"The Conners" Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

 

The only role she has is to say she was in the military and is a Christian. There is nothing to play. 

 

I still don't think they are that much of a burden to the show. If we're talking about characters to write out, I'd probably go with Mark and Harris. 

[EricMontreal22]

You don't recognize sorta-almost former teen idol Jay R. Ferguson?  (He was Ponyboy in The Outsiders TV series...)  I loved him as Stan on Mad Men, his most significant role and I'm glad he's on a hit after being a lead in several sitcoms (The Real O'Neals and last year's Living Biblically) that went nowhere.  Apparently he briefly dated Sara Gilbert--in this stylish ensemble

Please register in order to view this content

 

[Vee]

Ferguson was so, so, so hot on Real O'Neals. He's still hot here and I do love him with Darlene. I just wish the very sexy indie film he did with Twin Peaks star Sheryl Lee would finally come out.

[Soaplovers]

He also was the teen son on Evening Shade.  Gilbert had good taste in men as a teen

Please register in order to view this content

  

[EricMontreal22]

Please register in order to view this content

When was it shot?

[Vee]

A few years ago. Also has Grace Zabriskie from TP. This is the trailer. I should clarify it looks sexy, if rote plot-wise. But a lovely trailer.

[Khan]

 

I see the title "The Makings of You" and my mind goes immediately to this:
 

Please register in order to view this content

 

I understand why Becky had to be the character with the "surprise pregnancy," but I wish it had been Darlene instead.

 

 

Ah, the '90's.  When everything was emo, and you couldn't tell whether two people were in love, in like or in angst.

 

 

I think I've said this before, but Ames McNamara is exactly the kind of child performer the original series wouldn't have hired.  I'm sure he's a sweet kid IRL, but there's something about him that is too "on" for my taste.  He'd be more convincing on a FOX or Disney Channel sitcom.

 

Geena and her daughter are little more than someone checking off a box and making sure there's something (or someone) for every viewer.  As do Mark, the Muslim neighbors and the guy who (I think) works as the bartender at the Mexican restaurant where Becky also works.  At this rate, I expect the next new character to be Asian, blind and/or paralyzed.

Edited December 2, 2018 by Khan

[Vee]

I think that kid is great because he's so unlike the other Conners. He's exactly the kind of insanely sunny, articulate kid Darlene and David would've raised in an urban liberal enclave who is a complete fish out of water in Lanford. I just think he's a joy because he's different. And I'm pretty sure that difference is why he was cast - to contrast the others and just be a purely sweet, happy kid who has no concept of a harsher world or anything coming his way in terms of prejudice. His interactions with Dan (and previously Roseanne) are always so happy while Dan just seems befuddled that he's so bright and bubbly all the time - his best moment was asking if Dan went to college for drywall.

 

I don't think it's fair to say Geena or Mary are 'box-ticking.' Roseanne wanted D.J. to marry Geena the little black girl from the old show for a long time, I think - and having a black grandchild(?) she also wanted that in the new show. These impulses come from the same place they always did creatively, drawing from Roseanne's life. Do I think there needs to be more of Geena, yes, but I think that can come in time. Nor do I think the al-Harazis, etc. are any different than the kind of progressive choices in supporting characters than we saw in the original series.

Edited December 2, 2018 by Vee

[xtr]

 

I am glad that Becky decided to raise the baby on her own, (with some guidance and help from Darlene if needed). I wasn't comfortable with outsiders raising her baby, especially given that she revealed she really did want to have children. I am glad that she didn't end up going through with the surrogacy last season as well. Even more so seeing how vapid Andrea seems as a mother.

 

 

I like the young actress that plays Mary and her bond with Mark and her family. I think that Geena might come across better if they had her and DJ act more romantically towards each other. It would soften her character a bit. As of right now she's really straight laced and they don't act much like a couple and I think that limits her character. The first lady they had playing Geena was warmer, and more lighthearted.  If they had this version of Geena act more like that, that could help her character.

Edited December 2, 2018 by xtr

[Paul Raven]

I didn't connect Darlene's boss with his Mad Men character at all. Thanks for pointing that out. I still remember when he went all  late 60's hippie inspired and was bursting out of very tight trousers.

 

 

[DRW50]

 

I've felt this way all season. They really do not write her as a couple with DJ. I don't have a problem with Geena, but I think if she was put into a role beyond just the same two lines it would help.

 

I think he's alright, and I understand what you mean about him - I just don't entirely know how well he fits into the current show. I kind of wonder if he might have fit the idea of the show more when Roseanne was still there, as he would have been a contrast to her. 

[Vee]

I think he works very well as a contrast to Dan especially, but to most of them.

 

Geena definitely needs to be beefed up, but I'm giving them time since this whole show was thrown together practically overnight.

Edited December 2, 2018 by Vee

[EricMontreal22]

Tight trousers indeed!

[Vee]

Catching up on last week:

 

Mark telling Dan "I have no way to pay forward the love you give me!" (and getting snaps from Geena while the others applauded) was hilarious. As was him picking up after Becky and trading barbs with her, proving he's not all daisies and light. This is why I think super-sunny, optimistic Mark who is so unlike the children Dan and Roseanne raised works as a contrast to the others; he is articulate and mostly happy because of Darlene's parenting and his somewhat oblivious take on their attitudes and worldview counters the others well. (And he's likely to hit some harsh realities in Lanford in potential future seasons as he comes into his own identity more.)

 

I wish Crystal had stayed happily retired but if it means giving more airtime to Natalie West I get it - some retired people do get bored fast. I was pleased to see the casino back because I was worried the new job at the paper meant they were going to fluff off Darlene's prior job entirely; part of what I loved about the original series was the running plot threads of the Conners' ongoing work struggles. Roseanne at Wellman, the beauty shop, the mall, the Lunch Box, etc. were all different phases of her life; same with Dan and the slow failure of the bike shop. They may have had Darlene quit the casino by making Ben give her benefits, but they closed the thread out from one season to the next. Seeing these kind of ongoing threads continue with Darlene and presumably Becky in future is great.

 

I do love Ben, and Jay R. Ferguson is always so hot and talented in any show or film he does. He is clearly meant to be the anti-David, but he also heavily channeled Dan this week, as many have said. I do hope he's not just a romantic obstacle for a possible Darlene and David reunion, or if he is that he is a fairly longterm one. They don't have Johnny Galecki for much for at least another year and I think I may prefer Ben at this stage of Darlene's life.

 

Dan had some great lines. "Like many accomplished men, I was up knocking cats off my chicken coop with a broom." And telling D.J. he broke his wrist walking across a room and they weren't going to give him a treehouse. And the Dan/Jackie stuff was actually pretty astutely sensitive.

 

I liked the exploration of the Darlene/Becky relationship. It's become much more important now (and to a certain extent last season) than it's been since the early seasons of the original show, but it's also inverted from what it once was - Becky is now the screw-up by virtue of how her life has gone, and Darlene is the relatively together guiding force. This was not the case when they were kids and young teens, and it's also fascinating seeing Becky kind of become the early Jackie opposite Darlene's Roseanne. I also feel it's true to both characters since for better or worse, once Becky married Mark, for as much as they loved each other her life and future completely derailed. She was working a Hooters-type job as early as Season 7 or something. But now she has some hope for the future both as a woman and a mother, and I do love Lecy Goranson's performance with Sara Gilbert as well as the devastating shot of her looking through the lesbians' window as she left.

 

Lecy also delivers the most cold lines so well. "Just walk away from him! The baby's not gonna find you!" I cackled.

 

More Geena, please! They've had a lot to juggle this season in addition to adding a new regular, so hopefully if there is a renewal (and knock on wood I think there will be) they'll dig deeper with her.

[BetterForgotten]

Geena suffers from poor character development, but I also think there's nothing interesting about the actress to compensate for the writing. Her acting style seems better suited for commercials and bit roles...