S04.E01: Trucking Live In Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, Jillybean said:

It seems Lecy attended a fundraising event rather than appearing in this episode.  Mild Becky spoilers in this article.  https://tvline.com/2021/09/24/the-conners-becky-season-4-premiere-live-lecy-goranson/

lol...I like the suggestion in the comments on that article that they should have had Sarah Chalke play Becky for the episode.

[ButterQueen]

I can’t help it, I love this show.  I enjoyed the episode a lot.  Jackie has always been my fave and now to have Jackie and Louise……squee!!!

[ESS]

12 minutes ago, ButterQueen said:

I can’t help it, I love this show.  I enjoyed the episode a lot.  Jackie has always been my fave and now to have Jackie and Louise……squee!!!

Yeah Jackie & Louise are gonna be a great team I think which is so weird considering Jackie didn't like Louise at all at first, (nor in high school) it's gonna be fun to watch them together and as a family. 

[Irate Panda]

I never like live episodes of these types of shows and I’m sure the distant “Conners” are nice people, but I thought they stunk and fast forwarded through their scenes.  Darlene and Ben need to give it up.  

[iMonrey]

Quote

Other than that, the episode seemed like a regular "Conners" episode; except for the part where Darlene ran through the backstage area, I didn't notice any flubs from it being live.

There were a few awkward transitions. When the camera cut to Harris and Mark sitting at the kitchen table, they were both looking up at the camera or director or whoever, waiting for their cue to start. 

[peacheslatour]

18 hours ago, ESS said:

Yeah Jackie & Louise are gonna be a great team I think which is so weird considering Jackie didn't like Louise at all at first, (nor in high school) it's gonna be fun to watch them together and as a family. 

They're both consummate professionals, it's a treat to see them together.

[ESS]

6 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

They're both consummate professionals, it's a treat to see them together.

Yes it is, I agree and they are gonna be family so I think it's gonna be a lot of fun with their scenes. 

[SilverLake0315]

On 9/23/2021 at 2:27 PM, UYI said:

Not gonna lie...Jackie got me for a second before she said Bev was still alive. Hee! 

I should have anticipated where it was going… but, I didn’t! And I loved it! 

[Aileen]

On 9/24/2021 at 4:11 PM, hoodooznoodooz said:

I only noticed Ames repeating one line and, before that, a quick, random camera shot at the staircase.

Laurie Metcalf blocked the camera shot a

few times in a kitchen scene…she would lean forward and her head would block whoever was speaking.

[DanaMB]

On 9/24/2021 at 1:36 AM, hoodooznoodooz said:

You and I are the only ones who feel this way.

I’m not a regular poster here, but I didn't miss Becky either. I think the actress is horrible and wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t feel she could do a live show. 

[Irate Panda]

I actually think Becky is the best actor out of the “kids” but Jackie and Dan are the only ones I would consider really good actors out of the regulars, unless we are now counting Louise as a regular, then it would be those three.  However, I think a lot of the problem with this show was the writing.

 I hope this live show was just a publicity stunt and they don’t have more of these in the future. I still think there’s too many chatacters for a 30 min sitcom and the live show brought this out more because they couldn’t smooth it out with editing.  The whole Mark storyline could have been left out and quite frankly I’m tired of Darlene’s love life. Darlene needs to concentrate on why she feels the need to lie constantly to Ben before she tries to forge on and make a life with him.  Ben also needs to figure out why they don’t communicate properly before wanting to make a deeper commitment.  I don’t know why anyone would want to be with her.  She’s either totally miserable and sarcastic or lying constantly.  She can not date and still have a fulfilling life, if written properly.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Irate Panda

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, DanaMB said:

I think the actress is horrible and wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t feel she could do a live show. 

Goranson had no problem doing the previous live shows (like with this one, for the live election episode, they did two - one for East coast and one for West).  As posted upthread, she was given permission to skip the premiere because she had a prior commitment at a charity gala in her hometown (Evanston, IL).

[hoodooznoodooz]

2 hours ago, DanaMB said:

I’m not a regular poster here, but I didn't miss Becky either. I think the actress is horrible and wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t feel she could do a live show. 

All this time I really thought I was the only one who felt this way. The actress is likable, but her acting skills are better suited to performing in a middle or high school play.

I agree: a live performance would be intimidating.

[CrystalBlue]

I'm conflicted about the conflict Lecy Goranson supposedly had about not being on the job as the actress she was hired to perform at a season premier episode versus a charity event she had committed herself to attend.  Did the show not tell her what the schedule for The Conners tapings and live appearance(s) would be?  Is being an actor now a free agency job where you show up when you want to and your social card and charity events schedule is more important?

Nice work if you can get it.  I am not being snarky; I genuinely am confused and have doubts about this explanation we've been given for Becky's absence.  Having her at a retreat made sense in the storyline, but they should have had her either via Zoom or an in-house scene.

Becky being part of S04E01 would have only improved the live shows, IMO.  The Conners family cell phone calls nonsense distracted us viewers and it fell flat.  Seeing a bunch of randos get their 15 seconds of fame because they won a contest was lame.

I like Lecy and Becky the character despite the writers retconning her past to be some things she was not in Roseanne.

[ams1001]

27 minutes ago, CrystalBlue said:

Nice work if you can get it.  I am not being snarky; I genuinely am confused and have doubts about this explanation we've been given for Becky's absence.  Having her at a retreat made sense in the storyline, but they should have had her either via Zoom or an in-house scene.

If she was at a fancy event at the same time, it'd have been funny to have her facetime from the 'sober retreat prom' or something like that. Funnier than the rando Conners, at any rate.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, CrystalBlue said:

Is being an actor now a free agency job where you show up when you want to and your social card and charity events schedule is more important?

It's not at all unusual for actors to miss the occasional episode because of a scheduling conflict; they mostly have to work other roles and appearances around their regular gig, but it sometimes happens that they're allowed to miss an episode.  Goranson has worked with Bruce Helford and Sara Gilbert much of her life; if she came to them and said, "There's a charity event back home I've done for several years and this year it conflicts with filming.  It got canceled last year because of COVID, it benefits first responders, and I haven't been able to go home much during the pandemic [she couldn't even be with her family last year when her mom died]; I know the timing sucks, and this is a really tough call for me, but I'd like to go," I'm not surprised they said yes.  It's a business, but there's also an off-screen Conner "family" after all this time, and with a large cast it's not a deal-breaker for her to miss an episode.

[Cherpumple]

2 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

Is being an actor now a free agency job where you show up when you want to and your social card and charity events schedule is more important?

Why shouldn't actors get time off, just like people in many other jobs? IMHO, attending a charity event for first responders is more important than appearing in one episode of a silly sitcom with an overly-stuffed cast.

[Snow Apple]

9 hours ago, DanaMB said:

I’m not a regular poster here, but I didn't miss Becky either. I think the actress is horrible and wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t feel she could do a live show. 

It's been mentioned that Lecy was doing a charity event. I'm not going to talk about her acting since we're all entitled to our opinions, but Lecy has done live theater so I don't think she'd have a problem with a live sitcom episode, especially since she'd be surrounded by the other cast members.

[tessaray]

Any further discussion of Lecy's outside activities should go in her own topic. Thanks!

[paulvdb]

I'm not a fan of this live episode gimmick that seems to be becoming popular lately. The episode itself was mostly ok with the exception of Mark's storyline which was apparently another gimmick I don't much care for: having random contest winners appear on shows even though they have no acting experience. I think the episode could have been better without those two gimmicks.

[eXiled]

On 9/23/2021 at 12:19 PM, peacheslatour said:

I like Ben too but I think he can do a lot better than Darlene.

I don't like Ben and don't care about what happens to him. I do, however, believe he can do a lot better than Darlene (she's my girl, but still!)

[kassa]

On 9/23/2021 at 11:23 PM, mythoughtis said:

Besides Becky being gone…. Jackie told the spiritual advisor that she hadn’t seen her Mom in a while….I thought her  mom lived with her?  I know the actress isn’t acting much especially in a Covid year, so I don’t expect to actually see her.,but that was a lack of  continuity. 

Estelle Parsons got a shout out on IMPEACHMENT last week, with Linda Tripp setting up dinner for her with Bernie Nussbaum!  

A little Bev goes a long way, but I didn't like joking about her dying. I always thought they went way overboard on that stuff towards the end of the original series, and sad that it continues. Yes, Bev was/is infuriating. But the Jackie/Bev dynamic was always funniest when Bev was staggeringly inappropriate and Jackie was left speechless, not when they'd give her a response line which was inevitably about some kind of death befalling Bev - part of the Gilliganization of Jackie which is so tragic when you look at how amazing the character and actress were in the early years. (And I want Andy back, damn it)

As someone in between Darlene/Becky and Dan/Louise age, I don't see the attraction of marriage for Dan/Louise. Forget wedding expenses - she's foolish to get her credit rating mixed up in that mess, and they both should know living with someone for the first time is stressful without making it living with a half dozen OTHER people as part of the package.  This isn't a Brady Bunch blending families in early middle age thing - they're seniors living on social security on the knife's edge of poverty. Maybe if they stressed that she was barely hanging on paying her own rent and could help out on the house payments that would make a little more sense. If they did, I missed it.  I just hope we're not heading into storylines about them being penalized for having gotten married and getting further behind in life.

I always enjoyed Lecy and felt that she had several of the most powerful scenes ever in the original show (the one where she tells Dan he ruined everything by losing the bike shop - damn) and this one (when she talked about messing up her life). Sarah G was awesome as a sly kid, and decent as a depressed adult now, but Lecy really shines when given great material. I would love for her to move into more of the original recipe Becky-as-a-grind character and just go into overdrive, getting her GED, higher ed, etc. 

 

[ESS]

9 minutes ago, kassa said:

As someone in between Darlene/Becky and Dan/Louise age, I don't see the attraction of marriage for Dan/Louise. Forget wedding expenses - she's foolish to get her credit rating mixed up in that mess, and they both should know living with someone for the first time is stressful without making it living with a half dozen OTHER people as part of the package.  This isn't a Brady Bunch blending families in early middle age thing - they're seniors living on social security on the knife's edge of poverty. Maybe if they stressed that she was barely hanging on paying her own rent and could help out on the house payments that would make a little more sense. If they did, I missed it.  I just hope we're not heading into storylines about them being penalized for having gotten married and getting further behind in life.

 

 

Louise was always independent and didn't want to get married or settle down at first with Dan, but when she came down with COVID (and almost dying from it) it changed her outlook and she realized that and told Dan in the season 3 finale she wanted to have a partner and didn't want to be alone anymore so I can't blame her for that and wanting to get married. Both Louise and Dan know it's gonna be stressful for them after they get married and according to the writers we are gonna see how that's going to unfold very soon for both of them. 

As for the wedding expenses she offered to pay for a lot of it so I don't think she's getting her money mixed into Dan's at all, (besides that in the living room Dan told her she going to wish she still had her money after she told him she wanted a big wedding) not to mention she has very valid reasons for wanting a big wedding. (after at first not wanting one) Plus Louise was practically living there before the proposal so it's not going to be totally new, this time it'll be full time for Louise being there. Just saying. 

[Virtual]

I found it funny that Mark had to interview distant members of the family (were they even that though?) to complete his school project because everyone in his immediate family has little hope for a bright future and at this point, they all actually take pride in it. 😆

Also enjoyed the constant breaking of the fourth wall.

[mojoween]

I like Louise.  I think this show is better without Roseanne.  Yet, I still find Dan getting remarried squicky.

I wish I could explain it coherently, it’s just how it makes me feel.  

[bobalina]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

I like Louise.  I think this show is better without Roseanne.  Yet, I still find Dan getting remarried squicky.

I wish I could explain it coherently, it’s just how it makes me feel.  

It bothers me because Dan jumped from Rosean e to Louise. They missed a huge opportunity to have Dan out there dating. And honestly he's a selfish jersey to bring any woman into that circus.

[MsTree]

4 hours ago, bobalina said:

It bothers me because Dan jumped from Rosean e to Louise. They missed a huge opportunity to have Dan out there dating. And honestly he's a selfish jersey to bring any woman into that circus.

I don't think he jumped into anything. In fact, he went an entire season without dating anyone...and actually said he didn't want to date. The only reason he's with Louise is because he knew her from his past...and they were good friends before they became a couple.

I don't think he's selfish either. That's his family...for better or worse. And any woman who wants the man pretty much knows it's a package deal.

[ESS]

6 hours ago, MsTree said:

I don't think he jumped into anything. In fact, he went an entire season without dating anyone...and actually said he didn't want to date. The only reason he's with Louise is because he knew her from his past...and they were good friends before they became a couple.

I don't think he's selfish either. That's his family...for better or worse. And any woman who wants the man pretty much knows it's a package deal.

I so agree! I’d like to add the writers and John Goodman decided to have Dan go slowly with his relationship with Louise and it did, it was never rushed as a lot of the fans think. 

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, MsTree said:

I don't think he jumped into anything. In fact, he went an entire season without dating anyone...and actually said he didn't want to date. The only reason he's with Louise is because he knew her from his past...and they were good friends before they became a couple.

I actually think the show did rush him into a relationship.  Losing someone you've been married to takes time to get over.  One year at his age and after that much history is in my opinion not enough time, especially if the death was sudden and unexpected.  I know everyone processes grief at different rates but it still felt too soon.  The longer the marriage they say, the longer the grieving process.  They should have let it go another season at least and touched on his grieving to show that he was ready.  I think they also should have showed him dating other people, not just conveniently ending up with someone from his past.  It just seemed too contrived and convenient for me to feel comfortable with it happening that way organically.  I am not a long term watcher of this show either, I've basically mostly watched this series, not the original one.

[MaryMitch]

Everyone grieves differently. I know many widow/ers who married less than a year after losing their spouse.  One of my friends married someone who lost his wife and in a couple months met her and in a couple more months they were married.  She kids that if she goes first, he'll bring a date to her funeral.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, MaryMitch said:

Everyone grieves differently. I know many widow/ers who married less than a year after losing their spouse.  One of my friends married someone who lost his wife and in a couple months met her and in a couple more months they were married.  She kids that if she goes first, he'll bring a date to her funeral.

There have also been studies which determined that widowers remarry much sooner than widows who either remarry later or not at all.

Edited September 29, 2021 by peacheslatour

[bobalina]

4 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

There have also been studies which determined that widowers remarry much sooner than widows who either remarry later or not at all.

True. But Dan isn't a real person and Roseanne isn't dead. The show runners missed a great chance to have a year or two of goofy dates before finding Louise.

[Yeah No]

5 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

Everyone grieves differently. I know many widow/ers who married less than a year after losing their spouse.  One of my friends married someone who lost his wife and in a couple months met her and in a couple more months they were married.  She kids that if she goes first, he'll bring a date to her funeral.

I personally think the show wanted to erase all memory of Roseanne for its own reasons and that's why Dan was able to move on so quickly.  From what I've gathered about his character I don't think he's the type to be able to move on that fast.  He seems to be resistant to change and moving on so it just didn't seem in character for him.  I don't even think the rest of her family honored her memory very much if at all and the show seemed like it just got on with life almost as if Roseanne never existed.  Just my opinion.

4 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

There have also been studies which determined that widowers remarry much sooner than widows who either remarry later or not at all.

As my father was a widower I got to know how older single women pretty much line up to throw themselves at attractive widowers so it's no wonder.  There are more single women than men in older age brackets is one reason why.  But widowers are especially attractive because they're not single because they have relationship issues.  My father was partial to a woman at his senior center but even though he liked her he waited until he felt ready, which was over a year until he even dated her.  As it is he did not marry again and only dated her.  A lot of older people don't even want to get married again.  Too much complication and what's the rush to put things on paper?  Been there and done that.

[ESS]

14 hours ago, bobalina said:

True. But Dan isn't a real person and Roseanne isn't dead. The show runners missed a great chance to have a year or two of goofy dates before finding Louise.

Personally it doesn't matter if the people are fictional or not and maybe the writers didn't want to go that route with the Dan maybe they felt it would be better and much easier to have him just be with Louise because he knows her and has known her for years and with new person it'd probably would have been more difficult for Dan to get to know the person or a few dates if they went that way and I don't see anything wrong with him dating Louise and marrying her, not only that she's wanted him for over 40 years, but that's just my opinion.  

[tessaray]

17 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I personally think the show wanted to erase all memory of Roseanne for its own reasons and that's why Dan was able to move on so quickly.  From what I've gathered about his character I don't think he's the type to be able to move on that fast.  He seems to be resistant to change and moving on so it just didn't seem in character for him.  I don't even think the rest of her family honored her memory very much if at all and the show seemed like it just got on with life almost as if Roseanne never existed.  Just my opinion.

The first season of the show was very Roseanne-centric. And she gets mentioned occasionally. But I don't think they can use her image? In a different show, I imagine photos and video clips  would be used more to show that journey.

Spoiler

The next episode has emotional references to her.

But life doesn't stop when someone dies and The Conners is a sitcom. 

[tessaray]

18 hours ago, bobalina said:

True. But Dan isn't a real person and Roseanne isn't dead. The show runners missed a great chance to have a year or two of goofy dates before finding Louise.

I personally think there were enough goofy dates with Darlene, Becky and Jackie. Most of them fell flat. 

 

[bobalina]

4 hours ago, ESS said:

Personally it doesn't matter if the people are fictional or not and maybe the writers didn't want to go that route with the Dan maybe they felt it would be better and much easier to have him just be with Louise because he knows her and has known her for years and with new person it'd probably would have been more difficult for Dan to get to know the person or a few dates if they went that way and I don't see anything wrong with him dating Louise and marrying her, not only that she's wanted him for over 40 years, but that's just my opinion.  

Yes. The writers are just being lazy not giving Dan a better arc.

[ESS]

2 hours ago, bobalina said:

Yes. The writers are just being lazy not giving Dan a better arc.

I disagree, but okay. 

[One Tough Cookie]

On 9/29/2021 at 5:58 PM, Yeah No said:

I personally think the show wanted to erase all memory of Roseanne for its own reasons and that's why Dan was able to move on so quickly.

That's a really good observation.

IMO Louise can do better.

Again I  ask the question; WHY THE FUCK HASN"T DAVID BEEN PAYING CHILD SUPPORT?

[kwnyc]

Quote

I know the actress isn’t acting much especially in a Covid year, so I don’t expect to actually see her.,but that was a lack of  continuity. 

I just looked up Estelle Parsons (Bev) and holy cow, she is in her mid-90s!

[Cherpumple]

On 10/8/2021 at 11:19 AM, kwnyc said:

I just looked up Estelle Parsons (Bev) and holy cow, she is in her mid-90s!

Good for her! That's also why I get very nervous about Jackie's jokes about Bev dying. At this point there's a decent chance that between the taping and airing of an episode Parsons could really pass away, and the joke would come across badly.