There was an announcement yesterday that a reboot of ROSEANNE was in the planning stages. It would be an eight-episode limited series starring the original cast. Presumably, a number of networks are interested.
Considering my history with Ms. Barr (she called me an ass hat among things), my readers want to know what I think.
Bruce Helford and Whitney Cummings are slated to co-run the show. What do I think? There is not enough money in the world. That is an absolute suicide mission. I wouldn’t wish that job on anybody… except maybe Trump.
But I would definitely watch the show. At its best ROSEANNE was a smart, funny, groundbreaking show. Will the new version be as good? I’d like to think yes. I sure hope so. We could really use a smart grounded sitcom that isn't just geared to Millennials. The bigger question is will the writing staff live through it?
What I find ironic though is that networks are so opposed to multi-cam shows because they’re labeled as old and retro and networks are looking for NEW and DIFFERENT, yet they’re reviving old multi-cam series. WILL & GRACE will be back. FULLER HOUSE, BOY MEETS WORLD, and ONE DAY AT A TIME are already back in some form, now to be joined by ROSEANNE. Could this be the chance BIG WAVE DAVE’S has been waiting for?
Best of luck to the new ROSEANNE. God speed, which is what you say to all soldiers going off to war.
It will be a niche show on Netflix.
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that talented people like Roseanne and Cybill have to be so excruciatingly annoying to work with. I suspect that part of the reason Katherine Heigl's latest show tanked after just 2 airings was the pervasive PR branding her as difficult going back to "Grey's Anatomy." Artists, yeah, but you have to coexist in this world. A little self-awareness and cooperation, please.
ReplyDeleteWow. Considering how far the show drifted in its later seasons, becoming absolutely unwatchable, it seems the main goal would be to try and recreate the magic of its earlier seasons: A smart, funny and honest account of the struggles of a working class family that anyone can relate to. But how can you do that when all the children will have family units of their own? It sounds like it will have to be something akin to MODERN FAMILY (which we already have)... with an unbalanced emphasis on the Jay character (which is going to be tough on the stories).
ReplyDeleteEither way, I wish it the best. I really hope it captures the magic of those early seasons. The original show really was something special in its heyday, and (like THE SIMPSONS) time has soured people's memories about how good it was in the beginning.
I know it's your pet whipping dog, but I liked Big Wave Dave's.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see where they go if they pick up where the series ended, considering that they killed off Dan.
ReplyDeleteA very nice response to the question, Ken, but I hope you realize how much you've disappointed the readers who were really hoping you'd use this as an excuse to completely trash Roseanne.
ReplyDeletePeople do remember how shit this show became near the end as well as the whole reveal in the last episode, right?
ReplyDeleteHey, Bryan,
ReplyDeleteI am very proud of BIG WAVE DAVE'S and invite anyone to go to YouTube to watch a couple of episodes of it.
I hope that they'll come back only if they have something to say. They never shied away from politics on the show and to see how the Connors would react to Trump's fear mongering and things like their inability to get health insurance once they're no longer guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions could be quite effective. Of course it all hinges on Roseanne being smart enough to let the writers do their job and having learned her lesson from when the old show crashed and burned.
ReplyDeletePlus, I'd be perfectly fine if before the first episode started, Roseanne came on screen out of character and said "Look, the final season was a disaster. It didn't work. I'm sorry, and for this new series, we're just erasing that final season from continuity, so yes, Dan is still alive and there was no lottery win. Thanks, and enjoy the show."
Ken, the UK has got Guardians of the Galaxy 2 a week before you guys get it in the States. I saw it today and it's fantastic. If you liked the first, you won't be disappointed. James Gunn has written an hilarious script.
ReplyDeleteThat should be enough reason for you to see it, but there's one scene where Chris Pratt's character talks about Cheers! I think you'll get a kick out of it.
As with all Marvel movies, stay all the way through the end credits for five extra scenes.
"Asshat?!" I forgot about that one. Yuck. Well, you beautifully refuted all of her nonsense in earlier posts and, while I wish no ill will on anyone, hers might be the only funeral where no one will attend.
ReplyDeleteHo Ken!!! You got baited into posting about Roseanne? You shouldn't have. Free publicity for that bitch.
ReplyDeleteConsidering how today's comedy writers think, I'm sure they'll have each character saying the word vagina in every other sentence. That's not only hilarious, but it's exactly how people talk in real life.
ReplyDeleteElf, nice idea. Can anyone think of a series that was revived and publicly announced something like that? (Aside from "Dallas," where I believe one of its seasons was tossed off as a dream...while the series continued to air.)
ReplyDeleteGlenn, it didn't stop Prison Break from doing it. It wasn't like it was a shadowy death that they could claim was faked, but a slow death from brain cancer. Now he's back to life, and his own (older) brother had no idea his name isn't Michael.
ReplyDeleteElf, Roseanne supported Trump in the last election. What is the preexisting condition they revealed on the show?
There isn't enough money in the world to get me to watch that pig.
ReplyDeleteIt is not her fault of course but the reason I never cared for her is that her voice has the same affect on me as fingernails across a blackboard.
ReplyDeleteRoseanne and Tom mooned me at the 1989 World Series. That was the extent of my contact with them. Apparently, I got off easy. Wait! Let me rephrase that!
ReplyDeleteElf posted, "Plus, I'd be perfectly fine if before the first episode started, Roseanne came on screen out of character and said "Look, the final season was a disaster. "
ReplyDeleteThere's no chance, none, that Roseanne will ever admit that the final season was a disaster. Zero.
In the final episode of "Roseanne," it was revealed that the whole horrible last season was a fantasy Roseanne was writing as a novel to help work through her grief over Dan's death. So the lottery win was already negated. Of course, she also claimed she'd changed a lot of stuff we'd seen since the beginning, and that Jackie was really a lesbian and her daughters were actually married to each other's husbands. Don't know how they'd fix that. BTW, sorry I didn't say "spoiler alert," but for Christ's sake, you've had 20 years to watch it.
ReplyDeleteIn the stories about the revival, Roseanne has said that we'd learn Dan faked his death. That would require no explanation.
When I watch a show, I don't know anything about the actors being "excruciatingly annoying to work with". If the show is good, it doesn't matter to me, the viewer. All the Hollywood insider stuff is just tabloid fodder. They never listen to me anyway, I always talk to the TV, but they don't listen.
ReplyDeleteGood luck getting Galecki to do it, at best a walk on.
I do not know about Roseanne Barr. Her show was good the first few seasons but she needs to leave it there. Someone mentioned Cybill Shepherd earlier in the comments and I have seen Ken mention her before in not great terms. Maybe he didn't work with her, but I did on "Cybill", in October/November 1994 when Chuck Lorre created and produced.
ReplyDeleteChristine Baranski was the clear breakout and legend has it this annoyed Cybill. It did I am sure, Christine was incredible. However, Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn were utterly disgusting in their dismissive attitude to women on set (hey, it was the 90s!) Who is going to believe that? Probably no one, while Cybill and Roseanne are cast as the monsters. I seen it first hand. Whatever you think of her talent, Cybill was a star enough to get her own vehicle and around that hundreds were employed. When Charlie Sheen and Chuck fell out, suddenly it wasn't just those mad divas who had issues with him. Two And A Half Men had some of the cheapest, sexist jokes around, 10 years after Cybill but she called him out on it and wouldn't have those jokes on the show.
Listen, it was all a boys club Ken. How dare Cybill and Roseanne speak up. We all know what the Cheers set was like. A meat rack of extras for the boys. Remember the week on set when Kelsey was arrested Ken? Tip of the iceberg.