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S01.E11: We Continue to Truck


tessaray
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Jackie's meltdown was IMO Laurie Metcalf's best work (and best scripted material) on this show since at least Seasons 5 or 6 of the old series. It had moments of wackiness but was mostly both very sad and very funny at the same time. And the fact that it was Dan having to talk her down, and at the Lunch Box, where they used to all be happy, that made it that much more poignant. (Also, it must be said: If they do ever decide to bring in Andy, and I suspect they will someday, all I could think of with those scenes is that some really bad shit must've gone down between them for Jackie to not even be able to talk about him here.)

I thought Harris' tag at the end was both a good use of her character and very reminiscent of the end of Season 4(?), when their lives have gone totally to shit, Roseanne and Dan's jobs are gone, Becky's relationship with her parents is at an all-time low and about to explode - but then D.J. wins the spelling bee or something, and they all have an ice cream fight together instead. To me, Harris' article getting published and announcing it to the proud family was that same modest yet irreverent note of hope. That to me, along with Jackie's story, is all quintessential Roseanne.

As for David - he's got a lot more work to do on himself before I want him back with Darlene. Also I get the feeling they cut a scene with him, Harris and Mark, and for shame.

Roll on Season 2, please!

Edited by jsbt
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23 hours ago, Ragingviolet said:

This rings true for me anyway. There are some loves you just can't escape sometimes even when the person that inspired it completely changes.

Yeah Darlene thinking about taking David back doesn't surprise me either. I find when couples get together at an early age the way they did they become part of their identity. It makes it much harder to move on and let go if you don't even know who you are without someone.

I had a really grim thought about Andy the other night. That he might have joined the Army and been killed in action. It would explain his absence and why they don't mention him. I hope not and we see him next year.

I also hope we see Leon next year. He seemed to always have a great repore and friendship with Dan. Plus we could find out what happened to the Lunchbox a bit more. I would love to see him react to Mark as well.

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21 hours ago, jhlipton said:

It's funny (not the "ha ha" kind, how most crimes, including some far more nasty ones, have a statute of limitations, but not illegal immigration.  Those who have done it aren't referred to as "someone who immigrated illegally",  but as an "illegal immigrant", as if that's the only facet of their being.

Yes and no.  The words ‘convicted felon’ are also used that way.  ‘Joe,a convicted felon...’   sometimes it’s upgraded to ‘ex-con’ once they are off parole, sometimes not. 

But, for misdemeanors, you are right - the distinction is there. It goes’ Mike, who got caught for xxx,’. 

And, I think illegal entry to the country is a misdemeanor if it is the first time you got caught. It’s not a felony until after you’ve already been deported once. 

I like Emilio. I wish there was some way to bring him back.   Too bad he couldn’t have gone home and come back on  a K-1 fiancée visa. 

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On ‎1‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 11:16 PM, Reality police said:

I also think he is playing the character as asked. He is purposefully wooden and dramatic. 

Unfortunately, he also looks at the prompter ALOT.  Is that part of his role.

I love Matthew, usually, but he is phoning it in. 

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3 hours ago, Ragingviolet said:

I'm thinking anyone who maybe hasn't lived this kind of hand to mouth life where you're struggling to do more than just survive might not get it but to me it rings true and not because the characters are dumb. It rings true because it's damn hard to change the course of your life and decision making when you're so worn down from surviving then you add tons of grief and bad coping skills on top? People actually think they're going to make good decisions? 

This is why you see people who can't hardly afford groceries lining up to buy lottery tickets. I don't think the Conners get worn down. They don't really KNOW they are making poor decisions (for the most part)- they just think the big payoff is right around the corner. I know people like that - they get behind on the rent, yet spend a big old tax return on buying a big screen TV and Ipads for the kids. Living like they do would be depressing and anxiety producing for me, but for them, that's normal (dysfunctional, yet normal). 

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On Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at 11:54 AM, libgirl2 said:

He amazes me. When I started watching BBT I never thought of him as David. Now that he is back as David, I don't think of him as Leonard. He not only acts different but he looks different. His eyes don't seem as bright or something. He looks down and defeated, while Leonard looks happy. 

On a side note, I love tuna casserole. And yes, I would eat it cold. 

I'm always struck by his posture as david. He consistently does this hand in pockets hunched over thing and to me it always reads as david. I thought it was just Johnnie's real affect but he doesn't do it as Leonard so obviously it's a character affectation.

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On 1/22/2019 at 11:35 PM, Bastet said:

But, holy crap, was that tuna casserole cold?!

I know this isn’t your main point, but I have a kid who enjoys any leftover pasta cold. Because, I guess, pasta salad? So cold tuna casserole could = tuna salad? But I’d rather have seen some steam. 

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Emilio's fake accent and fake problems with English are so bad. Not to mention his leap from speaking almost no English to having indepth conversations (within just a few episodes). Couldn't they have found an actor who spoke English as a second language? I do feel bad that he was deported though.

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2 hours ago, tvrox said:

Emilio's fake accent and fake problems with English are so bad. Not to mention his leap from speaking almost no English to having indepth conversations (within just a few episodes). Couldn't they have found an actor who spoke English as a second language? I do feel bad that he was deported though.

 

I didn’t even realize it was a fake accent so I guess it sounded pretty good to me. 

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On 1/24/2019 at 9:39 PM, jsbt said:

I thought Harris' tag at the end was both a good use of her character and very reminiscent of the end of Season 4(?), when their lives have gone totally to shit, Roseanne and Dan's jobs are gone, Becky's relationship with her parents is at an all-time low and about to explode - but then D.J. wins the spelling bee or something, and they all have an ice cream fight together instead. To me, Harris' article getting published and announcing it to the proud family was that same modest yet irreverent note of hope. That to me, along with Jackie's story, is all quintessential Roseanne.

Great point-that season 4 episode of Roseanne is one of their best, and this episode did play on a lot of the same themes.

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On 1/24/2019 at 10:33 AM, ChicksDigScars said:

I had to laugh, because it seems that Chinese restaurants in this area, pop up in buildings where a popular restaurant once stood. Case in point, here in my area. A couple of the old red roofed Pizza Huts, and an adobe styled, southwestern motif Chi Chi's are now Asian themed cuisine (where I worked for 9 years in the late 80's and early 90's while I was in school). You KNOW I had to check out the mingling of cultures when they opened it up as a King's Buffet...and then as Golden Dragon...and then as Mongolian Bay...now I see that a Mexican themed restaurant has taken over the property and is restoring it back to the old design, similar to the Chi Chi's theme. My years there are also why I also laugh my ass off at Becky's work uniform. I wore that peasant style for nine freaking years.

So the Lunch Box redesigned as a Chinese restaurant? Utter perfection. I miss the Lunch Box. It was nice to see it again. 

This is not unusual-immigrant families are moving to these economically depressed areas and starting successful restaurants or other businesses.

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They have left the door open for a variety of potential plots if there is a season 2.  Didn't Jackie foolishly add Peter to her bank accounts?  I could easily see that character wiping her out, forcing her to room with the Conners or with Becky.  But then what about the rarely seen Bev? The house can't really hold everyone.  Does DJ's family live elsewhere? I don't remember. I didn't care for Darlene lying to Ben. And then saying "I love you."  All of that seems too quick and out of character. She obviously can't move, so maybe Ben's character is on the way out?  He may be a better match for her than David, but I could see Darlene feeling the pull of an intact family.  I thought the scene by the washing machine between Darlene and Becky was cute, Becky teasing her was like old times.  I wish they would allow Becky to be smart, because she is!  

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7 hours ago, BetyBee said:

They have left the door open for a variety of potential plots if there is a season 2.  Didn't Jackie foolishly add Peter to her bank accounts?  I could easily see that character wiping her out, forcing her to room with the Conners or with Becky.  But then what about the rarely seen Bev? The house can't really hold everyone.  Does DJ's family live elsewhere? I don't remember. I didn't care for Darlene lying to Ben. And then saying "I love you."  All of that seems too quick and out of character. She obviously can't move, so maybe Ben's character is on the way out?  He may be a better match for her than David, but I could see Darlene feeling the pull of an intact family.  I thought the scene by the washing machine between Darlene and Becky was cute, Becky teasing her was like old times.  I wish they would allow Becky to be smart, because she is!  

 

What I liked about the scene with Ben is he KNEW something was up-  he even asks at the end if they are still on for their date later, bc to him it felt like she was possibly breaking up.   Both Jay and Sara’s acting in this scene was great.   

 

And yes I LOVED the scene in the laundry room!!!  I just love seeing these two sisters together and remembering them when they were younger, seeing how much has changed and how much has stayed the same.   I love how close they are now, and getting closer all the time.   

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Jackie’s reaction was as much about Roseanne as it was Peter. That’s why she went back to the Lunch Box.   Every other crisis in her life has been solved, made better, or at least comforted by Roseanne.  

I would say it was more like Roseanne essentially put herself in charge of Jackie's life (mostly with Jackie's consent), and Jackie became very dependent on her.  Jackie doesn't strike me as someone who really figured out how to function on her own, and we saw that in this episode.    

Quote

It's funny (not the "ha ha" kind, how most crimes, including some far more nasty ones, have a statute of limitations, but not illegal immigration. 

 

Probably because it would make it very difficult to have a system of planned, legal immigration, if people knew they could simply wait out their illegal status and become legal once the statute of limitations had expired. 

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On 1/25/2019 at 11:08 AM, Ragingviolet said:

This. I'm surprised anyone is acting like real people wouldn't act this way. I'm thinking anyone who maybe hasn't lived this kind of hand to mouth life where you're struggling to do more than just survive might not get it but to me it rings true and not because the characters are dumb. It rings true because it's damn hard to change the course of your life and decision making when you're so worn down from surviving then you add tons of grief and bad coping skills on top? People actually think they're going to make good decisions? 

Oh, some real people act this way. And stupid plays a big part in it. The Connors are living hand to mouth in large part because, other than Roseanne with The Lunchbox and Dan with the bike shop, none of them have tried to improve their skills, add to their education, build a business or, you know, not sleep with so many people you don't know who your baby daddy is.  And they weren't very good at The Lunchbox and the boke shop.

My family wasn't much different than The Connors. We had a single mom (divorce), and years where us two kids were told to tell anyone who called and asked for our mom that she wasn't home (when she was). Power went off a number of times. So did basic cable. We had a single car, even when I started driving. Vacations, when we had  them, were a few hours' drive, usually to visit relatives. But both kids finished high school (despite struggles at times), went to college (albeit community college, then transferred to a university), got jobs in our field and now, decades later, have families of our own and we are (so far) much better off than our upbringing. It was a challenge. And barring a couple of minor incidents, we didn't do anything stupid that set us back. And we kept trying.

I'm a little surprised at the kudus for the Jackie meltdown scene. As soon as Jackie skipped hysterically into the store, it was clear she was going to laugh and then morph into crying in one motion. Standard manic behavior. As a human being, I'm sad she is sad. Also, though, I wonder at why she has reached this point. She retired from the police force, correct. Midwestern police usually get very generous retirement/pension benefits (that, along with the same for fire fighters and city employees, is why many medium to small towns have 80-90% of their budgets taken up by those benefits, and can't do much else). She has lived in a cheap place her whole life. At this point, she should have a paid off home and a steady income. Maybe she is crying because she is still in Lanford?

Also, we *always* had potato chips on tuna casserole. It was the best part!

Edited by Ottis
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She retired from the police force, correct. Midwestern police usually get very generous retirement/pension benefits (that, along with the same for fire fighters and city employees, is why many medium to small towns have 80-90% of their budgets taken up by those benefits, and can't do much else). She has lived in a cheap place her whole life. At this point, she should have a paid off home and a steady income. Maybe she is crying because she is still in Lanford?

I think Jackie quit the force after what, a year?  To get the really generous package, I think you have to have worked as a policeman for a couple of decades or more.  I doubt she'd even have any kind of pension from them given how little time she was doing the job. 

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3 hours ago, Ottis said:

Oh, some real people act this way. And stupid plays a big part in it. The Connors are living hand to mouth in large part because, other than Roseanne with The Lunchbox and Dan with the bike shop, none of them have tried to improve their skills, add to their education, build a business or, you know, not sleep with so many people you don't know who your baby daddy is.  And they weren't very good at The Lunchbox and the boke shop.

My family wasn't much different than The Connors. We had a single mom (divorce), and years where us two kids were told to tell anyone who called and asked for our mom that she wasn't home (when she was). Power went off a number of times. So did basic cable. We had a single car, even when I started driving. Vacations, when we had  them, were a few hours' drive, usually to visit relatives. But both kids finished high school (despite struggles at times), went to college (albeit community college, then transferred to a university), got jobs in our field and now, decades later, have families of our own and we are (so far) much better off than our upbringing. It was a challenge. And barring a couple of minor incidents, we didn't do anything stupid that set us back. And we kept trying.

I'm a little surprised at the kudus for the Jackie meltdown scene. As soon as Jackie skipped hysterically into the store, it was clear she was going to laugh and then morph into crying in one motion. Standard manic behavior. As a human being, I'm sad she is sad. Also, though, I wonder at why she has reached this point. She retired from the police force, correct. Midwestern police usually get very generous retirement/pension benefits (that, along with the same for fire fighters and city employees, is why many medium to small towns have 80-90% of their budgets taken up by those benefits, and can't do much else). She has lived in a cheap place her whole life. At this point, she should have a paid off home and a steady income. Maybe she is crying because she is still in Lanford?

Also, we *always* had potato chips on tuna casserole. It was the best part!

I didn't think she retired from the force. I don't think she was with it that long. After her back injury I thought she quit. Somebody who remembers please tell me.

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I think where the Connors ended up is a sad lesson.  At one time, construction jobs paid a lot of money.  If Dan had stayed with drywalling, and fixing bikes on the side, they might have been okay.  Dan also quit his job with the City, thinking he might get the prison contract, then they took his retirement savings and went to Disneyland.

Becky put her education on hold, something a lot of people do, because she thought Mark should go to school/college instead.  Dumb.  Darlene has an education, but that's no guarantee of a great paying job.  There are people graduating college today with degrees that are worthless, and they are now thousands of dollars in debt.

Decades ago, the Connors could have turned things around, but that isn't the case today.  There was a time, I could give two weeks notice, and have another better paying job lined up in less than a week.  There was also a time that rent (even in a decent place) was reasonable, and so was the cost of a house.

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14 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I think Jackie quit the force after what, a year?  To get the really generous package, I think you have to have worked as a policeman for a couple of decades or more.  I doubt she'd even have any kind of pension from them given how little time she was doing the job. 

I think she was on the force for little over a year, so she would not have gotten a good retirement fund. She might have gotten disability payments for awhile if she was injured on the job. Another bad or should I say stupid storyline because there have been law enforcement officers who were more severely injured in the line of duty who were able to go back on the job with rehab and physical therapy. Instead they made Jackie stupid and more dependent on Roseanne.

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15 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Matthew Broderick was on the Tonight show tonight. He’s even more wooden in an interview than as Peter. I didn’t think that was possible. 

Wow.  I wonder what happened to him.  At least we know it was his acting skills (or lack thereof) on display and not an intentional depiction of the silly Peter character.

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On 1/22/2019 at 10:08 PM, methodwriter85 said:

According to the book Gone Girl, making casseroles with chips is very Mid-Western thing because it stretches out the food yield.

Growing up in the 70's, it is how that vile dish was served!

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17 hours ago, Natalie68 said:
On 1/22/2019 at 11:08 PM, methodwriter85 said:

According to the book Gone Girl, making casseroles with chips is very Mid-Western thing because it stretches out the food yield.

Growing up in the 70's, it is how that vile dish was served!

And this is the difference in the "feel" of money this time around.

Before, we felt like Roseanne and Dan could make it if they just stretched things a little farther.  The casseroles with chips is a good analogy for their finances back then-- stretching to make it work.

This time, that sense of "things will work out" is missing, which I think is very realistic for this family.

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On 1/23/2019 at 11:06 AM, Pete Martell said:

Becky was probably not in the upwardly mobile path of Darlene, but she was married, and, presumably, happy with her husband. He died young and suddenly. She was clearly traumatized by his death, as she's said she never wanted to have children with another man.

Have they mentioned yet, that in the series finale, Becky and Mark were expecting a child? They didn't want to detract from David and Darlene's bundle of joy, but they were definitely knocked up.

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On 1/23/2019 at 10:42 AM, qtpye said:

Refusing to move only 60 minutes away from your family with a man who seems to appreciate and love you to a place both your kids would flourish (most probably) because ..

Keyword: Seems. I don't like the David twist, but her moving her kids in with some guy she has known for, what, three weeks? It's gross, and it makes me sad that kids would find this normal. 

Take David out of the equation, she should say no either way. The whole proposal is gross. And I am rooting for this guy! I like him! It's just too much , too soon. And when it involves kids, yuck. 

I don't think David really changed her mind, I think she realized it was insane on her own. 

On 1/31/2019 at 11:06 PM, HeadphoneJack64 said:

I don’t really have anything insightful to add; I just wanted to say that Laurie Metcalf’s performance tore my heart out! That woman is amazing.

When she ran around the Lunch Box counter, laughing and then crying, I loved her. I want to throw another Emmy onto her mantelpiece. 

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10 hours ago, Chewy101 said:

Have they mentioned yet, that in the series finale, Becky and Mark were expecting a child? They didn't want to detract from David and Darlene's bundle of joy, but they were definitely knocked up. 

That series finale and the whole lottery season as a whole isn't really considered canon for this iteration of the show.

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On 1/29/2019 at 12:19 PM, bigskygirl said:

 Instead they made Jackie stupid and more dependent on Roseanne.

yes this is around the time they made her "Wacky Jackie" a caricature of a person and not a 3 dimensional character like she was.... I hated they Barney Fife'd her it was like she was in a completely different show then the other characters that got to be at least semi normal acting 

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On 2/9/2019 at 3:05 AM, Chewy101 said:

Have they mentioned yet, that in the series finale, Becky and Mark were expecting a child? They didn't want to detract from David and Darlene's bundle of joy, but they were definitely knocked up.

I tend to believe that she miscarried, if that was part of the "book" finale that was indeed real. But no, it hasn't been mentioned at all. 

Edited by UYI
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As a lesbian I do get Darlene’s appeal.  She is hot and the right kind of...abnoxious.  I find that sexy as hell.  If they made Darlene gay like Sara Gilbert...late in life lesbian...I could see her appealing to a wide range of women who like dat and aren’t easily manipulated like David or overly dominated like Ben.

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On 1/23/2019 at 10:19 AM, blondiec0332 said:

I chuckled when Dan talked about being at the mall and listing the stores that closed.  Sears. Radio Shack.  Spencer's Gifts.  All stores that have closed at my local mall.

Same here. Times sure have changed, haven't they? 😳

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