Yup… The Conners Is Better Than Roseanne
Well, it finally aired. The Conners I mean. The long awaited spin-off continuation of Roseanne premiered to much lower ratings than the 10th season revival of Roseanne, earlier this year, but it didn’t bothered me.
Actually I loved the spin off better and it wasn’t because Roseanne Barr wasn’t in it. I loved it because John Goodman and Sarah Gilbert were. Let’s face it… Roseanne Bar was the creator of the show, but John and Sarah were and still are the backbone.
As you may know, Roseanne was canceled after Barr’s racist Tweets, and it put the career of many many people in jeopardy. However efforts were made, and ABC continued the Conners family dynamic on a different show. With the exact cast of people in front of the camera. And it worked.
The Conners’s first episode picks up 3 weeks after the funeral of Roseanne Conner, and the entire family is dealing with grief. Jackie is re-arranging the kitchen, while Dan is drinking and blaming Marcy Bellinger (Mary Steenburgen) for his wife’s death.
Which leads me to my next point…I also loved how the show-runner Bruce Helford and the rest of the writing team chose to make Roseanne’s death as a result of an opioid overdose. Roseanne’s addiction was a major issue in one of the episodes in the 10th season of Roseanne, and I’m glad that they chose to end her with this. It also put focus on the ongoing battle that America has with opioid addiction, and how easily it can cause irreparable damage to the family.
Opioids are no joke, and The Conners are just reminding us of that. When an elderly suburban family woman can die from an opioid addiction, what chances the rest of America has of dogding that same fate?
I also loved how The Conners acknowledged Roseanne’s impact, legacy and character in a very touching way. They weren’t mean, they didn’t make tasteless jokes at her expense and they were not gunning at her. This was probably the best revenge move on their part without feeling like a revenge.
And in the end…. I hope The Conners thrive without Barr. As long as they have John, Sarah, Laurie and the rest of the gang, i won’t be worried about the show’s fate.
