[BigBrother_Survivor] The 'Roseanne' Revival Proves You Can't Always Go Home Again

 

 Premier last night. How did you like it?  I thought it was good.

 The 'Roseanne' Revival Proves You Can't Always Go Home Again
Monday, March 26, 2018

Jennifer Lind-Westbrook
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV

Roseanne is back for season 10 after a 21-year-hiatus, and fans are curious what has become of the sharp-tongued matriarch of the Conner family and her tight-knit brood. In the season 9 season/series finale, viewers learned that much of what we knew about the Conners after nine years wasn't true: the family winning the lottery was pure fiction, written by Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) following the death of her husband, Dan (John Goodman). Jackie Harris (Laurie Metcalf), Roseanne's sister, was gay, high-school sweethearts Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and David (Johnny Galecki) who married and had a daughter together were never a couple. David was actually with Becky (Lecy Goranson), the oldest Conner daughter, and Becky's dim-witted husband, Mark (played by Glenn Quinn who died in 2002), was involved with Darlene. 

These revelations erased the ridiculous hijinks of the new-moneyed Conners that plagued the series' final season but also unraveled core relationships. So, with the show returning, some of these wrongs are corrected while others aren't addressed at all, leaving it up to fans to accept the Conners as they are in the present. The end result is disappointing on many level

The More Things Change ...

Dan is still alive, and he and Roseanne have remained happily married. All of the Conner kids are back with the exception of Jerry, the youngest boy, whose absence is explained in the premiere. Jackie is also still in Lanford and as aimless as ever. The family has grown as Darlene now has two children, Harris (Emma Kenney) and Mark (Ames McNamara), and son D.J. (Michael Fishman) has a daughter, Mary (Jayden Rey.)

In some ways, much hasn't changed for the blue-collar family who hung out at the bowling alley, the mall, the local dive bar or just around their kitchen table. The show used to derive humor from the setbacks the Conners faced as they dealt with disrespectful and disobedient kids, crazy relatives, thankless jobs, unbearable bosses and marital strife. Dan and Roseanne are still struggling financially, only now they're older and trying to figure out how to put food on the table and pay for healthcare. 

Life has been tough for the Conners, and when a show's main characters have been beaten down, not much humor remains. The Conners' current state reflects what many American families face after years of increasing income disparity, wage stagnation, the loss of jobs overseas and the waning powers of unions, but viewers who are looking to the Conners to remind them that every blow can be cushioned with a snarky-one liner aren't going to get that reassuring comfort this time around.

No matter what obstacles characters faced on the original incarnation of Roseanne, the family remained an affectionate clan, maybe not in the traditional sense, but Roseanne knew when to administer tough love and when to be softer and nurturing. 

Now, the Conners feel like a family who have been apart for decades -- just like the actors who play them. Watching the Roseanne reboot is like watching a poorly-rehearsed play where characters move around each other cautiously and awkwardly. They deliver uninspired jokes and wait for chuckles from the studio audience that don't erupt from deep within the belly but are rather polite acknowledgements, most likely encouraged by a crew member holding up a sign that says "Laugh."

Will the Real Roseanne Please Stand Up?

Given the apolitical but progressive tone of the original Roseanne, fans will be confused by the revival. Roseanne -- Barr has been an outspoken Trump supporter -- voted for Trump. This makes sense in some ways. The Conners are one of many families that FOX News talks about, who Trump spoke to and who everyone else appears to have forgotten. 

In the premiere, it's revealed the 2016 presidential election caused a rift between Roseanne and Jackie, who are supposed to represent each side of the warring factions that continue to divide the country now that we're neck deep in the Trump era. Roseanne keeps her reason for voting for Trump simple -- jobs. Jackie doesn't have an argument for her political "convictions," so the two throw out cheap shots regarding pantsuits and Russian salad dressing. 

If Roseanne wanted to tackle how differing political opinions have caused not just the country to implode but households as well, the writers needed to dig a bit deeper. How does a woman struggling to pay for prescriptions justify voting for a man who promised to dismantle the healthcare system? How does a woman who is pro-choice reconcile living under an administration that has waged war on women's rights? And if Trump is making America great again, why is every member of the Conner family struggling? The Jackie-Roseanne feud ends up in a bizarre purgatory between comedy and drama with a relevant and potentially poignant conversation introduced but then dismissed in 20 minutes. 

Roseanne was always groundbreaking TV, tackling subjects such as domestic violence, mental illness, racism, abortion and alcoholism, and several of the reboot's storylines reflect ongoing conversations in our current social climate such as the complexities of gender identity and the opioid crisis. 

In the past, whenever Roseanne took on "taboo" subject matter, it was done organically, woven seamlessly into the fabric of the show. Considering the revival's nine-episode run, the three episodes available for screening resemble PSAs. Although Barr is one of the writers responsible for season 10, this feels like a different show altogether. Maybe it's because Barr has changed, or perhaps, it's because the country, television and the cultural landscape as a whole have changed, and there isn't a place in it for Roseanne -- or this incarnation of it anyway.

There are a few genuinely touching moments that remind us of what we've been missing, but mostly it's a hodgepodge of hypocrisy, half-assedness, confusion, absurdity, sadness and desperation (Metcalf plays Jackie with a manic energy that is disconcerting) instead of a warm family reunion. The Roseanne reboot isn't good enough to attract new viewers. Those who are lured to the revival because of sentimental attachment to the original won't recognize these Conners and probably won't like them very much either.

Were you a fan of the original Roseanne? Are you excited about the reboot? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Roseanne premieres Tuesday, March 27 at 8/7c on ABC. Want more news about your favorite shows? Visit the BuddyTV page on Facebook.

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