First of all, yes, I think they could've come up with a way for Roseanne to apologize and be punished and still have her continue on with the show if advertisers were game. THAT SAID, I thought the show was really good tonight. It was a massive undertaking for the show runner who had 22 minutes to explain the death of the central character while still being a comedy. By that measure, it was a success. And Goodman and Metcalf were pretty wonderful. Wonderful enough that I think they can carry the show through this season, maybe more. Did anyone else see it?
I didn't watch it last season either. Television needs to come up with new shit and stop retreading. There's a reason why Amazon and HBO and Netflix are kicking their ass.
I agree that we need more creativity and that it can be lazy to just use characters that were created 30 years ago. THAT SAID-- there is something cool about Roseanne/TheConners in that we've gotten to see characters age and thus have a depth to their performances and to our enjoyment of them that is rarely found on any television platform. Sort of like soap operas but way better.
I watched it with Mrs. CC. She didn't like the show without Roseanne in it. I thought for the most part it was well done. Some strong acting by Metcalf and Goodman. Since the reboot started I had felt there was something off about the characters. Maybe it was the politics. Dan seemed to be stuck in the background wasting his character and Goodman's talent. They were back in top form in the premiere of The Conners. I think they could have done better. Instead of starting 2 weeks after granny Roses' death, start the night of it. Fade in to the Conner living room, red and blues in the window. We find the family is awake and in the midst of dealing with the immediate impact of Roseanne's death. If your going to kill her, go big, do it right. Let us see the crying, the hugging, the despair, the humanity. We got to see those anyway, but perhaps it would have been more powerful in the moment. Either way it brought back the show I remember. Without Roseanne the other actors are able to shine. It's the reboot viewers deserve. I'll be watching. What can I say, I'm a sucker for nostalgia.
This will be 2 1/2 men with Ashton Kutcher all over again. I caught the first episode of the Rosesanne Reboot AFTER she got shitcanned, I thought it sucked ass with bad acting and worse writing, a pure money grab. Can't see this series being any better.