These articles were originally published at The Pop Break.
The Roseanne Revival is as Honest and Uncomfortable as the Original
It’s hard not to develop opinions about the Roseanne revival before watching it. Prior to its debut, this season of Roseanne was overshadowed by the fact that Roseanne Barr is an extremely vocal Trump supporter. Depending on how you feel about the president, you either wanted to boycott the show or were thrilled that someone just like you will be represented on TV. Once you start watching the first episode, it’s easy to forget your preconceived notions.
While the show is heavy handed with politics on both sides, it stays true to the original. Roseanne has always been a representation of the blue-collar working class, who did vote for Donald Trump. Therefore, it makes sense that her views would change toward the right side of the spectrum where self-reliance and gun rights are valued over universal healthcare and a woman’s right to choose.
For balance, her sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) is a hardcore Hillary Clinton supporter still wearing a “Nasty Woman” shirt and a pink pussy hat a year after the 2016 election. Jackie is so upset at Roseanne’s political beliefs that they hadn’t spoken for a year.
If that didn’t make it perfectly clear, this is not escapist TV. Roseanne is very much rooted in the uncomfortable reality that families have been torn apart and many of us are no longer interested in trying to understand the other side.
Over the course of the first two episodes, the Connor family comes to terms with their differences. Dan (John Goodman) and Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) feel old and can’t afford all their medications. Jackie rejoins the family, swearing that Roseanne will never make her doubt herself again. Darlene (Sara Gilbert) moved back home with her daughter, Harris (Emma Kenney), and her son, Mark (Jayden Rey), who dresses in girl’s clothing. And Becky (Lecy Goranson) decides to become a surrogate, which her parents aren’t happy about.
By the end of the hour, Jackie accepts her reality. Dan and Roseanne come to terms with the fact that Mark is who he is and is unashamed of his fashion choices. And Becky makes progress in her journey to have another woman’s child.
After watching Roseanne, you realize the show isn’t about trying to convince viewers to change political parties. It’s trying to bring everyone together. It’s a shame that the show fails at that lofty goal by focusing on our differences than our commonalities.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Will & Grace’s Return to TV is Funny, Yet Frustratingly Political
It’s “11 Years Later” and Will & Grace hasn’t changed much. Will Truman (Eric McCormack), Grace Alder (Debra Messing), Karen Walker (Megan Mullaly), and Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) are the same self-absorbed hypocrites they have always been.
Grace is still an interior designer. Will is still a lawyer. They are now divorced from their husbands, which provides the excuse for Grace to move back into the old apartment. As for Karen and Jack, Karen still works for Grace. And Jack. Well, no one knows what the hell Jack does, but it’s always changed every couple episodes.
Despite an 11-year absence from NBC’s Thursday lineup, the show returns more topical it used to be. It’s no longer shocking to have an intelligent successfully gay character on television, so the writer’s needed to find a way to make the show relevant again.
Unfortunately, they did it in the most heavy-handed way possible with Will wanting to hook up with a staunchly conservative congressman, who stand for everything Will is against, and Grace getting invited to decorate the Oval Office and hating herself for agreeing to do it, but doing it because it’s a huge opportunity.
As well-written as the first episode of the 9th season was, the jokes were way too on the nose. Half the episode was Trump cheap shots that we have all seen on the internet a million times — case in point, jokes about Trump’s orange-ness.” Will & Grace’s writers ran with this and had Grace pull out a bag of Cheetos so that she could match the curtains to Trump’s skin color.
Then the writers pile on by making Karen’s best friend Melania Trump. While this is completely in line with Karen’s personality, it gets annoying that she constantly rubs it in Graces face. For the most part, the jokes that don’t sound like they came from your Facebook feed are Will, Grace, Karen, and Jack being themselves.
Jack is convinced the entire Secret Service is gay. Of course its not, but a former boyfriend, who is a secret service agent, got Jack into a gathering in the rose garden because said agent finds Jack to be “a delicious piece of marzipan.” It’s a delightfully bizarre comment in the middle of a show bogged down in politically commentary. There are not enough moments like that in this version of Will & Grace because the writer’s settle for preaching to the choir.
Let’s be honest. If you’re sitting down to watch the 2017 revival of Will & Grace, you probably aren’t a Trump fan. The whole show exists because of a viral video of the cast explicitly asking fans to vote for Hillary, so while the premise may not alienate every Trump fan that fact probably will.
Remove all the Trump jokes and you’ll see Will & Grace has successfully been updated to the world of Grindr, Facebook, and Human Rights Campaign signs (which in a nice touch is proudly but silently displayed on Will’s door). It’s a shame the writers couldn’t lessen Trump’s influence on the show. It is possible to demonstrate the hypocrisy of self-absorbed white liberal New Yorkers, which every ironically liberal website calls Will & Grace gang. Someone just needs to tell the writers.
Instead of getting a socially conscious fluffy sitcom, NBC gave us a hyper-political show that doesn’t provide satisfying commentary. The only way for Will & Grace to retain viewers, since it’s already been renewed for another season, is to dial down the Trump jokes a notch.
We get that people think Trump acts like a child and placing a Russian-English dictionary and a fidget spinner on his desk was a clever reference to that, but the writers won’t be able to keep people interested based on Trump jokes and an occasional nod to the old show.
Rating: 8 out of 10
TV Recap: The Late Show with David Letterman – The Final Episode
The Late Show with David Letterman is over. Dave is officially off our TV sets. Rumor has it he may venture into podcasts, but the world of late night will never be the same. After a months long buildup, the culmination of David Letterman’s career was last night’s final Late Show episode, which served as a happy medium between one final regular episode and the career summary that fans craved.
All the longtime favorites made one final appearance, with the exception of the old Mail Bag. There was a mediocre Top Ten list about “Things I’ve Always Wanted to Say to Dave,” which is a topic that got used at least once a year and, in this case, served mainly to parade Dave’s friends and frequent guests out one more time. It would have been more fitting to have Dave jokingly suggest ten things he will be doing in retirement. However, it seems all he wants to do right now is spend time with his 11-year-old son Harry, so maybe that topic was rejected because no one wants to accidently make jokes at a kid who is clearly overcome and confused at the reaction his father is receiving from the world.
The majority of the episode felt like it was meant to serve as a debriefing for the Letterman faithful. There were a couple of clips, such as Dave’s visit to Taco Bell, and a montage of kids talking back to Dave, but the extremely detailed overview of the man’s career took place in a photo montage as The Foo Fighters performed Dave’s favorite song, “Everlong.” In six minutes, the photos came so fast that if you blink you would literally miss something. In order to fully appreciate it, you have to have to know what each photo came from or references. Dave did many things and a lot of Late Night’s regular bits, such as the Monkey Cam, were in exile at NBC for the last 22 years, so for the casual fan it’s easy to forget or never know about some of Dave’s classic bits. For those who felt out of the loop, I strongly suggest spending an hour on YouTube watching old Letterman clips.
The Late Show finale was fitting. It was heartfelt. Dave addressed his family, thanked them for being his family, and said “nothing else matters.” It featured Dave’s usual self-deprecation with the opening that had various former presidents and President Obama tell the country that “Our long national nightmare is over.” The finale also embraced its host’s offbeat comedy and career with a montage that at first glance looks completely random. No one could have asked for anymore.