Roseanne Barr's iconic sitcom "Roseanne" returned last night to primetime on ABC (locally on WPDE-TV) and reviews seem to be mostly favorable. My thoughts (quickly): It felt, to me, like a LOT of "sub-story lines" were wedged into these two episodes. We had the "pro v. anti-Trump" stuff between Roseanne and Jackie (and it was full of quick barbs and one-liners, but not much depth), the gnashing of Dan's teeth over his cross-dressing grandson, the (ho hum) African American grand daughter from D.J.'s military relationship, surrogacy (and thus a pivot to reproductive choice as a lightning rod issue) ... what'd I miss?
Did they try and cram half a season of fodder into two episodes? And if so, does that mean we're only getting a handful of episodes per season now? Per Internet Movie Database (IMDB), the season calls for nine episodes, actually.
Anyhow, it's back; as is NBC's "Will & Grace," which has been "ehh; so-so" itself, for me. This got me to thinking - what OTHER TV shows should we clamor for a reboot of? Here's my wish list:
1. Friends. If for no other reason than satisfying our curiosity to see where Rachel & Ross, Monica & Chandler, plus Joey and Phoebe are in their lives. We know two couples sprung from their circle of friendship; but we deserve to see snarky Chandler as a middle-aged father to snarky off-spring, too, right? And where Phoebe and husband Mike are in their marriage, too. Oh, and if Joey ever grew up.
2. Frasier. Niles and Frasier lost their father, "Marty Crane" when actor John Mahoney passed away last month. I touched on that, then; but does that make a reboot unlikely? I hope not! I miss the "Crane boys" and Roz and Daphne enough that I know I'd tune in, at least for a limited run - or at least a reunion episode to eulogize Marty. Plus, as squeamish as Niles is with bodily fluid and the such, wouldn't he be a HOOT to watch through some "fatherhood?"
3. The West Wing. If there's anything us liberal folk need, it's a fantasy where a level-headed progressive and austere person occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, right? I have to say, "Designated Survivor," starring Kiefer Sutherland, isn't bad (and it tries sometimes to fill that 'West Wing' niche), it's a bit more scattered and "action/adventure-ish" than the iconic NBC drama anthology, led by a mostly intact cast that included Martin Sheen & Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Alex Schiff, Rob Lowe & Stockard Channing.
The hero, though, was Josiah (Jed) Bartlet; that's President Bartlet; my favorite scene being when he stopped mid-speech to rip a right wing radio host for her anti-LGBT beliefs. Oh, and that she's to stand in the presence of the U.S. President when he's standing, while inside the White House.
4. The Newsroom. Mostly for the same reasons I miss "The West Wing." The opening episode had me at this moment, when cable TV anchor Will McAvoy (played by Jeff Daniels) answered a question at a college panel discussion. You can skip to 3:05 for it, if you'd like.
5. Good Times. I know; I'm going back a LONG way, but I hate that the show ended a six-season run following the Evans' family surviving (except James didn't; damn damn damn it) in Chicago public housing - aka "the ghetto." The show had some rough spots, notably with John Amos & Esther Rolle ("James & Florida Evans") taking umbrage with the comedic nature of their TV son "J.J." giving young black boys a poor role model (their opinion); but it was also poignant in spots, politically and socially, and wrapped with a "happy ending" for all in its finale, where all the notable characters in the sitcom were able to move out of the ghetto for a better and brighter future.
Still, it'd be nice to see "where are they now?"