As we know, ABC picked up Roseanne for another season, but they did not tell us how many episodes there will be. Laurie Metcalf was on Watch What Happens Live the other night and she told Andy Cohen that there will be 13 new episodes in the fall.
Long before the show got a revival, some guy named George Clooney was her love interest on the show. A caller wanted to know what was the best and worst parts about working with the Oscar winner. She said the best part was playing are they or aren’t they. What was the worst part? Not the kissing, but him disappearing after season 1.
You know how Will & Grace feels like no time has passed since it ended its first run? Well, to me, Roseanne does not feel that way. The cast, the acting, the writing and the plots all seem very different from the show we know and love.
I could not figure out why, and then it hit me while I was doing a Before They Were Famous on John Goodman. When the show started out, Roseanne was a comedian, who just had a big break with an HBO comedy special, but she was still not a household name. John Goodman had been acting for around a decade and still had not had his big break. Same with Laurie Metcalf. Plus, the kids were all kids and this was their first big role.
They were hungry, they knew what it was like to be blue collar, to struggle. Today, they are making barrels of cash because of Roseanne being in high rotation in syndication. They are no longer the average man, they are the 1%. They cannot relate to the viewers anymore and I think the feeling is reciprocal. It is just not the same show.
For example, tonight at 8p on ABC, David is back and we find out why he left Darlene. It was not because they were young and stupid when they got together. It is not because they fell out of love. It is not because one of them had an affair. It is not the reason why most teenage couples grow apart. He left her to build houses overseas for people in need.
WTF? This is not the David we knew. He was a timid little mouse who was too afraid to leave Illinois, let alone the country. Darlene, I could see doing it in spite but not David.
That just goes to show how the writers are not only out of touch with the viewers, they are also out of touch with the show and its character. When it comes to the writers, they were just as hungry. Chuck Lorre did not have his own show on #1 show on TV. Joss Whedon was not a huge movie director. They were just two guys getting rumored to have been belittled by Roseanne.
Now you have successful people like Sara Gilbert, Wanda Sykes and Whitney Cummings writing the show. It changed the tone of the sitcom, and it feels like a whole new comedy with the same cast.
I want the Roseanne I watch on LAFF, We TV and TV Land back instead of what is airing on ABC now. I don’t think it is possible, but that is what I want.
What about you? How do you feel about the revival? Do you think it feels the same or different?
And my feelings have nothing to do with Roseanne’s politics, it has everything to with the show feels so forced now and not natural like it was the first go around.
Last week, all pop culture people could talk about is how outrageous Roseanne’sratings were and many correlated the high numbers with her politics. I saw the numbers as being high because it has been a fan favorite for almost 30 years and it still plays in syndication several times a day on several channels. There is still a love for this show and people wanted to go back to Conner home where it was safe. As long as Roseanne was in a good mood. I mean her character…
Anyways, I admit I did not like the three episodes that ABC sent out to the press because I found them to be too political and swaying to one side only. Believe it or, I felt it was too far to the left and not enough over to the right. And I am a leftie, who likes balance. It felt more like their views were being thrown at us as compared to explaining them neutrally like they in the old days. Something that current shows like Superior Donuts and Black-ish do a good job with, but some of the right won’t watch because the casts are people of color. On that note, Roseanne does make a cheap joke about ABC’s Tuesday night comedies, calling them the Black and Asian shows. Maybe there is one political joke tonight, but that is it.
Much to, I am sure, Donald Trump’s disappointment, the Conners only deal with aging and raising kids in the year 2018 on tonight’s episode at 8p on ABC. That is it! It reminded me of how the sitcom used to be and why we are still watching repeats after 3 decades.
What happens tonight? Roseanne’s knee is in bad shape and it is hard for her to get up the stairs. Medicine is expensive, so Dan (John Goodman) steals her a chairlift and it installs it on their stairs. She refuses to use it because she thinks it is for old people.
There are also young people in her house and she is sick of how Darlene’s (Sara Gilbert) daughter Harris (Emma Kenney) is taking advantage of everyone. Harris does not clean up after herself and acts like a queen. Roseanne wants Darlene to punish her, but Darlene does not want to do it. She does not believe in raising kids like she was raised by her parents. Eventually, Roseanne has had enough and takes on Harris. Will the teen learn her lesson or will she revolt even more?
That is something families all over the country deal with. I think this the Roseanne people want to watch. It is the Roseanne I want to watch. I get enough politics during the day, I don’t need at night during my escape from it.
If Roseanne does more episodes like this, instead of hot topic political storylines, then I can see their numbers continue at unbelievable highs. If they keep on being so one-sided, I expect their numbers to fall back to earth next season.
How do you prefer your Roseanne?
One little note, Emma Kenney is the surprise star of this show. She has proven to be a much better actor than some of her older co-stars. The actress is one to watch and I hope they do more episodes focused on her.
It took ABC over 60 hours to announce, but they have decided to pick up Roseanne for another season. It will be the revival’s 2nd and the series’ 11th.
Is anyone surprised by the news, especially since it got the president’s seal of approval? That and over 21.869 million viewers with the delayed viewing count. More viewers in one night than some shows will get for their whole season.
Congrats! Now I cannot wait for the networks to give us Welcome Back, Barberino, Lamont & Son, Gooder Times, My Two Moms, Buffy the Zombie Slayer, Divorced…without Children, The Golden Grandgirls, Designing Men, Early Bird at Cheers, The Brady Bunches and Supernatural.
Even though Roseanne has been playing her character for 30 years now, yet she still does not know how to spell her character’s last name correctly. Yesterday, when she tweeted John Goodman’s response to their outstanding ratings, she made yuge typo. She spelled their last name as Connor, but it is really Conner. Whoops. Typical Trump supporter, spelling does not matter!
On that note, Donald Trump took time out of his unproductive schedule to call her and congratulate her on the yuge ratings. Today on Good Morning America, she described the call. She said, “It’s pretty exciting. They said, ‘Hold please for the President of America.’ You know that is the most exciting thing ever. It was very, you know, sweet of him.” Then when he got on the phone they had a private conversation and talked about a lot of things. He did make time to tell her that he is happy for her.
Then she told the George Stephanopoulos, “I’ve known him for many years and he’s done a lot of nice things for me over the years. It was just a friendly conversation about work and television and ratings.” Then she added, “He really understands ratings and how they measure things.” Don’t tell her he does not really know ratings. He always said The Apprentice was always the #1 show and it was not.
And don’t tell him or his supporters, the show swings more to the left than the right. Much more.
BTW I wonder if during that conversation she asked to appear on the sitcom next season. No, it has not picked up for season 2, but the decision is imminent.
