S05.E18: Road Trip and Guilt Trip

[Irate Panda]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

It's another retcon from the original show's canon.

Ding ding ding. Ben is just a very amiable character, all around. Darlene is very abrasive and always has been. But I did think they sort of clicked when they first met, back when Ben hired her to work on his magazine. Opposites do attract, and I could see how Ben would be attracted to her wit and intellect.

Darlene would be better as a side character.  She would be more tolerable in small doses like on the original show although the writing is much worse on The Conners.  I do think opposites attract, but Darlene just seems miserable most of the time.  I’m hoping since she mentioned training for her new job that it decrease their money stresses and she will stop being awful not that she should’ve be overly sappy either.  

 

1 hour ago, Snow Apple said:

Becky mopping the table was gross. Even if she was trying to get back at Darlene, she should seek revenge a different way so as not to harm others in the family (poor Ben). Did she forget Beverly Rose eats off that table?!

Yes, that was gross, and made no sense.  I would imagine Becky eats off the table too.  The Conners have become so unlikeable as a family.

[MarthaEllisanne]

Becky needs to move out of that house asap - go back to Dan's if possible. Darlene abuses Becky frequently and, while Becky tries to defend herself, she knows she is beholden to Darlene for housing. Plus, as several people have commented, Ben has more chemistry with Becky than Darlene, always has. It may bubble to the surface some day and turn that household into a worse hell for Becky than it already is.
Darlene seems incapable of happiness. Any time something happens that should make her happy, she finds a way to pick it apart. Darlene casts a pall over every scene she is in.
I loved when Neville told Jackie the reason for the separate finances.  I hope he can help protect his sister's assets from the in-laws.

[Rocknrollzombie]

So Darlene is at fault for leaving post it notes for some simple chores and of course Becky is always the Saint 

 

how is Darlene abusing Becky, Becky has wasted an paycheck on lotto machine, hasn’t paid rent, wanted to commit worker’s comp fraud but sure Darlene is always the bad guy and Becky is always right. Any sane person would have kicked Becky out by now 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Rocknrollzombie

[Bastet]

11 minutes ago, Rocknrollzombie said:

So Darlene is at fault for leaving post it notes for some simple chores

They weren't all simple chores; one of the things Darlene wanted Becky to do was line the shelves or something like that.  And wallpapering the kitchen cabinets with dozens of demands for a single weekend was nuts.  "Teeny Mussolini" indeed.

They should already have it worked out who does what in terms of routine household chores; if Ben and Becky don't do anything if Darlene isn't there to divvy up tasks, that's a problem the three need to address immediately and seriously, as that's an unfair way for Darlene to live, but the barrage of notes left in her absence was completely over the top both in number and what she expected them to do.  So Becky responding in kind amused me, even though it just continued the petty lunacy; it felt like a natural response between the siblings.

[DedicatedFan]

I thought that it was funny that Becky complained about Darlene having left a post-it telling them to empty the dishwasher, because Ben confessed that he had put some dirty dishes into it.  Bu then, he did what I would have done - run the dishwasher again.  Except that I would have put some detergent into it.  I did not see him or Becky put detergent in it.  He just closed the door and pressed the button to start it.

[CrystalBlue]

1 hour ago, DedicatedFan said:

I thought that it was funny that Becky complained about Darlene having left a post-it telling them to empty the dishwasher, because Ben confessed that he had put some dirty dishes into it.  Bu then, he did what I would have done - run the dishwasher again.  Except that I would have put some detergent into it.  I did not see him or Becky put detergent in it.  He just closed the door and pressed the button to start it.

No, Ben put one of those blue detergent pods in the dishwasher.  That was the joke, that Darlene wouldn't approve of using another pod to wash mostly clean dishes again, but she wasn't there to see it, which is what made Ben and Becky cheer in the kitchen.

4 minutes ago, CrystalBlue said:

No, Ben put one of those blue detergent pods in the dishwasher.  That was the joke, that Darlene wouldn't approve of using another pod to wash mostly clean dishes again, but she wasn't there to see it, which is what made Ben and Becky cheer in the kitchen.

 

4 minutes ago, CrystalBlue said:

No, Ben put one of those blue detergent pods in the dishwasher.  That was the joke, that Darlene wouldn't approve of using another pod to wash mostly clean dishes again, but she wasn't there to see it, which is what made Ben and Becky cheer in the kitchen.

 

4 minutes ago, CrystalBlue said:

 

4 minutes ago, CrystalBlue said:

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by CrystalBlue
can't delete the quotes

[ItCouldBeWorse]

9 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Regarding Jackie and her trucker's license: since when this family worry about rules? They are a "ask forgiveness later" kind of people. She kinda knows how to drive and probably just hope she's good enough that they don't get pulled over. 

True, but if she did get into an accident while driving without a license, the friend who loaned her his rig will have no insurance coverage.

9 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

 

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Welshman in Ca]

Let's be honest here, if this was a real family they would have been on tv more what with appearances on Springer, Maury, Judge Judy and all the rest of those shows.

[Lovecat]

Regarding Becky being a better match for Ben...remember the original run's finale, when it was revealed that the Connor-Healy couples were actually Becky & David and Darlene & Mark.  

I'm putting it out there again, the finale of "The Connors" is going to reveal that the entire thing is just a graphic novel written in the basement by Darlene and that IRL everyone got their shit together and had a happy ending.  

[Pi237]

This show keeps ruining the original characters with totally out of character behavior. Dan would Never have demanded money from Jackie. Original Dan was too proud to take Jackie’s check. Roseanne accepted it, Dan got mad because it meant “Jackie was taking care of his family, instead of him” and tore up the check. Later after Jackie talked to him at the Lobo, explaining that Dan always helps her out and it would just be a loan, he begrudgingly agreed to take it.  Once episode, Bev bought DJ the game he wanted for his bday without asking, got Darlene aVCR I think and Becky her car, Dan flipped out. She explained that with her husband always being the fun one and cheating on her, she just wanted to treat the kids and they worked it out. Dan was Never the kind of man that would ask for money from family, let alone demand it. Ridiculous 

[Brn2bwild]

I agree that Dan was out of character in this episode, but Becky's behavior reminded me of Becky of Seasons 2 and 3 of Roseanne.  There were one or two episodes where she was extremely selfish and rude to Roseanne, such as when she slammed the door in Roseanne's face and Roseanne had to take the door off of its hinges.  Or when she ran off to live with Jackie after Roseanne and Dan wouldn't let her see Mark.  Becky's bratty mopping of the table seemed akin with that earlier behavior.  

Granted, Darlene's post-its were OOT and out of character, intended to manufacture tension for plot purposes.  But still, Becky was living with her sister and failing to pay rent* - was it really so hard for her to do some extra chores to make up for it?

 

* And why is she paying rent?  I thought Darlene/Ben and Becky owned the house equally.  So why wouldn't Becky simply be paying her portion of the mortgage and utilities?   

Edited March 24, 2023 by Brn2bwild

[izabella]

Becky does not have ownership in that house.  Where would she have gotten a down payment?  Not that Darlene would have had much of one, either, but at least she had a management job working at that factory for a while, so we can sort-of pretend to believe she had some cash.  Becky was just going to pay rent, which would make the mortgage affordable for Darlene.  Then she and Ben bought it together, and still kept the deal with Becky, again to help with the mortgage since Darlene didn't have a full time job anymore.

Edited March 24, 2023 by izabella

[Lorna Mae]

On 3/21/2023 at 8:55 AM, Pi237 said:

        
Once, Bev bought DJ the game he wanted for his bday without asking, got Darlene a VCR I think and Becky her car, Dan flipped out.

Not just a game: the entire Super Nintendo system! Which Dan had already bought and hidden, while he and Roseanne claimed they couldn’t afford it, to make the payoff worthwhile. “Mom, Mom, look what Grandma bought me!” Audience groans. Then she offered her car to Becky, and Darlene was somehow overlooked. One of my favorite tag scenes, always cut in syndication, is Darlene calling Al and telling him how Bev was “really sucking up…What did I get? Oh nothing…probably because I stuck up for you one too many times. So when are you coming to visit?”

The car gift was a point of pride, though. Dan insisted that Becky had to earn a car. “Dad, if I had a car, it would be easier for me to get  to work!” “Bull — the minute you get a car, you’ll find some excuse to quit work.” And my friend watching with me says, “What does he mean — quit work? Once you start working, you can’t let up!”

[Brn2bwild]

2 hours ago, izabella said:

Becky does not have ownership in that house.  Where would she have gotten a down payment?  Not that Darlene would have had much of one, either, but at least she had a management job working at that factory for a while, so we can sort-of pretend to believe she had some cash.  Becky was just going to pay rent, which would make the mortgage affordable for Darlene.  Then she and Ben bought it together, and still kept the deal with Becky, again to help with the mortgage since Darlene didn't have a full time job anymore.

Wasn't the mortgage ridiculously cheap?  Like $500/month?  Pretty crazy Becky couldn't afford half of that, even on this show.

[love2lovebadtv]

On 3/17/2023 at 11:36 AM, Starchild said:

This is where I'm a little confused. If she is keeping her money separate from Neville's money, then why is Neville funding gas, and why did she have to ask him for $1000?

Jackie owns a business and has her own income from it. We don't know how well or badly the Lunch Box business is doing, but it's been a going concern for a while. I'm going to go ahead and assume she pays her family members who work for her. But they don't pay rent on the property right? They got it from Bev? So there's a huge business expense that they don't have, that many other businesses do. Jackie's business must be paying her some kind of a salary. She shares shelter costs with her husband, so she can't be using all of it on personal or household expenses.

Unless the Lunch Box is bleeding money, it's hard to believe Jackie couldn't afford to pay for at least part of this road trip without begging Neville. 

Or have I missed something?

Even if they keep their finances separate, Neville can give Jackie money for a trip - it's a gift. She asked him for $1000 because she wanted to give it to Dan and she likely doesn't have it herself - that's separate from paying for the trip; it's money that Dan asked her for to purchase merchandise. Jackie has a business but even if she doesn't pay rent for the property, there are a ton of other business expenses. And I doubt she's making a ton of money from the Lunch Box. 

On 3/17/2023 at 9:33 PM, Irate Panda said:

I still don’t understand why Dan was so upset about the food bill.  I generally watch this on DVR and fast forward a lot which is bad for. a 22 minute sitcom.  Did Jackie do anything in regards to ‘flashing money” besides pay for gas? Also if she’s paying what I would assume to be at least few hundreds of dollars why is Dan moaning about splitting the Denny’s bill?  BTW does Dan say where he got all the money he’s using to buy this material or is he using the hardware store’s account and does Ben know about any of this?

Dan was terrible here when he referred to Jackie as "flashing money." It was terrible for him to expect her to pay for everything, even after she was already funding the trip. 

On 3/21/2023 at 8:55 AM, Pi237 said:

This show keeps ruining the original characters with totally out of character behavior. Dan would Never have demanded money from Jackie. Original Dan was too proud to take Jackie’s check. Roseanne accepted it, Dan got mad because it meant “Jackie was taking care of his family, instead of him” and tore up the check. Later after Jackie talked to him at the Lobo, explaining that Dan always helps her out and it would just be a loan, he begrudgingly agreed to take it.  Once episode, Bev bought DJ the game he wanted for his bday without asking, got Darlene aVCR I think and Becky her car, Dan flipped out. She explained that with her husband always being the fun one and cheating on her, she just wanted to treat the kids and they worked it out. Dan was Never the kind of man that would ask for money from family, let alone demand it. Ridiculous 

Yes, old school Dan was a proud man...he would never!

[ams1001]

On 3/16/2023 at 2:39 PM, Bastet said:

That I didn't mind, because Darlene's barrage of color-coded notes was so utterly insane

I know when I have a list of things for multiple people to do while I'm out, I assign them each a color and stick post-it notes to every random surface where one of those chores needs to happen and expect them to find them all, instead of just making a list or two. 🙄

 

[Lorna Mae]

On 3/21/2023 at 8:55 AM, Pi237 said:

Once episode, Bev bought DJ the game he wanted for his bday without asking, got Darlene aVCR I think and Becky her car,

Not quite. She bought DJ Super Nintendo, which Roseanne and Dan had already purchased for him, and offered Becky her car, but R ended up taking the car and passing on her old car to Becky. Darlene got nothing, which led to one of my favorite tag scenes. "Grandpa Al! Hi, it's Darlene...No really!...What did I get? Oh, nothing...I dunno, probably because I stuck up for you too many times...So tell me -- when are you coming to visit?"