“The Conners” PART 2

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The “He” in r1 is Johnny Galecki, BTW.

The show was better last night. It had some genuine laughs and decent acting in it.

How come Galecki is a gazillionnaire and cannot hire a personal trainer?

R4 cuz he's a gazillinoaire and gives two shits what folks think of him.

John Goodman has been pretty successful too in the movie world and Laurie Metcalf went on to become a Tony winner and Academy Award nominated actress.

I wish they would start grounding Jackie a bit more, like how she was in the earlier seasons.

Yeah, she was always a little high-strung and occasionally wacky, but still felt like a real person with dimension.

After season 6, she (and the writers) just dialed up and into this caricature that they haven't let go of since. She's the Kramer of the show now. Just wheel her in whenever they need a quick, cheap dose of comedic relief, instead of letting the comedy organically come from the situation.

But that's a writing issue, and so far the writing just hasn't been great.

I think there's a lot of potential to explore, but the writing has to be great to pull it off without Roseanne. One thing Roseanne was smart about is that she got great writers to write for the show...she demanded the best, and took risks on hiring new up-and-coming talent.

If Sara Gilbert really wants the show to succeed, she needs to start pulling every favor or connection to make sure she has the best writing team. Even if the actors are rusty, great writing can go a long way to elevating a sub-par acting performance.

I'm sorry, I really want to like her, but Lecy Goranson (Becky) must be the worst actress on television. It's plain awful to watch her. I thought she was great in Boys Don't Cry so I expected her to have matured acting-wise.

R7 Your post is 100% spot on. Roseanne was not afraid to hire (and fire) writers. I remember some DVD commentary on the Booker episode where he came back for Halloween in a moose costume and Roseanne said she wanted to go back in time and fire the writers. She was famously demanding, but it worked for the first 5-6 seasons when the show had some of the best writing on TV.

She was also capricious and nuts, r9, and THAT was responsible for the hideous writing of the rest of the series.

Last night's episode dipped over 20% to a score of 7.93 million viewers. Even with this dip, The Conners achieved ABC's highest Tuesday 8pm rating in 5 years.

[quote]How come Galecki is a gazillionnaire and cannot hire a personal trainer?

Because he's not gay and is not here for you to jerk off to him.

Poor Roseanne. The show is still a success without her fat dumb ass.

R13 Yup! Based on the ratings for last season's finale, this season's opener, and last night's episode, my guess the ratings are basically on par with what they would have been with Rosanne present. Personally I feel that even without Rosanne the show works well.

Hi Johnny! R12 Nice try.

I actually think the real Becky is a decent actress. Darlene is quickly becoming a very unlikable character. Like Ann Romano on ODAAT. Angry, shrill, harpy and harried single mom of two. Not entertaining.

I actually think Lecy is doing great. Metcalf needs to stop overacting. The plus to last night is that the old Darlene started to show up and that is a good thing.

Becky's sudden, unforeseen descent into alcoholism was ridiculous.

It's not the same without Roseanne. Dan came back from the dead, surely she can to. The ratings for this show isn't saying much about Tuesday night viewing fare.

Lecy is hillarious and I think is doing a great job in the reboot. John looked much better in the second episode. Wonder why they changed Marks teacher? Different actress last season... In fact, it was the same actress who played the part 30 years ago as Darlene's teacher ...strange that they'd only bring her back for one episode

To help fill the Roseanne void, it would be nice to see some old characters pop in...just to help fill out the continuity a bit.

David was a good start...but it would be nice to see others like Jackie's kid, Jerry (Roseanne and Dan's 4th child), maybe see Bonnie or the Tilden sisters...just to revisit them 20 years later.

But given that DJ (a principle cast member) has had all but 5 lines in two seasons, I doubt we'll be seeing that happen any time soon--if the show continues, that is.

I think Lecy is doing good. It's an extension of Becky from the earlier Roseanne. Believable and comforting... It's a shame what happened to Glenn tho. His Mark was fine. Nice behind on that one.

The writing is not anywhere close to the original series in its prime. It's on par with original season 8 (though not as bad as 9). This is true of the fist season of the reboot, so the loss of Roseanne isn't the explanation.

I think Lecy is doing really well considering the weak material. With stronger writing, she'd be great. Sara is doing as well as she can, she's not going to improve with better writing. But John and Laurie are really phoning it in and it's sad to see.

I did enjoy Juliette on last night's episode. Blue falls in the grand tradition of Kathy, Leon and and Arnie as great supporting characters who are perfect annoying foils to the leads.

[QUOTE]David was a good start...but it would be nice to see others like Jackie's kid, Jerry (Roseanne and Dan's 4th child), maybe see Bonnie or the Tilden sisters...just to revisit them 20 years later.

There’s not enough characters for you already?

Nobody comes clean ser to Ann Romano his season than the chick from I Feel Bad. I couldn’t finish the first episode:

Clean ser >> closer

First episode 10 million viewers. This week 7 million,

I think Lecy is doing really well and her scenes with Sara Gilbert are the best part of the show. Agree that Metcalf should tone things down a touch, but I still find her hilarious.

Too bad it wasn't revived on Netflix or somewhere else where they could have had at least 25-minute episodes instead of not even 21 minutes, which is what it is now. There are too many characters to get everything into 20 minutes. An extra four or five minutes of run-time would give every story and character a bit of breathing room.

r16 It seems to me that Becky will be taking the place of Roseanne's character, so your comment rings true.

I mean Darlene, not Becky.

In the first few seasons of Roseanne, Lecy's acting was excellent, she was the white trash golden girl, the hyper literate trailer trash Goddess. Sadly her character was never able to rise out of the trailer park. I always loved her acting and while Sarah Chalke tried, she could never match the grit and outspoken nature of the true Becky. In the new season Lecy is getting better, she is still quite stiff but she does have some emotional resonance.

[QUOTE]First episode 10 million viewers. This week 7 million,

Closer to 8 million, actually.

I laugh so hard at this scene.

The writing and comedy was so good back in the day.

Had many fond memories of the old Roseanne show. This was up there.

Are the still using chain smoker voice Becky or are the using the other Becky?

Lecy is doing a fine job. Last night’s episode was funny. This will be a success.

[QUOTE]Are the still using chain smoker voice Becky or are the using the other Becky?

There’s only one Becky. The real Becky. Her replacement is unworthy of the title.

This show is surreal. It has men who actually find Sara Gilbert attractive and want to have sex with her. On the second show a reasonably attractive guy approaches her to buy her a drink and compliments her on her "curly hair." Her hair looks like a wet mop that just been used to scrub a filthy floor. And of course she ends up spending the night with him. It is not to be believed.

Please. Do you know anything at all about heterosexual men? If this woman can find a boyfriend, I don’t think Darlene should have much of a problem.

Based on viewer ratings, I think season 3 (or 2?) will be announced soon. It's obvious that people still love The Connors,,even if we miss Roseanne

R38- I thought that too. I don't find Becky attractive but better than Sara. I think that was Justin Long too. His career really nosedived if that will be the extent of his involvement.

R18 - what 'sudden'? They've been alluding to it all along. They made jokes about her drinking last season. It wasn't a stretch. It was totally predictable.

I loved the character of Jackie in the early years as she struggled to find herself. Why did she leave the police force?

[quote]Because he's not gay and is not here for you to jerk off to him

*eyeroll*

R43- I think she got shot or injured in the line of duty. She had a nice boyfriend at the time, Gary, who wanted her to quit. She refused and they broke up. Then she decided to quit anyway. She really did self sabotage. I think she slept with Arnie after she saw Gary and his new girlfriend.

Is this the sink?

Looks like the future Honey Boo Boo at R39.

Yes r39, but the boyfriends should not look like Justin Long. It’s starting to remind me of the hot guys the Fats of Life, Julie Cooper, and that quirky Indian girl scored.

And, yes, the shows in which adorable slobs like Jim Belushi, Dennis Frank, Kevin James and the British guy from The Full Monty were paired with babe leading actresses were just as unrealistic- if only because the fat ducks were not even wealthy or smart. And funny only goes so far in a marriage.

Dennis Franz *

[quote]I think she got shot or injured in the line of duty. She had a nice boyfriend at the time, Gary, who wanted her to quit. She refused and they broke up. Then she decided to quit anyway. She really did self sabotage. I think she slept with Arnie after she saw Gary and his new girlfriend.

Yes, the police force wanted to re-assign her to a desk job after she got injured. Gary wanted her to quit because he was too worried about her. Jackie decided to break up with Gary, but quit the force anyway because she didn't want a desk job. The logic for this was really tortured. It was nice to see Jackie stand up for herself, but dumping a hot guy because he cares about you too much? She could have tried to work with him on his issues.

[quote]The logic for this was really tortured. It was nice to see Jackie stand up for herself, but dumping a hot guy because he cares about you too much? She could have tried to work with him on his issues.

Yeah, it was. I think both Jackie and Roseanne had perfectly valid points of view--Jackie's being more principled, Roseanne's being more pragmatic.

I think what that story arc made clear was how neurotic and self-sabotaging Jackie truly was, and how ill equipped she was to be in a stable long-term relationship--which, we learn later, was probably due to the physical abuse from her father.

R51 Nope. Jackie and Roseanne were never abused by their father. That was just stupid retconning by psychotic real life Roseanne. Nice try though.

I tend to agree that the writing for Metcalf went off the rails about 2/3rds of the way into the original run, and hasn't exactly recovered. I guess they feel they need to dial up her neuroses.

I'd love for the writers to explore who Jackie could be, away from the shadow of her older sister. Would be great for Jackie to both acknowledge how much she loved Roseanne and yet experience something good because the absence of Roseanne takes her onto a different path, and she meets someone new on that path.

The whole narrative for Roseanne and her family was never consistent. The whole last season never happened! Dan didn't die when it was stated he did. That is why I choose to ignore the ridiculous abuse from the father storyline crap. In the first five seasons Roseanne was never physically abusive to anyone. Then in season 6 is when her hatred of all men really started to show. The episode where she punches Fred HARD in the stomach when he threatens to sue for custody still pisses me off to this day. As many have stated Roseanne completely went off the rails in season 6, both in real life and on the show. That is why the whole reboot season 1 was a complete narrative mess. This season I think they will finally have some normalcy for all the characters, showing them at work and in their spousal relationships.

Yes, the retcons were annoying. Personally, I hate the retcon about Dan's mother being mentally ill and Dan's father being a good guy. There were several episodes about how Dan's father spent all of his time on the road and how he never spent any time with Dan growing up. Then they say that Dan's mother was crazy and Dan's father was justified in abandoning the family. It made no sense at all!

R55 Exactly. Plus Dan goes over to Crystal's and tears up their house! The fucker should have been in jail for doing that. But again, Roseanne herself was a complete psychotic mess, so no surprise she would write such unbelievable crap. I remember Debbie Reynolds appeared in one episode where she gets into a physical fight with Roseanne, on Roseanne's talk show in real life Debbie Reynolds mentioned how Roseanne broke some ribs for real in that fight but never sued Roseanne. I was horrified at that. More proof of how psychotic Roseanne was in real life.

R52...Maybe so, but I still think it was the one retcon that actually worked well by providing a lot of good material for the writers to work with, gave the characters some real pathos, and which led to some pretty deep, well-written episodes.

Yes, it was abrupt to see Roseanne's dad in seasons 1 & 2, portrayed as a harmless, lovable goof-ball, suddenly shift to being an absent father/child abuser that beat his kids (understandably, the actor who played him never reprised his role after that retcon), but I still think it was a good call for the show long-term.

It produced good shows, started a conversation about familial physical abuse (which a lot of blue collar people experienced growing up in the 50s/60s/70s) and it was a good plot device to understand Roseanne and Jackie 's motivations--like, why Roseanne distrusted men so much and why she was so angry all the time, and why Jackie was such a neurotic flake who couldn't form any longstanding attachments with men.

The other retcons sucked and were at the arbitrary whim of an unhinged real-life Roseanne...but I think this one ultimately played out for the betterment of the show.

R57 It doesn't really matter because there was no consistency in the Roseanne weltanschauung. So let's just leave it open to interpretation. I choose to not include real life Roseanne's psychotic delusions as having any basis in reality or on the TV show. Therefore, the abuse story lines were as relevant as season 9 and Dan's death and Becky marrying David. Season 1 through 5 were amazing. After that, who cares?

At least their dad gave us this.

I think a guy looking to pick up a woman in a bar would not look twice at aging, homely Darlene. He'd wait around for somebody younger and better looking to come in the bar and if that didn't happen he'd go home alone. Only somebody really hard up and desperate would want to go to bed with her. She really is that unattractive.

To those who don't think Justin Long would pick up Sara Gilbert, you're forgetting: this is flyover country. For any man in Lanford who is looking to date a woman over 35, Darlene would be a prize. She's a mid-west 8.

"For any man in Lanford who is looking to date a woman over 35, Darlene would be a prize. She's a mid-west 8."

Oh come on. There must be better looking women than her around. I can't believe they're ALL that fugly.

[quote]To those who don't think Justin Long would pick up Sara Gilbert, you're forgetting: this is flyover country. For any man in Lanford who is looking to date a woman over 35, Darlene would be a prize. She's a mid-west 8.

Honestly, I think they should have had Darlene come out as a lesbian. I know several lesbians who were married to men and had kids before coming out. It would make sense for Darlene's character arc and maybe Sara Gilbert would have some chemistry kissing a woman on the show. She certainly never had sexual chemistry with David.

Yeah - Darlene is entering Earth Mother Birkenstock Michfest Territory, and becoming less and less believable as a heterosexual love interest. Playing straight had/has never been a problem for other publicly known aging lesbians like Sarah Paulson, Holland Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, or Portia DiRossi. But, even though she’s not quite Lea DeLaria, having Sara Gilbert play a straight woman is becoming the equivalent of giving Ellen DeGeneres or Nathan Lane an opposite sex love interest. Hell, Rosie O’Donnell can pull off a sexually aggressive heterosexual woman better.

Will still watch, though:

R64 Gilbert's acting on Big Bang Theory as Leonard's temporary love interest was believable and funny. She could play a smart, nerdy, egghead hetero just fine. Maybe she is just not good at playing low class working people anymore.

I just watched the second episode. I prefer to look at it this way: instead of comparing it to the Great Roseanne run of seasons 1 thru 6, consider it a brand new show. It needs a few episodes evolve, settle down, and get it's footing. Of course it's nothing compared to the classic episodes - yet - I think this, the second episode, was just as good if not better than Roseanne Season 1, Episode 2.

Sara Gilbert might not be cut out or just interesting enough to be the lead. It seems like they're trying different things with her character. But I thought Johnny was excellent. He fell right back into character, and GIlbert's scenes with him were her best. If they continue that relationship, the show could start to work much better. This is the last season of Big Bang Theory, so if this season is successful enough, Galecki might be a regular next season.

And Lecy Goranson continues to be awarded with the funniest lines. i disagree with the criticism. I think her deadpan delivery is a riot. And I don't think her alcoholism is out of nowhere. They were steadily building it since the beginning of last season. And considering Becky's situation in life, (missed out on college, dead husband, not able to have children), her gradual descent makes total sense.

However, they MUST get rid of that horrible laugh track! That's deplorable!!

They need to have DJ die next. He's useless.

R61-You're nuts! She's nowhere near an 8, more like a 1.5/2. He'll Jackie would have been the more attractive choice. The Midwest and flyover states have beautiful women. You need to travel more.

True dat.

R68 = DJT

[quote][R64] Gilbert's acting on Big Bang Theory as Leonard's temporary love interest was believable and funny.

That was more than 5 years ago! A lifetime in actress years.

I think Gilbert is actually quite good considering how stiff and awkward she is on The Talk.

Gilbert is an introvert, most of them are stiff and awkward. She has always been a good actress.

The final numbers for the season opener finally came in a few days ago (this includes live and delayed viewings) to 12.9 million viewers which is higher than last season's finale. Still waiting on the final numbers from last week.

The Halloween episode will draw viewers because of the legendary episodes in the past.

And don't worry about Goodman; I like Galecki well enough, however he cannot hold a candle to Goodman in terms of career success: 95 films, countless TV series, Broadway successes, numerous iconic SNL appearances. Net worth of roughly $56 mil and still working. Galecki should hope to have HALF that career.

I do not understand how people like Lecy Goranson so much. She is uncomfortable to watch.

Are they going to have the same overblown Halloween celebration as in previous episodes of Roseanne? I always wondered where the Connors got the money for their elaborate costumes and Halloween frou frous.

R77 You fucks who take things literally are the worst kind of shithead. It is make believe, you stupid fuck.

R78 is SO upset. And over what? What a moron.

The episodes of original Roseanne and every other show are Halloween episodes. Even when dramas like Greys Anatomy did Halloween episodes they were my least favorite. I can't stand silly and even more unrealistic than most TV crap.

I caught a tiny bit of a promo where it appears that Goodman is dressed in some type of Hamilton looking costume. So it doesn't appear that they are going to sit around mourning Roseanne's absence for Halloween.

It just aired on the east coast. How was the Halloween epi? Was Steve Zahn Jackie's boyfriend or maybe her son?

Never mind. Steve Zahn was the original to play Jack's new BF but he dropped out. Now it is old lezzie Matt Broderick. Yuck.

I just realized Sara does the fucking laugh which Roseanne made famous during the credits except they didn't dub it in. Her production company is also front and center in the closing credits. She also (literally) took Julie Chen's place at the head of the table on The Talk. I can't stand this All About Eve bitch and I can't wait for this Darlene-centric shitfest to be cancelled.

Is John Goodman carrying a colostomy bag under those costumes?

This show has 15 full time characters so they add Juliette Lewis and now Matthew Broderick. How many characters can this show squeeze in? Who joins the cast next week?

Bring back Crystal, the snob neighbor, the rich lady, that hot bf of Jackie. The bingo lady with the rituals, and bonnie at Rodbells. Loved these funny characters.

Tonight's episode was a snooze fest. Then again so are most Halloween episodes on every show.

R86, oh yeah! That was one of my top ten episodes of the show! That bingo lady did a superb job

Darlene just is too dull to be the lead, I'm out.

[quote]The Midwest and flyover states have beautiful women

I live in a midwest area with a lot of Dutch/Swedish/Norwegian women and some of these women are so naturally beautiful they put the Hollywood starlets to shame. My niece is a beautiful cool blonde like Grace Kelly but she is an athlete and doesn't fuss with her looks. Anyway, just wanted to say that not all midwest women look like hicks.

R88, that was the awesome Edie McClurg!

R85, sometimes he walks as if he has a limp. He also sounds weak and seems like he's running on fumes.

I have a theory regarding Lecy and Michael's acting. In the original series they were always written a very specific way. It can be argued that Darlene was always suppossed to be Roseanne's successor within the family but Becky was always shown as rebelling against her parents. DJ was always underdeveloped but he was a cute kid. He has limited scenes in the new series but he does fine. Darlene was the most developed in the original series and she's the only one who continued to act in between the series.

R91, cool. Was she the nurse on an episode of the last season of the Golden Girls? She looks familiar from there and Small Wonder. She is irritatingly enjoyable.

Not R91 but yes, she was Sofia's nurse for an ep. I think most people remember her from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

I sort of get the feeling Laurie Metcalf doesn't want to be there.

Edie McClurg was also Herb's wife on WKRP

Jackie is so underwritten, she is too goofy

Jackie would be devastated by Roseanne's death if they were being consistent with the original show. So would Dan. They should have just had Darlene move to another house and make it the Darlene show.

Everyone talks about Jackie becoming a caricature in the later seasons but I think it began as a running joke when she became a cop. She kind of morphed into Barney Fife and she just carried on through her various careers thereafter with the same Barney the cop persona.

Just watched this laugh-free episode. Not one good bit of acting from anyone. Broderick was about as terrible as I would have expected. The crap about the school being PC was lame. Didn't the PC bullshit start around 1990? About 28 years too late. This episode shows it clearly cannot work without Roseanne. She was the one thing that made the show funny. At least in the first five seasons. Darlene is so annoying and pointless, there is nothing interesting about her or her he she son. The only reason last week was good is because of comedy veteran Galecki. The show is like a fish flopping around waiting to be put out of its misery. Huge fail. Terrible writing and direction.

Not sure if this has already been mentioned but Sara Gilbert's thin upper lip really bothered me in Season 10.. However, I was not as disappointed in her acting as others seem to be. I think she made some interesting choices. But that lip ...

Sara's acting deserves the shitbra

R94:

Nurse: You're "pussycat", too?

Dorothy: No! I'm pussycat 1. You're pussycat 2.

Last night's episode didn't really go anywhere. Nothing happened, except for an argument.

The Conner family members were arguing that political correctness has gotten out of control...a few months after the show fired Roseanne Barr for being...politically incorrect? What?

I haven't seen the episode yet, but I agree with whoever said that the family would be grieving more. I don't know if Roseanne was mentioned during the episode but Halloween would be a difficult time considering it was her favorite holiday. Dan most of all would be a mess for a while.

Agree with the Barney Fife theory. That is exactly how she acts now with her funny faces where she opens her eyes wide like Don Knotts did. Now I won't be able to get that out of my mind when she does it.

I agree, R106. I believe she was mentioned but the tone, as usual, was completely off. I don't think the producers (Gilbert being one of them) and writers understand the viewers miss Roseanne. Everyone knows why Roseanne the actor was fired but the show seems to think the character of Roseanne is indiscernible from its star.

Roseanne the character deserved better.

You're welcome, R107. LOL.

It's so obvious they're going to match Jackie and Dan up. It seemed like they were dropping hints during last night's episode. I did notice a nice ass on DJ during a scene. Who knew?

Who is the idiot poster comparing John Goodman to Johnny Galecki and saying he would be happy to have one half of the career? I don't know Johnny, but I'm sure he's quite happy making a million bucks a week and being on his second hit show.

To pain Dan and Jackie would be blasphemous and almost incestuous at this point.

Yes, I realize that the original series included an episode where Jackie moved into the Conner household for a week in Roseanne's absence, and Dan revealed to Jackie that he remembered what she was wearing when they first met (suggesting that he might have had a crush on her at one point early on). That whole episode was the result of Barr's refusal to show up on set, as she was protesting something (maybe salary), and the episode seemed to threaten that the show could do just fine without Barr.

R111, I'm not certain but I believe Roseanne appeared in the first scene of the show. I would assume if she had issues she would not have shown up for the taping.

I think The Conners will be cancelled. Only 1 additional episode ordered. Sorry, Matthew Broderick, you're out of a job.

Not surprising. It could have survived without Roseanne, but the writing had to be stellar to pull it off, and the writing thus far has been so bland and obvious.

They never should've brought it back to begin with, honestly, knowing Roseanne was even crazier now than during the original run. That was never going to fly long-term.

Now the legacy is tarnished and the show will be remembered for this reboot mess.

R111, yeah. Had to do with the dialogue. An Officer And A Gentleman was the episode.

"it’s notable for being a byproduct of the series’ notorious backstage battles. Following an escalating backstage war with Williams—who left the series after the first season to co-create Home Improvement—Barr boycotted an episode over some dialogue, so this episode was written around her. She appears only in the opening scene, when she leaves the house to visit her parents in Moline for a few days, and in the last scene, when she returns. "

Ratings were up last night over last week. So not RIP yet.

10-13 episode sessions are all were going to get from the actors.

I think last night was a salvaged episode that was probably written with Roseanne in mind. Darlene confronting the principle? That was totally written for Roseanne.

The show missed Roseanne. I fucking hate Barr for ruining this.

They shouldn't have given this show the first reboot.

In 1990, if someone had said in the future, Roseanne would be kicked out her show, Cosby in jail for rape, Trump president they'd wonder if you are crazy.

I'd love if they brought back Arnie for a few episodes. I cannot stand Tom Arnold, but it would be a big middle finger to Rosanne.

Just let it die.

There's lots of online speculation that the single extra episode ABC ordered is so they can do a proper finale.

Slightly OT, one of my favorite CSI episodes is about a murdered overweight TV actress who is a huge TV star in her own sitcom. Both the actress and the show could not possibly have been more obviously modeled on Roseanne. Even the star's husband is an obvious caricature of Tom Arnold. It's a deliciously bitchy episode.

I can't remember who the murderer turns out to be -- maybe her stand-in? -- but the leading suspects are her co-stars and her writers, who all have great motives to kill.

I thought the Halloween episode was boring as shit and in the show’s original run they were a highlight.

From Wikipedia:

"Two and a Half Deaths" is the sixteenth episode of the eighth season of the American crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation which is set in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It was written by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn in a crossover between CSI and Two and a Half Men.[1] The character of Annabelle is based on Roseanne Barr, who Lorre believed behaved poorly while he was running her eponymous blockbuster TV show; the title font for the show-within-a-show "Annabelle" is even identical to the one used for Roseanne. Lorre was the original producer for that show until he was pushed out. "

Chuck Lorre is worse than Roseanne. Everyone hates him- amazing that almost all of his shows had "difficult" stars.

The Halloween episode was weak. At this point, I don't think they have any idea what to do with any of the characters. They're kind of just meandering about. The whole bit with Darlene interviewing was unfunny. And putting in the whole cultural appropriation lecture scene just took any joy the should could have had out of it .

They should have just cancelled this last season. Last season wasn't great, but it had its moments, and the finale really reinforced what the heart of the original was about. The tone of this season is off and it's just coming off as desperate.

R124, I agree with you about Lorre, but that CSI episode was one of the most deliciously backstabbing revenge tales I've ever laughed through. Lorre told so many cunty tales out of school and spared no one.

The show is off this season because Darlene and her boring kids are now the focus. Laurie and her new beau were allocated about 10 seconds for the B plot but in reality, the entire episode was about Darlene & interview, Darlene & son, Darlene & family. John is now reduced to propping whatever family member needs a scene separate from Darlene.

Sara's a producer and she's obviously putting her ego before her responsibilities as a producer.

Last night's show sucked however Lecy was the only funny part.

At least this gig should score her future work.

Lecy's character makes me so very sad. They obviously decided to flip the characters of Becky and Darlene in order to make Darlene the responsible one. Becky would have found her way back from her teenage elopement to the point where she would have received her GED and moved on to a community college. I don't buy her at all in her current state and I think they made her a caricature (like the rest of them) in order to bring focus to Darlene as the mature adult and main character.

Darlene is obnoxious with her obnoxious parenting and obnoxious kids. Every episode is a lesson about the most stupid pointless shit. Where's the comedy ?

R129, I agree. Becky was a snob. Today, she'd be wearing expensive (or expensive-looking) clothes and jewelry, and always carrying around a Starbucks cup with her. She'd have a trendy haircut and would be glued to her smartphone. With Mark dead, she'd be pursuing a rich man, not working at a bar. The show should work out an arrangement for University of Phoenix to sponsor episodes where Becky works on her degree online.

And it makes no sense that Darlene would be applying for work as a waitress. She could take freelance writing gigs and work from home like most writers do.

I know that DJ is a vet...but what does he do for a living now?

R31 He restocks vending machines.

Sorry, that should be R131.

"And it makes no sense that Darlene would be applying for work as a waitress. "

Didn't she graduate from art school? Can't she find any work in that field?

He spent all of that goddamn time in the armed services and he never learned a trade? This is what bugs me about this reboot. Roseanne was about a working class, blue collar family but throughout the seasons they showed the varying degrees of their economic situation. Sometimes they were barely keeping their heads above water and other times they had money to lend to friends.

This reboot is nothing but depressing in the sense the writers intentionally wrote each and every one of these characters in the most pathetic light possible. Becky is a cliche lower-class bartender with the most ridiculous tattoo ever and Darlene is a stoic struggling single mother looking for work in fast food even though she holds a degree. There's no nuance to these characters. Nothing. It's all flat.

R135 Art degrees are pretty worthless. The portrayal is quite accurate I thought.

R136, wasn't she the writer of their graphic novels while David did the drawings? She should be able to make money as a freelancer.

I like the way the go-to joke now is to have an unemployable character work at Trader Joe's. I believe David mentioned working there during his last appearance.

R129 - Darlene DID turn out to be the mature one, going to college at 16 and being more responsible, while Becky married Mark and got a job at a Hooters clone. Becky chose the blue collar route with Mark, and losing Mark is probably a key reason why her life is as shitty as it is. I think she's also supposed to be like her aunt Jackie - a bit of a flake and never sticking with opportunities. I don't see where the writers have 'flipped' their characters at all - anyone who watched the entire original show would know that's not true.

Here's the thing- I dont think anyone-including the cast and crew expect this show last multiple seasons. Remember, the only reason this show exists in the first place is because the cast and crew signed contracts for an 11th season. When Rosie went all David Duke and got the show cancelled, everyone's biggest concern was the crew who were now out of a job. I honestly dont see this show going to a season 3. The rating are fine, they're actually on par with the end of Roseanne but I think it'll be too expensive to keep Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman which will ultimately kill the show because.. Darlene and Co. Arent enough to sustain the show. Unless Darlene realized she's a lesbian and Rosie O'Doneel joined the cast as her on again-off again girlfriend.

[quote]...wasn't she the writer of their graphic novels while David did the drawings? She should be able to make money as a freelancer.

If not that, surely she has enough qualifications to easily land a basic clerical job with benefits? Maybe at the local county office, high school, or even DMV?

Getting a job as a writer is tough, but I know a lot of people with art degrees who earn their living primarily doing office work, just to pay the bills.

As a college graduate, with work experience in publishing, Darlene would be at the top of any applicant pool in a small town like Landford. No way would she be stuck having to work as a waitress or casino bar hostess.

It was believable seeing Roseanne, Jackie and Dan constantly struggle to get work because they only had a high school education with no real job skills to fall back on (aside from Dan's construction experience). Expecting us to believe that Darlene, who has infinitely more advantages than her parents did, would be struggling the same way they did to find a decent job.

[quote]If not that, surely she has enough qualifications to easily land a basic clerical job with benefits? Maybe at the local county office, high school, or even DMV?

Or copy editing at the newspaper/website?

Funny the mentions of Edie McClurg because although I remember her from that "Roseanne" episode, she is most famous to me because she played Mrs. Poole on "Valerie" and after they killed Valerie Harper off, four more years on "The Hogan Family."

It's really interesting speculating where these characters would be. Becky was a bit of an enigma. She was very rebellious but she was also a good student and mostly responsible. If she went to college I have no doubt Mark would have been history by the time the first semester ended. So I sort of think she would've eventually ditched Mark and revamped her life. Even while married to Mark Becky still had ambition. The fact that Mark is currently dead and she has no kids or anything to tie her down, I just don't buy she would remain in Lanford and be a bartender at a dive bar. Darlene would be more successful as well. I never really bought her married to David with kids. She should've come out as a lesbian and become a successful artist. DJ was always a bit of a blank.

I think they want to keep the show about the working class, but it really didn't need to be. Like Roseanne said in the original, she and Dan always felt that it was their responsibility as parents to improve the lives of their children by 50% over their own. Maybe they raised them more leniently, but in the end the kids seem to have done worse than their parents as adults. I'd love to see how the Bowmen kid turned out with the totally opposite parenting style of Dan and Roseanne.

One thing is for sure, Darlene remains a huge bore. For me, she was never interesting on the original so she and her dreadful family have zero appeal. Becky was always the more entertaining child on the show. While I don't think LG's acting is that great on the reboot, she does have the most potential for storylines. Jackie could be interesting as well. Sara Gilbert should put aside her ego and take a step back if she wants the reboot to succeed. I'm usually about a small core cast, buy they might want to bring on Andy and Jerry. If for nothing else than to infuse some hottness into the show, which they could really use.

Isn't Lanford supposed to be near Chicago? Can't any of them go to Chicago and get better jobs?

I think rather than be a comedy show, their first intention was to be a propaganda show. So Darlene represents single mother raising kids. This doesn't serve the character very well because she could be a more interesting character without that "message" baggage. I could see Darlene being a blogger or working for a blog like Huffington Post or Jezebel. Or being a designer for a billboard company.

I think part of the problem is that they are trying to cover too many stories. The original was about Roseanne and everything revolved around Roseanne. So we saw her working at the plastics factory, we saw her working in Rodbells as a waitress, etc. Now they are trying to have too many characters as the center of attention and it's too fractured.

"I think rather than be a comedy show, their first intention was to be a propaganda show. "

Bingo. They started this reboot going so far out of their way justifying why someone like Roseanne would become a Trumpeter that they took all the characters down storylines that don't all make sense. What happened to the diner that was doing well last we knew? Dan had a great job working for the town. DJ and his wife served in the military, why don't they have benefits and skills that improve their situation? Darlene in the original series started good paying graphic design work, which is work that can be done at home for a single mom--what happened to that? And so on. The implication was supposed to be that ALL of their lives just suck so much now thanks to presumably Obama that of course Roseanne would welcome someone like Trump, but it doesn't add up.

I'm generally disappointed when I hear artists perform live, because they rarely sound as good in person as they do with all the sound mixing and editing that's done on their recordings. One exception was Natalie Cole, who sounded amazing.

One of the worst performers I ever saw was Helen Reddy. This was waaaay back when she had just hit with "I Am Woman," and was playing Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. By then, she had basically had just the one hit, so she didn't have a lot in her repertoire and tried to draw the time out with banter in between each song. I'll never forget her talking about how she was remodeling her kitchen. Zzzzzz.

For all you people who claimed to watch the original show, Darlene was not the artist. David was. Darlene was a writer. Yes, that lends to the point she could get a clerical job, but everyone who keeps suggesting she freelance as a graphic artist are fucking morons.

Dan left his secure job to go back to drywalling. Some big government contract of some kind I believe. Of course, we learn in the series finale he died shortly after he left his position. But with the reboot that all went away. I believe the original series finale was supposed to leave us with the realization Roseanne is now a blue-collar widow who was left without spousal benefits or any sort of financial safety net.

That would have been a proper set up for the reboot but they brought Dan back from the dead so their 2017 economic situation had no backstory of how they got there; except to say the Midwest became Trump country in order to explain their current economic downturn.

[quote]I believe the original series finale was supposed to leave us with the realization Roseanne is now a blue-collar widow who was left without spousal benefits or any sort of financial safety net.

The new series should have started with Roseanne being sued for stealing the loose meat recipe.

In the original series, Darlene is offered a good-paying job as a copywriter or something similar. There's a whole episode about the tension it creates now that the family perceives Darlene as being in a higher economic class than the rest of them. Per the reboot, she's let go from whatever decent job she had in Chicago, but zero explanation why Darlene isn't to find another job with her skills.

The Roseanne's Dead show finished dead last in the ratings this week.

Are you honestly surprised?

There's another thread stating the ratings are UP!!! In actuality, they did come in dead last behind CBS and NBC, their big Halloween episode (ep 3) was down 5M from the series premiere but their 18-49 demo is good so that's what everyone keeps touting. But to start with 12.4M viewers and to be at 7.4 (may adjust up) by ep. three is not good. 40% drop.

Goodman is here in his hometown, St Louis, to receive a lifetime achievement award at the St Louis Film Festival. He was interviewed on local TV last night and spoke very candidly about missing Roseanne on the series but preserving jobs. He is really well liked here, always has been.

BTW, "Imo's" is a local pizza chain that specializes in thin crust pizza topped with "provel" cheese.

[quote] And it makes no sense that Darlene would be applying for work as a waitress. She could take freelance writing gigs and work from home like most writers do.

This has to be the funny line in this thread.

R154, why is that funny?

Whatever Darlene studied to be, artist, writer, whatever, the point is she should have a career right now instead of working a job. Nothing rings true of these characters. Roseanne provided the central orbit and now they are just all over the place and that's not helping matters either.

[quote]There's another thread stating the ratings are UP!!! In actuality, they did come in dead last behind CBS and NBC, their big Halloween episode (ep 3) was down 5M from the series premiere but their 18-49 demo is good so that's what everyone keeps touting. But to start with 12.4M viewers and to be at 7.4 (may adjust up) by ep. three is not good. 40% drop.

The demo is all the network looks at. That's all that matters. That's what makes or breaks a series. That's what advertisers spend their money on.

Yes, I understand that R157, but eventually, as the viewing numbers go lower and lower the demo will eventually follow. I don't understand how a 30-year-old series reboot is so popular with 18-49 set. If I didn't know better I'd think someone was manipulating the final numbers. Not internally, but possibly politically motivated.

" I don't understand how a 30-year-old series reboot is so popular with 18-49 set."

Because people from about 38-49 remember the original series from watching it first run. And because the reruns of the original series have beenvery popular. The reruns were airing on 3-4 networks for years until Roseanne's firing.

How many writers do you know who are earning a living as a writer?

Ask the untalented writers on staff at ABC, R160.

As someone mentioned upthread Darlene was offered a position while she was still attending school. "Writer" is a very broad term and while most don't achieve success as novelists they do make a decent living in less glamorous writer-adjacent jobs.

I know a good number of people who make their living writing. Grant writers, communications people at nonprofits, PR people, people who write for newspapers, bloggers.

Advertising agencies still employ copywriters, Darlene would be perfect for that. However, she was snappier as a child, she is quite dry as an adult. I could actually see her as some sort of medical tech person or a dental hygienist, something along those lines.

r124 Lorre is one of the most loyal bosses I've ever witnessed in Hollywood. He really takes care of his people, sometimes to a fault.

You can almost see Metcalf thinking "I just won back to back Tonys and I'm returning to Broadway next year. Could we just move this along and then cancel it so I don't have to look bad for quitting the show."

There will be no season two for the Conners.

Love her or hate here, there is no success without Roseanne.

Nest you will be telling me most actors and musicians are gainfully employed in their fields.

Everything else at abc besides this show is in the toilet

They're fading, R168. It's just a matter of time.

[R9] that's interesting, given Clooney just wore a moose costume this Halloween.

I expect this to be among the first one to be renewed by ABC. One reason - it's ABC's top rated show! Or you can just say the rating of the rest of ABC's shows really suck. lol.

The Connors is the second-highest rated comedy on TV and ABC's biggest comedy success. Still. Even with ratings drops. The show will be renewed, whether you think it's creatively strong or not.

And Laurie Metcalf is doing the show because she wants to. More specifically, she wants the money. Sure, maybe she's not thrilled with everything, but she wants, and needs, the show to be a success.

Doing 12 eps of The Connors a year nets her 4.5 million dollars, and still gives her nine months of the year to follow other passion projects that may not cover the bills as nicely as The Connors does. Laurie Metacalf can have complete artistic freedom for nine months of the year, and if she's smart with the money she's making right now, and if it goes on for a while, it may allow her to have complete artistic freedom for the remainder of her life. You think she doesn't want to keep that sweet setup?

I don't know if LM is happy doing the show or not, but I seriously doubt she needs the money that badly. The original is syndicated and has aired constantly for over 20+ years. She has also consistently done film, tv and Broadway. I think she is probably very financially secure at this time and probably invested well.

Laurie said she's a workaholic. She can't function if she's not always working. She will do the show if offered.

Laurie is also not on speaking terms with Roseanne anymore. The only member of the cast still speaking to Roseanne is John. The rest of the cast has completely cut her off.

I would not be surprised if the characters of Leon and Nancy are brought back.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

I think it would be wise to beautify the cast up instead of bringing in more aged, unattractive former cast members. It's one of the most unattractive casts I've ever seen. Get a few hunky guys in the family at least. They have family members missing, so just cast some good looking 20-30 somethings. Like Growing Pains knew the actor who played Ben wasn't aging well and wasn't going to take over the hunk role from Kirk Cameron, so they bought on Leo DiCaprio. I know people think thos cast look like everyday people, but there are very good looking working class people all over the country and this is a tv show. Ironically these are Hollywood actors that are just plain homely.

R178, that's why Lecy, Sara, and Michael didn't sustain their career momentum after Roseanne ended. I'm sorry but they were child actors who now have neither the acting chops nor the charisma to be on a network television series in 2018.

Removing the star and then trying to fill in the huge hole with Darlene and her kids, - and Lecy and Michael now garnering more airtime are what's making this show so very boring and painful to sit through.

Actors work, even on shitty sitcoms, because thats what they do for a living - act. They can't pay the bills if they don't, and I'm guessing most become accustomed to a certain lifestyle. Which, you guessed it, takes money.

God, that People magazine cover is hard on the eyes. What an ugly group of actors.

[quote]Who can blame her after they all threw her under the bus except for John.

Laurie and Sara did not. Roseanne royally fucked up their show. She is a piece of garbage who has been a liability their entire careers.

[quote] that's why Lecy, Sara, and Michael didn't sustain their career momentum after Roseanne ended.

Lecy has degrees and is educated, Sara has multiple shows and is a mega successful producer. Michael, I'll give you. Roseanne has never had a career. She's the biggest loser of the bunch aside from Michael. Everything she ever did outside of the show bombed.

Sara was the driving force behind getting Roseanne back on television. Roseanne was shit out of luck. She blew it.

ABC would like to renew for season 2 but availability is the issue.

"[The Conners] done quite well in the ratings thus far, but it has a limited episode count, because of the principal cast’s limited availability."

The premier episode did 12.5 million in live +3 - is unfair to compare the third episode live ratings to the first episode live +3 ratings. And it was up from episode 2 to 3. That doesn't happen very often.

A lot of Sara apologists and Roseanne haters in this thread. R183, spin it any way you like Sara only worked when she knew someone connected to a production. If not she had a one ep appearance. That she sold that rip-off of The View and then placed herself at the table says volumes about her. There's no way in hell that monotone nasally walking coma would be hired as a co-host on a talk show.

Sara made Roseanne not the other way around. Sure thing, R184.

R185's article shows the spin for their imminent cancellation has already begun. Yes, availability, that's the ticket.

R186, even if it adds 500,000 on + 3 they're hemorrhaging viewers. They may have had an uptick from ep2 to ep3 because it was the famous Halloween ep, which sucked by the way.

Lecey, Sara and Michael are not bankable commodities. Let's call it as it is and move on, shall we?

I always felt, now that Roseanne is gone, that the focus of the show should be shifted to Lecy and Sara's sibling relationship. They have decent chemistry.

Laurie and John are old and their characters have run their course, storyline-wise.

Turn the show from a family sitcom into a Lavern and Shirley set-up. Two working-class gals trying to make it on their own.

They need to develop a new focus for the show. Right now everything is fragmented and unfocused.

R187 speaks the truth.

They need a young cool male hipster character.

Meant for Baldwin thread.

[quote]They need a young cool male hipster character.

Yes, they should hire Nico Tortorella as Andy!

When someone posted here a few weeks ago that Mary Steenburgen was reading from cue cards I thought that person was a loon. However watching this week’s episode Matthew Broderick was clearly reading from a cue card during his introduction scene! It seems like they scrambled to put out these post-Roseanne episodes...and it shows.

R187 is a bit of an idiot. It will probably add 2 to 2.5 million in live +3. That's fairly typical.

The only show in the last few years to not drop 20% of their premiere audience almost immediately was Empire. Everything drops. That's the way it works.

To be in cancellation territory, the show would have to drop about 50% from where it is NOW. That's the part you Trump idiots don't understand.

To be clear, I think the show lost something with the departure of Roseanne. Right or wrong, she was the show. It feels off.

But the ratings are the ratings. Don't use them to prove a point if you have no idea how they work.

Excuse me, R194? Because I don't care for the show you're assuming I'm a Trump voter? Those who immediately put down and categorize others as you just did says more about your myopic view of the world than it says about my supposed political beliefs. Let's wait and see the live +3 numbers, shall we? This is Us is beating The Conners in the 18-49 demo by the way.

I thought Michael Fishman was pretty close to Roseanne. He went to visit her nut farm when she did that reality show.

You think, R197, because you see something on TV it's true. He was a guest star, maybe a ratings ploy as well, her counting on people being curious to see what he is now as an adult.

Yes, whenever a struggling series needs a ratings boost, there's only one man to go to: Michael Fishman.

It’s such a bizarre circumstance to be in for all involved and it was dealt with horrificly

DJ's fundie wife is worth a watch

[quote]DJ's fundie wife is worth a watch

Maybe a Timex…

No Conners tonight - ABC election coverage.

Most likely to be renewed.

I'm just happy I don't have to hear Roseanne yell Becky! Anymore. Damn that was annoying!

Darlene: “Quit treating me like I’m Becky! I’m not Becky!”

Roseanne: “So...what are you saying, Becky?”

R206 I just saw that episode on Prime last night. Dark Ages I think it was called. When the Conners can't afford to pay the electric bill so it gets cut off.

[quote] I just saw that episode on Prime last night. Dark Ages I think it was called. When the Conners can't afford to pay the electric bill so it gets cut off.

"Middle class was fun."

R208

Darlene: mom wants me to go on the pill because Becky had sex.

Dan: ugh, I don't think that'll work.

🤣

You keep changing the goal posts, r196. The Conners is doomed! Ratings are in the toilet!

Wait, they aren't?

Well, then, it's still getting beaten by the number three show on television. Why is The Conners only the number #4 ranked show?

Yeesh.

Roseanne was always close with the kids from the show. She mostly kept them shielded from her antics and living like regular kids. And they all grew up fine, so it must have worked.

Changing what goal post (so original, by the way), R210? I believe the correct phrase is "Keep MOVING the goalpost."

I'm just giving you the facts. The Conners was beating This Is Us in the 18-49 demo, they've now flipped positions. This Is Us is a proven commodity now in its third season while The Conners is a freshman show airing three episodes. I predict their ratings (and share) will continue to erode as the show (did I mention?) sucks. The show has too many characters, the writing is a shadow of its former self and Sara is no Roseanne.

Well, I'm watching now and did not when Roseanne was on the show. I can't be the only one.

[quote]Roseanne was always close with the kids from the show. She mostly kept them shielded from her antics and living like regular kids.

What???? Those kids had parents and families. They didn't live with her. Roseanne's own kids are fucked up in the head.

I don't think Roseanne's kids are fucked up at all. I've never heard one drug story or arrest about any of them.

I think Roseanne's RL kids are too stupid and lazy to even know how to buy drugs.

I know two of Roseanne's daughters Jessica and Jennifer Pentland co-wrote at least one episode of Roseanne.

Roseannes real life kids are pretty well adjusted. Jenny Pentland is on Twitter - she's super liberal, but very close with her mom.

If you don't believe me r213, you're welcome to look it up yourself. Roseanne was always very protective of Lecy, Sarah and Michael. That's pretty well known.

Either way, r211, This Is Us is the number three scripted show on TV (behind Big Bang and The Walking Dead), and The Conners is currently number 4. It's way above anything else on ABC. You have to stretch the numbers pretty fucking far to label it a loser. So stop trying.

[quote]If you don't believe me [R213], you're welcome to look it up yourself. Roseanne was always very protective of Lecy, Sarah and Michael.

She told them not to go to college. Fuck off. You're a fucking idiot.

[quote]Roseannes real life kids are pretty well adjusted. Jenny Pentland is on Twitter - she's super liberal, but very close with her mom.

Because she's liberal she's well-adjusted?? The kids were on drugs and never went to school and they don't work and live off Roseanne, and the son is a Nazi fuck.

I tried again with this show tonight and I just can't get into it. Sara does not have what it takes to carry this or any show. Although I'm glad for John Goodman that he lost weight and is healthier he's just not the same, no vitality or energy just a ghost of former Dan. DJ can't act and no chemistry or connection with actress who plays his wife. Poor use of Laurie's talents. Lecy is decent. I don't know, whole thing is disjointed and pointless to me and not funny.

I’m fine with the cast, but the pacing is really off. It feels liked they rushed to get all of the episodes out in time for the fall schedule.

EXCLUSIVE

Producer Sara Gilbert having trouble paying John Goodman & Laurie Metcalf

[quote]Now that the audience has disappeared along with the star, the only way to keep the show profitable is to ask both John and Laurie to take a pay cut

R222 does it work that way? They've signed a contract. Isn't their deal with the network, which is obligated to pay? If the advertisers don't want to pay for commercials, then doesn't the network absorb the loss?

And they're probably going to lose a few more advertisers with the anti-religious comments in tonight's episode. Note: you can be atheist without being insulting.

It's really starting to sink. That scene in the church was RIDICULOUS: Jackie in the stupid HAT, repeating that same line four times (!) and the whole thing only lasting about a minute. Same with the group therapy: not funny, and only lasting about two minutes. A wasted opportunity for Goodman to show some real emotion. Not his fault, of course, or Metcalf's either: the writing is just so BLAND and ridiculous. That gay kid is so obnoxious, can't act at all - that scene at the mall was AWFUL. Why even bother to change scenes? And then Goodman and his friends burst into "Workin' in a Coal Mine" at the end? WTF was THAT? With Jackie dancing around? TERRIBLE.

The original show had moments of seriousness, and real life dramatic touches at times, something completely lacking in this show. Sloppy writing, tacked on scenes, and worst of all, NOT FUNNY. Somewhere on her macadamia farm, Roseanne must be RELIEVED she's not involved in this mess.

R224, you’re so right. Tonight was the worst.

R222 that’s Trumps National Enquirer. Fuck off.

I agree with R220. I lost any interest half way through. Sara taking over the lead is one of the things that's dragging it down. DJ and his wife have zero chemistry and she is bitchy on top of that. It's really aimless and pointless.

I can't take the laugh track it's so fake and loud it distracts from the dialogue which may be a blessing but still.

As for Sara, I swear the writer(s) wrote what should have been Roseanne's lines and punchlines and gave them to Darlene. You may not think Roseanne was a great actress but she damn well made that character her own and you knew exactly how she'd deliver a punchline which made it all the funnier. Darlene is just not a lead character no matter how much they try to make her Roseanne 2018.

DJ is married to a humorless and controlling bitch. The fun never ends with this hilarious couple. I think we'll be seeing DJ's balls hung on the Christmas tree this year. Spousal intimidation is almost as hilarious as Mommy dying! Mine that comedy gold, writers.

Becky acts like her doctor gave her an endless supply of anti-depressants but if she misses a dose she'll kill herself within the hour. Until then she's a wise-cracking, drinking before church, manic bitch. Strippers? Let me get my coat!!

John Goodman is a great actor but his walking death appearance is jolting especially when Dan actually shows signs of life. But why would Dan show signs of life when his one true love is dead? Yes, the laughs never stop on The Conners. Mom's dead! Cue the laugh track.

Laurie is still channeling Barney Fife and has become the writers' MAGA-hating vessel. Let's pay Laurie 375,000.00 per ep and have her sit in the church as an extra and then prop the cross-dressing (but wearing pants and a cap) brat kid actor by having her yell at and chase Republicans in the mall.

Good going, Channing.

I hate DLers who post misleading headlines like Sara Gilbert "having trouble" paying John and Laurie. BS clickbait.

R29 is this better: Sara Gilbert having trouble filling Roseanne's shoes.

[quote]I can't take the laugh track it's so fake and loud it distracts from the dialogue which may be a blessing but still.

Except it's shot in front of a live audience. Anyway.

[quote]Good going, Channing.

Huh?

R231, it's enhanced and a track is added.

R232, Channing Dungey is the president of the ABC network. She made the decision to fire Roseanne and then greenlight The Conners.

It was boring, I prefer the show after it with all the boys

Sara should use a chunk of that budget to bring in Joss Whedon as a script consultant.

DJ's wife is the most annoying, loathsome character on TV this season. I want to kick her in the cuntbone. She is very distracting.

The highlight of the episode was when Dan affectionately mimicked Roseanne's voice nagging at him. I thought the script was pretty true to Dan's character, keeping his emotions locked up, taking to his bike.

I feel like the episode missed out on a chance to connect two plot lines. Dan is looking for some comfort and closure as he mourns his wife. His daughter-in-law is desperate to get the Conners to go to church with her. But Dan didn't go. What if she had taken only Dan with her to see if he might find some peace that way. It was worth a try. (If the producers wanted to be really edgy, they could have made him turn into one of those religious nuts who constantly preaches the gospel after suddenly "finding God".)

This show needs more plot lines. The obvious route is for Darlene and Becky to be the new Roseanne and Jackie. I think they were always destined for that, even in the 80s/90s. Darlene should be forcing Becky get off the alcohol, like Roseanne would have made Jackie give it up. Becky should get a new love interest, and Darlene should meddle. Dan should try to stay out of it best he can, just like he did in the original series.

I still enjoy it. I’m liking Becky a lot. Darlene was the defacto new Roseanne so she’s settling in but she’s still the old Darlene I loved. Jackie can be annoying most of the time.

Sara should be on in very, very, very small doses. They need tighter storylines and I've said upthread, bring in eye candy. When I was a kid Mark was a ray of sunshine, from a physical standpoint. They also need to get rid of DJ's wife. I don't mind DJ, but if he's going to be a doormat, frankly a pussy, then write him out. His interaction with the wife was painful to watch and they have zero chemistry. Let it focus on Jackie, Becky and Dan. Get rid of Sara's kids, DJ's family and bring in Jerry and Andy. Tone down trashy Becky and give her a love interest. She should be living with Dan, not Darlene. They only way to make this show better is to not have Sara as the star, but that's not going to happen.

DJ's wife is pretty typical of that military ilk, and after money, religion is often at the root of many relationship problems. Gone are the days when religion was treated as a personal choice, especially where children are involved. In this case, it was more an experience the Mom shared with the daughter, and DJ drooped the ball while she was gone and obviously looking forward to sharing church with her kid again.

Poor old John Goodman. Upsetting to watch him now.

Well, this latest episode was completely laugh-free.

"I can't take the laugh track it's so fake and loud it distracts from the dialogue which may be a blessing but still."

I noticed on the first show that the live audience laughed too heartily and long at even the lamest jokes. Are they served cocktails before the taping starts? Maybe that's why they're so easy to laugh: they're drunk.

Murphy Brown uses a fake laugh track too. Terrible. Unwatchable.

Cancel or end it this season. Pitiful, not funny and John Goodman looks older than Estelle.

TV Ratings Tuesday: ‘The Conners’ falls.

The Conners (ABC)t1.5/7t6.90

Roseanne: Season 10.

Yet it still has one of the highest viewerships for Tuesday night.

No, R248, it's third in its timeslot behind CBS and NBC and their 18-49 demo has dropped to a 1.5/7 share from its debut of 2.4/10 share. NBC's The Voice is now beating it in the 18-49 demo. It's sinking.

R243, Central Casting casts people as "audience laughers" strategically placed to laugh loudly and enthusiastically at every joke to get the crowd going. I'm sure the first episode had more than usual. I earned my pay trying to get Suddenly Susan to seem like The Golden Girls.

I laughed hard at Becky's "let me get my coat!" line. Lecy is great this season.

No, r249, is second in its time slot and third on the night.

The radar story is fucking ridiculous. ABC doesn't pay actors based on what the weekly ratings are. trumpettes are so fucking stupid.

R252, I'm quoting TV By the Numbers not the Radar Online article. Facts are facts. Numbers are numbers. The show is sinking like a rock deal with it. Your precious 18-49 demo has fallen off dramatically. It beats CBS by .01 yet their numbers are almost twice that of The Conners.

8 p.m.t The Voice (NBC)t1.6/7t8.80 The Conners (ABC)t1.5/7t6.90 NCIS (CBS)t1.4/6t12.33

And yet it's still the number 3 comedy on TV after Young Sheldon and BBT.

Let's see where it ranks at the end of the season, shall we?

Ratings don't always guarantee renewal. Some shows are just better off gone, like this one.

ABC prez Channing Dungey was just fired. Roseanne will ALWAYS get the last laugh. I can't wait for The Conners to follow their leader Channing into well-deserved obscurity.

Why did this sensitive black woman exec step down/get fired?

She was fired but allowed to step down. They revealed her replacement to the press an hour after she announced she was stepping down.

How come she was fired?

[quote]How come she was fired?

Because she's a black woman in a white man's world.

No, R261 it's because she failed miserably at her job.

The ABC season is bad, but it has been bad for years -- so I don't see it as any worse because of her and still can't understand why she was installed in the first place, and why she has been removed.

I read a while ago Shonda Rhimes threw her weight around (no pun intended) in order to have Channing take over as ABC prez. but Shonda left ABC I believe last year, for Netflix so who knows. Channing had been with ABC for over a decade when she was promoted so maybe she just worked her way up.

I can't get used to skinny Dan.

What happened to Jackie's house she had in old show?

Don't know if it's the writing or the actress or both but not feeling DJ's wife.

So Justin Long is history already?

Is it wrong that I come here every week to complain about this show but yet I still watch?

I always liked Justin Long. Hopefully he lives up to his name.

JFC, another long and boring Darlene has a job interview. She is not Roseanne so stop writing Roseanne's punchlines for this boring bitch.

This show is so sleazy now. I know in the original series Jackie had her fun but Becky whom I assume is supposed be Jackie 2nd generation (which makes absolutely no sense) just comes across as a really low-rent slut.

Darlene's new love interest looks like a young Dan.

Wher'ed they find that lesbian who can't act to save her life? Did she win a contest or something?

r269 that's Jay R. Ferguson. From Evening Shade, Mad Men and The Real O'Neals and Living Biblically (both cancelled).

Thanks r271, I knew he looked familiar. He's Mad Men's Stan.

Well, get ready for your third strike, Jay R. Ferguson.

[quote]Channing had been with ABC for over a decade when she was promoted so maybe she just worked her way up.

Before she merger she was reportedly supposed to get a bigger role at the company but post the merger they wanted her to stay in her current position come next year and she wasn't having it. They wanted her to stay but she felt slighted and wanted out.

Is Becky supposed to be an alcoholic or not? It's like the show can't decide on whether she should be a fun time party girl or someone with a serious addiction.

I don't buy that, R274. I read the same thing but why would she give up such a powerful position when it's doubtful she will ever attain that level again? I think she was pushed out and was allowed to give the usual exit interviews (or PR release) where she saves face.

[quote]I read the same thing but why would she give up such a powerful position when it's doubtful she will ever attain that level again?

I'd think that too if, unlike the rest of the people who were pushed out including her boss, her contract wasn't up at the beginning of the year. She allegedly went with the early expiration. The timing makes sense. Not a single source has said that it wasn't anything but [italic]her decision alone.[/italic] However, with everyone else, they were clear that it was related to the merger. People really dug into this and if there was something juicy there I think we would have gotten an inkling of it.

Also I don't think Karey Burke is a worthy replacement on Dungey's level coming from Freeform. I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up working with Shondaland over at Netflix since her success was so closely tied to her. Her handling of the Roseanne debacle (or even giving her a show in the first place) and the Inhumans were her biggest missteps but she coasted on what she did by bringing them Shonda's programming and The Good Doctor.

So Becky's baby is going to be adopted by a lesbian couple. How convenient! How topical! How liberal! How contrived and lame!

I agree with you on the Shonda connection, R277.

And don't forget...the baby's father is an immigrant. (Another checkbox filled in...)

The whole plot line is stupid. When Becky was high-fiving about getting knocked up from a one-night stand, it reminded me of the episodes in which Roseanne Conner boasted that the Conners were now "O-fficially white trash", and the audience went wild.

One minute she's high-fiving about the pregnancy. Then, the next minute, she's sharing her fears about the baby...with a couple of lesbians who just happen to be trying to conceive their own baby. She's got a baby, but no money. The lesbians have money, but no baby. Hey, it could be a way to fill in another checkbox for the family.

Sara Gilbert should be forever publicity humiliated for ruining one of the great shows of all time.

Seriously Roseanne 1988-1997 was almost sacred and now look at it.

It's bad writing. Having character development replaced with another plot-driven episode makes the character of Becky seem like she has MPD. I suppose no one remembers the episode last season when the doctor informed the forty-something Becky her eggs had pretty much turned to dust. The writers' solution? Let's just make a joke about some freaking one-night-stand pregnancy miracle.

I can't stress enough how much I hate how the writers (and I'm sure Sara also had a huge hand in this decision) turned Becky into an aimless alcoholic slut.

It could have been a nice storyline, but they handled it horribly. Like a total throwaway. Becky gets pregnant by some random character we've never seen before. Meanwhile, Darlene is going to get a full blown romance.

Stan from Mad Men is hot but he's playing the same part here

R283, because this show is all about Darlene now. has anyone noticed her kids are fading into the background? I'm sure once the romance is established they'll be front and center again with Darlene. For now, though we get to see the A story go to Darlene's romance/career.

kinda like real life, r275

Correction R281: Roseanne from about 1990-1994 was sacred. The rest varied from good to oh, no....

Amen R287.

Making Becky an alcoholic slut gives her character a bit of complexity, at least, and somewhere to go in terms of storylines. She wouldn't be nearly as interesting if she was a college-educated, suburban mother.

Seems like a waste of story line potential to make the baby daddy a disposable character and to immediately introduce the solution of the lesbian couple. They could have repeated Jackie's history (she and Fred were a one night stand and then came together as a couple after baby) with Becky and found a popular actor for the role of baby daddy to bring something new to the show, which they desperately need.

So Becky was drinking until she found out she was pregnant. She might have already done damage to the fetus. Also, if Becky is actually an alcoholic then just like that she can stop drinking. Not in RL.

Darlene does have some chemistry with this boss but it's a stretch. Why they didn't just let her come out is beyond me. Is Gilbert ashamed of being gay in RL or is she out and proud of it?

The show still sucks, but it sucks less without Roseanne.

I thought it was refreshing that there was no mention of abortion as an option. They rammed the subject down our throats enough in "Thanksgiving 1994".

It seems like the writers are throwing a bunch of stuff out there and hoping something sticks. Not funny in the least.

R289, except we watched these kids grow up and we, like their parents, wanted better for them. This is without a doubt the most depressing comedy on tv.

I never wanted anything for a bunch of fictitious children. They were characters played by actors. I never gave two shits about what happens to characters in any story and for the most part no shits for the actors playing them. What are they to me in RL, nothing.

R295, but then you continue to post? Don't you have any Thanksgiving prep to do?

The only interesting one is Becky. They keep trying to throw red meat to the Deplorables. Bring in Katey Sagal.

I can’t believe how much I don’t miss Roseanne.

[quote] Sara Gilbert should be forever publicity humiliated for ruining one of the great shows of all time.

No, Roseanne ruined it, shitstain.

Well if we've got Stan from Mad Men now maybe Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) can make a guest appearance. Maybe her fellow Scientologist Juliette Lewis can talk Lizzie into making an appearance.

Jay Ferguson is Sara Gilbert’s pal from back in the Leo DiCaprio rat pack days...he probably served as her beard on occasion during those years.

He was also the star of that CBS God sitcom from this past spring...Sara played a supporting character on that one.

Since Becky has no means whatsoever to care for the baby and has probably damaged the fetus with alcohol why in hell doesn't she just get an abortion? The show makes it seem like that's not even an option? And why the fuck didn't she use any form of birth control, seeing as how she's a drunken slut? You would think she would have an IUD or an implant or something so she could fuck with impunity without ever having to remember to take a pill. Or was she so drunk all the time that she forgot to take her pill? Anyway, there are enough fucking kids on this show. A pregnancy is usually considered a "jump the shark" incident. This show has jumped the shark and it's barely even started!

Deplorables are pro-life, so.

Dropped another precious .1 in the 18-49 demo. It's down to 1.4 from a season=starting 2.5. Ruh roh.

Becky had a 5% chance of getting pregnant, which was established last season.

The Conners stayed steady with its November 13 show, with 6.91 million total viewers, and it tied The Voice in the all-important 18-49 demo -- second to only This isUs for the night.

A baby could help her grow up. They could live at home just like Darlene and company inRoseanne's old writing room.

They would be okay.

Cancel this miserable show.

"A baby could help her grow up. They could live at home just like Darlene and company in Roseanne's old writing room."

Yeah, that's a great reason to have a child, using it as a method to "help" you to "grow up." And ALL the Connors and their offspring in one house? Whew, that is SO white trash. Can these people get anymore trashier and stupid?

It would really improve the show if someone was at least moderately successful. Back when the family had the Lunch Box, it wasn't so depressing.

This should have been a mid season replacement. It’s abundantly clear they scrambled to retool the show and rushed to get it on air.

Now that Darlene has a job, maybe she'll move out soon. Then Becky can take over the two upstairs bedroom. The basement (especially after last season's flood) is no place for a baby.

Becky or Darlene should move in with Jackie.

[quote]Making Becky an alcoholic slut gives her character a bit of complexity, at least, and somewhere to go in terms of storylines. She wouldn't be nearly as interesting if she was a college-educated, suburban mother.

I agree, plus Lecy Gorensen is knocking it out of the park. I never would've thought she would turn in such a wonderful comedic performance. I hope she is remembered come next summer when Emmy nominations are announced.

As for the lesbians wanting to adopt her baby, we don't yet know that that's what's going to happen. Yes, they want it, but I can also see Becky having a change of heart after giving birth and deciding to keep it and raise it herself. At this point, the storyline could go either way.

To each his own, but I really don't understand all the people who post in this thread every week about how much they hate this show, yet they keep watching it week after week after week. If you dislike it so much, why don't you just stop watching?

Lecy should’ve won the drama Emmy for her goodbye shows from the first series.

TURN DOWN that fucking laugh track!

R315 it's called hate-watching.

"TURN DOWN that fucking laugh track!"

Aren't the laughs coming from a studio audience? It's strange, because even the lamest jokes get a hearty "HAW HAW HAW" from the audience. I think they must be served alcoholic drinks before the taping.

R319 — While there apparently is a live studio audience, I think the laughs are technologically "enhanced." Regardless, it's terribly annoying and fake.

This episode was the best one for me so far. Things are looking up for Darlene and Becky - good. I like these storylines. And we didn't have to suffer through Darlene's awful children. Instead this week, the worst part was DJ's wife. Eccch.

Yes they could be more white trashy, they all move into a trailer.

I strongly agree with both R320 and R321. I thought last night's episode was the strongest so far. Jay Ferguson is a great addition. He's a terrific actor and perhaps it'll cause Sara Gilbert to up her game. Some of the lines were very funny, but not nearly as funny as the audience would want you to thing. That laugh track absolutely has to go!!

That live audience must have a prompter/cheerleader to goad them into laughing louder and more frequently. The reaction when Becky announced, "I'm pregnant!" included hoots, hollers, and APPLAUSE. WTF?!

I can't believe any man would look twice at Darlene. She looks like a worn out lesbian, totally unattractive, except to maybe another worn out lesbian.

But as Aunt Jackie said, R325, Darlene is an educated, diabetes-free woman -- that makes her a catch in Lanford.

And I thought there was real chemistry between Darlene and her new boss.

R324 is that any different than the disgusting Good Times. Every word they said was met with rapturous applause. Worst fucking show ever. NOT dynomite.

Roseanne Barr's witchcraft is the most powerful in all the land, and all other witches kneel before her, hair windswept and faces agape, as they bask in her luminous presence.

So Darlene is a "catch" in Lanford? Well, that just goes to show what a shithole Lanford is.

"Is that any different than the disgusting Good Times."

The audience of "Good Times" appeared to be adoring fans of the show. They also seemed to be not that bright. When a pimp character called Sweet Daddy would came on the scene, all decked out in his pimp finery, the audience would always let out an appreciative "Woooooooo!" Same if any two characters were kissing; they'd let out a "Woooooo!" Like I said, not that bright.

R237 the Good Times audience had nothing on the later seasons Married with Children audience. Those neanderthals clapped, hooted, and whooped every goddamned time a character opened their mouth.

Bearded and beefy Jay Ferguson, yum!

Why do lesbians get all the hot men?

Sorry but I find Sara incredibly hard to look at for more than a second when she's onscreen. And Lecy has some weird thing going on with her face when she makes an OTT expression which is ALL THE TIME. Michael? Is he even on the show? The only time I notice him is when his wife is yelling at him. Again, this is why these three children actors never became stars. They're not easy on the eyes and they have zero personality yet, here we are watching the second string take over a show. This won't end well and the only one living in the Conner basement will be the ratings.

If they wrote in a head injury for Becky, the character would make more sense.

LG was good on the original show, I'm not sure what happened. As for Sara, she really is hard on the eyes. Even disheveled, I still thought the love interest was too good looking for her. I forgot he played Stan on MM. He was a very good looking guy in his younger years. Sara's acting is just very bland. There is no life there and with no looks, what's left? DJ's wife continues to be a horror show. Why not bring Jerry on and shift the focus to the relationship between him and Dan? Something fresher would be more interesting especially since Roseanne is gone. If this show gets renewed it needs to be revamped.

Roseanne did not have a heart attack.

R328, I will never kneel to trash.

I'm one of those who happens to think Lecy Goranson is the best thing on the show.

However, I think R334 has a great idea.

Lecy herself seems like she could be a drunk.

A drunk with a head injury.

Tonight's episode featured Darlene in a waitress job, dressed as a bordello whore. Although she is homely, lumpy and looking all of 50 years old she incites the lust of a regular who throws a ten dollar bill on the floor so she'll bend over and he can look at her ass. Later he invites her to sit on his lap.ALso her boss is increasingly showing signs that he wants to be more than just her boss. Is this show science fiction, or what?

So what was the point of introducing the two lesbian characters last week only to tell them "never mind" this week. What a wasted 5 minutes.

Man, this show is hard to watch. Roseanne or no Roseanne, I can’t take more than five minutes of it. Kills me to see Dan like that—he doesn’t even sound like John Goodman anymore. He looks like he’s dying of cancer.

R342, the obvious lesbian in the lesbian couple was also the writer of the episode. Her name is Ali Liebegott. I could tell she wasn't an actress but I didn't figure it out until I saw the writing credit and the actor credits for the ep. I blame Sara. That's going to be my new mantra for this trainwreck.

Agree really hard to watch Dan. I notice Jackie says "my sister" and not Roseanne, has this Dan imposter actually said "Roseanne" or are they banned from using the word? If he said it, I missed it.

Guess they are going from zero straight to 100 with the Darlene/Rizzo romance, none of that pesky Ross and Rachael sitcom style dragging it out. What happened to Crystal's husband/Dan's father, why does she have to work at the casino wearing the Gunsmoke saloon girl outfit at her age?

R345 - because dressing old Crystal up as a saloon girl is supposed to be funny, I guess.

I'm guessing Jay Ferguson is supposed to be Dan 2.0?

The mention upthread of the "Good Times" audience reminded me how I used to listen for the woman who, at some point in every episode, yelled out "RIGHT ON!" I loved that lady.

“Oh Darlene...you’re so beautiful!!!”

They should've gotten Kubiak from Parker Lewis Can't Lose who played Dan in the season 5 Halloween episode to be Dan 2.0

I want to like this but they make ot so hard. Im currently watching reruns of The Carmichal Show and they do what Roseanne did in many ways but in a more modern context. A sitcom than can successfully be dramatic and topical. The Conners writers need to take note. I'm as liberal as they come but I just cant with Mark anymore. This is blue-collar Illinois. That boy is not coming home from school unscathed. Its like his gender fluid whatever is truly being forced. DJ's wife is very one-note. She's written to be the sassy, no crap taking, ball busting woman who always has her hands on her hips in disapproval. For the love of all thats good, throw a little blush on Darlene or something. She looks miserable and, not to be stereotypical, but CLEARLY a lesbian. Sarah Gilbert isnt playing an adult Darlene. She's playing Sara Gilbert on section 8. Also, do something about John Goodman/ Dan. What the fuck is wrong with him? And NEVER show Crystal in that outfit again. Honestly I could see Nancy in that role and it would be a lot funnier.

I forgot it was even on tonight. Think I'm done with it. Not one interesting thing to tune in for. Too bad because I love JG and LM, but this is garbage. Wasn't that great with Roseanne either, but at least there was a nucleus. Sara Gilbert should have never been in charge of the reboot.

Stan from MM can't seem to find his niche. He is a big old hunk of man, I will take him.

Can't they just do a Lecy/Sarah Chalke spin off and call it a day?

Sarah Chalke was great in her short scene!

Sarah Chalke was good...but it makes no sense that her character would be complaining about a baby that she was desperate to get.

You've never know anyone that wanted something really badly only to discover it was not at all what they thought, R355?

R355, that's one of the most realistic things that's happened on this reboot.

R356, yes...my zomba vacuum cleaner. But not a baby I would have likely paid tens of thousands of dollars to another human being to deliver so that I could achieve the "American Dream" after years of trying unsuccessfully on my own..

If these writers had been around in the 80s, the old Roseanne would have fired them all by now.

Yes, R359 and how many of Roseanne's writers were allowed to write themselves a role in a few episodes?

R353 like this?

[R325] why they did not write her as a lesbian character, it would have been more credible. and Becky the mom with two children. It seems Sara wanted to replace Roseanne as he main character even before the whole thing reboot. Maybe they did not want to tray the Ellen lesbian thing, but we are in 2018

I don't think any of the viewers would have been shocked if Darlene had been one of those "late-in-life" lesbians who realizes she's gay long after getting married and popping out a few kids. (Even when the character was a teen, she had a very strong Sam-and-Diane vibe going with her neighbor Molly Tilden.) Darlene trying to date women in Lanford (smaller dating pool) would be more challenging and present more potential story arcs; it would also be a way to bring Nancy back as a mentor and friend. And...maybe her older child would have taken David's side in the resulting divorce.

I also agree that Becky should have had some kids. It would have been much sadder if Mark had died, leaving Becky with a few kids to raise on her own as a single mom. Maybe then the character would be a bit more...likable.

They ticked up a bit in viewers but were number three of the big three networks in the all-important 18-49 demo. Rudolph and The Voice beat it in both viewer and 18-49 categories.

Does Johnny Galecki not want to be apart of the show? I would rather see Darlene and David together raising their children if we’re talking about a new version of Roseanne and Dan.

He's on Big Bang and wants to produce his own projects.

I haven’t seen the girl from “Shameless” in the past two or three episodes. Is she back in rehab?

Lecy is the only good thing about this show. Can't they kill Dan off again?

R367, I believe she was in a group kitchen scene.

R368, Dan showed signs of life last night when he used his booming voice. I don't know how far ahead they shoot these eps but possibly feedback told the producers they needed to light a fire under him, you know to make him appear as one of the living.

I gave up on this show. I found it boring.

Ben Savage directed last night's episode.

Bring on Katy Sagal already.

[quote] I think it would be wise to beautify the cast up instead of bringing in more aged, unattractive former cast members

I think handsome Rene Rosado fits the bill nicely. As the father of Becky's child, hopefully he'll be around much more, and hopefully in various stages of undress.

Not really, R373. He can't speak any English on the show and was truly a throwaway character. If she actually has the baby I'm betting they'll pull a Maury and it'll be someone else's.

R374, I had this creeping feeling that maybe it was somehow David's baby.

"Because dressing old Crystal up as a saloon girl is supposed to be funny, I guess."

Was that the reason old Darlene was dressed up as a saloon girl, too? To be funny? Well, it wasn't funny. She just looked grotesque. I can't believe any man would get the hots for such an obviously aging, unprepossessing woman.

Too bad R374, he's dreamy

I know sitcoms make no sense, but the only reason Darlene got the casino job is because Crystal retired. So why is she still at the Casino?

Good god, some of you are acting like Sara Gilbert is a deformed monster. Lanford is not NYC or LA, and not every man there expects their woman to be a skinny blond with implants and fillers.

Fred Savage directed last night’s show.

"Lanford is not NYC or LA, and not every man there expects their woman to be a skinny blond with implants and fillers."

There are usually some good looking women in small towns. But Darlene isn't one of them. She gets way too much male attention for someone so unattractive. I can't believe guys would blatantly hit on her the way they do on this show. Neither her looks nor her personality are in any way appealing.

[quote][R374], I had this creeping feeling that maybe it was somehow David's baby.

I thought that was coming at one point in the episode.

It's a shame that Sara lost her signature voice when she got older. It was so distinctive, much like Jonathan Taylor Thomas's.

Yeah, there is no reason Lanford can't have better women than Darlene. Remember Sara herself is from LA, so it's not like she's actually from a small town. It also proves that i]just because your from a big city doesn't mean everyone women is gorgeous and just because your from a small time doesn't mean they are all homely.

David being the dad would be the ultimate plot twist. I thought it had to be someone we knew, but there really is no one. Unless they make it Darlene's boss. Darlene starts dating him, Becky sees him and realizes he was a drunken one night stand or he realizes it. I think if they did David there would be too much backlash. That would turn the show on its head. Maybe that's what they need but I don't see it happening.

Meant town and woman^

ok it's time to put Roseanne back, maybe un NETFLIX, the show will be canceled with those ratings

No, Roseanne needs to be put into the ground for what she did to her father.

Johnny Galecki has been making $25 million a year on BBT. Sara is lucky he agreed to appear on her stankfish shit show.

That show with no Roseanne is useless, she was the funny one, Darlene and Becky are not funny and Dan looks lost without his partner. Bring back Seinfeld

I can't believe that bitch Sara took Roseanne's place at the kitchen table and does the goddamn laugh at the end. What a fucking cunt.

I don't hear any laugh at the end. I just see Gilbert doing something that is a cross between a smile and a laugh.

Last night I was channel surfing and stopped for a second on Spacey's BEYOND THE SEA. I had totally forgotten that John Goodman was even it, but was even more horrified by his appearance - he is HUMONGOUS in this!! It had to be the peak of his weight gain!

(Skip the song and go to his entrance at 2:20)

Actually his entrance in above clip starts at 2:18, where he is required to RUN through a doorway - it's a miracle he didn't drop dead right that second!

Any truth to the rumors that Goodman is gay? ‘Cause he sure looks like he enjoys playing ‘hide the sausage’ during the opening credits.

R391 she emulates Roseanne's laugh but it doesn't include the audio.

Roseanne Season 10 opening.

I could never stand that Roseanne cackle. They should have showed her stirring a cauldron.

Roseanne Barr's laugh has always creeped me out. That evil witch's cackle...wasn't it supposed to be funny? I never thought it was.

I'm Jolene, and I work the pole on the day shift at Paradise, the one right off the interstate. I want to get on nights because that's where the real money is, from the truckers, but I can't leave my kids alone in the trailer. Last week they damn near set it on fire trying to pop popcorn for supper!

Oh Jeez - wrong thread - this was supposed to go in the "laid off deplorables" thread. SORRY!

That's okay, R400. Your post at R399 could have easily described the character of Becky save for the kids.

Roseanne's laugh was a very clever way to end the theme song. I always felt as if the main instrument (saxophone) in the theme song intentionally tried to match the tone of her voice.

"Roseanne's laugh was a very clever way to end the theme song."

I didn't think so. I thought it was weird. I mean, WHAT was she laughing about? I didn't see anything that would have warranted that howling, screeching laugh.

R403 didn't she win whatever card game they were playing? (At least in Season 3 & 4)

I'm having a hard time with the show. It's far too sitcommy for my tastes. As much as I want to love it, there's something integral missing by not having Roseanne there.

Contrary to the posters above, the ratings are still fine. It's ABCs number two show behind Grey's Anatomy. That is was third in its timeslot means nothing - CBS was airing a special, and The Voice is NBCs number two series.

If you really want to dissect ratings, take a hard look at what Will & Grace is going this season. Last Thursday hit a 0.6 in the demo. Yikes!

R405, they started out with a 2.5 they're now down to a 1.4. I believe they've aired six episodes and with each successive episode, they've dropped at least another tenth in their key demo.

When do we find out whether the show will get picked up for another season?

“Will and Grace” has the industry supporting it. “The Conners” has the industry supporting it. “Roseanne” had the people supporting it.

That’s the difference.

[QUOTE]I didn't think so. I thought it was weird. I mean, WHAT was she laughing about?

She’s sitting at a table with her family having a good time. There should’ve been any number of reasons for her to laugh. Wtf is your problem?

R408 is right on the money.

"She’s sitting at a table with her family having a good time. There should’ve been any number of reasons for her to laugh. Wtf is your problem?"

She was laughing like a crazy person. It was weird. I can see YOUR problem is that you're a fan of Roseanne Barr.

Admittedly, I do miss Roseanne. The show really isn't the same without her. Being a long-time fan of the original, I kind of feel sad watching it.

I know - MARY!

No one forced that racist, right wing bitch to spew her evil on Twitter. If you're going to be pissed at anyone for Roseanne not being on the show it should be Roseanne.

Both Matthew Broderick AND Juliete Lewis tonight, we're in for a treat, lol.

Oh and the previews of Darlene climbing up on the desk to kiss Stan Rizzo, hot.

The Matthew Broderick storyline is painful. Just about as painful as half the show being about Darlene. They need to bring back one of Jackie's past love interests. I'd say Fred, but they seem to have dropped the fact that she had a kid, whose father was Fred. The preview for next week says Dan will reunite with an old friend, and it's the week Katey Sagal is on. I wonder if they won't have her play Phyllis Zimmer?

Sara Gilbert could turn a lesbian straight. Who do I email at ABC requesting she never kiss anyone onscreen ever again?

Tonight's episode was as funny as a toothache. It's not because of no Roseanne. It's because of sucky writing and pretty sucky acting. Gilbert should do more producing and shove her ego to the back and give Becky the bigger story. She at least can be funny sometimes. Dan just looks and talks like death warmed over and at Jackie's age she's still letting men walk all over her, disgusting. There is no one likeable on that show. I can't believe this crapfest might stay on the air and Murphy Brown might get cancelled. At it's worst MB is funnier and has more likable characters than this show.

[quote]At it's worst MB is funnier

No way in hell is that true. Murphy Brown didn't have one funny line or premise. The entire show was one big garbage pit.

[quote]The Matthew Broderick storyline is painful. Just about as painful as half the show being about Darlene. They need to bring back one of Jackie's past love interests. I'd say Fred, but they seem to have dropped the fact that she had a kid, whose father was Fred. The preview for next week says Dan will reunite with an old friend, and it's the week Katey Sagal is on. I wonder if they won't have her play Phyllis Zimmer?

Fuck you.

[quote]“Will and Grace” has the industry supporting it. “The Conners” has the industry supporting it. “Roseanne” had the people supporting it. That’s the difference.

What people? You mean racist rednecks? "Will and Grace" is a hit with the people, and a big hit internationally. Fuck off.

Sara Gilbert kissing any man is excruciating to watch. She has NO chemistry with men at all. I have never been able to understand why Darlene was not eventually made to come out as a lesbian. It would make perfect sense; Sara Gilbert would be so much more plausible as a lesbian than a woman that men (gag) desire.

Roseanne was never going to let Darlene be gay in this after she came out against gay marriage.

R42, Roseanne's sister and brother are gay. She's the one who pushed for gay characters like Nancy and Leon. When Leon married they had to schedule the episode at a later hour because it was considered too risque for their earlier timeslot.

R423 is meant in reply to R422 but I'm sure you already figured that out...

I really dont understand why they dont refer to Jerry and Andy. Its not like they were added in the last season and no remembers them. They were on for a while.

Bring in Jake McDorman to play grown Andy. Even if he is about five years too old. And give him lots of gratuitous shirtless scenes.

Just read that Kimberly McCullough (Robin from GH) directed last night's episode. Her former co-stars are congratulating her on twitter.

Down again in the all-important 18-49 and their viewing numbers have dropped. Quelle surprise.

Will and Grace is getting under 3 million same day viewers.

We're not talking about W&G we're talking about The Conners hence the name of the thread.

R430 what are you, prejudiced or something?

[quote],Roseanne's sister and brother are gay. She's the one who pushed for gay characters like Nancy and Leon. When Leon married they had to schedule the episode at a later hour because it was considered too risque for their earlier timeslot.

It was Roseanne and Tom Arnold that pushed for those storylines and what on earth does that have to do with anything? Roseanne this year came out against gay marriage saying that she didn’t support. She’s been hostile towards it and gays since 2006 saying we needed to get over that issue.

Why can't Laurie mimic Don Knotts? His Barny Fife character was so popular it made him a bonafide movie star in the 60s.

Laurie's comic acting is always playing eccentrics, if you've seen "Getting On."

Do the lezy stink fish find Sara attractive? To me, she's a turnoff.

R431, possibly you should look up the definition of the word prejudice.

You're comparing apples to oranges just like trying to compare Murphy Brown to W&G to The Conners. MB had higher ratings and a better demo than W&G yet it's most likely not returning to CBS's fall schedule. I suppose for CBS the cost of filming on a NY soundstage is not worth the return in ratings. W&G has been guaranteed a third season so that argument is for nought.

I suppose each network has its own standard on which to judge what shows to keep and what shows to toss. The Conners is in trouble whether certain anons in this thread want to believe that or not. ABC is in the cellar with their ratings so outwardly The Conners looks like a hit but will they continue to pay those high salaries for a show that is showing a steady decline?

Katey Sagal tonight. Hope they do something interesting with her character. Still can't get used to John Goodman's appearance, it's depressing and distracting.

Have Darlene and her chunky boss jumped into bed yet? She's so irresistible to men, you know.

Best episode since the season opener. I liked the scenes between Lecy and Sara.

Give it up, R438. You don't even watch the show, so why do you care?

I didn't even get a smile out of tonight's episode, nevertheless a laugh. LM has really become an embarrassment. No, I don't miss Roseanne and do not think the show would be better with her. From the reboot 1.0 the show has not been funny and needs new writers and Gilbert really sucks as a producer. I thought if an episode was more Becky centered it would be better. I was wrong.

I get at least an occasional chuckle out of Will & Grace and Murphy Brown but this...nothing. I really want to see it succeed without Roseanne. They need to change things and come back in January with reboot 3.0.

True dat, R441 - they need some new writers. I think a lot who were tied to last season's reboot left. I also think people underestimate the value Roseanne added to the writing. There's a sharpness to the writing and the pace that's gone, now.

What the FUCK is happening with John Goodman this season? His weird weight loss, his stilted delivery....its like a bad gastric bypass + alcoholic + drugged up combo. He throws every scene. I hate it.

I absolutley hated Lm storyline Nd matthew broderick is utterly wasted on here. Sarah Gilbert is just not a strong actress. Whatever her comedic timing was as a teen is lost. I also thing DJ is a better actor than most people think. Id rather see a storyline with him rather than Jackie playing up a classic sitcom trope.

The actress who plays Harris is so charmless. I can’t tell if the character is just horribly written or if I just want to run the actress over with my car. Maybe both?!?!

Katey is slumming it on this laugh-free super annoying show. This show is truly despicable. Everything about it is unbelievable and annoying. Every character I want to throw in a volcano. Especially the 4 leads. Who all look terrible and cannot act. Metcalf especially is repulsive. The laugh track makes me want to do bad things. Nothing. Absolutely nothing said is funny or well acted.

Wow. R438, R421, R381, R376, R341, R329, and R325 are all the same person ranting on and on about Darlene/Sara's looks. Are you THAT pissed that a lesbian (whom doesn't meet your beauty standards) is PRETENDING to get more dick than you? You're so fucking cranky, I feel like you're not getting that much dick. Could it be because you're more ugly than Darlene? Why else would you be so obsessed to spend so much energy on this?

So what are you trying to say, Darlene?

I watched, too, and where were the laughs? And why was Kathy hot on Dan, a deflated balloon straight out of a COPD commercial?

They make a point of saying it's taped before a live studio audience yet it sounds like a laugh track.

Who’s Kathy?

Katey Sagal is fucking hot! Holy shit, who’s her dermatologist??!

Bonbons are good for the complexion, Al.

Katy confessed that she had always had a little crush on Dan, since they were teens in high school, but she backed off when he paired up with Roseanne. Now that she sees him again, and he's available, those old feelings have risen back up to the top.

It looks like they're going to be buddies. It's an interesting dynamic. It would not be socially acceptable to have a female friend like that if here were still married to Roseanne. If the show gets a couple more seasons, I'll bet their friendship will grow into something more, as Dan develops a crush. Who wouldn't? They share so much background in common, and Katey Sagal looks STUNNING.

I never bought David being a deadbeat dad.

Too sensitive and maternal.

John G and Laurie M good actors but it’s hard to make TERRIBLE writing anything other than what it is...TERRIBLE.

Gilbert and Goranson never matured into good actors. The original writers were able to write for their limitations when they were kids.

The rest of the cast isn’t even worth talking about.

Have to assume Matthew Broderick-Jessica-Parker took the gig to get the fuck out of his house.

Where is Jackie getting all of this money to pay for his tuition?

I stopped watching, but this thread is on my watched list. Was Andy finally mentioned?

I don't like the way they're rewriting history to make it seem like Becky was the irresponsible adolescent and Darlene was the conscientious do-gooder when they were kids/teens.

They were both rebellious and impulsive.

I like the actress who plays Harris. She's looks like a cross between Roseanne and the young Shirley Knight. She's funny enough.

But this show feels kind of played out now. I imagine they'll do a second season but it's definitely run out of steam.

R455, I agree. One of the show's best lines ever was when Dan and Roseanne learn Darlene is pregnant and Roseanne says "I can't imagine a better mother... than David."

R459, they're all over the place with the characters' histories. Dan is back to being the guy who wanted a singing career, when the original run retconned him into a biker.

In the original series, Becky was the smart and usually dependable one, but had a rebellious streak that flared up when she felt resentful. She was not by any measure irresponsible--even when she ran off to marry Mark, the show made clear that she actually had a plan in place to finish school and go to college that made sense. It was AFTER that her life fell apart.

I've given THE CONNERS a chance, mostly out of curiosity to see how a show can possibly continue without its central figure.

And I think I'm done. The writing isn't horrific - there's thought behind the characters - but the premise is weak. It's hard to square the Becky and Darlene characters as rebooted with the characters we watched grow up. Becky would NEVER have turned into a tragic drunken slut, and Darlene would not have embraced heterosexuality. Becky would have been a suburban married mom and Darlene would have come out of the closet. Sara Gilbert in no way seems straight.

Moreover, the show is too fragmented. There's no cohesion, no centrifugal force holding that clan together - and it's far too big a clan. Too many kids, too many faces.

I understand the reasons behind the spinoff and it's been an interesting experiment, but, IMO, a failed one.

"Could it be because you're more ugly than Darlene? Why else would you be so obsessed to spend so much energy on this?"

Could it be that you find Darlene gorgeous and want to eat her pussy? Why else would your knickers be in a knot over this?

I agree, R463. Becky was smart, popular, materialistic, and an overachiever. She did give up everything to be with a guy, but after the wedding, she was waking up, and she had decided to back to college. Even if she had to work to help with the finances, she would have gone to school at night. She would not have settled for a life in the service industry.

The character of Jackie had a lot of boyfriend issues in her 20s and 30s: tolerating abusive Fisher and then coupling with Fred, whom she didn't like, so that she could give her son a home. But there's no reason a grown-ass woman in her 50s (60s?) would pay the graduate school tuition for a guy she's only known a couple of months. That makes no sense. She would have learned by now. If she had that money to spend, she should have paid tuition for Becky to attend school.

R464, no. I don't find anyone in this cast gorgeous. Which is good, because they're supposed to be normal folk in flyover land who can't afford the best cosmetics CVS has to offer. But I'm not going to rant and rant endlessly over a period of several weeks because cast members--on a show about ordinary folks--don't look like the typical perfect-teeth Hollywood clones that normally populate sitcoms today.

Hey, I know...let's reboot the show again. Let's hire 20-something blonds to play 40-something Becky and Darlene, and let's hire Patrick Dempsey to play Dan. (How DARE John Goodman look haggard at 70?)

"This is without a doubt the most depressing comedy on tv."

Even the lighting is depressing. It's too muted and dull.

[quote]Dan is back to being the guy who wanted a singing career, when the original run retconned him into a biker.

Dan had the most interesting high school experience. He was a star player for the football team and a rebellious biker who was best friends with Ziggy. His father was a traveling salesman who was never at home. But that's okay, because his mom was crazy. He married his high school sweetheart and his father married one of his high school friends.

^ And he was a talented singer/songwriter. And the girl he slept with while he and Roseanne were on a break still lusted after him in middle age. And he used to get into bar fights and get arrested all the time.

[quote]his father married one of his high school friends.

Don't forget that when Crystal Anderson married Dan's dad, she became Crystal Conner.

Dan’s dating already? Didn’t Roseanne die 3 weeks ago?

There were a couple episodes - one in the first season, and one in season 8 - where they touched on Dan's singer/songwriter aspirations. I think there might have also been one or two in some seasons in between.

Jackie was always somewhat kooky, but she’s a damn circus clown now. WTH?

John Goodman has been wearing an earpiece. Is it a hearing aid or are they feeding him his lines? He's only in his mid 60's yet he has a visible limp, he sounds weak and he occasionally looks like death warmed over. Don't drink and drug, kids.

I agree with this dude's opinion somewhat. Roseanne was the central force in the original run. All other characters were secondary and expendable. Roseanne would also rewrite most finished scripts making her POV even more important. All the characters WERE Roseanne's voice.

Ron Luttrull a month ago I had honestly forgot about "The Connors" existing.

But after seeing a youtube personality talk about ABC "regretting" removing Rosanne, for the second time now, I decided to check out the viewership up until now.

So here is the skinny. When the show first aired it only did ok, not great, nothing near what the reboot did during its entire run, but it did "ok" in terms of viewership. Probably because people were curious how they got rid of Rosanne in the show.

The second episode experienced about a 30% drop in viewers. Which, honestly, is less of a drop than what I expected, but its still doing bad. Keep in mind it was only doing "OK" before.

The third and most recent episode, which was a Halloween special, only gained about 1.8% more viewers from the previous week. So it was a holiday special and the show is still in the gutter.

So, we know why ABC has went back to regretting the whole thing. I expect its time slot to shift very soon and it to just stop existing not long after that.

Now, while I think the whole controversy is the biggest contributor to the viewer drop. I must admit, from what I've seen of the new show, its not exactly doing itself any favors.

The jokes fall flat, the acting is really bland, and there really is no dynamic balance to keep you interested. Most scenes devolve into pissing contests between family members on who can be the most irritating and nerve grating.

Topics discussed in the show are no longer open and two sided, but are now forced, monotonic, NPC-like spews of propaganda. This is not helped at all by the actors overall lack of enthusiasm and inability to set a proper tone.

Exactly.

[quote]Topics discussed in the show are no longer open and two sided, but are now forced, monotonic, NPC-like spews of propaganda.

R475 must be a Trumpian. There was a recent NY Times article titled "What Is NPC, the Pro-Trump Internet’s New Favorite Insult?" Basically, several months ago, users on 4chan and Reddit started using the term NPC to refer to liberals.

R477 all we know for sure is you are a disgusting cunt. Blocked.

OK time to bring Roseanne back as a ghost overseeing the family. Only Jackie can see her. Or just cancel the shitshow, one or the other.

Like this

So aren't they supposed to tell us how Mark died? They really dropped the ball on that one, I mean, it can't be drinking.... someone surely would have touched on it when Becky was drinking or Harris drinking in the woods. Couldn't have been an overdose - that would have been brought up with Roseanne's drug taking. Couldn't have died in the military - DJ came back with the problems. What's left? Natural causes? Shot by someone?

I’m still liking it a lot. Imo, it’s > 90% network sitcoms. And the ratings have stabilized - not free falling as some naysayers are predicting.

Mark ate the last cruller and nana Mary slashed him from stem to stern...

[quote]So aren't they supposed to tell us how Mark died? They really dropped the ball on that one, I mean, it can't be drinking.... someone surely would have touched on it when Becky was drinking or Harris drinking in the woods. Couldn't have been an overdose - that would have been brought up with Roseanne's drug taking. Couldn't have died in the military - DJ came back with the problems. What's left? Natural causes? Shot by someone?

Car accident? I assume that it was drugs, but they didn't mention it like they haven't mentioned Jerry attending (or not attending) his mother's funeral.

Wasn't the original plan to have Mark die as a Marine in Iraq or something?

Jerry works on a fishing boat in Alaska. They probably don’t facilitate leaving the ship before the 6 months are up

so sexy

Mark died in Iraq.

Wouldn’t mark have been in his 30s when the invasion of Iraq happened?

That doesn’t really match up with those enlisting after 9/11 and being shipped off by Vader

They should have come up with a storyline that left the door open to Roseanne coming back. Having her run away to a nut farm would have been funny and part of the show's history of breaking the fourth wall, so to speak.

Yeah, I'm guessing if it's ever really discussed they will reveal Mark died in combat. He could have enlisted younger, R488. The timeline matches what they said about him dying 10-11 years ago.

What they need is someone in the family that is a contrast to the rest of the family. Jerry would have been good for that and truthfully they were in a better place when the show ended. They had the meat sandwich place. Granted, I'm not sure about the alternate universe stuff, but if they were badly off he could have gotten financial aid. Whatever the case, having a suit in the family would have been a good idea. Dan would have undeniably resented him.

They may have been more stable financially, but they would have also been tired from all the drama and having already raised the 3 older ones.

Lil Jerry would have been hell on wheels with zero boundaries and the run of the place.

I’m imagining him as the small town, middle class equivalent of that affluenza teen in TX

[quote] Per the reboot, she's let go from whatever decent job she had in Chicago, but zero explanation why Darlene isn't to find another job with her skills.

Because anyone who had this kind of job has been out of work since 2008.

Amid strong ratings, ABC eyeing a season 2:

I forgot about Jerry. Maybe they could have had her run away to his household. Killing her off was unnecessary.

IIRC, Dan got a job with the city and was actually a supervisor of some kind; Fred worked for him. He appears to be retired now.

The problem with this show, as someone upthread posted, is TOO MANY KIDS. No one cares about any of them. Harris is completely annoying, and don't get me started on the little gay kid with the skirts and scarves and sweaters. It's OTT and verges on offensive. They seem to be phasing DJ out already - no one cares about him, his black wife, or their black kid.

They should have EASED into reacquainting the audience with the four main characters - Dan, Becky, Darlene and Jackie. The old show had some serious moments of drama, even in the most funny situations. What has been done to the Jackie character is a CRIME - Metcalf should be outraged at the stupid shit she is required to do. They should have explored more fully each character's reaction to losing Roseanne - which they could have done without mentioning her name all the time. The Jackie character, who was so close to her sister, has been turned into a ridiculous buffoon. VERY bad writing, and a huge missed opportunity to retool a once popular show.

Actually Dan is carrying a secret,, He came home early one day after a drywall accident and found Roseanne and Mark in bed and he shot them both with his nail gun.

[quote]The timeline matches what they said about him dying 10-11 years ago.

What timeline? At what point does the original and the reboot even come close to matching up?

Darlene got knocked up in the original run, so Harris should be in her early twenties by now, NOT still in high school.

There's been no mention of Andy or Fred. Ditto the Lunch Box. It was mentioned that they almost lost the house last season, which would gave them an opportunity to say they lost the restaurant. But it's never been brought up.

This reboot has had horrid writing from the get go. It has nothing to do with Roseanne being gone, it has to do with horrid writing and horrid acting and yes, way too many children. They need to get rid of both of Darlene's kids and DJ's wife and kid. They need to get Dan our of his coma, that he was in when Roseanne was still alive. Don't know if it's possible. I think in addition to weight loss surgery JG also had a lobotomy. Jackie and LM are embarrassing to watch. They need to reduce Darlene's part to a minute of air time a week and smarten and deslut Becky.

What ABC really should have done was tell SG and Roseanne and all the actors to go to hell before they put this mess back on the air. If this is one of the highest rated shows on ABC, ABC must be in huge trouble.

How is the show that comes on after it, The Kids are Alright, doing as far as ratings, or insider speculation about renewal? That's actually a really good show.

Matthew Broderick is wasted on this show. Did he need the money that bad?

He’s just desperate to get out of the house

The Kids are Alright has a significant drop in viewers but not to the point wheee ABC will drop it, especially given the quality of the show

R497, i'm basing it on the revised timeline. They mentioned that Mark died when Harris was 5, so what is that 10 years ago. So that would have been the beginning of the Iraqi war. Mark could have been killed.

[quote] What has been done to the Jackie character is a CRIME - Metcalf should be outraged at the stupid shit she is required to do

One of the biggest missed opportunities is to explore Jackie's life without Roseanne....a sister she loved but who cast a large shadow over her existence.

It would be nice if Jackie has some personal growth or change as a result, maybe a little happiness.

It is sort of bizarre the way the Jackie character changed from the original seasons of "Roseanne." She used to be sassy but sensible, an all-around gal who had her issues (mostly with men) but still had her head on straight. At some point (maybe around the time she was with Fisher), she morphed into the spazzy character we see now, a totally different person than she used to be.

It's a change I liken to the one we saw on "Three's Company" with the Chrissy character over the years (though admittedly Jackie is nowhere near as dumb as Chrissy eventually turned out to be).

They should cast someone extremely hot as Andy.

Based on when we first meet Mark, he would have been around 31 when the invasion of Iraq launched in 2003.

To match the original show timeline, the earliest he could have enlisted would have been around 1996 at age 26.

I guess that’s within reasonable range...

Didn't Mark have a motorcycle? If so, maybe he died in a motorcycle accident. He wasn't in the military. He definitely wasn't the type for that. He was lazy and self-centered; no military regime for him.

^correction:

Enlist at 24 which is even more reasonable

I don’t recall him with a motorcycle, just that he swiped Dan’s that one time

Maybe he fell into a bridge.

R506- that's what I keep saying. They have an opening to make this cast better looking and they won't take it. I think it could also make the show more interesting. Darlene and her annoying spawn aren't going to cut it. The 2 younger guys (if we include Jerry) would breath some life into the show. It'll definitely help Jackie and most probably give her some better material.

I agree, R512. Andy and Jerry would give the show a lot of energy. They'd probably be bar brawlers, not serious about anything. Dan would always be yelling at Jerry. He'd probably yell at Andy, too, because Jackie wouldn't have what it takes to control the kid. And they could hang out with Crystal's kid, who's actually Dan's younger brother. Dan could yell at him too.

I agree with others who say there are too many kids on the show. Find a way to get rid of them of them or only appear occasionally. The show needs to now be about what happens when adult kids move back home because they can't afford life on their own. Becky needs to move back home too. This would be true the working class roots of the show. I'm not sure what to do with DJ. He's not a good actor and the less screen time he gets, the better.

r385 why do they use the same song and the same opening it is not the Roseanne show

[quote]I'm not sure what to do with DJ. He's not a good actor and the less screen time he gets, the better.

Perhaps that's why they give him next-to-nothing to do, though I still think it's bizarre given that he's one of Dan and Roseanne's kids from the original series and therefore should be front and center in the action just like Becky and Darlene. For one thing, as others have stated, they've saddled him with a terrible marriage situation that was completely unnecessary (and as a black viewer, I hate to be critical of the only regular black cast member but that wife is a horror; she's so rigid and unpleasant all the time, I just don't know how he could stand to be married to her).

One can only wonder how Michael Fishman feels about being relegated to the background each week, with only (literally) one or two lines to say per episode; perhaps he prefers it that way (i.e., easy money), but if I was the producer, I would insist DJ be given a more substantial role to play as it would add another needed layer to the series. And though I'd hate to see the actress lose her job, the first thing I'd do is recast his wife with someone way more appealing and with better comedic chops than the one who's there now. (The little girl is adorable; she could definitely stay.)

Michael Fishman would be happy emptying wastebaskets on set for the money they're paying him. That's the problem with this show (among others) they brought back child actors who aren't very talented adult actors.

R157 and they are not cute anymore, they are all really bad actors

Stat tuned more to come......

I have not seen the new series. Has Mathew Broderick gone blonde or have grey hair?

When I heard this show was coming back (originally with Roseanne) I figured that at least John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf were good actors, so I am flabbergasted at how bad they are on this show (with and without Roseanne). Goodman just seems tired and worn out and Metcalf plays a silly fool. WTF?

I think they've figured DJ is really a recurring character. Michael is terrible, to be honest, but he's OK with a line or two here or there.

I hear Goodman looks tired and metcalfe has been turned into a caricature

I thought I'd read that Justin Long was going to guest star in several episodes as Darlene's new love interest, but he only appeared once and then they got rid of him? Seems bizarre. If they knew they were going to have Darlene get involved with her boss, why didn't they just have him play the boss instead of this other guy? Surely he's a bigger name. Makes no sense.

R524, it was mentioned earlier that Darlene's new love interest in played by Jay Ferguson, who is SG's buddy of a couple decades. Earlier this year, she produced a new sitcom (religious-themed...how hilarious) in which he played the lead, but it was canceled after a few episodes. Perhaps once that show was canceled, SG brought him onboard at Roseanne, and the writers changed the storylines' course.

It's not as weird as the four-minute storyline about the lesbian couple who wanted to adopt Becky's baby. It randomly appeared as a potential storyline in one episode and then was dropped in the next episode. (If viewers had known the characters, they'd have felt bad about Becky's stringing them along for 2 minutes.) Either that storyline was a filler to kill time, or it was just a ruse to introduce more multi-cultural characters to this already-extremely multicultural show. (The show simply does not have enough gay characters, I guess.)

I suspect Becky's baby will be born addicted or something and she'll have to let the lesbians co parent or something.

Justin Long was only ever a guest spot.

I like Jay Ferguson on this show. Then again I love him, period.

Jay R. Ferguson needs to get naked on the show. Perhaps Darlene could tear his clothes off, in a fit of passion.

[quote] Didn't Mark have a motorcycle? If so, maybe he died in a motorcycle accident. He wasn't in the military. He definitely wasn't the type for that. He was lazy and self-centered; no military regime for him.

Dan was just going to go riding on a motorcycle, again a missed opportunity to bring up a possible Mark cause of death.

Most successful sitcoms have a story arc planned at the beginning of the season. This show just seems to throw everything against the wall, hoping for something to stick.

And I really dislike when a show has to work around actor's schedules. It usually leads to poor writing choices.

Everything about Becky's pregnancy is handled so haphazardly. It's evident they have no plan. And yes, the lesbian couple in the bar who wanted her baby...WTF? "Hey, I have an idea, let's ask a stranger to give us her baby!" Just awful.

It is coming back.

"Jay R. Ferguson needs to get naked on the show."

I wouldn't want to see him naked. He's what might be called "hefty." And the image of Darlene "tearing his clothes off in a fit of passion" is something I don't even want to contemplate. Sara Gilbert has no sexual chemistry with any actor; her tearing his clothes off would look more like a physical assault from a psychotic woman rather than a woman in the throes of unbridled lust.

Looks fine to me.

Goddamn, Jay is hot.

He's beefy, but definitely fit fat.

The reason Becky and the lesbians made it to air is because the lesbian playing the lesbian in the couple that is a lesbian couple is also a lesbian writer who happened to write that lesbionic episode and hey, what the hell let me, the lesbian writer just write myself a part because this show is a fucking unstructured free-for-all anyway.

[quote]If they knew they were going to have Darlene get involved with her boss, why didn't they just have him play the boss instead of this other guy? Surely he's a bigger name. Makes no sense.

Yeah it shows Darlene dating and not just jumping in to bed with her boss.

There is NO ONE on that show I'd want to see naked.

R537, does that stop you from watching the Golden Girls?

Laurie Metcalf is a treasure but this is awful

There was no one on The Golden Girls I wanted to see naked either.

Not even Mark Moses?

Mark Moses naked is my forever dream

Laurie Metcalf is totally wasted. Jackie is now just insufferably crazy. I always thought John Goodman was a good actor, but he looks so bad and seems to be just going through the motions.

Sara and the rest are just there for a money grab. It's clear everyone is doing the bare minimum to keep that lousy show going.

Jay looks like someone who would have a hairy chest so r533’s video is disappointing.

BeckyLecy is the only actor who is worth watching.

Laurie Metcalf deserves her own show with a better cast and writing. She's too good for this show.

Now, since reboot 1 and 2 I think Metcalf needs to retire. Her performances have been getting more embarrassing with each one. It's not just the writing. It's also her acting. I can't believe I ever liked her so much. Goodman should also retire before he just croaks on stage. I guess losing a lot of weight doesn't make everyone healthier or look better but I never imagined that people lost talent along with weight.

[quote] I think Metcalf needs to retire.

Says some basement dwelling queen with a Phantom mask on her wall.....

*eyeroll*

[quote]I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up working with Shondaland over at Netflix since her success was so closely tied to her.

It looks like she'll be moving to Netflix afterall!

From the article:

[quote]Netflix said Ms. Dungey will oversee “a large and crucial portion” of its original content, including the company’s deals with several successful showrunners. In her new role, Ms. Dungey will be reunited with Ms. Rhimes and Mr. Barris, as well as overseeing other major producers like Jenji Kohan (“Orange is the New Black,” “Glow”) and Marti Noxon (“UnREAL,” “Sharp Objects”) who have deals with Netflix.

Hey, maybe next season they can kill off Darlene.

That wig and those eyebrows at R550 are a terrible and a cheap look for a high powered executive.

What a disaster for all involved.

Roseanne herself and her legacy went to smitherines

The Roseanne’s show legacy went up in flames

John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf are ending their television careers that HAD been beyond reproach in tatters.

Lecy Goranson, Sara Gilbert, and Michael Fishman show off their limited acting again for all to see.

ABC rejected Roseanne's show a few years ago called Downward Mobility, with just Roseanne and Goodman. It probably would have been a smash if the stupid cunts at NBC had picked it up. It had a whole new cast and SL rather than all the DOA characters from the original Roseanne. No one these days ever needs or wants to see Metcalf as Jackie looking like fucking Yoda. Goranson, Gilbert, and Fishman as every one has pointed out can no longer act. All the characters now are despicable.

NBC was smart. ABC was the moronic ones who got involved with always crazy and now that very special right wing Trumpette crazy Roseanne.

[quote]ABC was the moronic ones

Oh, dear.

Maybe they can reboot the reboot.

The reboot 3.0 should be Becky raising her kid with a very few occasional guest spots for the others, like maybe once every few months and when I say the others I don't mean any of the annoying kids or DJ or his wife. Bring in baby bro Jerry who stays to help and who hopefully gets some kind of decent at night so Becky can go to college during the day and live out her original potential. She can't be much of an alcoholic if she was able to quit booze cold turkey when she got pregnant.

That's actually what I was thinking. Aside the bad acting and lackluster storylines, one major shortcoming is the show's premise. The original was about a fairly normal working class family. Mom, dad and their three kids. This show is depressing when you think about it. All the kids basically grew up to be losers. Becky is a semi alcoholic cocktail waitress who sleeps with anyone who looks her way. DJ is a simpleton who is henpecked by his overbearing and annoying wife. I'm not sure if he even works. Darlene is a separated/divorcee who is back living with her parents, has no career or enough means of sport, has one trashy teen daughter and a non binary child. Jesus take the wheel! It all proved what bad parents Dan and Roseanne really were. I doubt Kathy Bowman's son is living anything like the Connor kids. Even Crystal is a sad sight, working as cocktail waitress at her age. People who rooted for these characters don't want to tune in and see how badly it all turned out. It's not really entertaining watching these struggling, unappealing people muddle through life.

There's a big difference between good people going through some rough times and perpetual losers who can't get out of their ruts. The show used to know the necessary balance between the former and latter, and now leans to heavily on the latter.

"It all proved what bad parents Dan and Roseanne really were. "

Of course they were bad parents. That was obvious right from the beginning. Their children turned out to losers, and no wonder. They learned that from their obese loser parents.

To call the Conners "losers" is to call at least half of the United States population "losers".

[quote]To call the Conners "losers" is to call at least half of the United States population "losers".

But they ARE, Blanche, they ARE.

In 2018, Roseanne the number 1 television show in America. Wonder why ABC got rid of Channing Dungey?

She went to Netflix.

[quote] To call the Conners "losers" is to call at least half of the United States population "losers".

Huh? Get back to your Fox Noise, idiot.

THe Conners reflects no one but the repulsive writer's in Hollywood. No bearing on reality.

I'm enjoying it.

I think they're clearly setting up Darlene and Becky to be Roseane and Jacki, which is fine.

It could be written and directed in a tighter manner and some of the performances taken down a notch or two (you know who I'm talking about),

R568 who?

Sara being a tomboyish, super intelligent female worked on Big Bang Theory but playing a failed white trash jew on Roseanne is absurd. I loved her on BBT.

They still haven't addressed what happened to Jackie's son Andy, who was born in Season 6, or the baby Roseanne had in the Halloween episode of 1995.

You'd think that they would have mentioned something about them by now.

Maybe they died.

Get over it, snowflake. Most TV shows never address the children anymore than they'd address a character's hemorrhoids or hemophilia. The show Reba probably showed the rug rats in 5% of the episodes.

"Most TV shows never address the children anymore than they'd address a character's hemorrhoids or hemophilia. "

Andy and Jerry Garcia (that's the dumb name Roseanne and Dan gave him) aren't "children." They would be adult men. It is strange that they're completely absent from the show. Seems to me they might be more interesting than the children that ARE being "addressed" on the show.

R574 Only one solution, take a shit ton of opiods. Hopefully that will end your snowflake suffering.

R575 opioids.....

R573/R575 I don't get the 'snowflake' insults you're throwing around. Isn't that term used to insult SJWs (often used by conservatives)? How is that relevant to the discussion at hand, which is R571/R574 wondering what happened to Jackie's and Roseanne's other children who were babies when the original show ended and would be in their twenties now.

People who take TV shows LITERALLY are the biggest fucking assholes around. The new Roseanne has no bearing on real life. Who gives a fuck about the fake kids on the original.

Following that muddled line of reasoning, R578, let's have the writers' and actors (using the term loosely with this crew) walk off the set and we can stare at a blank fucking screen for 22 minutes each week.

It is odd they have been addressed but the last thing this show needs is more characters.

^^haven't been addressed

R579 that'd be a million times more enjoyable than watching this unfunny dreck that is basically having Gilbert's overflowing tampon rammed down our throats.

R578 sounds sweet.

"People who take TV shows LITERALLY are the biggest fucking assholes around. The new Roseanne has no bearing on real life. "

Actually, the "new Roseanne" seems to be bending over backwards to have "bearing on real life." The death of a character by opiods, the transexual/gay child, the bi-racial child, the Muslim neighbors, the single mother trying to provide for her kids...seems like all of those things are very contemporary themes that bear resemblance to real life today. And by the way, you seem like of the biggest assholes around.

[quote]"People who take TV shows LITERALLY are the biggest fucking assholes around. The new Roseanne has no bearing on real life. "

Take some meds and calm down.

The entire thread is a discussion about a tv show. What else would you propose we discuss in this thread, H.R.263: The bill to rename the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge as the Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

Besides rating, characters, stories, and the private lives of hot stars of the show, what else is there for the reboot of a sitcom?

R584 Those are all somebody's agenda. It does not reflect on the 97% of Americans who are straight. Gays and lezzies are barely 3% of the population.

R586 - why'd you cherry pick the gay/trans storyline?

Big Bang Theory should have kept Sara on as Leslie Winkle and never added the Amy character.

There was nowhere to go with Leslie Winkle.

Another mediocre episode this week. Dan gets injured filling in for DJ's vending machine route, Becky is still a whore with no mention of the baby.

I caught last night's episode but haven't watched it consistently. I was wondering what happened to Becky's pregnancy. I actually liked the scenes with Jackie and Becky. I still can't stand Darlene, her kids or DJ's wife. I also thought it was kind of pathetic that Dan is obligated to support Darlene and her kids.

Anyone who watches this show is a fucking moron. Watching hyenas eat live in Africa is way better.

R592, actually anyone who takes the time to post about a show they don't watch is the moron.

What R593 said. We get it. You lick Roseanne's sweaty taint in your spare time.

R593 I own all 8 seasons of Roseanne on DVD. I give zero fucks for Roseanne's politics. She was always mentally ill but she was a funny, talented woman. This shitfest of Sara's is one of the worst pieces of shit I have ever seen. Every character is disgusting.

Come.

on.

and.

end.

this.