The Conners Past and Present

[JeezumCrow]

42 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Yes but that was just Roseanne, now the whole family is horrible.

I guess that’s Roseanne’s legacy, then. 

[Bastet]

Darlene was such an asshole once she went off to school in Chicago she was nearly sociopathic; I hated her every time she came home for a visit.  So, while she has pissed me off mightily several times, I still like her far more in The Conners than I did during that era of Roseanne.

[qtpye]

On 4/10/2020 at 2:56 PM, Irate Panda said:

I wish they’d give DJ more to do, much like the original show, he is just sort of there and so is his daughter.  I know this is called the Conners but it should probably have been called Darlene.  I’m not sure if it’s bad writing or bad acting, but some of the episodes are hard to get through.  I never thought the acting was bad on the original show.  Mark is annoying to me, but again I’m not sure if it’s the acting or the writing . I hope Darlene does not have another kid, she can’t even take care of herself. I enjoy the Dan and Becky scenes and Jackie when she’s not a 100% insane.  Were they all so awful in the reboot when Roseanne was still on the show or did they get awful because she died?

 

On 4/12/2020 at 5:41 PM, Bastet said:

Darlene was such an asshole once she went off to school in Chicago she was nearly sociopathic; I hated her every time she came home for a visit.  So, while she has pissed me off mightily several times, I still like her far more in The Conners than I did during that era of Roseanne.

I think that this started the era where Darlene went from the smart but sarcastic voice of reason to someone who thought she was better than her family, even though she’s really not.

Part of it was on her family. The whole family was pretty classist against any one they perceived to be non working class.

I think another aspect was that when Darlene got into art school, she surpassed Becky.

Becky was always the one that was supposed to do well. Heck, Becky doing well was something that her parents almost took for granted.

Her parents will probably always retcon that Becky threw away her potential by marrying Mark. We all know that this is not really true, since initially Mark was very supportive of her continuing her education.

It is sort of like Roseanne retconned that she threw away her life potential by marrying Dan. 

Then Mark died and Becky really got totally derailed.

I remember in the first season when Darlene was pretending she moved back in with her parents to take care of them instead of owning up that she was broke.

I think Darlene still has an attitude that she is too good for Landford. This attitude is a little delusional at this point but she is still holding on to it for dear life because it is part of her identity.

[readster]

9 minutes ago, qtpye said:

 

I think Darlene still has an attitude that she is too good for Landford. This attitude is a little delusional at this point but she is still holding on to it for dear life because it is part of her identity.

Right same with Becky, with Rosanne dead, she is trying to hold on to things that she felt "made her happy" as part of her identity because she doesn't know how to function anymore and since they retcon out both her marriage and son. Even last year when she as telling Dan that it be nice if she was invited and Dan yelling her she has been coming over forever, so why is he going to start now because Rosanne is dead. Having it like Jackie is unaware that just because Rosanne is gone, she has no life anymore. 

[BeachDays]

They need to get back to how Darlene was during the Roseanne reboot before it became The Conners.  There is no rhyme or reason to her character right now.  If they want her to be a big part of the show, they need to make her compelling.   If not, then don’t feature her that much.   

[Concerned]

On 2/18/2020 at 11:41 PM, Giuseppe said:

I was gonna bring up Lonnie, too, haha. But at this point, seems like a wasted effort to wonder about any original characters. Have we even seen any of the secondary characters from Roseanne in this second season of The Conners? In the first season, we saw Crystal for sure, but before that, we saw Ann Marie, Nancy, Chuck...it's like TPTB have decided that we don't need to see any of them again. I mean, Jackie was friends with Crystal and Nancy, too, so they should at least still be coming around...unless the actresses have decided not to appear anymore. I don't know WTF is happening with this show. Isn't Sara Gilbert producing this, or something? She and I need to have a chat, lol.

The actor who played Lonnie, Kristopher Kent Hill, died last June. No cause of death was given, but the young actor may have taken the same exit as Glenn Quinn. He was the third actor to play Lonnie, but with his wild haircut, he was known from playing young Joey on Full House and many other rolls in addition to Lonnie.

[Snow Apple]

I've been watching the original Rosanne and I think the reason it's so much better and realistic than The Connors is the little things in the background. You can see someone cooking or on the phone or pouring coffee even though that character is not the focus. In the tornado episode, Rosanne is talking to Dan but also taking the laundry off the line at the same time. The laundry thing is so unimportant but so true to life. The Connors don't seem to have have small details like that.

[qtpye]

On 6/20/2020 at 2:48 PM, Snow Apple said:

I've been watching the original Rosanne and I think the reason it's so much better and realistic than The Connors is the little things in the background. You can see someone cooking or on the phone or pouring coffee even though that character is not the focus. In the tornado episode, Rosanne is talking to Dan but also taking the laundry off the line at the same time. The laundry thing is so unimportant but so true to life. The Connors don't seem to have have small details like that.

It was pretty cutting edge stuff in the eighties and nineties where other sitcoms had yuppie like people that lead perfect lives in perfect homes.

 

[peacheslatour]

The Home Ec episode was on over the weekend and it occurred to me that there is no way in hell that Darlene would have taken home ec. At our high school we had to have a couple of Industrial Arts credits. Home ec qualified but there were a ton of other classes that you could take. My friend and I for example took Plastics and Fiberglass. You could take Wood Shop, Auto Shop and certain art classes. I cannot see Darlene choosing to take home ec.

[Bastet]

I wish we'd had that many options at my school; choices were much more limited.

That may have been the case at Darlene's school, too, in which case I can see her being equally uninterested in the few options, and just taking the class her friends were taking.  I can also imagine her choosing Home-Ec hoping she could ask Roseanne for help with her projects and then con her into doing most of the work.  Or picking it because she thought it would be easy (since she didn't realize how hard Roseanne's job was). 

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

I wish we'd had that many options at my school; choices were much more limited.

That may have been the case at Darlene's school, too, in which case I can see her being equally uninterested in the few options, and just taking the class her friends were taking.  I can also imagine her choosing Home-Ec hoping she could ask Roseanne for help with her projects and then con her into doing most of the work.  Or picking it because she thought it would be easy (since she didn't realize how hard Roseanne's job was). 

You're probably right. Lanford wasn't exactly the most education oriented town. But still, Illinois in those days had  a very blue collar economy. I would think anything that could get you a Union job would be encouraged.

[Steff]

As someone who attended school in the 80s, they didn't let us girls take "boys" classes like wood shop or auto shop.  We could take home-ec, child development (wanna carry an egg for a few weeks?), or typing.   Boys had wood shop, auto shop, & weight lifting. 

Edited September 24, 2020 by Steff

[Bastet]

3 minutes ago, Steff said:

As someone who attended school in the 80s, they didn't let us girls take "boys" classes like wood shop or auto shop.  We could take home-ec, child development (wanna carry an egg for a few weeks?), or typing.   Boys had wood shop, auto shop, & weight lifting. 

That's what pissed me off the most about my limited options.  In junior high, it was expected that girls would take Home Ec and boys would take one of the other couple of options.  If there had been an auto shop class I'd have definitely taken that, not just because it interested me and I'd have done well (I loved helping my dad work on the family cars, and I still do my own routine maintenance) but because it would have been a feminist protest.  But I wasn't remotely interested in either of the "boy" classes - there was drafting and something else I can't remember - so couldn't bring myself to sit through it just to make a point. 

So I took Home Ec; I already knew how to cook and sew (I swear, that's all I remember it being; at least Darlene's class branched out into the budgeting and meal planning aspect), so I knew I'd do well -- and I'd get some food and clothes out of it.  Plus I'd be with my friends.

(What I should have done as my protest was made some serious noise about the lack of options, as this was a private school, so there was no "budget cuts" excuse!)

[Machiabelly]

In my school in small town Canada in the 80s, everyone did one semester of cooking or sewing and one semester of wood or iron shop. 

[Browncoat]

Boys and girls took home-ec, typing, and wood shop in my small school in the back of beyond in Virginia in the late 70s.  I am still terrified of anything with a moving blade, including electric knives!

[readster]

On 9/24/2020 at 12:42 AM, Machiabelly said:

In my school in small town Canada in the 80s, everyone did one semester of cooking or sewing and one semester of wood or iron shop. 

That was us in middle school, early 90s in my small town. Of course I work in an even smaller town/school no and there is no HE, that was shut down a few years ago, because the only thing the teachers were teaching the kids was how to cook mac & cheese and heat up soup. Admin warned them to get back to a more "needed culinary" approach and they wouldn't change. Then the department was shut down. Wood, welding, band and chorus are around and girls and boys love all those classes, but miss HE.

[peacheslatour]

18 hours ago, readster said:

That was us in middle school, early 90s in my small town. Of course I work in an even smaller town/school no and there is no HE, that was shut down a few years ago, because the only thing the teachers were teaching the kids was how to cook mac & cheese and heat up soup. Admin warned them to get back to a more "needed culinary" approach and they wouldn't change. Then the department was shut down. Wood, welding, band and chorus are around and girls and boys love all those classes, but miss HE.

That sucks! How hard would it be to teach basic technique like different methods of knife work or the chemistry of baking? Meal planning? Budget making? Nutrition? These are just bare bones and don't require expensive equipment.

[sparkling]

I was in high school when the original Roseanne aired.  In my Midwestern high school, your first year, your parents met with your guidance counselor and provided them with the two classes you wanted as electives.  I told my mom, before she went off to her meeting with my guidance counselor, that I wanted her to sign me up for French and Biology.  Mom was born and raised in Germany, as was my dad.  

Mom signed me up for Home Ec and German.  

I can totally picture Roseanne putting Darlene in Home Ec, just for the fun of that.  

[greekmom]

On 4/10/2020 at 2:56 PM, Irate Panda said:

I wish they’d give DJ more to do, much like the original show, he is just sort of there and so is his daughter.  I know this is called the Conners but it should probably have been called Darlene.  I’m not sure if it’s bad writing or bad acting, but some of the episodes are hard to get through.  I never thought the acting was bad on the original show.  Mark is annoying to me, but again I’m not sure if it’s the acting or the writing . I hope Darlene does not have another kid, she can’t even take care of herself. I enjoy the Dan and Becky scenes and Jackie when she’s not a 100% insane.  Were they all so awful in the reboot when Roseanne was still on the show or did they get awful because she died?

I wish we would get more background info on DJ and how he and Geena made up from that first episode and got together. Was DJ in the army like Geena and he just didn't bother to re-enlist? Or at least bring Geena home for good.

They really need to tone down Jackie's insanity and stop with the baby fever for Darlene. Becky having one is fine but enough is enough.

I really don't understand how Darlene is either a) picky for the type of jobs or b) cannot utilize her education to at least obtain a middle management position somewhere at some job.  I know she wants to get a job that involves what she studied but rarely few people ever do.  The fact that she does have an education other than high school she should have been able to obtain some middle management job with benefits.

 

[MrsEVH]

On 10/4/2020 at 3:23 PM, greekmom said:

I wish we would get more background info on DJ and how he and Geena made up from that first episode and got together. Was DJ in the army like Geena and he just didn't bother to re-enlist? Or at least bring Geena home for good.

I think he was and got some type of discharge from what I vaguely remember. 

[CrystalBlue]

1 hour ago, MrsEVH said:

I think he was and got some type of discharge from what I vaguely remember. 

Yes, DJ served in the Army and opted to not re-enlist when his tour was up, was honorably discharged but has PTSD, a storyline they've dropped like a hot potato.  No growth in that area, only that Geena is still in the Army stationed somewhere in the Middle East and DJ had a vending machine job, now he's been promoted to something somewhere with a full voicemail box.

[readster]

10 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

Yes, DJ served in the Army and opted to not re-enlist when his tour was up, was honorably discharged but has PTSD, a storyline they've dropped like a hot potato.  No growth in that area, only that Geena is still in the Army stationed somewhere in the Middle East and DJ had a vending machine job, now he's been promoted to something somewhere with a full voicemail box.

Right and even Dan brought up that DJ should have been able to get another job somewhere with his VA status, but once again dropped and never brought up again.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, readster said:

Oh God!🤢🤮

As far as I'm concerned, Tom Arnold started the original show on the long, painful road to unfunny ruin.

[Browncoat]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

As far as I'm concerned, Tom Arnold started the original show on the long, painful road to unfunny ruin.

Agreed! 

[ljenkins782]

8 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

As far as I'm concerned, Tom Arnold started the original show on the long, painful road to unfunny ruin.

The Arnie storylines were always my least favorite (with the exception of the Vegas episode and the running joke of Jackie sleeping with him), but I'm sure his behind-the-scenes influence was worse, so you're probably right. I also can't stand Sandra Bernhard, so the Arnie/Nancy years were a rough patch for me.

Here's a depressing thought that occurred to me while watching some earlier episodes...as badly as the Conners are doing in life, their house has more bathrooms than mine. 😛 I'm still trying to piece together the layout of the house because the master bedroom has an en suite bathroom, but the upstairs bathroom is connected to both Darlene/Becky's room AND DJ's room and it seems to me that houses with en suite bathrooms typically have at least one bathroom or at least a powder room that isn't connected to any rooms because it'd be weird to have company walking through a bedroom to use the bathroom, so it seems possible they could have 3. 

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

The Arnie storylines were always my least favorite (with the exception of the Vegas episode and the running joke of Jackie sleeping with him), but I'm sure his behind-the-scenes influence was worse, so you're probably right. I also can't stand Sandra Bernhard, so the Arnie/Nancy years were a rough patch for me.

Here's a depressing thought that occurred to me while watching some earlier episodes...as badly as the Conners are doing in life, their house has more bathrooms than mine. 😛 I'm still trying to piece together the layout of the house because the master bedroom has an en suite bathroom, but the upstairs bathroom is connected to both Darlene/Becky's room AND DJ's room and it seems to me that houses with en suite bathrooms typically have at least one bathroom or at least a powder room that isn't connected to any rooms because it'd be weird to have company walking through a bedroom to use the bathroom, so it seems possible they could have 3. 

I agree about the Arnie/Nancy years, that was when the show started to lose it's mojo. I've always said that their house, which they always acted like was this horrible shack, was really nice. They had three bedrooms, two full baths, a finished, heated basement, a huge kitchen and a detached garage. Shit, a house like that where I live would go for a about two mil.

[qtpye]

 

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I agree about the Arnie/Nancy years, that was when the show started to lose it's mojo. I've always said that their house, which they always acted like was this horrible shack, was really nice. They had three bedrooms, two full baths, a finished, heated basement, a huge kitchen and a detached garage. Shit, a house like that where I live would go for a about two mil.

I remember the old episode where their stuck up neighbor has the exact same layout but it was decorated in a manner that would have been considered classy during the late eighties and early nineties. No one really cared then or now but the house really could look so much better, even without money.

However, the house being kind of nasty made the show stand out during the original run, when compared to the perfect houses of the upper middle class families of most other sitcoms.

[readster]

9 hours ago, qtpye said:

 

I remember the old episode where their stuck up neighbor has the exact same layout but it was decorated in a manner that would have been considered classy during the late eighties and early nineties. No one really cared then or now but the house really could look so much better, even without money.

However, the house being kind of nasty made the show stand out during the original run, when compared to the perfect houses of the upper middle class families of most other sitcoms.

Right and also as the show progressed, they showed things kind of changing as the kids got older, but with a few staples like: godzilla toy, newspapers being either on the table or by the couch, ect. Other shows either stayed lost in time with it looking like it did from day 1 with needed props. Or shows like say: Full House, Who's the Boss, Boy Meets World, the place changed as the kids got older. So, what made sense when the kids or adults were younger, didn't make sense as they got older. Despite things of the character, when the girls on Full House got older, the house got more cleaner and organized. 

[UYI]

I'm going to state my very unpopular opinion that I actually didn't mind Arnie all that much. I especially love when he tried to take over Bingo Night in the episode where Roseanne gets addicted to bingo, and the nuns have to escort him out of the church, lol.

And I've actually seen it said before that Tom may have been more involved in the show's glory years being what they were than people realize. It's been said, in the midst of all the tension, chaos, and turnover that the writing room of Roseanne saw, that he was the one person who could say "no" to Roseanne about a story, and she would actually listen. He left after season six when they divorced, and she no longer had that, and THAT, IMO, is when the show lost most of what it had left in its favor. Not all of it, but most of it. 

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, UYI said:

I'm going to state my very unpopular opinion that I actually didn't mind Arnie all that much. I especially love when he tried to take over Bingo Night in the episode where Roseanne gets addicted to bingo, and the nuns have to escort him out of the church, lol.

And I've actually seen it said before that Tom may have been more involved in the show's glory years being what they were than people realize. It's been said, in the midst of all the tension, chaos, and turnover that the writing room of Roseanne saw, that he was the one person who could say "no" to Roseanne about a story, and she would actually listen. He left after season six when they divorced, and she no longer had that, and THAT, IMO, is when the show lost most of what it had left in its favor. Not all of it, but most of it. 

I tend to agree that as long as he stuck to writing, he was very good for the show but after Roseanne hooked up with him and started to feature his "Arnie" character heavily in the show, it started to get stupid. And after they got married and decided to be "rich white trash" it just got worse.

[peacheslatour]

On 11/10/2020 at 7:10 AM, peacheslatour said:

As far as I'm concerned, Tom Arnold started the original show on the long, painful road to unfunny ruin.

You know, there were some other posts replying to mine. Where did they go?

[tessaray]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

You know, there were some other posts replying to mine. Where did they go?

Sorry, they were hidden prior to the move. I think I've got them all.

[peacheslatour]

15 minutes ago, tessaray said:

Sorry, they were hidden prior to the move. I think I've got them all.

 

Aww, thanks!

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

On 11/11/2020 at 11:21 AM, UYI said:

I'm going to state my very unpopular opinion that I actually didn't mind Arnie all that much. I especially love when he tried to take over Bingo Night in the episode where Roseanne gets addicted to bingo, and the nuns have to escort him out of the church, lol.

That was one of my highlights from the original show. That and when Jackie slept with Arnie - oy vey. Nancy got on my nerves though. I did like Bonnie and Ann Marie being woven through the show, along with Crystal. There's a sense of continuity when we kept seeing the supporting characters in the Conner landscape. That's how real life is. And I wonder sometimes if Darlene ever had any friends (besides David) or was she so insufferable that nobody wants to hang out with her. 

[peacheslatour]

3 minutes ago, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

That was one of my highlights from the original show. That and when Jackie slept with Arnie - oy vey. Nancy got on my nerves though. I did like Bonnie and Ann Marie being woven through the show, along with Crystal. There's a sense of continuity when we kept seeing the supporting characters in the Conner landscape. That's how real life is. And I wonder sometimes if Darlene ever had any friends (besides David) or was she so insufferable that nobody wants to hang out with her. 

She had that book store lady. 

[Bastet]

12 minutes ago, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

And I wonder sometimes if Darlene ever had any friends (besides David) or was she so insufferable that nobody wants to hang out with her. 

She did - kids at school and on her teams - but then when she went through her bout with depression, she didn't want to do anything with anyone and eventually they quit calling.  She was more comfortable with Karen, the woman who ran the bookstore, than her classmates, at that point.  Then she mostly just hung out with David. 

This season, when Dan said he has friends he disagrees with, does she, Darlene said that wasn't a fair question, since she doesn't have friends.  So she's still the loner type.

Edited November 12, 2020 by Bastet

[readster]

33 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

She had that book store lady. 

Right and outside one more mention and that she "magically cured her depression" that was about it. Honestly, Darlene had no friends, then again, Becky's disappeared too after Mark showed up. DJ had friends through out, even the ones who did stupid things like dare him to steal a car or something. 

[peacheslatour]

25 minutes ago, readster said:

Right and outside one more mention and that she "magically cured her depression" that was about it. Honestly, Darlene had no friends, then again, Becky's disappeared too after Mark showed up. DJ had friends through out, even the ones who did stupid things like dare him to steal a car or something. 

Oh and George. George was boring but he was so cute and Joseph Gordon Levitt has had a dandy career since.

[peacheslatour]

26 minutes ago, RocknRollZombie said:

Speaking of the friends thing, Becky had friends who were named, Mark had Rick, Andy, Roy and some unnamed ones, David had that group he hung out with that was mentioned in the ep he is Introduced, DJ has friends. While for Darlene yeah I can’t really remember anybody else other than Karen the bookstore owner. I do remember there was the implication that her friends from art college where at the house staying over for the wedding.

There was a Marcie. I remember her calling when Darlene went into her depression. She wanted to do some stuff but Darlene wasn't up for anything. Before that there was that kid, Brian?

[pinkandsparkly13]

Yeah Darlene having some friends was mentioned a few times throughout the years. During her 16th birthday episode, Dan said her friends were waiting for her somewhere. And the Mother's day makeover episode where they were trying to go that concert. Becky told Darlene she and her friends couldn't sit with Becky's friends. 

As for Tom Arnold, I never minded him on the show. He had his funny moments to me. My favorite was when they were all playing poker and Leon revealed that he was gay. Arnie said to "forget about Melanie Griffith, let's say Andy Griffith hits on you. Are you telling me you'd say no?!" Lol I loved the reactions. 

[ThatsDarling]

3 hours ago, UYI said:

(I also hold the somewhat unpopular opinion that Lecy Goranson was in many ways a MUCH better actress on the original show than she often got credit for, and was pushed aside WAY too much in favor of Sara Gilbert--and after proving at the beginning of this show that she is just as good as Sara, maybe even better now, that seems to be happening AGAIN--but that's a rant for another day.) 

Lecy Goranson was terrific on original recipe Roseanne--one of the most realistic portrayals of a teenager I've ever seen on a sitcom. Her work may have been a little too realistic to garner much attention, however, and the Becky character did not have the hook of Sara Gilbert's sarcastic, anti-cheerleader Darlene. 

I can't say I'm as enthusiastic about what she's doing on The Conners, though this show isn't much of an acting showcase for anyone. Would still be nice to see her get a little more of the screen time that is currently allotted to Darlene. 

[Winston Wolfe]

Does anyone else remember when Roseanne went MIA for a couple of episodes (in the original series) due to contract negotiations? In one of those episodes, Jackie ran the Conner household and the producers kind of chem-tested she and Dan in case Rosie didn't return. It was a nice episode. Jackie and Dan clicked and they professed a mutual attraction in high school.

IMO, they would have been better together as a couple than Dan and Roseanne, who quite often seemed to bring out the worse in each other. Jackie, on the other hand, seemed to offer the quiet support and encouragement Dan needed. IIRC, Dan and Jackie had a warm, easy comfort level with each other and Jackie showed some very strong maternal instincts (which were played to comedic effect). I remember thinking that Dan picked the wrong sister.

Edited December 1, 2020 by Winston Wolfe

[Bastet]

From an episode thread:

Quote

And this is what's great about watching now.  It reminds you of where you were the first time you watched. 

I'm around Becky's age, so I watched Roseanne with my parents back in the day.  Every time I watch "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" (the third episode of the series), I remember my mom commenting how refreshingly realistic it was to see the kids underfoot when Roseanne was getting ready for their "fancy" dinner at the Lanford Inn (Becky was lecturing her on how to apply make-up and going through her stuff, Darlene was trying on her heels, etc.).

[UYI]

I was born in 1989 (on a Tuesday night, which was Roseanne night!), so I started watching very early on, during the first run with my mom, although she started to give up near the end as things got more stale (and then weird once they won the lottery). Then I picked up the reruns on my own on TBS, Nick at Nite, Oxygen, etc. and went from there. I have the first six seasons on DVD. I haven't been able to bring myself to watch the original series since everything that went down in 2018, but someday, I think I finally will. I can still think of individual funny scenes/lines and laugh, which is definitely a good sign. 

Edited December 3, 2020 by UYI

[UYI]

For those of you who are interested, back in 2017, Brad Jones of the Cinema Snob reacted to each episode of Roseanne's final season for his show Binge Watch. He's a lifelong fan of the show and a native of Springfield, Illinois (although he's since moved to Chicago), making him, in his words, "Midwest as fuck", lol. Definitely a fun video.

 

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

On 11/12/2020 at 4:31 PM, peacheslatour said:

Oh and George. George was boring but he was so cute and Joseph Gordon Levitt has had a dandy career since.

Plus that random blonde boy in Darlene's home ec class that turned out to be Leonardo DiCaprio. 

 

On 11/30/2020 at 3:42 PM, ThatsDarling said:

Lecy Goranson was terrific on original recipe Roseanne--one of the most realistic portrayals of a teenager I've ever seen on a sitcom. Her work may have been a little too realistic to garner much attention, however, and the Becky character did not have the hook of Sara Gilbert's sarcastic, anti-cheerleader Darlene. 

I totally agree. Lecy had some fierce scenes when she was fighting with Roseanne. I remember when Roseanne made a big speech about not reading her diary - and Becky asked her if she wanted a medal.  No "Gee thanks Mom for trusting my privacy".  Meanwhile Darlene was a flaming beeotch with her sarcasm. It's much harder to play the "good girl with the edge" than the "sarcastic screwed up depressed girl".

 

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Plus that random blonde boy in Darlene's home ec class that turned out to be Leonardo DiCaprio. 

Or that buddy of Barry's at the coffee shop who turned out to be..was it Spiderman?

[Bastet]

8 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Or that buddy of Barry's at the coffee shop who turned out to be..was it Spiderman?

Once I figured out his name is Tobey Maguire, not Toby McGuire, I was able to verify on IMDb that, yes, that was him.

And one of Becky's friends in an early season episode was played by Alyson Hannigan.

Edited December 3, 2020 by Bastet

[MaryMitch]

13 hours ago, RocknRollZombie said:

I didn’t know where to post whether here or to the Darlene thread. I just wanted to see what you guys thought about this, I saw this on the conners Reddit , “ Darlene went to college and was working in Chicago all this time. Why is she working at the same crap job as Becky?”

Well, she's a writer and can't find a job writing, so she's taking what she can. But in the last couple episodes she's expressed an interest in moving into management and even found a mentor.

[Snow Apple]

Good Lord. I've forgotten that they made bad decisions right from the beginning. I'm watching the 2nd episode of the original Rosanne and Dan was paid $500. They could have paid off all their bills with $11 left over. So what did they do? Buy expensive perfume and a bell for a boat that Dan was fixing.

And they didn't learn anything years later when Dan got money after quitting the government job. Again they could have paid off all their bills or saved a chunk of it, but blew it on Disneyland.