"The Conners" Discussion Thread

[Soaplovers]

I figure on this show... we have to fill in the blanks and come up with our own conclusions as to what has happened over the last twenty plus years on the show.

 

I assume The Lunchbox went out of business due to the recession in the late 2000s. 

 

I assume Andy has cut Jackie out of his life for being a hovering/helicopter mother hence why she never mentions him (cause it's so painful),

 

I'm going to assume Crystal probably has retired since she always seemed to land on her feet even with her back luck in husbands (I always assumed she got a pretty big pay out after her first husband died on a job site.. and she wisely spent/saved that money.. and still worked at the factory because needed the insurance for herself and her son.... and a lot of women make good money selling cosmetics so she probably was able to buy her own insurance as well).

[KMan101]

Agreed on making up our own backstories.

 

That one works for me with Andy/Jackie. I can totally see that. It could really also run deeper with Jackie's own problems with Bev and not wanting Bev around (though still obviously loving her). I'd really love the Andy/Jackie thing addressed. They can keep Jerry on the fishing boat for eternity. I'd rather forget he existed than Andy. LOL.

 

Crystal's still working, she works at a casino. She'll be retiring in one of the episodes coming up and Darlene and Becky will compete for the job (and having seen Darlene in the same outfit as Crystal, I guess we know who gets the job). Crystal was a bit out there but she always seemed capable of taking care of herself financially.

[xtr]

 

 

I wish they would address Jackie/Andy too. Heck, mentioning that he is on the fishing boat with Jerry would have been fine with me, lol. It's strange they are acting like Jackie doesn't have a son, especially since she continues to be a loving/supportive Aunt (and now Great Aunt as well). I think that she deserves to have an adult son in her life to dote on and have a good relationship with, (even if she veered into really overprotective mode at times.)

 

Maybe this scenario might be true of Andy/Jackie :

 

Maybe we will find out after the show ended that Fred moved away and Andy didn't really see much of his father, causing him to act out when he reached his teenage years. He could have became really unruly causing Jackie to reach out to Fred. Fred visits them and they both decide it's best that Andy go live with him. While she might have agreed this was best, it still could have upset Jackie, causing some emotional (and physical) distance between her and Andy.

 

Or maybe he was actually a well-behaved kid,  who just once he got to a certain age ended up asking Jackie if he could live with Fred, because he wanted to be around his father more.  This could have also hurt Jackie and caused distance between them. Things could get even more complex, if Fred remarried and Andy became close to his stepmother. Jackie could have felt like the new wife replaced her in Andy's life.

Edited May 13, 2018 by xtr

[Khan]

I just think Andy and Jackie haven't spoken since he underwent gender-reassignment surgery and became Andie.

[Vee]

They've said they intend to address Andy and Jerry more in the future, so that's enough for me.

[KMan101]

 

True. It's just bizarre to feel like Andy doesn't exist. But they said it'd be addressed. I don't mind waiting, it just feels weird not a mention of Andy and Jackie having a son is on the show. But oh well. Just nitpicking honestly.

[juppiter]

They definitely need to address Andy just to give Laurie Metcalf more to do. The only big episode she had was the Bev episode, and it's just not enough. We need as much Laurie Metcalf as we can get.

 

My head backstory for Andy was that he was in and out of rehab for heroin and Jackie finally just cut him out of her life... and nobody mentions it because it is too painful. 

[KMan101]

As much as Laurie is a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Jackie works better how they've been using her. But I agree in wanting to see a little bit more. Hopefully next season.

 

I finally watched last week's episode. The episode was hilarious. The show has found it's groove again. It started a tad rusty but they've hit their stride again, IMHO. Fantastic episode and felt so old school. I loved it.

 

The actors portraying the Muslim family were great. I hope we see them pop up more in the future. I just loved it.

 

"Talibanistan"

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Roseanne honestly came back to TV at the perfect time. We need to laugh. We need to talk and have humor about life again.

 

I really liked how they tackled this subject. It just ... worked.

 

I also really liked seeing more of DJ. I'm glad they're finally touching on him and what he's been up to.

 

Mary is so freaking adorable love her. I loved the all-girl sleepover.

 

I have to admit before the season started I had all sorts of unfounded fears of if they would all be able to slip back into these roles. But man. They have. I was worried most about Sara Gilbert but she's just nailing Darlene again and I'm here for it.

 

Glad it'll be coming back in the fall! HALLOWEEN! Roseanne desperately wants to do one.

 

EDIT:

Can't believe I forgot! CHUCK AND ANNE MARIE!! Anne Marie's side eye game was SO on point lmao. I've always loved Adilah Barnes, I'm really glad to see her and James Pickens back. They too slipped right back into their roles.

Edited May 15, 2018 by KMan101

[xtr]

I enjoyed last night's episode. I felt kind of bad for Becky when she ended up letting Darlene have the casino job. I understood where Becky was coming from about not feeling like she didn't have as good of opportunities as Darlene who has a college degree. Plus, Darlene said she didn't want the job at first. I did think that Becky and Darlene had realistic dialogue regarding their feelings about which one needed the job more. Hopefully, Becky will go back to school and eventually get a better career.

 

I liked seeing Dan continue to be a voice of reason and telling Darlene that while she has her dreams (of being a writer), she needs to start making decisions that will benefit her children now. I think she needed that push from him because I think that she has seemed a bit nonchalant since she's come back home. 

 

I enjoyed seeing Crystal again and liked that she helped out one of Roseanne's kids. I also thought it was interesting that they touched on Roseanne's issues with prescription medication and want to see where that storyline may go. And I thought it was sweet when Becky called Mary/little Mark her "baby birds". Those two kids are cute.

Edited May 17, 2018 by xtr

[Soaplovers]

I think it's ironic that Crystal is retiring with full benefits especially when through out the original show both Roseanne and Jackie (but her to a lesser extent) would always looks down on her.  I even remember during the second season after Roseanne lost the job opportunity due to not knowing about computers that everyone from the factory that quit with her had a job.. ending with 'heck even Crystal has a job'.   Irony at it's finest.

[xtr]

 

I'm glad that Crystal was able to retire with full benefits and that she was able and willing to help one of Roseanne's children get her vacated job. The show is showing how important it is to have benefits and a decent job, especially since Roseanne and Dan are struggling financially and don't have the best health insurance. (Which is factoring into Roseanne not being able to get surgery for her knee and overdoing it with the pain medication.)

 

I don't know what exactly happened with "The Lunch Box" but Roseanne and Dan haven't had the best of luck with jobs. And they are starting to really feel the strain of that in their older years. I don't think they really have anything saved up and they don't have very good benefits. Good for Crystal for finding a job with good benefits and sticking with it and helping one of their kids have that opportunity. Darlene was right when she said it was "irresponsible" not to take that job given where she's currently at in her life, with two children to provide for. It was just unfortunate for Becky, that Darlene came to that conclusion after she intially said she didn't want the job.

Edited May 17, 2018 by xtr

[John]

http://tvline.com/2018/05/18/roseanne-whitney-cummings-leaving-showrunner-season-11-abc/

[Vee]

As long as Sara Gilbert and Helford are there, I'm good.

 

 

[dragonflies]

Who'd she play?

[DRW50]

I had to laugh at the comments praising her for leaving evil right wing Roseanne when her last show was full of racist jokes for years.