"The Conners" Discussion Thread

[xtr]

 

Yes, I remember that. I specifically remember them talking about Jerry being on a boat. Some of us were just speculating about how they were going to address them not being around because their mother/Aunt died. 

Edited October 17, 2018 by xtr

[BetterForgotten]

I wonder if we'll ever see Nancy or Leon again - supporting characters that were almost exclusively tied to Roseanne Conner and didn't have much worth to anyone else. 

[DRW50]

 

I could see Nancy returning for Mark's story. 

 

I didn't watch last season bar one or two episodes so I'm not sure what their role was there.

[Vee]

I think Nancy appeared once at a ladies' poker game IIRC, talking about her latest girlfriend. I don't know if she'd appear again, as Sandra Bernhard was very vocally fed up with Roseanne's RL antics after what happened with the cancellation. I hope so.

 

I don't remember seeing Leon at all. Did that happen? I'd like to see him at least once, yes, for Mark.

 

[BetterForgotten]

Leon didn't appear in season 10 and wasn't mentioned to my knowledge. 

 

Martin Mull never turns down a job, so not sure if he was asked...

[dragonflies]

 

[Faulkner]

The Conners got a 2.3 18-49 in initial estimates, enough to narrowly edge out This Is Us (2.2) to lead the night.

[DRW50]

I wasn't sure about watching the premiere, but was finally pushed to do so by all the whiny bitches and trolls going on and on and on about how the cast had stabbed Roseanne Barr in the back and how the whole thing deserved to fail miserably. 

 

(I also have no time for this idea being pushed that this death was degrading or demeaning...if you want that, go watch Aunt Fran's death on Mama's Family). 

 

The ratings seem decent considering they were going to be declining anyway, with or without Roseanne. I have seen people say these ratings are artificial because people wanted to know how she died. That's somewhat true, obviously, but the audience was highly polarized (online, anyway) compared to most situations like this, so I think a lot of the people who watched may want to stick around. We'll see, I guess. 

 

Overall I liked it and I think it has great potential.

 

The show is creaky and there is an uneasy mix between the creaky older cast and the polished, TV-friendly younger cast (my main issue with Darlene's kids and why I never quite believe them, although there were some great scenes with Darlene/Harris and  Dan/Mark last night [I have to admit I didn't really know if Dan would have been so completely supportive about Mark, but it was still a nice set of scenes that had good work from John Goodman]). I have had lots of issues with Jackie since somewhere around 1994, and I feel like the character mostly exists through Laurie Metcalf, not much else, but on the positive side, the last scene with Darlene and Jackie was great and a real hint of what Jackie was in the earlier seasons of the show. 

 

John Goodman really does vary from scene to scene, to put it kindly, but he had some strong moments here.

 

The highlight for me was the material with Becky and Darlene. If the relationship between Jackie and Roseanne was a strong point for the best years of the original show, Becky and Darlene carry the same torch. Sara Gilbert continues to be the best at both comedy and drama in the cast and Lecy Goranson has killer comic timing, along with some dramatic chops here and there (the scene where she said she couldn't help with the bills because she'd already done all of this with [her] Mark was one of the most powerful). Their relationship feels so real and rolls right off the screen. I also liked the little scenes with DJ giving them crap and their bantering back with him.

 

I really like the woman who plays DJ's wife, and the little jabbing between her and Darlene about religion. I do hope in future we get more believable moments with her and DJ as an actual couple, because it kind of feels like they just grafted her and the child onto him. Last night's episode at times seems to almost deliberately downplay their relationship (even cutting away when they were going to kiss). 

 

The pill story was skillfully written. I could see Roseanne hoarding pills and still keeping her addiction a secret, telling herself it was to help her family (and part of it was probably was). The scene with Dan, Darlene and Marcy was extremely well done, although if I'm being honest, as talented as Mary Steenburgen is, I would have rather seen as a lesser known actress in the role. 

 

Beyond the bits with Darlene and Becky, and of course seeing Crystal again (and Chuck), my favorite scene was with Darlene and Harris, when Harris was talking to her mother about whether Roseanne knew she loved her, and Darlene punking her about the the goodbye letters Roseanne had written everyone. It was one of those moments that I've felt in my own life, and then the joke at the end was a great way to relieve the pit in my stomach - old school Roseanne humor at its best.

Edited October 17, 2018 by DRW50

[Vee]

And in fact, the last pill stash Darlene found in the icebox is the exact same one Roseanne was shown to have hidden from Dan last season, after he thought he'd found them all.

[Vee]

More numbers:

 

 

Deadline's earlier story was also updated:

 

[Vee]

Lecy and Michael on The View:

 

 

[DRW50]

Their original story was much more negative. The EW one also had negative framing, focusing on being down from last season's premiere. I get the feeling the press wanted it to be an outright flop as it fit their narrative.

 

EW's site is so cheap and ugly and feels irrelevant these days, but still, I was shocked that 99% of the comments in the comments section were just right wing talking points.  

[Faulkner]

Michael Fishman is such an articulate advocate for the show that I wish he were a more capable actor.

 

Most entertainment sites, particularly those with big exclusives, are overrun with right-wing parrots, especially if they’re linked from Drudge. A lot of the more sensible sites have gotten rid of comments altogether. Vulture should follow suit. Most of its comments are spam.

Edited October 17, 2018 by Faulkner

[BetterForgotten]

The funny thing is that the show doesn't even pretend that Fishman is a capable actor. He had more lines per episode when he was 8 than he does now! 

[Vee]

The press seems to like the premiere/revamp a lot, so I don't think it's that. I do think the tone of the coverage on the numbers has fluctuated and shifted from negative to more positive.

 

Social media, OTOH, has been inundated with right wing attacks on it by trolls/Russians. I think that will die down in time.

Edited October 17, 2018 by Vee