S10.E07: Go Cubs

[peacheslatour]

10 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I can see how it's very depressing to watch an entire family struggle, but I also appreciate the realism. The thing that bugged about some of my other favorite sitcoms, like The Office and Parks & Rec, was that by the end of the show, all those people who started out as ordinary office workers, ended up having a ton of success. That's fun to think about, but it's not how life works for most people.

I think what would have been great for this show is if some of the characters were allowed to have some success that's not financial, that way they could still be poor but not completely miserable. For example, since Darlene is a writer, she could have had some success publishing her work and have a small but loyal following, but not sell enough books to keep herself and the kids afloat. She'd still need to find a job to make ends meet, but she'd also be motivated to keep writing. Something like that.

That is a really good point. Why doesn't she at least have a blog?

[debbie311]

Going to a neighbor that you don't even know at 2 am to get on their internet is completely unrealistic and totally ridiculous.  In real life, you would tell the little girl that you are very sorry, but the Skype call with her mother is just not going to be possible right now.

I get that the show is meant to be for entertainment purposes, but it's really hard for me to take it seriously or feel much sympathy.  Dan and Roseanne have made poor choices and now they are suffering the consequences. I'm about their age.  We came of age during a time when you could actually get a decent job with just a high school education.  You could work your way up though the ranks and build up a decent retirement.  I know MANY people who did this and are enjoying life now.  Those days are gone, unfortunately.  But my point is, the Connors made and continue to make poor decisions and will suffer for it.  Why didn't one or both of them get some re-training for a job that would at least allow them to pay their utilities?  Why did Dan quit a job that would have provided some security?  On an on.  And while it was nice that he suggested that he and DJ could find work fixing motorcycles, that would be a supplemental SIDE job, not a main job that would support a family, at least not in their case.

[BitterApple]

I'm eye-rolling the motorcycle thing, because Dan already tried that with the bike shop and it failed miserably. If Lanford is even more economically depressed than it was in the 90s, I doubt many residents are tooling around in fancy Harley's. I agree it would make more sense as a side gig than a full-fledged business.

I'm not even sure why DJ is still living there. Geena is in the Army, correct? Are there any bases in that corner of Illinois? I guess it's possible she's stationed elsewhere and DJ and Mary relocated closer to home after her deployment, but given that they have some form of income rolling in through Geena's salary, you'd think they'd want to be in an area with better prospects.

[TV Diva Queen]

1 hour ago, ChicksDigScars said:

I actually saw that episode on a rerun not too long ago.  It holds up. 

 

True to a point, but I also remember being in my 20's and sitting and watching Nick at Night with my mother. In the 80's, they were showing black and white sitcoms from HER era. Dobie Gillis, Groucho Marx. Now, they're showing reruns from the 90's, which is Darlene's era.  I've watched MASH reruns and realized, through the filter of today's standards, how sexist the funny parts seem now.  I think someone Darlene's age is aware of who the people her parent's watched are.  Especially thanks to cable and the internet.

 

When my son was a teen and I would harp on him to clean his room, I'd hum the theme from Sanford and Son whenever I would walk in there. He didn't get it for the longest time. Then, one day, he's watching TV Land, and Sanford and Son starts.  He hears the theme. It took him a minute and he said, "Hey...isn't this the song you hum when you walk into my room?" And I said, "Yeah." Then he watched the opening credits and said, "Ohhhhh.....and they live in a junk yard...." Now you're catching on! 

 

Thanks to cable, and Nick and Night, TV Land, My TV, Antenna TV, CMT and Logo, and all these stations that show sitcom reruns, basically 24 hours a day, it's not unheard of for someone my son's age (30) to know and enjoy something before his time.  I recently caught him laughing his ass off when he stopped over and MASH was on. 

Raise your hand if you're humming the Sanford and Son theme song.  {raises hand}

[Rap541]

Quote

Also? The TV shows of today are FAR more politically correct.  There's stuff from the 70's that I don't think would EVER see the light of day on TV in 2018.  (Anybody else remember a 49-yr-old Maude becoming pregnant and choosing to have an abortion?)  Of course, YMMV.  

Man, some of the 1970s shows were rough. I can remember George Jefferson and Archie Bunker going at it with "n-word" and honky and zebra and mammy. And Edith figuring out her cousin was a lesbian (it holds up).

Quote

I think what would have been great for this show is if some of the characters were allowed to have some success that's not financial, that way they could still be poor but not completely miserable. For example, since Darlene is a writer, she could have had some success publishing her work and have a small but loyal following, but not sell enough books to keep herself and the kids afloat. She'd still need to find a job to make ends meet, but she'd also be motivated to keep writing. Something like that.

But that would kill the endless narrative that everything totally sucks. :)

More seriously, I can see where such a storyline could work, complete with Roseanne deriding the time that Darlene spends on it. I honestly find it hard to believe that Darlene - who is well spoken, doesn't look her age, dresses well, and has some education, isn't finding work in admin or phone customer service, or as a receptionist. It's not high paying work but it would beat the current "nothing" she's bringing in and the job market isn't really that poor for someone like her. DJ likewise. Reasonably intelligent and being a veteran usually is a corporate plus point, especially if there's nothing demonstrably wrong with him. 

Quote

I'm not even sure why DJ is still living there. Geena is in the Army, correct? Are there any bases in that corner of Illinois? I guess it's possible she's stationed elsewhere and DJ and Mary relocated closer to home after her deployment, but given that they have some form of income rolling in through Geena's salary, you'd think they'd want to be in an area with better prospects.

Geena's family likely still lives in Lanford. If Geena is deployed for a while, DJ probably prefers to live near family for the kid's sake rather than on a base somewhere where he would be considered kind of weird as a spousal dependant (Army wives have support, Army husbands not so much, especially if they are ex Army themselves.) That said, DJ probably needs to have more happen in order for me to buy that someone who seems fairly together is completely unemployable due to PTSD. Personally, I like Michael Fishman, but I don't think he's a good enough actor to make a "vet with PTSD" story work.

[UYI]

DJ did mention that the VA office was in Danville, but that's in central Illinois, FAR south of the Chicago area, near the central Indiana border. So that kind of confused me, unless there isn't a VA office in Chicago, or even in Rockford or Peoria, for that matter.

[tessaray]

While discussions of cable news, sitcoms, unemployment, poverty, etc. are fair game thanks to the episode, it's time for the personal opinions and anecdotes to go to Small Talk or the Kitchen Table - unless your comment is about the characters themselves.  From this point on, off-topic posts are subject to removal.   

Thanks!  

[Zoe]

9 hours ago, SpiritSong said:

They must have refinanced that house a time or two because surely it would be paid off by now.

They did get a second mortgage at some point during the original run, IIRC.

[iMonrey]

Quote

There's something about it that's bothering me, too. While I like the realism, Roseanne has always tried to portray life for the "common people" as accurately as possible, it seems a little unreasonable to me that the whole family would be this bad off and that they haven't tried something "new" to improve their situation. I guess it's realistic that some people really do seem to never get that break and that there are generations that stay in the same boat, but think it's just as realistic to show that someone in the family HAS achieved a modicum of success. 

It occurs to me that it would be a lot easier to understand the Conners' financial status if they explained whatever happened to The Lunch Box, whether they ever managed to pay off the second mortgage they took out on the house for the Bike Shop, and how much else of the original broadcast run of this show they're acknowledging rather than disregarding. That's really the problem I have with it, anyway. As far as I can tell the show is ignoring certain parts of the original show that are inconsistent or inconvenient to the narrative they're trying to sell now, which seems to be that the Conners never moved up from their Season 2 employment situations of working odd jobs, construction, and nothing else. Did Dan ever get a job with the city? Did he take that job helping build the prison? Could he have gotten his job with the city back if the prison job didn't pan out? 

There seems to be a huge re-write in this re-boot. Hell, we still don't even know if Andy was ever born. But all this arguing  about the economic struggles is speculative without more information about what's happened in the last 20 years and how much they're pretending didn't happen.

Edited May 10, 2018 by iMonrey

[ThatsDarling]

Watching the family have the sleepover in the tent was the first time I felt some of the chemistry from the old series. I'm also very amused by the concept of telling ghosting stories at slumber parties. 

[Dee]

Why was Becky left out of the family sleepover?

[peacheslatour]

Maybe she had to work?

[bigskygirl]

In the original show they had Roseanne supporting the family with the Lunch Box before Dan got the city job. I have a hard time believing the place was doing so well to the point Roseanne was able to support the family. They also gave money to Becky to go to college after Dan got the city job, but he threw it all away to take the prison job he only got due to the fact he had a minority partner. Mark also left his job to work with Dan. Roseanne believe the Lunch Box was going to get the contract to supply meals to the prison also. I seriously doubt the Lunch Box would have gotten the contract because I am sure the state would have found a much better establishment to do the meals.

[qtpye]

3 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I'm eye-rolling the motorcycle thing, because Dan already tried that with the bike shop and it failed miserably. If Lanford is even more economically depressed than it was in the 90s, I doubt many residents are tooling around in fancy Harley's. I agree it would make more sense as a side gig than a full-fledged business.

I'm not even sure why DJ is still living there. Geena is in the Army, correct? Are there any bases in that corner of Illinois? I guess it's possible she's stationed elsewhere and DJ and Mary relocated closer to home after her deployment, but given that they have some form of income rolling in through Geena's salary, you'd think they'd want to be in an area with better prospects.

I was thinking the same thing with the only difference being they could sell the bikes online to ship to wealthy people. Heck, maybe they could be a vintage version of the American Chopper people.

[Sakura12]

I'm assuming it was Friday or Saturday night and Becky being a waitress would mean the weekend is the busiest time, she probably had to work. 

[willowk]

On 5/9/2018 at 12:29 PM, Duke2801 said:

I enjoyed this episode. Sadly, I have never heard one person with  good, positive V.A. story - so DJ's story rang very true to me.  I thought the scene with DJ and Dan in the garage was nice, too.  

Loved that "Tamra" was DJ's wife - I've missed her since The Mindy Project ended.  

I feel like they've done their best to convey that "Andy" does not exist in this new Roseanne universe.  

 

Thanks everyone who responded to my question, I've been getting the vibe too that Jackie's son may have been erased even though he existed prior to the lottery season. There have been a few comments about Jackie not having anyone to love etc.

[willowk]

22 hours ago, qtpye said:

In the nineties and late eighties, there still was hope that things will get better even with the early nineties recession. Wages have stagnated and the average American actually makes less now after you adjust for inflation.

There was also hope that the kids, particularly Becky, would go on to do better. Now the Conners are senior citizens that can barely keep the lights on and both of their daughters are struggling financially. Becky is a waitress, just like her mom and did not improve her lot in life. Darlene did try to make a go of it in Chicago but had children with an irresponsible flake and is actually in worse shape than her sister, who can at least afford her own apartment.

The hope "that things will be better" is just not there anymore. However, the family still has a lot of love for each other and can still find happiness in other things.

This is really true. And I am part of this trend. I have degrees, and have always worked, but it was easier to get work in the 80s into the 90s and the wages were closer to what you needed to get ahead. Now rent, utlities etc. increase at a rapid rate and wages do not.

[janie jones]

On 5/9/2018 at 10:51 AM, BitterApple said:

 I also thought Roseanne's comment about poor people having rotisserie chickens while rich people have yachts was completely off base. Pretty much everyone I know with money busted their asses to get it.

Roseanne wasn't saying that rich people don't deserve yachts, or that they didn't earn them.  She was saying that a yacht is a luxury item whereas a rotisserie chicken is not.

 

On 5/9/2018 at 1:17 PM, iMonrey said:

It also seems like another way the show is defending Trump voters and (by association) anti-immigration voters who believe illegals are stealing American jobs. In Dan's case, it's somewhat plausible that a contractor would hire illegals rather than Dan and his crew because they'd be a lot cheaper, so the show is addressing where that sentiment can come from. It's true in this specific case even if it's something blown wildly out of proportion and a cause of paranoia.

I agree with what others have said on this topic, but an additional thing that bothered me was the idea that nonunion = "illegals."  It may very well depend on the area and the trade, and even the size of the company, but my husband works for a nonunion company that gets a lot of work (due to their ability to outbid the union), but if anyone working there is undocumented, they're way under the radar.

[CelticBlackCat]

On 5/9/2018 at 10:33 AM, TattleTeeny said:

This should go without saying, but there are tons of people in this world who can't--poof!--magically be granted a job just because they need one. The "just take any old job" mentality doesn't always work because it can mean bringing in even less money than unemployment might pay (no idea whether Roseanne is on unemployment).

And, yeah--screw that sick idea that people with low incomes deserve nothing of value and should always look "acceptably poor" to the uninformed outsider. It's disgusting.

Not to mention the fact that employers aren't too eager to hire people in their 60s.  There is ageism going on as well.  As an Uber driver, as long as Roseanne has an acceptable vehicle, insurance, etc. she can be her own boss and work when she can, not looking over her shoulder for someone in middle management or HR to give her the axe.

As far as this episode goes, I enjoyed the new neighbors and was disgusted at the rude cashier, especially the camel remark.

[Emily Thrace]

On 2018-05-09 at 5:55 PM, bigskygirl said:

I thought the wife said they ended up with a lot of fertilizer because they husband kept hitting the order fertilizer button on Amazon. Why not cancer the orders or send the fertilizer back instead of keeping it.

I wondered if maybe he owned or worked for a landscaper.

[CarolMK]

Becky probably wasn't at the sleepover because she had to work, but also, Becky doesn't live there. I know she comes to visit but it seemed like DJ was dropping off his daughter as a last minute thing. Becky doesn't hang around all the time the way Jackie does. I'm also wondering where DJ lives. He hasn't been on the show as much, but I assume he lives nearby.

I like the new neighbors and hope to see more storylines with them. I did see Roseanne's twitter and she mentioned that the actress has helped quite a few people leave Syria. 

[love2lovebadtv]

On 5/9/2018 at 1:42 PM, iMonrey said:

I have to agree it was pretty clunky. I didn't hate it (I'm not generally emotional about any of these new episodes) but it felt contrived in the same way the first episode did, when  Jackie and Roseanne were fighting over the election. It was very stagy rather than organic. 

I hate to think that Roseanne has fallen prey to anti-Muslim paranoia simply because she's gotten more conservative over the years. I suppose it's possible but she was never shown to be racist or elitist in the original series, so I don't know that I find it terribly realistic that she'd jump right to "Muslim = Terrorist." 

I'd also be interested to know why Fatima and Samir moved to Lanford in the first place. I'm assuming one or both had some sort of job opportunity which allowed them to immigrate. But it sure seems like Lanford's economy is terrible and now they're on welfare. 

Finally, it seemed overly indulgent to wake up neighbors they didn't even know at 2:00 am just so Mary could talk to her mother. I get it, she's very young and doesn't get to see her mother very often, but let's be real. Even without WiFi someone has to have enough roaming data on their phone to text Geena and tell her the WiFi is down and they needed to reschedule. 

2

I couldn't figure out why they didn't just use someone's phone. Yeah, it seemed odd. Lots of people Skype via phone. You're right, someone's got to have data on their phone! I get that this was to move the plot forward but it just didn't make sense. 

As far as the neighbors, I never heard anyone say they were on welfare. I thought their EBT card was just for food. You can get what used to be called food stamps (SNAP) without being on welfare. Same with other types of benefit programs. And some people only qualify for very small amounts - it's not anything luxurious - depending on what your state has determined you are eligible to receive.  I also didn't get that the neighbors had emigrated directly from Yemen to move to Lanford. They really didn't give much of a backstory there. But that kid sleeping with a bulletproof vest? Gutwrenching. 

[janie jones]

10 minutes ago, love2lovebadtv said:

As far as the neighbors, I never heard anyone say they were on welfare. I thought their EBT card was just for food. You can get what used to be called food stamps (SNAP) without being on welfare. Same with other types of benefit programs.

There's no specific program called "welfare."  "Welfare" is a catch-all term for financial assistance.  So an EBT card and food stamps are both "welfare."

[love2lovebadtv]

On 5/9/2018 at 3:03 PM, nkotb said:

No mention, sore subject on these boards. 

Sore subject, indeed. 

On 5/10/2018 at 3:48 AM, SpiritSong said:

Neither of those networks have gone to court and argued that they're actually entertainment channels, not news, like Fox did.

Does anyone know just how small Lanford is? And where is it located in relation to the nearest city? Close enough to commute to find work? I know when Roseanne first aired there was some kind of factory a lot of them worked at, so I was wondering if there is any industry in the town.

They must have refinanced that house a time or two because surely it would be paid off by now.

"Or two" is what it seems like to me. They have had money problems for a really long time.  Good questions re: Lanford.  I wonder how close it is to a city, an airport, etc. 

On 5/10/2018 at 9:43 AM, CatsAndMoreCats said:

I think the names Archie Bunker, George Jefferson, Maude Findlay and the like would mean nothing to most individuals watching TV (and perhaps contributing to these message boards) in 2018.  Those characters' shows first ran in the 1970's -- 40-some years ago!  I realize many classic sitcoms live on in cable reruns.  But I have trouble envisioning someone about, say, Darlene's age spending their evenings or weekends tuning in to cable TV reruns.  Also? The TV shows of today are FAR more politically correct.  There's stuff from the 70's that I don't think would EVER see the light of day on TV in 2018.  (Anybody else remember a 49-yr-old Maude becoming pregnant and choosing to have an abortion?)  Of course, YMMV.  

1

Many people around Darlene's age grew up watching those sitcoms.  

23 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

That is a really good point. Why doesn't she at least have a blog?

I would like to see Darlene with a remote job. It's common for creatives, writers, etc. and it would show a different type of economic disadvantage than what's currently being portrayed: a college-educated parent with a job who can't afford to live on her own. 

Edited May 11, 2018 by love2lovebadtv

[love2lovebadtv]

19 minutes ago, janie jones said:

There's no specific program called "welfare."  "Welfare" is a catch-all term for financial assistance.  So an EBT card and food stamps are both "welfare."

 

I stand corrected. Thank you for the clarification. I was incorrectly thinking of the neighbors being "on welfare" as one particular program when, in fact, the program in which they're currently enrolled is just one of the welfare programs. Meaning that the Conner family is also utilizing welfare benefits. 

[BitterApple]

Given that financial problems have been a main theme for this season, you'd think the writers would tie up some loose ends to explain the Connors' lack of progress over the past twenty years. 

For example, I could easily see a scenario where Bev was loaning Roseanne and Jackie money to keep the Lunch Box afloat, thus eating into her own nest egg and causing her to run out of funds down the road. 

Circling back to this episode, I had a thought after rewatching the scene where Roseanne reveals she and Dan are on food stamps. Wouldn't Darlene be eligible for a ton of programs as an unemployed single mother? Even if she was able to get minimal assistance, a little something is better than a whole bunch of nothing. I guess it's bothering me that she doesn't seem phased about being a useless lump while her parents are working and struggling.

[peacheslatour]

Darlene should definitely be on or trying to get some aid so she can at least contribute something to the household besides smartass remarks.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Does anyone know just how small Lanford is? And where is it located in relation to the nearest city? Close enough to commute to find work? I know when Roseanne first aired there was some kind of factory a lot of them worked at, so I was wondering if there is any industry in the town.

They must have refinanced that house a time or two because surely it would be paid off by now.

I do not believe the show has ever specified where in Illinois Lanford is supposed to be, but when Jackie went to trucking school she had to go to Elgin, and Roseanne said that was only an hour away. That puts Lanford somewhere in northern Illinois. It also puts them much nearer to Chicago than I would have guessed, but then again, Darlene's art school was also in Chicago and I remember them driving there once or twice. So it does seem like they'd have better employment opportunities than if they were located in southern Illinois out in the sticks somewhere. 

The Conners took out a second mortgage on their house for the bike shop (which didn't make much sense because Ziggy ended up leaving them the money) - when Rodbells closed the diner, Roseanne said "I've got two mortgages on my house." Whether they've ever been able to pay them both off I don't know but I'm guessing not. Although frankly, if Lanford is as economically depressed as this show suggests, I can't imagine that house is worth much more than maybe $100 K. Probably less.

[bigskygirl]

I do not think there house is worth $100,000. The value of there house has probably went down.

[sealit]

Does anyone remember the episode when DJ didn’t want to kiss his African American classmate, Geena, in the school play? So they got married? Cool. 

[Mmmfloorpie]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

 

The Conners took out a second mortgage on their house for the bike shop (which didn't make much sense because Ziggy ended up leaving them the money)

Why doesn't it make sense? Robert Barone at the bank said they would need the wad of cash in Ziggy's boot PLUS a second mortgage on the house.

The banker says something like "No Dan, you are the drywall business... What do you got in your other boot?"

Then as a last resort he says his boss will know they are serious if they take a second mortgage.

Sad we only have a couple eps left and still no clue what happened to the Lunchbox.

[JAYJAY1979]

I'm going to assume the Lunchbox probably closed during the recession of the late 2000s.  Still it would be nice if there is a reference to it without it being a big focus.

When watching Harris, I have to say that she may resemble Darlene in looks.. but she certainly isn't like Darlene in personality (even doing Darlene's more harsh era in the later seasons).  I think her personality reminds me more of Becky's, especially in the teen years.

[mamadrama]

8 hours ago, love2lovebadtv said:

Sore subject, indeed. 

"Or two" is what it seems like to me. They have had money problems for a really long time.  Good questions re: Lanford.  I wonder how close it is to a city, an airport, etc. 

Many people around Darlene's age grew up watching those sitcoms.  

I would like to see Darlene with a remote job. It's common for creatives, writers, etc. and it would show a different type of economic disadvantage than what's currently being portrayed: a college-educated parent with a job who can't afford to live on her own. 

Until my own novels paid the bills, I supported my family by ghostwriting books for other people (not to be confused with the books I now write about ghosts) and did web content/white papers/ebooks for people. Even during the worst of the recession, it paid our important bills. I am confused by Darlene's seemingly lack of ambition.

[Meushell]

I know it was a callback, but the “just because I’m black” comment from Anne Marie was really out of place. Roseanne was acting crazy paranoid and rude. Jackie was trying to call her out on it. Of course, she’s going to ask for support from the only other person in the room.

[Browncoat]

On 5/11/2018 at 9:39 AM, love2lovebadtv said:

I couldn't figure out why they didn't just use someone's phone. Yeah, it seemed odd. Lots of people Skype via phone. You're right, someone's got to have data on their phone! I get that this was to move the plot forward but it just didn't make sense. 

I guess no one in the Connor household has ever heard of making their phone into a wi-fi hotspot. 

[Rap541]

In fairness, I have owned a smart phone and an Ipad for at least eight years each and I have no idea how to make the phone into a wifi hotspot.

[mojoween]

I have a hard time seeing Michael Fishman casually grabbing a beer because he’s always going to be young DJ to me.

I’m confused about what happened at the store.  Did the chicken get put back?  Because why would Roseanne be able to use her EBT card for it when Fatima came up short, since Fatima was told she couldn’t get it?

I don’t give Roseanne a pass for suddenly becoming enlightened that Fatima is not a terrorist.  Considering how heinous that trash cashier was, Roseanne’s stupid comment about Fatima having enough fertilizer to blow up the store was not at all funny, because Roseanne is the one who mentioned “see something, say something.”  Most likely as soon as Roseanne left that cashier probably called in a tip to the local authorities.

[Sherilea43]

On May 9, 2018 at 3:05 AM, Spencer Hastings said:

Yes.  Growing up as the only black person in class in a town like this, the cashier’s comments seemed kind of tame to me.  I’m still in the younger generation for the most part (30) and people are pretty terrible. The day after the last election, I handed a student his test to finish from the day before.  He looked me square in the eye and said “I don’t have to listen to you anymore, Trump is president now.” He was dead serious and told the principal as much. 

I was a teacher in middle school for ten years...I believe it! I taught here in SC and grew up in Pa. Surprisingly...people get along mch better down here than where I grew up. That ignorance still happens up there.

[love2lovebadtv]

On 5/13/2018 at 4:24 PM, Browncoat said:

I guess no one in the Connor household has ever heard of making their phone into a wi-fi hotspot. 

Not all prepaid phone plans have that capability. But you do still get data on your phones and can use the Skype app.

A lot of the stuff that furthered the plot in this episode didn't make much sense. I handwave quite a bit because it takes me out of the scene when I analyze too much. But then, I blame the writers for trying to cram too much in an episode. They wanted to introduce the neighbors, the EBT card, the difficulties many veterans face, deployment/family struggles, the Conners' financial problems, prejudice against people from certain regions - and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. It was too much. 

[Rap541]

I will say, as soon as they mentioned Muslim neighbors, I knew at some point Roseanne was going to stand up for them. 

[JAYJAY1979]

I heard somewhere that this episode was Roseanne's idea...that the writers jumped at the idea of the Connors having Muslim neighbors..but it was her idea to have Roseanne realize she was wrong to assume the worst of her neighbors, etc.

[Nysha]

On 5/8/2018 at 8:30 PM, BitterApple said:

I agree. I mean, damn, it's kind of pathetic at this stage of the game that none of these people can get their bills paid. 

Welcome to America, the poverty edition. If I don't work, I don't get paid and I'm parttime, so I don't get benefits. Thanks to a holiday, a sick grandchild, and two days of puking, my check was way short last time. My choices were, buy food for two weeks or pay bills. I bought food. I will be scrambling for the next 2 months to pay bills. And I'm 55 years old and 20 years ago if you had told me my life was going to resemble the Connor's I'd have laughed you out of the house.

[peacheslatour]

Thank you Corporate America.

[bigskygirl]

Dan left a good paying city job with benefits to take a help build a prison one time only job he only got because of his minority partner. Sorry, but he could have some decent retirement pay coming his way if he had put in at least twenty years with the city. He took the money he got after leaving the good job to go to Disney Land instead of putting it aside for a rainy day. Roseanne took a big gamble on opening up a diner after seeing how Dan's motorcycle  business collapsed within the first couple of years. He and Roseanne have no one else to blame but themselves.

[chocolatine]

4 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

Dan left a good paying city job with benefits to take a help build a prison one time only job he only got because of his minority partner. 

Wasn't the garage about to close though? Either that or there were budget cuts/layoffs, and Dan saw the writing on the wall? I seem to remember that there was something that made Dan question his job security.

[bigskygirl]

31 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Wasn't the garage about to close though? Either that or there were budget cuts/layoffs, and Dan saw the writing on the wall? I seem to remember that there was something that made Dan question his job security.

Episode description:

Dan is at a crossroads when a promising new construction job opens up that could make him and his old crew a lot of money. He struggles with whether to continue his job at the garage or to strike while the iron is hot on the construction job. Meanwhile, Jackie reluctantly starts using the internet on her new computer and is amazed how much she likes it. She becomes so obsessed a concerned David has to intervene.

So I would say it decided to leave his city job with some security, decent benefits and retirement pay later on for one promising construction job he only got due his minority partner friend.

[auntiemel]

On 5/11/2018 at 3:49 PM, mamadrama said:

Until my own novels paid the bills, I supported my family by ghostwriting books for other people (not to be confused with the books I now write about ghosts) and did web content/white papers/ebooks for people. Even during the worst of the recession, it paid our important bills. I am confused by Darlene's seemingly lack of ambition.

I worked as a freelance writer before my novels took off, too. If you have a good command of written language, can write relatively fast, and are focused about hustling for jobs and maintaining client relationships, you can make a very decent living writing content and copy. Freelance writing is also a very under-represented job in media. I think it would be fun to see Darlene and Roseanne both hustling for writing gigs! Mother-daughter writing team!

Edited May 15, 2018 by auntiemel

[BeachDays]

I am still enjoying this reboot!   I kinda scratch my head at some of the comments bc.... it’s a tv show.   They are making the situations deliberate in order to tell their stories.   And there are more stories to tell next season and possibly further on.   So just bc a storyline is the way it is right now, or a character is a certain way, doesn’t mean it will stay that way forever.   In the original series the Conners had their ups and downs with money and luck-  there is no reason to think the reboot wouldn’t be the same.   

 

I really enjoyed the neighbors and hope we see more of them too.   And I cracked up so hard when Darlene threw the brownie.  

[Sile]

EBT must be like sales tax.  Any food you buy that is hot is considered prepared food and taxed like a meal at a restaurant would be.  Maybe because you're paying for the preparation and not just the food itself?  I was surprised that she was getting the rotisserie chicken in the first place though, can something from the supermarket deli be considered halal?  I've never seen any signage about it, but there's not a very large Muslim population where I live.

Speaking of chickens, it's possible that Dan underreported his FICA during all those years of self-employment.  Seemed like a good idea at the time to save a few bucks and now his chickens have come home to roost, with a low social security income.

Edited May 16, 2018 by Sile

[tessaray]

4 hours ago, Sile said:

EBT must be like sales tax.  Any food you buy that is hot is considered prepared food and taxed like a meal at a restaurant would be.  Maybe because you're paying for the preparation and not just the food itself?  I was surprised that she was getting the rotisserie chicken in the first place though, can something from the supermarket deli be considered halal? 

One store where I shop has cold rotisserie chickens (and lots of other deli stuff) on the shelves right across from the deli section.  (Clever marketing.) Though I do think that there is a special SNAP thing where if you are homeless or live somewhere without kitchen facilities, you can get hot food but I don't know the details.