A few days ago I started watching The Conners, and already finished season 1.

Roseanne has always been amongst my favorite show, and with the revival with season 10 I was the happiest watcher on earth.
Unfortunately it didn't go as planned, and for different reasons (not related to politics, this is not the point) I didn't continue to watch it.

But the Conners has always been my favorite family, and couldn't stay away from them longer.
I'm very happy with the show. Maybe a few rust in the earlier episodes, but then it really took off and it inherited all the best features from Roseanne.

I think that rightly it is the Gilbert show: since she became a teenager Darlene stole the show, and became its pillar.
Becky grew in importance, and Lecy Goranson is really good in reprising her role. I personally wouldn't say she stayed away from acting that long.
Jackie is the most problematic character, she has been downgraded too much and is definetely too wacky. Towards the end of the season there was a lapse of her true orginal character, and that was powerful.
In a women show, John Goodman always managed to keep his role almost in the shadow, despite being the only true star in the cast. He's a guarantee.
D.J. was too little in the original run of the show, and always suffered this position. It is a character that needs a little justice, he had too little to do and to show. His treatment is probably the main (and to me the only) fault in the show.

Also Harris, Mark and Mary had too little space. Children were the heart of Roseanne, I hope they gain more screentime in the next season.

This evening I'm starting season 2 :)

Glad you’re enjoying! The Conners is terrific!

I'm averaging 3-4 eisodes per evening, this show is stunning!
I am always surprised on how can like a sticom :P
And is there anything better than a blue-collar sitcom?

I really hate the fact they got rid of Rosanne for such a stiupid reason..... But with the way the world is now,im not surprised :(

I really hate the fact they got rid of Rosanne for such a stiupid reason..... But with the way the world is now,im not surprised :(

Really? Throughout the ages, people have been terminated for speaking out against their employer, aka biting the hand that feeds them.

Politics aside, I think the show is now better without Roseanne. The comedic timing works and the storylines are more interesting. The cast also looks more engaged. I'm sure that working there on the first season was a nightmare considering how many of the crew walked out. It's like they were pulling out all of the stops to make Roseanne seem funny and they were failing across the board.

Maybe it IS,I dunno shot I havent given it a chance since she was cut off......

I finished season 2 yesterday!
The beginning of the season was brilliant, top notch storylines and the Thanksgiving episodes that to me was one of the best of every sitcom ever.

Then there were a few underwhelming episodes (the primaries one... ugh), and from there a crescendo till the finale.

Can't wait to start season 3 in a few hours!

I like the Conners too. Have you seen the episode where Jackie goes on Jeopardy? It's pretty funny. Glad you're enjoying the show.

Maybe it IS,I dunno shot I havent given it a chance since she was cut off......

Thats your loss

I like the Conners too. Have you seen the episode where Jackie goes on Jeopardy? It's pretty funny. Glad you're enjoying the show.

Not yet!
But regarding Jackie I appreciate very much that this season she was goofed down, and now is a "normal" character.

Three episodes this evening and I'll finish season 3.
Becky certainly became my favorite character, and gained a soft spot in my heart. It is impossible not to 'feel her'.

On the other hand the authors really messed things up with Darlene.
Her selfishness in the latest episodes became a little too much.
The way she's treating Ben, the way she treated Jackie and especially Becky (when she docked her pay, really?).
She was once hands down my favorite character, I hope they'll stop this 'downward spiral'.

Three episodes this evening and I'll finish season 3.
Becky certainly became my favorite character, and gained a soft spot in my heart. It is impossible not to 'feel her'.

On the other hand the authors really messed things up with Darlene.
Her selfishness in the latest episodes became a little too much.
The way she's treating Ben, the way she treated Jackie and especially Becky (when she docked her pay, really?).
She was once hands down my favorite character, I hope they'll stop this 'downward spiral'.

I agree, Darlene was my fav kid on Roseanne, but I like Becky more on The Conners.

Finished season 3, in the end I obviously felt sorry for Darlene, but looking back at her previous actions... well what was she expecting?
I'm surprised Ben was still around.

Fortunately Jackie, Dan and especially Becky had a good thing coming for them.

Into season 4, watched the first six episodes.
So far the only one I really liked is the wedding one; and despite good, it is really far from sitcom comedy gold.

It has lost its energy, and it tackles topics and subjects too basically. It looks like a generic-bad 80s sitcom.
As for the characters Becky is still the main reason to watch the show, while Darlene seems on the road to recovery. Fortunately Ben is still around.

Unfortunately the authors care only for these characters.
The other are slowly fading, and it is a big issue. Three AAA actors like Goodman, Metcalf and Sagal waiting on the sidelines for a few punchlines is an incredible waste of potential; each of them could carry their own show alone.
Harris is badly written, and Mark badly used.
DJ could join Jerry and Andy and noone would notice; I'm sorry for Michael Fishman, and for Jayden Rey too. I think Mary has a lot of potential.

I think we'll see a change in the future like it happened with Mom, with the show slowly changes its focus.
Seems like authors cannot write about family anymore.
But if it will like Mom, I won't complain.

Seen until episode 9 of 4th season.
With the last episodes the show is back on track.
Particularly good the Christmas episode, but also the next one with Darlene and Ben getting closer again.

ps. how much has grown up Beverly Rose!

I'm on par now and the show got back on track; glad I continued watching it.
Main improvement Darlene and Harris, who are no more the spiteful characters they were on season 3.

And with each episode I appreciate more and more Sara and Lecy's acting.
Unlike in their teens, I think now the better actress overall is Lecy. I remember her tense and rusty in the revival, now she looks natural in everything. I often wonder where she could land if she'd pursued an acting career in the second half of the 90s. But at the very least she's a very good sitcom actress. And The Conners' Becky is in my characters top 10.
Sara was huge in her teens but never topped that once adult. But she owns any sad scene, she gets me everyime.

Time passed by, and they played their characters for almost 25 years now. Wow!

I am also caught up.

I wish there was better continuity on this show, but I agree that Lecy has really become a gem.

I do wish they'd give more of the dark, ironic lines to Darlene and give Becky the more dramatic stuff, which would have reflected the original series better... now Becky tells jokes just as dark and depressing as Darlene, which feels a little off.

Also, did Beverly Rose age like, six years in a few months?!

But, on the whole, I'm glad this show is still on.

I still want to see Andy and Jerry. Do not retcon those kids out of existence, show!

I am also caught up.

I wish there was better continuity on this show, but I agree that Lecy has really become a gem.

I do wish they'd give more of the dark, ironic lines to Darlene and give Becky the more dramatic stuff, which would have reflected the original series better... now Becky tells jokes just as dark and depressing as Darlene, which feels a little off.

Also, did Beverly Rose age like, six years in a few months?!

But, on the whole, I'm glad this show is still on.

I still want to see Andy and Jerry. Do not retcon those kids out of existence, show!
Haha yes Beverly rose was a baby and now suddenly she’s 6!

Haha yes Beverly rose was a baby and now suddenly she’s 6!

I wish they hadn't done that. Did we need another Rapidly Aging Baby on TV?

s04e17 is maybe the most problematic episode ever in the history of the show, including the original Roseanne and the revival.
There are unnecessary low blows and unkind comments on workers that has absolutely no place in a blue collar sitcom.
Aside a few moments here and there, they really can't write a decent and coherent Darlene :( She constantly forgets where she comes from.

Decent final episode, but still far from the sitcom gold I expect from this show.
I realized that I am a little worried about Becky. Her main arc this season was kinda meh (the love story with the professor), while in the later episodes she was under-used.
The authors also missed a great opportunity wit her bried moment with Darlene before the wedding; they should've gone for 100% and avoid sarcasm.

Rotfl if we were in the 90s I would've written a fan letter to Lecy by now to compliment her.
Miss the 90s :(

Started season 5, terrible season premiere.
There are so many vacation episodes in the history of sitcom: Friends' episodes in Vegas and London, Frasier's The Ski Lodge or Winnebago episode, Spin City's with Paul and the mayor in Florida, Married with Children's vacation in Dumpwater, The Nanny in the carribean, Mom's road trip or the retreat with Anna Faris' last episode.
They are usually done to create and play with new dynamics, dare with the characters, and go deeper with their development. And especially being really fun.

It is really underwhelming that all they managed to do is this cheap, low-standard, unfunny trite play focusing on the same old things. We just got an inch of character development with Harris and Mark, which was closed harshly because it is better focusing again and again to Darlene and Jackie's same dynamics.


Plus I'm really worried and mad that Becky was again underused.
This time she had literally three lines, are we kidding?

Also the episode 2 was kinda bad to me.
Yet again all the episode is dedicated to the couples Darlene-Ben and Jackie-Neville, which is not what you expect and want from a blue collar sitcom. Social issues completely gone.
We have a family that sums up everything in America, but let's jus make it love-couples "problems" elated instead.

Episode 3 was finally a good one... or at least ot plainly bad.
Fortunately we are spared Jackie and Neville and there is a small inch of blue-collar problems.
But mainly the good thing of the episode is Lecy Goranson. At this point I think she's the only character not yet undermined, and Lecy the only one doing a brilliant job with what she's got.

The Becky-Harris moment, and also the Harris-Mark moment in the previous episode, made me think of how poorly characters relations has been laid out in the series. The only dynamics that were created were Darlene-Becky, Darlene-Ben and Dan-Ben... now they are all resolved but it is as they have no history nor past. In 5 seasons Harris and Mark do not have a preferred person to speak to, one they hate, one they can relate. If needed, they deal with theirs issues with the adult who hasn't anything to do in the rest of the episode.

I think the writers should try to push for some mini arcs to be extended for some episodes... we're seeing just random issues that pop up with every new episode and are resolved by the ending credits. Show really need some continuity.
Not only in the stories, but also with the characters. They are doing whatever they want especially with the kids, it's like in an 80s sitcom.
Beverly Rose wnet to baby to 5 years old in a few episodes.
Harris has skipped 2-3 years of age between season 3 and 4.
Mark is already driving and applying for college... I think he skipped 2 years also.
By the way... I think they Ames MacNamara was miscast: he grew a lot since last season, he doesn't look like anyone in the room, and he's also acting quite badly.

And on the third episode is quite unfortunate that they have not yet addressed anything about DJ.

This episode was better than the previous', but the show still continues to ba a mess.
I am attached to the family and the characters, but at this point I'm still watching just for Lecy Goranson.

Another forgettable episode in which the authors showed once again that they don't have any clear idea on the show's direction.
Finally DJ's departure is addressed; Fishman's character has been missing the whole show, he was dedicated just one episode that I can remember on the top of my head. Still, they could've have had the decency to make at least a goodbye episode.

Then we have another absurd storyline that is resolved inside the episode runtime.

It is still funny and at least this time there are no cahracter that are onoxious or ruined. But it is quite unnerving seeing good characters doing random things for 20 minutes.

Season 5, episode 5.
I hope we're done with the episodes advocating for drugs use :(

Quitting at the moment, will probably check back in a few eps to see if it got better, but at the moment is really uninspired and unworthy.

The last 2 eps have been great! Loving the season

Missed the family and started watching again, hoping to be in time for season 6 beginning.

The last two episodes have been better!
The Halloween one was decent, and then next one with Darlene becoming PR put back into it blue collar dynamics that were missing.
But the best part were the jokes, none of which fell flat. Becky, Harris and Dan had really good lines to deliver.

Hope this is the turning point in quality.

I am back at it after an almost two years hiatus!
Still watching season 5, yesterday evening I've seen episodes 10 and 11.
Both enjoyable episodes, it is not comedy gold but I'd be fine with this level of quality till the end. It is enough to stay with the family and enjoy Becky.

I liked it when Rosanne was there......

I think its aweful they all turned on her for a stupid comment.......

Something juicy in the last episodes.: a little justice for Bev and especially Harris pregnancy.

and especially Harris pregnancy.

Lol, God forbids we have a continuity-story for a few episodes...
Anyway the show is hitting the right spots at the moment, happy I'm watching.
And there was also a perfect moment in the episode of Harris' miscarriage. When she describes her symptoms the eye contact between Becky and Darlene was really intense and encapsulated a perfect moment. Despite being a sitcom, both actresses give their best in the most dramatic scene.
It's a glimpse of the special chemistry that Lecy and Sara share after having portrayed these characters since their childhood. It is really an amazing thing if you think about it.

Currently mid-season 6 now and what can I say?
I am really having fun, and the show is now in his better shape since season 2-3 when it was at its heights but with much more drama. Now it seems a lighter version of what it has always been (Roseanne included).

The jokes and dialogues got better, the comedy is not yet top-notch but quite high and finally there are dynamics between characters that make sense.

Plus all the characters grwoth and no-one is despisable. Particularly welcome from me the Bev arc, with now the character perfectly redeemed. But also Darlene regained all the points she losts between season 3 and 4, Harris is now funny and not spiteful, as Mark with Ames MacNamara that is now acting better than in the previous seasons. I also appreciated that Jackie's wackiness is contained in the funny ground and doesn't fall in the awkward one anymore.
As for the men Dan and Ben are two rocks.
I have still a few issues with Louise (Katey Sagal is not used as she deserves) and Neville, which has been quite a pain in the a** lately.

Last my favorite: Becky. It's her perfect time, she's now at her best and it is a joy to watch her finally having a good life. Hope it lasts till the finale. And also, related strictly to her, we had a new great cast addition: I couldn't hope for a better fit for Becky than Sean Astin doing his persona.

And in one of the episodes it was really really really a pleasure to see Crystal again... with Dan taking care of her. I always had a soft spot for Crystal Anderson, one of the characters that mostly reflected Roseanne's vision of struggling women back in the 80's-early90s. Really made my day.

Two episodes to finish season 6.
But the cliffhanger in the last episode didn't convince me much. The hardware store insurance looks a lot like the lottery win in the original series and wasn't that much of an idea.
Let's see how things will unfold...

Finished watching.
It has been a long ride, between the original series, the revival and the spinoff: 37 years, 17 seasons and 337 episodes. It's the same family, it's the same characters, it's the same actors: I'll consider this as a whole and will always be my #1 show ever.
The series made me laugh, cry, think and care like no other did.
At its peak it has been the most funny, the most daring and the most... important. Thanks to everyone involved, especially Roseanne Barr who created it, and I wish things would've gone different for her.

Many thoughts about this and many feelings that is difficult to line up... but I'm glad that The Conners bid farewell in someways homaging her. It was unexpected, it well crafted, it was a moment of what I consider great television.
I dare say one of my favorite finales ever, and when I went to bed after watching it my eyes were a little wet.

Considerations about the last seasons events are of less importance.
I feared twice the "lottery" deus ex machina, one with the shop insurance and one with suing the company, but especially the latter they were well played.
There werea few things I didn't like in the various plotlines: Ben could've been handled better, Mark becoming a criminal and noone giving a crap about it, Beverly Rose slowly fading away and speaking only a line of dialogue in the entire last season and Mary disappearing as Seven in Married with Children in the previous season (the only black character... let's remember here that Roseanne was fired for racism...), and D.J. receiving the Jerry Garcia/Andrew treatment. At least him should've been present in the finale. But it would've been fun to see Jerry too! (while we know Andre has been canceled from canon...).

Despite that, the closing for each character of the original series is satisfying to say the least.
Beverly had her redemption arc; Harris became fun, responsbile and got finally a decent boyfriend; Mark is pursuing his dreams, somewhat.
Jackie has found love and a scope.
Becky is the one who suffered the most in the past, and has the happiest ending; Tyler is really perfect for her.
Darlene has been the most tragic, she found balance and she's seeing her kids managing at life. There's a point of bitterness in her ending (Mark goign away) that perfectly matches her character's history, but we know she'll be fine too.
And finally Dan, who found love again and finally a little peace and economic stability.

Last scene with him say goodbye was perfect.

oh, I forgot to talk about a small continuity detail that I super-appreciated: Darlene wearing her iconic t-shirt:

https://i.imgur.com/lKAmooc.png

https://i.imgur.com/podl3Z1.png

On a side note: it seems that except a few shows dragging around the genre is finally coming to an end. I don't think sitcoms will be around anymore in a short while.
I will not watch anything new.

John Goodman breaking the 4th wall to bid farewell to the audience was the perfect ending.

John is an idiot......

Rosanne probably thought they were all her friends!!