"The Conners" Discussion Thread

[Gray Bunny]

I would've thought Darlene would be the one success story, but as life goes, nothing is guaranteed secure. 

 

I think I read somewhere that DJ does marry the black girl he refused to kiss in season seven. If so, I'm sure it'll be mentioned in an episode. 

 

I agree that "Roseanne" in its prime was when Roseanne had Anne-Marie, Crystal, and Bonnie as friends, during seasons 3 and 4. So glad Anne-Marie will be back, along with Chuck. I would *love* if they brought Bonnie back, if the show returns next season. I, too, thought it strange how she was never mentioned after the 4th season. I know Roseanne and Bonnie Bartlett/Sheridan are still friends in real life (she even appeared on her short-lived reality series, "Roseanne's Nuts" in 2011), so hopefully she'd be interested. 

 

But other than she and Martin Mull, it's really amazing how many people from the original have returned. Who next.. an ex of Jackie, like Gary? Fisher? BOOKER??? 

[Soapsuds]

I loved Jackie with Gary. The last we saw of the actor was on OLTL. I'd love to see Booker make a cameo during the closing credits of the show. Have Jackie open the Connor's front door and it's Booker.

 

Btw...didn't know that NBC passed on the Roseanne show. It later came to bite them when Roseanne took over the number 1 spot from The Cosby Show.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Soapsuds

[Vee]

I wouldn't even be shocked if George Clooney turned up to cameo again like he did during the original for a Halloween ep. I doubt it, but it's possible. He came back to ER twice. He likes doing that kind of stuff, he's a class act.

 

I liked Seasons 5 and most of 6 quite a lot, and after that the show began to have real trouble though it wasn't unwatchable to me til the final year. But I did think the decreased presence of Roseanne and Dan's other friends from the old days hurt. (I'm pretty sure Natalie West is also confirmed)

Edited March 20, 2018 by Vee

[BetterForgotten]

I thought season 5 was the best season, a good combination of the home-spun feeling of the earlier seasons, with the more adult tone of the latter seasons.

 

The show had to naturally change after season 4 - the kids, for the most part, were grown (and Becky had run off with Mark), so more focus could be paid to Roseanne's life outside of being a mom. They focused on The Lunch Box, but moved away from Roseanne's old friends, and instead focused more on Roseanne's relationships with her mother, Nancy, and Leon. 

 

Also, Darlene was a very different character than Becky, so her being left as the main child of focus lent to a different tonal quality on the show. 

Edited March 20, 2018 by BetterForgotten

[Soapsuds]

Are the rumors true that Sal Barone who was DJ in the pilot was replaced because he and Sara Gilbert didn't get along on set?

[Gray Bunny]

I love seasons 1 through 6. Something about 2, 3, and 4 I feel were the show at its best, with the original family unit still intact. I think a lot of people remember season 2 and so much of the show's elements and how they looked, as it was when the show was the No. 1 rated show on TV that season. 

 

It's funny you mentioned George Clooney popping up in season 4's Halloween episode. That was only 1991. He was still a nobody at that point

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[BetterForgotten]

You know, I didn't actually mind Roseanne becoming more bitter/mean-spirited in seasons 5 and 6 - I think Roseanne and Darlene's best one-liners and zingers occurred in those seasons.

 

But I know for some people, that's when they started to hate Roseanne as a character. 

[dragonflies]

Yep that was it for me, it felt like she went from Dan & her kids being her whole world to acting like she can barely tolerate any of them

[dragonflies]

A clip of Johnny Galecki, he looks so good

 

https://www.facebook.com/TVGuide/videos/10155256490042793/

[Vee]

A couple surprisingly mostly positive reviews: THR and Chicago Tribune

 

It does sound like the election issue is handled broadly but that the show moves on after the pilot, for which I am glad.

 

I didn't know the premiere night next week is a full hour - two episodes.

Edited March 21, 2018 by Vee

[Vee]

Another funky legend I discovered which may or may not be untrue: John Goodman was widely rumored to be at the end of his rope in Season 8 and ready for the show to be done. And it's known that much of the cast thought it was their last, as did Lecy Goranson which is why she agreed to return, only for Roseanne to agree to one more year. As such, Goodman took off for other commitments like The Big Lebowski for much of the season.

 

The new part of this story, which may or may not be true, claims that Goodman's last regular appearance was to be the Season 8 finale, where he and Roseanne have their huge fight. Originally, the story goes, Dan would only appear once more to be killed off. TPTB supposedly managed to convince him to make recurring appearances in Season 9, but the affair story + death in the finale clearly seems punitive on Roseanne's part. I always was disgusted by his treatment in the story that year and while neither behaved perfectly BTS (Goodman was a longtime alcoholic) I am glad those two patched it up.

[Vee]

A couple older articles, both from Roseanne's POV which is unique and may need a grain of salt, but fascinating nonetheless - one from a few years ago and one from '89, both discussing the power struggle with co-creator (and future creator of Home Improvement, which I despised) Matt Williams in S1, as well as candidly discussing her personal life, her family and divorce from her first husband. Both very worth reading. A small excerpt of the latter:

 

 

...Oh, and there's also pretty gruesome detail on her then-new sex life with Tom Arnold. 

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Edited March 21, 2018 by Vee

[BetterForgotten]

It's still amazing she was able to get as much power as she did. I have no doubt she was very difficult to deal with, but she probably had to put up with a ton of sexism to really push through her vision. It's amazing the show was as popular and highly rated as it was with so much backstage drama. 

 

There was a point in the early 90's where Roseanne was the most popular woman in America. It was either her or Madonna on the cover of every magazine/tabloid. 

[Vee]

I think there's probably plenty of blame on both sides throughout - she is bipolar and possibly more erratic than ever in some areas now, and she made so many writers' lives hell. But she also put on a damn good show for years, and I think a lot of that was due to her perfectionism, until it curdled in the final seasons.

 

I suspect Sara Gilbert, as EP, knows exactly how to handle her in ways many other past producers or staff did not. I also note a number of her longtime comedy friends (Norm McDonald, Wanda Sykes, etc.) on the new staff. That being said: The only episodes we have crew details on have writing and directing credits for several old regulars from the original show, including John Pasquin (director) and Sid Youngers (writer).

 

I have a feeling the pilot may be the broadest and possibly worst of the new episodes, at least according to some early reviews that say the show improves after. But that is not uncommon for pilots. As long as they're not waving a Trump 2020 flag - and there is no way Sara Gilbert and co. would go for that - I'm okay.

Edited March 21, 2018 by Vee

[Vee]

The BBC did this BTS TV doc featuring a week on the set of Roseanne in '91. The Roseanne portion of the doc was stripped from American airings, but here it is. It's something else:

 

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You can see a young Amy Sherman-Palladino in there in the writers' room, along with Chuck Lorre, etc.