be catching up with our favorite shows over the next few round-ups. As if I’d let a new season of The Vampire Diaries pass without comment.

Thanks for bearing with a shorter edition this week while we dive into our DVRs and I try and figure out why I love Nashville so much.

Once Upon A Time: Remember how I only started watching this show because of Sinqua Walls and Jamie Chung? My mistake. The lily-white town of Storybrooke took another step backwards when Walls’ Lancelott arrived and died within the span of two episodes. He lasted longer than Cinderella’s Black Obvious-Tribute-To-Whitney-Fairy-Godmother who died (she exploded) about 20 seconds into her appearance, and there’s still the opportunity for flashbacks (and given the “time management” excuses handed to those of us over in Teen Wolf fandom, there had better be), but at this point I’ve already forced myself to move on from this one. Lancelot’s gone for now, I’m never getting Aladdin or Tiana, and it seems patience is going to be key when it comes to Mulan’s backstory.

Guess I’m just here for Captain Hook, then.

The original cast of “Boy Meets World.”

Girl Meets World: So the Disney Channel is planning a sequel to Boy Meets World, which will focus around Corey and Topanga Matthews’ teenage daughter Riley and her best friend Maya. I’m ignoring this ransacking of my childhood on principal, but it’s worth noting that Disney is at least putting up a facade of inclusiveness.

The casting calls for both characters, but Riley’s most importantly, are open-ethnicity

[RILEY MATTHEWS] Please submit all ethnicities. 13 years old, indelible personality, an adorable girl on the cusp of whatever comes next in life, and wanting to rush into it head first. She is fiercely loyal to her friends, and spends most of her time juggling the obstacles that life throws her way, some of those being her father who is also her seventh grade history teacher, her mother who is Topanga, and her brother, Elliot, who is one grade older in school and in life experience and makes sure to always let her know it. But there is no obstacle in this girl’s world that can dampen her bright spirit and eternal optimism. Series Lead.

[MAYA] Please submit all ethnicities. 13 years old. Maya is Riley’s best friend and does not share Riley’s optimism. She is far darker and less trusting of the world. She is an only child and has never known her father, which immediately makes her relationship with both Riley and Cory Matthews very important to her although she’d never admit it. She is not a good student in school, but is a wonderful student of life and absolutely magnetic in attracting or intimidating the people in her sphere as she cares to. Dark and edgy, but just as fiercely loyal to Riley as Riley is to her. Which makes us want to believe that maybe there’s a good heart under the acerbic wit. Or maybe not. Series Regular

Plot Twist: Riley could end up being a trans-racial adopted child of the white Matthews clan. Not that I’m putting money down on that one or anything.

Shoutouts to Brian Williams: Finally, props to my No. 1 News Anchor Boyfriend, Brian Williams, and his unabashed dragging of Donald Trump last Tuesday night.

Donald Trump’s status as a ridiculous human being is well-documented by our own web colleagues, multiple cable pundits, and Jon Stewart, but sometimes it just warms the heart to see a member of the “mainstream” and (supposedly) unbiased media go in. This is, after all, a man who’s spent the better part of the past two weeks essentially attempting to blackmail the President of the United States. “Irresponsible” is the least of what we could be calling him, but I can’t even be mad. Poor Brian looked like he would have rather been sitting through a marathon of Whitney episodes rather than reporting on any of the nonsense coming out of Trump’s mouth:

On NBC, Brian Williams said, Trump has “driven well past the last exit to relevance and veered into something closer to irresponsible.”

Williams also read some of Trump’s dopey tweets on the air, then said, “So, that happened.”

Even better? Williams and Trump share a network. The office Christmas party should be fun this year.