S04.E12: Hot for Teacher and Writing a Wrong

[Pallas]

Mark returns to public school and finds it hard to fit in, while Becky finds herself in an interesting situation with one of her college professors.

[Annber03]

LOL at Darlene's reaction to that kid's name being Skylar. "Of course it is." 

Also liked her telling off that dad. Mark needed to see that, to show how risky what he was doing was, and I'm glad he did. I like the idea of them looking into scholarships, though I'd have to think there's other ones out there that wouldn't involve the difficulty of trying to learn an instrument. But he does still have some time before he goes to college, so... 

Either that, or maybe with time, he can go back to that magnet school, too, if possible.

As for Becky and her teacher, I like the teacher and I like the class she's taking. But now they've seemed to agree to take the risk of dating even though they clearly know full well the risks involved in doing so, let's see how long it'll take before they do get caught. 

Also, I liked that pink sweater Becky wore when she came to talk to her teacher. 

[Rocknrollzombie]

I feel like I need to drink just to watch this episode from what I have been reading and was told. F it I will just stick to the review recap. Don’t want to give them ratings 

 

but one thing I saw that made me go what the hell from the original is real anymore. I saw someone mention Jackie quitting the police was rewritten as well now? So now seasons2-8 or 2-7…6 I don’t know anymore have been rewritten wow this really is a badly written alternate universe 

Edited February 3, 2022 by Rocknrollzombie

[mythoughtis]

No her quitting the police force and why was accurate. The fall down the stairs that hurt her back was mentioned.  Dan just didn’t specifically mention that she chose not to take the desk job. Jackie had tried her usual  tactic of trying to imply her job changes were due to her emotional reaction whatever ….in this case  to the young people going wrong, and Dan called her  on it. 
However I’m getting really tired of all the Connor dishonesty being on such blatant display … Mark writing college essays, Becky dating her professor, Darlene assuming Mark was dealing drugs.  
Darlene mentioned she was moving to an apartment  bit she didn’t mention raking Mark or Harris with her.  

[Rocknrollzombie]

The professor name is Glenn like thousands of names and they choose Glenn. When I hear Glenn I immediately think of Glenn Quinn OG Mark.

[HerkyJerky]

21 minutes ago, Rocknrollzombie said:

Glenn Quinn OG Mark.

Loved him on Angel also...

[UYI]

Honestly, I really do think Mark and Becky have a chance to outdo everyone else in their family and I'm here for it. 

Mark will come up with something to earn money for a scholarship, and while trying to deal with their relationship while that class is still going on will be difficult, there is definitely chemistry between Becky and her professor, and it's nice to see her interested in someone who seems so smart and kind--and again, she's actually interested in him! 

[Rocknrollzombie]

19 minutes ago, HerkyJerky said:

Loved him on Angel also...

Yes how can I forget about Doyle and his accent Glenn’s accent 

17 minutes ago, UYI said:

Honestly, I really do think Mark and Becky have a chance to outdo everyone else in their family and I'm here for it. 

Mark will come up with something to earn money for a scholarship, and while trying to deal with their relationship while that class is still going on will be difficult, there is definitely chemistry between Becky and her professor, and it's nice to see her interested in someone who seems so smart and kind--and again, she's actually interested in him! 

Becky and the professor bleh over the romance storylines, and the only chemistry she had was with Glenn as in Glenn Quinn not professor missing hairline 

Edited February 3, 2022 by Rocknrollzombie

[Aileen]

I remember that Jackie fell down the stairs, but did she also shoot herself in the leg when doing so? That seemed new to me.

[Bastet]

I never got around to watching last week's episode, but I managed to remember this one.

LOL at Becky's definition of homeschooling, and Mark knowing she wanted him home so he could babysit the rapidly-aged Beverly Rose.

But what the ever-loving fuck, Becky?  Do not date your professor!  It's not that long until you're out of the class, and then you can get a different advisor and go for it.  And what the hell with worrying about his career; if he behaves inappropriately, he deserves the consequences.  He was cute making Beverly Rose his TA without disrupting the class, and is smart and funny, so he could be a nice future possibility, but going for something now on the DL is just gross.

Jackie didn't shoot herself in the leg when she tackled a naked guy and tumbled down the stairs with him.

"What's your idiot kid's name?"
"Skylar."
"Of course it is."

That was funny, but they're not doing terribly well with Mark's storyline.

[Cherpumple]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

That was funny, but they're not doing terribly well with Mark's storyline.

No kidding, it's giving me whiplash. Two weeks ago Mark was so far behind the other students at the magnet school that he resorted to drugs to keep up. And this week he's so much smarter than them that they're paying him to write their college essays? Huh? At first I thought I had misheard and he was doing this for kids in his normal school, but nope, it's for that magnet school kids that he kept referring to as idiots. And I don't think the writers understand the difference between a magnet school and a private school, since Mark and Darlene kept referring to the magnet school crowd as rich snobs (and Skylar's dad had paid for some new facilities). As far as I remember, they've never mentioned that this was a private, tuition-based school, and all the magnet schools I've ever heard of (including the one I attended) were public schools that were free to anyone in the area who met the entrance requirements.

The Becky/teacher storyline was cute, but felt like much ado about nothing. If you want to start dating, just wait until the class is over. It can't be more than a few months, which goes by pretty quickly at their age. No need to rearrange everyone's schedule or risk his job by sneaking around.

It was nice to see Ben having a fun scene with Dan and Darlene with no relationship drama, just him being a supportive family friend. More of this, please!

[EtheltoTillie]

So much stupid in smart people. Putting aside the stupidity of writing essays for others, Mark can’t figure out that it’s not a good idea to write the same essays for two different customers?  Becky and the professor both so stupid that there’s not one person smart enough to put the brakes on the relationship?
 How is Becky paying for college? Doesn’t she have a scholarship related to her financial condition?  Most schools give some financial aid related to economic circumstances. So Mark and Darlene can’t learn from this?  
Mark could also get a merit scholarship just for having good grades or a high SAT. There are many schools that would give him a full ride without his having to play the contrabassoon, obviously just a comedy ploy. 

Edited February 3, 2022 by EtheltoTillie

[kitkat343]

3 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

No kidding, it's giving me whiplash. Two weeks ago Mark was so far behind the other students at the magnet school that he resorted to drugs to keep up. And this week he's so much smarter than them that they're paying him to write their college essays? Huh? At first I thought I had misheard and he was doing this for kids in his normal school, but nope, it's for that magnet school kids that he kept referring to as idiots. And I don't think the writers understand the difference between a magnet school and a private school, since Mark and Darlene kept referring to the magnet school crowd as rich snobs (and Skylar's dad had paid for some new facilities). As far as I remember, they've never mentioned that this was a private, tuition-based school, and all the magnet schools I've ever heard of (including the one I attended) were public schools that were free to anyone in the area who met the entrance requirements.

The writers were probably thinking of a  magnet school like Stuyvesant/Bronx Science where you have to take a highly competitive admissions test for admission.  Most of the students at Stuyvesant spend years preparing for the entrance exam (although they're not all rich; many students are first generation immigrant students whose parents spend an enormous percentage of their income on tutoring schools to prepare the kids for entrance).   The problem is that I don't think that Lanford is within commuting distance of Chicago, so I have no idea how they could have such a competitive magnet high school unless the school was really tiny.    28,000 students take the entrance test for Stuyvesant each year, and approximately 3% of these students are admitted so it is a magnet school academically similar to what Mark seems to be describing.   However, I can't imagine there are that many students within commuting distance of a rust belt town that you could have an extremely competitive admissions process into a magnet school.  I'm assuming the writers are drawing on their experiences living in NY/SF/LA here, which seems to be a common mistake they make.

 

 I could buy the fact that Mark is a good writer even if he struggled with an advanced math and science workload (which would be twice as hard for him if he didn't have the same academic preparation as his classmates), and that the other kids aren't strong writers if they are instead gifted in math/science, but it is utterly moronic that he's reusing the same essays for students from the same school.   It's quite common for tutors to be drafted to write college admissions essays, and if these kids are rich they might be quite happy to hire people to write all their big papers/college essays.

 

But there's really nothing keeping Mark from taking community college classes for two years, and then transferring to a good 4 year school.  In CA, you can automatically transfer to most of the UC campuses if you complete certain GPA and course requirements at a community college (you still have to apply to UCLA and Berkeley but most of the other UC campuses, including Davis allow you to start at a community college and then transfer over).  Mark might even be able to start on those courses during the summer while he is in high school since so many schools have expanded their online course offerings.  And this is assuming worst case scenario that he doesn't qualify for financial aid somewhere.

Edited February 3, 2022 by kitkat343

[MissLucas]

I have notes.

For Mark: Bullies are a**holes. People who call others who don't reach their presumed intellectual level 'idiots' are not much better. It's also bad business practice to abuse your customers to their face or behind their back. Also: if you can't come up with individual essays for each customer both your intelligence and your business model suck. But kudos for opening a bank account.

For Darlene: That was an awfully high horse you were riding in that scene with Skylar's father. But the writers helped you out because rich people suck and being poor (even when you hold a cushy management position) is a good excuse. At least you're finally getting a bit more proactive helping out your kid, your plan sounds somewhat far-fetched though (I'm being polite here). 

For Becky and her Professor: Keeping it in your pants till the end of that course can't be that hard. Take a cold shower. Also: have you already reached that first year of sobriety?

For Beverly Rose: Learn to read ASAP then check the entry for Cousin Oliver at TV Tropes.

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by MissLucas

[StaceyNotStacie]

Becky seems to be addicted to men now instead of alcohol. First Emilio, then the HS friend, now the professor. Isn’t she still married to Emilio, or are we to assume that since Beverly Rose is older that they just skipped over the marriage and they’re now divorced coparents. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

No her quitting the police force and why was accurate. The fall down the stairs that hurt her back was mentioned.  Dan just didn’t specifically mention that she chose not to take the desk job. Jackie had tried her usual  tactic of trying to imply her job changes were due to her emotional reaction whatever ….in this case  to the young people going wrong, and Dan called her  on it. 

It was accurate-ISH. Yes she fell down the stairs and hurt her back - but she never shot herself with her own gun. That's what Dan said she did but that's not what happened on the original show. Also, they made it sound like that incident in and of itself is why she quit the force, but as you pointed out, she quit because they assigned her a desk job and she didn't want to work behind a desk.

Which - again - speaks to the many poor choices the Conners always seem to make. She could have had a nice, stable job and a regular paycheck with good benefits and retired on a nice pension. She wouldn't be slinging burgers at a sports bar at her age right now.

Along those lines, WTF with Becky and her teacher. So they have "feelings" for each other. Big deal. They don't have to date. It's not the law. Especially if it means the teacher is risking his job to do it! Just wait until the semester is over and she is no longer his student. What's the matter with these people? And didn't Becky say she wasn't supposed to date anyone until she'd been sober a year? Isn't that why she didn't want to date her school chum/fuck buddy earlier this season?

I'm not used to seeing Matt Walsh without facial hair, I almost didn't recognize him.

[Mr. Sparkle]

9 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I'm not used to seeing Matt Walsh without facial hair, I almost didn't recognize him.

Duh for me! It just clicked why he looked so familiar! Who knew Mike McLintock could be so charming! 

[greekmom]

Damn. Mark is TOWERING over Darlene.

Re: College. Has Mark even said what he wants to do in life? I mean it's great to aim high for a prestigious school but it's stupid to accumulate debt (unless he gets a full ride which I doubt it) to get to Harvard and then end up with a degree in Russian Lit and zero job opportunities.

There has to be some decent schools he can go to that are not Ivy league and he will be able to get into with his grades.  Now that I think about it, I would have loved a redo with Mark being athletic and getting a full ride just to break the Conner curse.

I did like how Darlene stood up to prissy dad.  Hate the fact that Becky and teacher will be sneaking around. Wait 4 months. It's the middle of the semester. I am sure once the class is over and he's no longer her advisor they can date and he won't lose his job.

 

[QQQQ]

If Mark is as smart as everyone says, between AP, dual enrollment, and CLEP he could earn enough free credits to get through his first two years of college while in high school. But no, please focus your time and energy on the contrabassoon.

 

Also, Skylar's dad is rich enough to buy a school cafeteria but is relying on Mark's services to get his kid into Northwestern? Riiggghhttt.

[wendyg]

The actor who plays Mark is taller every time we see him. Given how short both Sara Gilbert and Johnny Galecki are, it's disorienting. (Not that there's anything the show can do about it now.) Also, the shape of his face is changing.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Stacey1014 said:

Isn’t she still married to Emilio,

Presumably, but that has no relevance to her dating life because they only got married for legal purposes (to aid his immigration status); they never had any agreement to actually be together romantically. 

[MrsEVH]

7 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Which - again - speaks to the many poor choices the Conners always seem to make. She could have had a nice, stable job and a regular paycheck with good benefits and retired on a nice pension. She wouldn't be slinging burgers at a sports bar at her age right now. 

Trying to remember; why did Darlene quit or leave her job at Wellman?  Was it to work at the restaurant with Becky and Jackie? 

[greekmom]

36 minutes ago, MrsEVH said:

Trying to remember; why did Darlene quit or leave her job at Wellman?  Was it to work at the restaurant with Becky and Jackie? 

did she quit? Because i was under the assumption that they are just showing us what goes on after Wellman hours.

Darlene said something that she used up her last personal day or something.

[izabella]

14 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Mark could also get a merit scholarship just for having good grades or a high SAT. There are many schools that would give him a full ride without his having to play the contrabassoon, obviously just a comedy ploy. 

He might even stand out more as a big fish in a little pond than a small fish in a bigger pond. 

[Lovecat]

Sure, let’s run out and get a contrabassoon, they only cost like 30 grand…. He may be able to borrow a regular bassoon from the school district, but lessons aren’t free, either.  Unsurprisingly, The Bassoon Plan has some holes in it. 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Lovecat

[ams1001]

12 minutes ago, Lovecat said:

Sure, let’s run out and get a contrabassoon, they only cost like 30 grand…. He may be able to borrow a regular bassoon from the school district, but lessons aren’t free, either.  Unsurprisingly, The Bassoon Plan has some holes in it. 

Yeah, how are they paying for lessons? Somehow I doubt there's a surfeit of contrabassoon teachers in the Lanford area.

[izabella]

So how old is Beverly Rose supposed to be now?  How much time has passed? 

It's so weird she's walking and talking and about 4 years old.  It makes it seem like we haven't seen Louise in years.

[Rocknrollzombie]

38 minutes ago, Lovecat said:

Sure, let’s run out and get a contrabassoon, they only cost like 30 grand…. He may be able to borrow a regular bassoon from the school district, but lessons aren’t free, either.  Unsurprisingly, The Bassoon Plan has some holes in it. 

The conners in general as a show has more holes in it than a colander

[ams1001]

Mark is what, a freshman? Sophomore? Have we ever seen him playing any kind of instrument or other indication of musical ability? And Darlene thinks he's going to be scholarship-worthy in 2-3 years? (And unless he's planning to be a music major why would he get a scholarship for playing an obscure instrument, anyway?)

The only good part of this episode was Dan in a tiara.

[UYI]

48 minutes ago, izabella said:

So how old is Beverly Rose supposed to be now?  How much time has passed? 

 

She's supposed to be a little over two years old; she was born in September 2019.

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, UYI said:

She's supposed to be a little over two years old; she was born in September 2019.

She's "we don't want to deal with an actual toddler on set" years old.

[UYI]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

She's "we don't want to deal with an actual toddler on set" years old.

One thing that always impressed me on Roseanne was that Crystal was far enough along in her pregnancy at the end of season three that she had already given birth to Little Ed at the beginning of season four; normally sitcom babies are scheduled to be born during Sweeps Week (or the show just forgets or says "fuck it" and screws up the timeline), but Little Ed was actually born in the summer, like some babies are in real life! Imagine that! :D 

[zoey1996]

2 hours ago, Lovecat said:

Sure, let’s run out and get a contrabassoon, they only cost like 30 grand…. He may be able to borrow a regular bassoon from the school district, but lessons aren’t free, either.  Unsurprisingly, The Bassoon Plan has some holes in it. 

You can get one for around $10k, but if you want better quality, it’ll cost you! Not to mention, double reeds, like bassoons and oboes, aren’t easy or quick to learn. And where will a teacher be found? And how to pay for a teacher?

I started in about fifth grade to learn the clarinet, and started with the oboe in 8th grade. I did have a couple of scholarships as a music major. But not an easy path and far from a solid plan for Mark.

[CrystalBlue]

Another lackluster episode with what was to me predictable storylines:  Becky has the hots for her teacher and Mark is writing for other students for money.  Mark seems to be a problem child now; first with the Adderal popping, and now in a snarky mood because he went back to regular school and is writing papers for other students for pay.  A time-honored cheating system, I know.  His predicament on wanting to get into a college without a rich family to pay for it has solutions that have been covered well by posters here.  The Conners solution is ridiculous like the rest of this show.

The show should have had Beverly Rose off-screen or no storylines because having this new older kid is distracting to the viewers.  They need to figure out a better way to use Ben in the storylines and not have him be involved with Darlene.

[Cherpumple]

19 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

The writers were probably thinking of a  magnet school like Stuyvesant/Bronx Science where you have to take a highly competitive admissions test for admission.

I attended such a school (not Stuyvesant) and then later became a tutor for students preparing for the entrance exam. It does get crazy competitive, on both the parent and student level, but the writers are definitely getting it wrong (probably in part because of your point that they are mistakenly trying to impose their NY/LA knowledge on a rust belt town like Landford). Mark and Darlene are acting like all the other students are morons who only got in because of their money, which is definitely not the case in these highly competitive schools. And even if Mark is a talented writer, there's no way that these wealthy competitive parents would hire a kid who couldn't hack it at the magnet school to write college essays for their precious angels.

And yes to all the comments about the stupidity of the contrabassoon plan. I like the idea of finding lesser-known scholarship opportunities, but this one is pretty risky and expensive to roll the dice on.

[ams1001]

8 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

You can get one for around $10k, but if you want better quality, it’ll cost you! Not to mention, double reeds, like bassoons and oboes, aren’t easy or quick to learn. And where will a teacher be found? And how to pay for a teacher?

I googled last night and the first result was Guitar Center, which has three listed (two are on backorder), between 29K and 32K. Even if they did find a cheaper one...10K is the pretty much same as 30K for this family.

Then I just googled "contrabassoon lessons cost" and the first link was a site called takelessons.com, which says "The average cost of 60-minute bassoon lessons is $80. While the exact cost will vary depending on the teacher, type of lesson, and location, you should expect to spend between $62 and $102 per hour." That'll eat up Mark's $500 real quick.

[Rocknrollzombie]

So we can all agree that the show is just getting dumber and dumber, and people are just clingy onto the nostalgia desperately

Edited February 4, 2022 by Rocknrollzombie

[TattleTeeny]

On 2/3/2022 at 11:59 AM, Stacey1014 said:

Becky seems to be addicted to men now instead of alcohol. First Emilio, then the HS friend, now the professor. Isn’t she still married to Emilio, or are we to assume that since Beverly Rose is older that they just skipped over the marriage and they’re now divorced coparents. 

Maybe? But, on the other hand, that's only 3 men (in how long of a time?) -- is that an addiction for a "single" chick? Outside of that recovery rule about not starting a relationship, I don't think it seems odd (and if it does, I may have had such an addiction at various points in my life!).

[iMonrey]

Quote

Mark seems to be a problem child now; first with the Adderal popping, and now in a snarky mood because he went back to regular school and is writing papers for other students for pay.  A time-honored cheating system, I know.  His predicament on wanting to get into a college without a rich family to pay for it has solutions that have been covered well by posters here.  The Conners solution is ridiculous like the rest of this show.

Yeah and I'm irritated at how bratty Mark has become about getting into college. I mean, I totally get that he wants to lift himself out of poverty, but his obsession with getting into an Ivy League school is stupid and unrealistic, and wouldn't even guarantee him a lucrative job in the end any more than a degree from a state college would. As has been noted, we don't even know what kind of career he is shooting for anyway. Does he want to be a lawyer, or a doctor? HIs nasty attitude towards his mother is completely unwarranted (about this particular issue, anyway). He's acting just snotty as Harris.

[Rocknrollzombie]

56 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Yeah and I'm irritated at how bratty Mark has become about getting into college. I mean, I totally get that he wants to lift himself out of poverty, but his obsession with getting into an Ivy League school is stupid and unrealistic, and wouldn't even guarantee him a lucrative job in the end any more than a degree from a state college would. As has been noted, we don't even know what kind of career he is shooting for anyway. Does he want to be a lawyer, or a doctor? HIs nasty attitude towards his mother is completely unwarranted (about this particular issue, anyway). He's acting just snotty as Harris.

So what he not allowed to express his emotions now. I mean his acting out is a bit extreme but he has crappy role models.

the family is pass dysfunctional 

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Rocknrollzombie

[jalady]

Quote

The writers were probably thinking of a  magnet school like Stuyvesant/Bronx Science where you have to take a highly competitive admissions test for admission.

Quote

I attended such a school (not Stuyvesant) and then later became a tutor for students preparing for the entrance exam. It does get crazy competitive, on both the parent and student level, but the writers are definitely getting it wrong (probably in part because of your point that they are mistakenly trying to impose their NY/LA knowledge on a rust belt town like Landford). Mark and Darlene are acting like all the other students are morons who only got in because of their money, which is definitely not the case in these highly competitive schools. 

I attended one of those schools too, although it was back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.  But, speaking for myself and the vast majority of my friends, we were lower to middle class and just tested well; no tutoring involved.  Sure there were some rich kids at the school, but the vast majority of the student body was regular kids who tested well so they didn't end up going to their neighborhood school.  I'm sad to hear that has changed so much recently because the rich can afford to send their kids to private school (Chapin, Dalton, etc.).  

[hoodooznoodooz]

Ugh. I have been forcing myself to watch because of John Goodman and Ames, whose family we know, but the writing has been just abysmal. I will delete this from the DVR after this season wraps.

[chitowngirl]

Where is David? We know he’s in town with Blue, isn’t he?? Both of his kids could use SOME parenting!! Even if Johnny Galecki didn’t want to come back, Harris could just be living with him instead of couch surfing and living in the driveway.

[Cherpumple]

1 hour ago, jalady said:

I attended one of those schools too, although it was back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.  But, speaking for myself and the vast majority of my friends, we were lower to middle class and just tested well; no tutoring involved.  Sure there were some rich kids at the school, but the vast majority of the student body was regular kids who tested well so they didn't end up going to their neighborhood school.  I'm sad to hear that has changed so much recently because the rich can afford to send their kids to private school (Chapin, Dalton, etc.). 

This was my experience too (dinosaurs and all). It was a good mix of nerds from all walks of life.

I hope Mark finds a good non-Conner mentor to guide him through the next few years. He's a pretty cool kid and deserves to be around someone capable of making at least one good decision.

[iMonrey]

Quote

So what he not allowed to express his emotions now. I mean his acting out is a bit extreme but he has crappy role models.

Sure he's allowed to express emotion, just as anyone else is allowed to criticize the crappy way he does it and how his ire towards him mother is entirely misplaced. If they want to turn this character into a total brat that's their prerogative, I'm just sorry because I used to like him and now I kind of don't.

Quote

Where is David? We know he’s in town with Blue, isn’t he?? Both of his kids could use SOME parenting!! Even if Johnny Galecki didn’t want to come back, Harris could just be living with him instead of couch surfing and living in the driveway.

Yeah this is driving me crazy too, and it's just another example of how lazy the writing is on this show. They don't even bother to toss in a random line or two about David's whereabouts, how hard would that be? But then he's not the only character to disappear without explanation. Crystal? Little Ed? Big Ed? Jackie's son Andy? Dan's youngest son Jerry? Bev? 

[UYI]

8 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

They don't even bother to toss in a random line or two about David's whereabouts, how hard would that be? But then he's not the only character to disappear without explanation. Crystal? Little Ed? Big Ed? Jackie's son Andy? Dan's youngest son Jerry? Bev? 

Given that Estelle Parsons is 94 years old, I'm willing to excuse Bev's absence a bit more.

The others, though? 100 percent agree. (Well, I don't necessarily mind Jerry not existing anymore, but that's beside the point, lol.)

[howiveaddict]

On 2/3/2022 at 12:21 PM, wendyg said:

The actor who plays Mark is taller every time we see him. Given how short both Sara Gilbert and Johnny Galecki are, it's disorienting. (Not that there's anything the show can do about it now.) Also, the shape of his face is changing.

Mark gets his height from Dan.

21 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Sure he's allowed to express emotion, just as anyone else is allowed to criticize the crappy way he does it and how his ire towards him mother is entirely misplaced. If they want to turn this character into a total brat that's their prerogative, I'm just sorry because I used to like him and now I kind of don't.

He sounds like a typical hormonal teenager of that age.  

[ESS]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Yeah this is driving me crazy too, and it's just another example of how lazy the writing is on this show. They don't even bother to toss in a random line or two about David's whereabouts, how hard would that be? But then he's not the only character to disappear without explanation. Crystal? Little Ed? Big Ed? Jackie's son Andy? Dan's youngest son Jerry? Bev? 

It's been mentioned several times by the writers in articles that Fred, Andy and Dan & Roseanne's son Jerry don't exist in the show's universe. As for Bev we are going to see her sometime this season from what I've read, the writers just didn't say when. I hope that answers your question.

Edited February 5, 2022 by ESS

[Irate Panda]

There’s too many holes in this episode and the show in general to go into too much detail, but I can see why Mark’s frustrated and tried a very disorganized scam. Both his parents are self-centered jackasses.  His dad is who knows where and his mom is traipsing around harassing her ex-boyfriend. 

I don’t even particularly care for the Mark character, but it’s probably hard being the “smart one” only to end up at a school and forced to realize you couldn’t cut it there.  I mean he’s making some dumb decisions (although they all do) but he seems to be basically raising himself.  David is missing, Darlene is trying to find herself, Jackie is insane, Becky is trying to piece together her life and sneak around with her teacher and Dan is basically a somewhat functional alcoholic.  I mean when your mom’s grand plan to calm your college anxiety is to magically learn an instrument that cost more than the Conner’s life savings combined, how hopeful can you really be.  
 

Also, is Mark still supposed to be interested is computer coding? He can take some coding classes and work on certifications to get an entry level job and get tuition assistance for a degree through his job later.

Skylar’s dad is a moron.  He’s going to buy papers from the kid that got kicked out the magnet school despite having enough money to pay for  a wing on the school?  He could easily bribe the tutor that is probably already doing Skylar’s homework.  This whole show is so dumb.

 

Edited February 5, 2022 by Irate Panda

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Darlene Conner: Putting the 'ass' in contrabassoon.