‘Roseanne’ Raises Troubling Questions
Nowhere is it written that sitcoms are required to be about the real world. What has made “Roseanne” (ABC at 8) a success is that it made up its own rules about depicting the American family.
That’s why I was so disappointed by an episode broadcast in February and repeated tonight in which the Connor family visits Florida’s Walt Disney World.
The premise is that Dan (John Goodman) has received a severance check after quitting his job with the city. The blue-collar clan, never known as big savers, decides to blow the windfall on a family vacation.
That the series would be yakking it up at Disney World is trouble enough, given that ABC is newly owned by Disney. But I found the half-hour disturbingly deceptive.
It’s folly to suggest that the financially strapped Conner extended family - eight adults, D.J. and two babies - could afford first-class accommodations and theme-park costs for a multinight getaway.
How much severance do you get for quitting after two years on the payroll of a small Illinois town? Two, three weeks pay? How much after taxes? Conservatively, the Connors’ Disney adventure could cost $5,000.
No mention of cost is made. Is it artistic license?
Or was Disney-ABC trying to broadcast a message that even underemployed families with constant money problems can find a way to spend big bucks at Walt Disney World?
Highlights
“Summer Olympics,” NBC at 9 a.m. and 4:30 and 9:40 p.m.: It’s the women’s turn in team gymnastics, and there’s more swimming and three-day equestrian cross-country. The late segment includes volleyball, water polo, wresting, weight lifting and men’s hoops.
“Alien Nation: Body and Soul” (1995), FOX at 8: A giant (Tiny Ron) and a child (Danielle and Aimee Warren) who appear to be part human and part Newcomer escape from a secret research center. Francisco (Eric Pierpoint) and Sikes (Gary Graham) become involved when the speechless hulk is charged with murder.
This “Alien” outing could use more of the clever dialogue that has lifted past efforts. And an aspect of the story that will remind you of “Lethal Weapon” (1987) - Francisco’s family is threatened by the bad guys - could have been better developed.
“The Godfather, Part III” (1990), CBS at 9: Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) continues his effort to retire from the mob, visiting Sicily with his family to see son Anthony (Franc D’Ambrosio) make his debut as an opera singer.
Director Francis Ford Coppola turns the film into a grand tragic opera as Corleone again finds that he can’t run from his ruthless, violent past. It’s a fitting coda to the “Godfather” trilogy but hardly the brightest note.
“P.O.V.,” KSPS at 10: An entertaining film, “Just for the Ride,” offers a rare look at rodeo cowgirls, including Fern Sawyer, 76, still working after two heart attacks and hip-replacement surgery.
Cable Calls
“Star Trek - The Motion Picture” (1979), TNT at 5: You want science fiction? Start with a journey to the final frontier in the first of the “Star Trek” movies. How many have there been now? Yul Brenner is a lethal android in “Westworld” (1973) at 8:05. Michael Crichton wrote and directed, by the way.
Charlton Heston makes a gross discovery in “Soylent Green” (1970) at 10:05. George Pal’s special effects won an Oscar in “When Worlds Collide” (1951) at 12:05 a.m.
“I’ll Take Manhattan” (1987), LIF at 8: Valerie Bertinelli plays a kid with spunk in the CBS adaptation of Judith Krantz’s novel. Barry Bostwick and Perry King co-star. King is particularly engaging as Bostwick’s pathologically unfulfilled brother.
Tim Daly (“Wings”) is affecting as Bostwick’s blind son.
Maybe Lifetime should have retitled it “I’ll Take Manhattan - Rezoned.” The original eight-hour miniseries has been edited down to four hours.
“Urban Heartlands,” DISN at 9: Gore Vidal reflects on his hometown, Washington, D.C., in this third and final installment of this literate and affecting series.
Talk Time
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Actor-comedian Billy Crystal and music group Los Lobos.
“Tonight,” NBC at 12:35: Jay Leno monologue.