'Roseanne' Recap: Generational Rifts Take Over For Political Ones

For the remaining episodes of its 10th season, Patch will give weekly recaps for "Roseanne," the revival of the popular sitcom. And we're posting these recaps on Elgin Patch because that's the nearest community to the Conner family's fictional Illinois home of Lanford.

When the "Roseanne" revival premiered last week, viewers turned out in droves to catch the double-episode debut, and TV critics — the professional and amatuer kind alike — observed how the sitcom's return had been able to have its Trump cake and eat it, too. While it's hard to describe any series taped live in front of a studio audience as nuanced, those first two episodes did demonstrate that it was possible to successfully mine the divide between the current president's supporters and detractors for laughs without alienating either side.

Could the show continue that trend in the third episode of its return? Well, no. But in fairness, the series' latest installment shifted focus from the political ideology gap to the generation gap among the members of the Conner family. That, however, made Tuesday's episode feel more like reheated TV comfort food — familiar and reliable but a bit bland — when compared to the first two episodes, which seemed to give a tried-and-true recipe a little extra kick thanks to a few new spices added to the mix in equal measure.

But takes on the current political landscape weren't completely absent from this week's "Roseanne"; they just were fewer and more subtle for a series that punctuates every punchline with audible laughter. For instance, the show continued to point out the struggles low-income families face when it comes to affordable health care.

"It's all fun and games until you're reusing your diabetes needles," family matriarch Rosanne Conner (series star Roseanne Barr) responded after being told her granddaughter was selling used clothes on Etsy because it's cool to look poor nowadays.

Here's a breakdown of the episode's highlights — and lowlights.

"Roseanne" (Season 10, Episode 3): "Roseanne Gets the Chair"

What Worked: The inevitable culture clashes between older and younger generations living under the same roof provided surprisingly solid material despite treading well-worn territory. While not blazing any new comedic trails, jokes about Roseanne's ignorance of Etsy, the permissive parenting by daughter Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and the entitled attitude of granddaughter Harris (Emma Kenney of "Shameless," another series set in the Chicago area) were still able to draw some satisfying chuckles.

What Didn't: One bit that uncomfortably stood out was Roseanne's enthusiastic support of spanking and her contention that political correctness is responsible for the practice falling out of fashion with parents. That view was even more perplexing in light of past episodes of the original series that dealt with Roseanne's father physically abusing her growing up and coming down fairly strongly against hitting a child as a form of punishment.

That's So 1990s: Well, maybe not the '90s, but one scene did harken back to nearly a decade ago. When Roseanne grudingly uses a newly installed home stair lift because of a bad knee, Dan (John Goodman, a peformer who's probably still underrated given the quality of his extensive body of work) whips out an antiquated flip phone to capture the moment. As one friend who watched the show with me commented: "Could he even use that phone to take a photo?"

What Was Missing: Quality screen time by the rest of the cast, particularly Laurie Metcalf's Jackie and Lecy Goranson's Becky. Even though this season seems to be keying in primarily on Roseanne, Dan and Darlene, that doesn't mean it has to sideline the series' other characters. The sparring between Jackie and Roseanne and between Darlene and Becky were some of the best parts of the show's original run, as well as the revival's first two episodes.

Best Line: "Well, you're a woman in America, get used to it." — Roseanne responding to Harris explaining that the reason she's eating a muffin at night and not at breakfast is because she's hungry now.

"Roseanne" airs at 7 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC.

Darlene (Sara Gilbert), Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) and Dan (John Goodman) in the third episode of the "Roseanne" revival. (Photo via ABC)