Roseanne and The Conners Character Review: Beverly Harris

*For the foreseeable future, some Character Review posts may not be published every Thursday as they have in the past.

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television series  Roseanne and The Conners. Read at your own risk if you have not watched the show.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front of us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Roseanne and The Conners to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

The image of the grandmother in the sitcom world, is usually one of two things. She is either the kindly, loving grandmother who gives advice, loves her family endlessly and cooks like nobody’s business. Or, she is the mother/mother-in-law whose has good intentions. But she comes off as pushy, opinionated, judgmental and thinks that she knows better than her children.

On Roseanne and The Conners, Beverly Harris (Estelle Parsons) is not exactly the ideal mother/mother-in-law. But to be fair, her life has not been easy. Her marriage was far from easy or loving, used as a cover to legitimize the birth of her eldest daughter, Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr). In addition to being a former alcoholic, Beverly left her husband after discovering his twenty year long affair and watching her husband abuse their daughters.

Known for being pessimistic, negative and over-controlling (especially toward her younger daughter Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), Beverly is not the easiest of mothers. Being that Jackie is in and out of relationships (and jobs), her mother tries to act with motherly concern. But it comes out as critical.

Presently, Beverly and Jackie live together. They are doing their best to tolerate each other, in spite of the the decades long sniping between mother and daughter.

To sum it up: Beverly may not be the perfect mother or grandmother, but she is the perfect comedic character. Though her comments come from a good place, the reaction does not always match the intent. But that is why she is a memorable character.

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Roseanne and The Conners Character Review: Jackie Harris

*For the foreseeable future, some Character Review posts may not be published every Thursday as they have in the past.

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television series  Roseanne and The Conners. Read at your own risk if you have not watched the show.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front of us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Roseanne and The Conners to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

In an ideal world, our lives are planned out and we easily settle into those plans. We find the perfect romantic partner, the perfect job, have children and settle down to a simple and predictable life. But life is not always ideal. On Roseanne and The Conners, Jackie Harris (Laurie Metcalf) is Roseanne Conner’s (Roseanne Barr) younger sister.

Her life is far from ideal. Over the course of both series, she went through a series of jobs and boyfriends that never lasted. Lacking in self esteem and sometimes a little too flighty for her own good, she relies on her sister, who is jokingly perceived as a tad overbearing. Married briefly in the first series, the marriage started via an unexpected pregnancy and a one night stand. It ended in divorce, leaving Jackie as a single mother.

In addition to her dealing with everything else in her life, Jackie has a love/hate relationship with her mother. Beverly Harris (Estelle Parsons) is constantly harping on Jackie’s lack of romantic success and her inability to hang onto one career for a serious amount of time.

To sum it up: Jackie’s life is far from ideal. But that is what makes her character interesting. Boring and predictable does not hold the audience’s attention. Interesting and complicated not only holds the audience’s attention, but it keeps them coming back. The constant ups and downs in Jackie’s life makes her a unique character and why after 30 years, television viewers still love her.

Roseanne and The Conners Character Review: Roseanne Conner

*For the foreseeable future, some Character Review posts may not be published every Thursday as they have in the past.

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television series  Roseanne and The Conners. Read at your own risk if you have not watched the show.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front of us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Roseanne and The Conners to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

In the history of television, housewives have been portrayed as paragons of motherly and wifely virtue. Their houses and their appearances were magazine ready, their children are angels and their husbands came home to perfect families. Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr) broke that mold the moment she appeared on our television screens. She was brash, outspoken, far from modelesque and her family was imperfect.

Roseanne and her husband, Dan (John Goodman), have three kids. Becky (played by Alicia Goranson and then by Sarah Chalke), Darlene (Sara Gilbert), DJ (Michael Fishman) and Jerry Garcia Conner. In addition to her kids, Roseanne’s sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) is always stopping by.

The Conners are the average middle-class American family and Roseanne is the average middle-class American wife and mother. She and Dan are juggling their kids, their jobs, paying bills, keeping their marriage going, etc. Over the course of the original series, Roseanne has multiple jobs, a breast reduction, and a fourth child.

When the series returned, Roseanne was still Roseanne. But with a new twist. While dealing with knee pain, she has become addicted to the pain killers. It’s what kills her on-screen while her off-screen alter ego, Roseanne Barr became a persona non-grata after some rather unsavory comments made via her Twitter account.

To sum it up: in being real and representing real women, Roseanne Conner and the actor that played her changed the way that women are portrayed on television. Roseanne was imperfect, complicated and faced the same everyday situations that the viewers faced. It is that grounding in reality that makes her memorable and lovable.

The Conners Review

After the reboot of Roseanne was cancelled earlier this year due to Roseanne Barr’s social media verbal diarrhea, the question of what was going to happen to show was on the lips of many.

Tonight, that question was answered. The Conners picks up where Roseanne left off, albeit without the show’s previous namesake and title character. Roseanne Conner has recently passed away. Her family must deal with the loss while trying to move on with their lives. Dan (John Goodman) is slowly coming to terms with his wife’s death and the reason for her sudden passing. Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) is trying to fill the void that her sister left. Darlene (Sara Gilbert) is doing her best to take her mother’s place in the family while raising her own kids.

I felt like this was the right way to go in terms of the series. While the previous series was called Roseanne, the focus was not just Roseanne Conner. It was the story of the Conners, a working class family who is doing their best every day to get by. But at the same time, absence of Roseanne Conner and the actress who played her was palpable. It was as if as I had just walked into the home of a loved one who had recently passed away. I had been in the home countless times, but this time felt odd and sad at the same time.

I recommend it.

The Conners airs on Tuesdays at 8PM on ABC. 

 

Thoughts On The Roseanne Controversy

*Warning: This post contain spoilers regarding last week’s Roseanne premiere, as well as a spoiler from the original series. Read at your own risk if you have not seen the episode. 

The reboot of Roseanne premiered last week to critical acclaim, love from the audience and ratings that are a dream for any television show.

With the love from the critics and the audiences comes a bit of controversy. It was a shock to some audiences that Roseanne Conner not only voted for you know who, but proudly flaunts it, especially in the face of her sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) whose equally proudly flaunts that she voted for Hillary Clinton.

It’s also necessary to point out that Barr herself voted for you know who, but that is a topic for another time.

Some viewers were outraged that Roseanne (the character, not the actor) voted for you know who. Other viewers were more than pleased with revelation.

My feeling is that as much as I would have loved for Roseanne to have been a Hillary supporter, the writer in me knows that it was the right decision in terms of the politics of the character. Roseanne Conner is not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination (despite the fact that the Conners won the lottery towards the end of the run of the original series). She is still a working class wife and mother, trying to get by as best she can. One of the reason, unfortunately, that you know who won, is that he spoke directly to the needs of the working class, aka the Conners.

Only time will tell if Roseanne changes her mind. But what I liked about the episode was how Roseanne and Jackie were able to come together as sisters, even if they disagree on certain political views.  If they can come together on-screen, then perhaps Americans as a whole can come together, even if we disagree on the issues.

 

Roseanne Review

*-Warning: this review contains mild spoilers. Read at your own risk if you have not yet seen the premiere episodes. 

Television is supposed to the medium of the masses. But for most of television history, the family sitcoms focused on middle class families who seemed just a bit too perfect.

Then Roseanne premiered in 1988. Roseanne and Dan Conner (Roseanne Barr and John Goodman) are a working class couple living in middle America just trying to get by as best they can. The original series lasted for 9 years and has become a new classic. This evening, the reboot of Roseanne premiered.

Dan and Roseanne are still living in the same house. Their three kids, Becky (Alicia Goranson), Darlene (Sara Gilbert, who is also one of the show’s executive producers) and DJ (Michael Fishman) are all grown up and dealing with adult issues. Roseanne’s ever-present sister, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) is still more in her sister’s house than she is her own. Also returning is Sarah Chalke as Andrea (otherwise known as Becky #2), as the mother to be of the child Becky plans on carrying.

Watching this show is like slipping into a pair of jeans that you haven’t worn in a long time. It’s comfortable, it fits perfectly and it makes you feel good. Hitting the right mixture of notes of humor, family drama and current events, Roseanne feels like it never went off the air in the first place.

I recommend it.

Roseanne airs on ABC at 8PM on Tuesday. 

Lady Bird Movie Review

The year before we graduate high school can often be described as trans-formative. Especially when we know that the last thing we want to do is going to college near home.

The new movie, Lady Bird, written and directed by actor/director/writer Greta Gerwig, is about Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan). Set in Northern California in 2002,  Lady Bird is starting her senior year of high school and wants nothing more than to go to college out-of-town. She does not get along with her equally strong-willed mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf) and has a decent relationship with her father, Larry (Tracy Letts). As the year goes on, both Lady Bird will learn a few things about life and relationships.

I really enjoyed this movie. I enjoyed it because Lady Bird’s character arc and narrative feels universal. The struggle to find herself, the need to get away from home, the arguments with her parents, it all feels normal for a 17 year old girl.

I recommend it.

Lady Bird is presently in theaters. 

A Dolls House Part II Review

A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, has one of the most famous endings in the world of theater. Nora Helmer walks away from her husband and her children, the door slamming behind her.

The new play, A Dolls House Part 2, is the sequel to the classic play. Nora (Laurie Metcalf) returns to her husband and her home 15 years after the original play ends. She is greeted by her children’s nanny, Anne Marie (Jayne Houdyshell), who is both pleased and displeased to see her. Nora receives similar responses from her husband, Torvald (Chris Cooper) and her now teenage daughter, Emmy (Condola Rashad), who was very young when her mother left.

At first glance, this play appears to be a straight drama. But it turns out to be a very funny comedy. It is also speaks, as it did with the original in 1879, about the difficulty of marriage and how women are still fighting for their own needs vs. the needs that the overall culture says we should strive for.

I absolutely recommend it.

A Dolls House is playing at The John Golden Theater at 252 W 45th Street in New York City. The show runs until January 8th of 2018.

Flashback Friday-TV Edition-Roseanne

The television of families of the 1980’s were pretty similar. Upper middle class families with two working parents with children who except for the normal childhood scrapes, were too good to be true.

Then Roseanne premiered in 1988.

The Conners were different. They were lower middle class, just struggling to get by and raise their kids the best way they knew how. Roseanne and Dan Conner (Roseanne Barr and John Goodman) were high school sweethearts who had their kids earlier in life. The children, Becky, Darlene and DJ (Alicia Goranson/Sarah Chalke, Sara Gilbert and Michael Fishman) were smart ass and constantly fighting with each other. Roseanne’s sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) bounced from job to job and from relationship to relationship.  Over the course of the series, Roseanne and Dan both held a series of jobs, some which lasted longer than others.

In short, unlike the rest of the family sitcoms of the 1980’s and 1990’s, it felt realistic.  Whether it was stretching your paycheck to pay the bills or fighting with your teenager because you did not like their boyfriend or girlfriend, the stories reflected the lives of the audience.  And it was one of the funniest shows on television.

Do I recommend this show? Of course