S05.E14: Adding Insult to Injury

[Pallas]

Darlene continues her search for a new job; Becky is desperate to spend more time with Beverly Rose.

[Annber03]

"If this is about the money for you..."

"No, it's because I love tires, of course it's about the money for me!"

LOL, seriously, ,I fully agree that Darlene's attitude wasn't helping at her job interviews, but I totally sympathized with her on this bit, 'cause, yeah, I guarantee the vast majority of people trying to find work or keep a job nowadays sure as hell aren't doing it 'cause they love the work they'll be doing. 

It was so weird seeing Darlene with such a different look :p. But I am glad that interview did wind up working out for her. I laughed at her excitement at finally getting to use her experience being on the other end of those particular phone calls to her advantage :D. 

Neville's talk with Becky was good. I'm glad he got through to Jackie and kept her and Becky from doing something super risky and wrong. Again, I totally sympathize with Becky's stress, but...yeah. Far better ways to try and deal with that. 

LOL at Jackie calling Neville "Dudley-do-Right", too :D. 

[Snow Apple]

Yay for Neville! Someone finally said what I've been thinking about Becky lately and how she treats her family. Now he needs to smack some sense into the rest of them when they need hard truths, even his wife.

[Winston Wolfe]

2 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Yay for Neville! Someone finally said what I've been thinking about Becky lately and how she treats her family. Now he needs to smack some sense into the rest of them when they need hard truths, even his wife.

Even though Darlene and Becky had moments of clarity, they were both all shades of AWFUL this week. It somehow feels wrong that Darlene gets a gig by being her normal, objectionable self. The biggest problem with many adult members of the Conners clan is that no one is truly interested in positive self-change. Yet they wonder why everything always goes badly for them.

Edited February 16, 2023 by Winston Wolfe

[EtheltoTillie]

I’ve been wondering about this too. I used to watch original recipe Roseanne, but it was years ago, and I never watched reruns, so my memory is imperfect. It seems to me, however, that the old Conners were not so determinedly self defeating.  

Edited February 16, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[Brn2bwild]

Good episode, but the silliest part was Becky thinking that workers compensation was the same as paid sick leave.  It's for long-term absences, and at least in my state, you need to file a claim with the workers compensation board, which then investigates and can deny the claim.  Becky at minimum would have needed to show that she went to the doctor and was treated for a real injury.

Original recipe Roseanne wasn't much better when it came to getting jobs.  Roseanne was pretty disdainful of both her hair salon and her waitress job, and showed plenty of bad attitude during the latter.  Dan dove into the bike shop opportunity head first and didn't consider building business first by repairing bikes as a side business.

[Bastet]

Yay for a return of Dan's use of "zut alors", although in quite a different context.

Every bit of Darlene dressed as her opposite -- the hair, the lipstick, the clothes -- cracked me up, but nothing more than the American flag pin.  I couldn't stop staring at it and laughing.  I also utterly adored Dan's "I don't know how you got in here, but I'm not joining your church" when she walked in the house afterward.

Darlene had some good stuff tonight, from telling Dan she could replace any one of his pills with a laxative and and he wouldn't know to "Men like you are the reason women drink, paint, and live in sheds" to perfectly responding to Jaime Pressly's character's stupid interview comment with, "No, I'm here because I love tires -- of course it's about the money!"

I like Dan telling her "Maybe your 'thing' is what's keeping you unemployed" and then her finding a niche where a modified version of her thing could be just the ticket.  It will be nice if the writers keep her employed.

I initially thought Neville was over-stepping, but it wound up being a good talk with Becky, and I like her telling him it made it difficult to hope he gets eaten by a client's snake.  I like her apology to Jackie.

[UYI]

For the first time in a while, I was basically happy with this entire episode. 

I'll admit, my first instinct was worry that we would have yet another crisis when Becky suddenly fell--I wouldn't put it past these writers--but thankfully she wasn't, and the workers' comp part thankfully had a realistic outcome with Neville pointing out that it was insurance fraud.

Baby steps! :D 

[DanaK]

So who played the various interviewers? A poster above said Jaime Pressley for one (I recognized the face but couldn’t place the name) and I recognized Jack McBrayer as another

[Snow Apple]

6 hours ago, DanaK said:

So who played the various interviewers? A poster above said Jaime Pressley for one (I recognized the face but couldn’t place the name) and I recognized Jack McBrayer as another

Thanks for saying that was Jaime Pressley. I was trying to figure it out even though I watch Mom reruns almost everyday. I kept thinking Faith Ford even though I figure it wasn't her.

[iMonrey]

I was glad the writers acknowledged how abrasive Darlene can be, I honestly didn't think they had the self awareness to understand how the character was coming across. Ditto for Neville setting Becky straight on her over-reliance on family members. It really irritated me that she had this sense of entitlement when it came to spending time with her kid, like every other working parent in the world isn't in the same situation. 

Darlene's "opposite" outfit really was a scream, I don't think I've ever seen Sara Gilbert with straight hair before.

Did I hear right, that Darlene's former boss at Wellmans is under investigation because of the contamination of the ground water? So eventually the news did get out. You'd think the investigators would be all over Darlene for her story.

Edited February 16, 2023 by iMonrey

[Snow Apple]

Yeah, Darlene's "opposite" look was hilarious, especially the US flag pin but her makeup was also creepy. Like Halloween makeup with the white powder and red lips. Her normal skin tone is much better.

I didn't mind her getting the accounting job by being herself. I thought she toned it down when being honest and they do need a hard-ass for the job. She wasn't being combative, insulting, and condescending like with the others.

I also don't think she acted like herself with the others too. She's like that to family but not to others to their face without good reason. Yeah the customer was annoying but she can sell the nails to her without insulting her and just said the package comes in three and to save the extra one. And she could have told the woman interviewer the terms is not what she was looking for and thank her for her time and left it at that. 

Edited February 16, 2023 by Snow Apple

[Yogisbooboo64]

I so related when Darlene gave that speech to her now employer about how she doesn’t smile, isn’t fun, etc. at work.

Why just last week, my sister was speaking to me like Dan/Harris did to Darlene regarding faking it in the business world….a Scorpio through and through, I can’t be fake with people; if I don’t like you, I don’t like you and that sometimes makes it difficult for me at the office.  On the other hand, I’ve been at my job for six years so there’s that, lol.

Becky was being selfish and an idiot, loved Neville calling her out on it and her at least being woman enough to not take it personally. 

Jamie Pressley’s face looked pulled wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy back and not in a good way.

[StaceyNotStacie]

Darlene’s look looked like a Mary Kay representative threw up all over her. I’m glad she finally found a job and I hope it works out for her. 
 

I liked Neville’s talk with Becky. I was surprised that when she talked about spending time with Beverly Rose, she didn’t mention her having a new stepmother and being afraid that, especially if she has half siblings, she will want to live with her father and stepmother. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

6 hours ago, StaceyNotStacie said:

I liked Neville’s talk with Becky. I was surprised that when she talked about spending time with Beverly Rose, she didn’t mention her having a new stepmother and being afraid that, especially if she has half siblings, she will want to live with her father and stepmother. 

And besides depending on family for babysitting. Beverly Rose's dad (or his extended family) also probably takes care of her fairly often.  Becky's position is actually quite good, for a single mother.

Edited February 17, 2023 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Winston Wolfe]

19 hours ago, Brn2bwild said:

Good episode, but the silliest part was Becky thinking that workers compensation was the same as paid sick leave.  It's for long-term absences, and at least in my state, you need to file a claim with the workers compensation board, which then investigates and can deny the claim.  Becky at minimum would have needed to show that she went to the doctor and was treated for a real injury.

Yep, that was beyond unrealistic. Maybe Becky could have Googled worker's comp to find out how it actually worked? Even worse, Jackie, who's supposed to be older and wiser, went right along with it, while realizing doing so is fraud. Sometimes these folks dig their own graves with spoons, other times with shovels.

[Court]

On 2/15/2023 at 11:34 PM, Brn2bwild said:

Good episode, but the silliest part was Becky thinking that workers compensation was the same as paid sick leave.  It's for long-term absences, and at least in my state, you need to file a claim with the workers compensation board, which then investigates and can deny the claim.  Becky at minimum would have needed to show that she went to the doctor and was treated for a real injury.

Original recipe Roseanne wasn't much better when it came to getting jobs.  Roseanne was pretty disdainful of both her hair salon and her waitress job, and showed plenty of bad attitude during the latter.  Dan dove into the bike shop opportunity head first and didn't consider building business first by repairing bikes as a side business.

Agreed. She actually has to pay that. Some claims companies have to pay for years or essentially forever.

[mythoughtis]

In addition addition to the work comp items mentioned, every claim makes the employers work comp insurance cost go up. 

I don’t watch Roseanne reruns often, so maybe I am misremembering- but I don’t remember the Connor family being so dishonest.   Not very bright - yes.  Spending money on the wrong things- yes.  Juggling bills - yes   But not committing  crimes. Especially former police officer Jackie. 

[peacheslatour]

14 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

In addition addition to the work comp items mentioned, every claim makes the employers work comp insurance cost go up. 

I don’t watch Roseanne reruns often, so maybe I am misremembering- but I don’t remember the Connor family being so dishonest.   Not very bright - yes.  Spending money on the wrong things- yes.  Juggling bills - yes   But not committing  crimes. Especially former police officer Jackie. 

I think bouncing checks was as close as they came to committing fraud.

[emmyG]

There was that whole thing with the stove delivery (accidentally getting more than she'd paid for and reselling it for profit) though in the end she gave in to DJ's scolding and decided there was a limit to how much she wanted to benefit from that.

The most stupidly dishonest (though not really fraud) thing I remember was Roseanne cancelling other people's flights to Florida so she could book the Disney trip, but that was pretty late in the show and the Disney storyline was never going to make sense anyway.

[One Tough Cookie]

On 2/15/2023 at 8:31 PM, Snow Apple said:

Yay for Neville! Someone finally said what I've been thinking about Becky lately and how she treats her family. Now he needs to smack some sense into the rest of them when they need hard truths, even his wife.

I've always thought that Becky had a somewhat entitled attitude--especially when Lecy was playing her.She wanted to go to college,was incensed when she learned her parents couldn't afford it, yet we saw no story line about trying to find a job or scholarships. Surely in her financial situation, and she being bright scholarship and grants would be available.  She was aware of their situation and seemed to think the world owed her. Sara, her replacement, gave off a softer vibe.

Edited February 20, 2023 by One Tough Cookie

[emmyG]

Quote

yet we saw no story line about trying to find a job or scholarships.

Didn't she run off with Mark immediately after that? 

She certainly wasn't sympathetic to her parents problems, but IMO it was understandable for a teen in her position who thought she'd been doing everything right only to see her plans fall apart. And then her top priority was to stay with Mark, so she dropped everything else. (A realistic storyline following them in their life in a new town might have shown all kinds of struggles and had her eventually question what she should do with her life other than be a wife, but as Lecy was busy, the character was out of sight and out of mind.)

 

[Rocknrollzombie]

Becky had more sympathy for her family in the revival, she was willing to be a suggorate (even if it was for money but still), gave up the casino job for Darlene so Darlene can get the benefits to support mark and Harris.  

Which is a stark contrast to how she has been in the conners, like  when she literally wanted Darlene to cover for her or something when she got in trouble for using her phone during work.
 

There has always been this feeling I have had that there was this huge shift in characterization between the revival and the conners for all of them. 

Edited February 20, 2023 by Rocknrollzombie

[love2lovebadtv]

On 2/15/2023 at 8:30 PM, Annber03 said:

"If this is about the money for you..."

"No, it's because I love tires, of course it's about the money for me!"

LOL, seriously, ,I fully agree that Darlene's attitude wasn't helping at her job interviews, but I totally sympathized with her on this bit, 'cause, yeah, I guarantee the vast majority of people trying to find work or keep a job nowadays sure as hell aren't doing it 'cause they love the work they'll be doing. 

It was so weird seeing Darlene with such a different look :p. But I am glad that interview did wind up working out for her. I laughed at her excitement at finally getting to use her experience being on the other end of those particular phone calls to her advantage :D. 

Neville's talk with Becky was good. I'm glad he got through to Jackie and kept her and Becky from doing something super risky and wrong. Again, I totally sympathize with Becky's stress, but...yeah. Far better ways to try and deal with that. 

LOL at Jackie calling Neville "Dudley-do-Right", too :D. 

This was a good episode, right? I loved that both Darlene and Becky were respectfully told to get their acts together. There was no door slamming, just honest family moments that weren't sappy. And it was funny, too.

I get that Darlene needs money but she really needs to present herself better. I'm glad this worked out. And I'm glad her art/writing background was mentioned - first time in a long time. 

On 2/15/2023 at 8:31 PM, Snow Apple said:

Yay for Neville! Someone finally said what I've been thinking about Becky lately and how she treats her family. Now he needs to smack some sense into the rest of them when they need hard truths, even his wife.

I liked seeing Neville step in. Honestly, I thought we'd have more moments like that with Louise. But I think with her living at the homestead, it's a little more complicated. 

On 2/15/2023 at 11:41 PM, Bastet said:

Yay for a return of Dan's use of "zut alors", although in quite a different context.

Every bit of Darlene dressed as her opposite -- the hair, the lipstick, the clothes -- cracked me up, but nothing more than the American flag pin.  I couldn't stop staring at it and laughing.  I also utterly adored Dan's "I don't know how you got in here, but I'm not joining your church" when she walked in the house afterward.

Darlene had some good stuff tonight, from telling Dan she could replace any one of his pills with a laxative and and he wouldn't know to "Men like you are the reason women drink, paint, and live in sheds" to perfectly responding to Jaime Pressly's character's stupid interview comment with, "No, I'm here because I love tires -- of course it's about the money!"

I like Dan telling her "Maybe your 'thing' is what's keeping you unemployed" and then her finding a niche where a modified version of her thing could be just the ticket.  It will be nice if the writers keep her employed.

I initially thought Neville was over-stepping, but it wound up being a good talk with Becky, and I like her telling him it made it difficult to hope he gets eaten by a client's snake.  I like her apology to Jackie.

Loved the two family talks. And I especially appreciated that Neville stepped in. His wife is affected by the potentiality of workers 'comp fraud. But also, sometimes you need someone who has enough distance from you to notice something is off but close enough to give you critical feedback that's coming from a good place.

On 2/19/2023 at 7:45 PM, One Tough Cookie said:

I've always thought that Becky had a somewhat entitled attitude--especially when Lecy was playing her.She wanted to go to college,was incensed when she learned her parents couldn't afford it, yet we saw no story line about trying to find a job or scholarships. Surely in her financial situation, and she being bright scholarship and grants would be available.  She was aware of their situation and seemed to think the world owed her. Sara, her replacement, gave off a softer vibe.

One thing both Roseanne and the Conners have in common is that financial aid doesn't exist LOL

[Wizardpatch]

Wouldn't this episode have been the perfect time for Dan to remind his daughter that her mom wasn't exactly happy all the time, but she could at least fake it for a half hour job interview?

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Wizardpatch said:

Wouldn't this episode have been the perfect time for Dan to remind his daughter that her mom wasn't exactly happy all the time, but she could at least fake it for a half hour job interview?

[Jillybean]

I wish they hadn't had Dan and Louise get married if she was going to be "on tour" most of the time. It's pretty silly. I like her character but since she only drops in once every few months, it doesn't make sense.

[Colorado David]

I will likely get flamed for saying this, but I liked the more made up Darlene. If she could do that and keep the regular Darlene personality, that'd be the perfect combo for me. I guess I am far too used to women in makeup.

[CrystalBlue]

2 hours ago, Colorado David said:

I will likely get flamed for saying this, but I liked the more made up Darlene. If she could do that and keep the regular Darlene personality, that'd be the perfect combo for me. I guess I am far too used to women in makeup.

Ha!  See what I did there?  Your opinion is fine.  If Darlene hadn't entered adulthood with the makeup-free casual look, no one would bat an eye (or eyelash) if she presented herself with a more professional, put together look.  Her personality being a separate issue, of course.  😀

[Wizardpatch]

14 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

Ha!  See what I did there?  Your opinion is fine.  If Darlene hadn't entered adulthood with the makeup-free casual look, no one would bat an eye (or eyelash) if she presented herself with a more professional, put together look.  Her personality being a separate issue, of course.  😀

Thats why its so ridiculous that a relatively normal guy like Ben longed after her for years and wanted to marry her. If it had been a real life relationship, I have no doubt that David would have eventually divorced her regardless of his brother dying or not. The happiest she has been was because she got a new couch.

[emmyG]

Darlene needs friends. Wish they hadn't wasted Molly.

[ButterQueen]

I really liked the episode.  Great seeing Jamie Pressley again.  Was the candy company owner the pastor on Young Sheldon?

I hated Darlene’s fake look.  I wear makeup, but she looks better just being herself.  The American flag pin was hilarious.

Edited February 26, 2023 by ButterQueen

[JAYJAY1979]

On 2/16/2023 at 11:10 AM, iMonrey said:

I was glad the writers acknowledged how abrasive Darlene can be, I honestly didn't think they had the self awareness to understand how the character was coming across. Ditto for Neville setting Becky straight on her over-reliance on family members. It really irritated me that she had this sense of entitlement when it came to spending time with her kid, like every other working parent in the world isn't in the same situation. 

Darlene's "opposite" outfit really was a scream, I don't think I've ever seen Sara Gilbert with straight hair before.

Did I hear right, that Darlene's former boss at Wellmans is under investigation because of the contamination of the ground water? So eventually the news did get out. You'd think the investigators would be all over Darlene for her story.

Seeing Darlene in her unDarlene outfit reminded me of when she was made to wear a girly dress and have her hair in pigtails for the Rodbell commercial.  

The show should do this with her more often

[ams1001]

On 2/26/2023 at 10:08 AM, ButterQueen said:

Was the candy company owner the pastor on Young Sheldon?

No, it was Jack McBrayer (from 30 Rock and many other things).

[mostlylurking]

Darlenes look was hilarious….omg that HAIR….and the American flag pin was just the chefs kiss on the entire thing.

I’m glad Neville had that talk with Becky, in the nicest possible way.  I get that Becky is a single mom trying to make ends meet but she’s in a better position than most.  She has a TON of help both her side of the family and presumably Emilio is still in the picture so his side as well.  She has a flexible job and living situation.  Of course none of that will replace mommy being there, but it’s a better arrangement than many people have.