Tom Arnold rode to fame on the original Roseanne — hell, he even married the star. And Arnold knows, if anybody does, that there’s a difference between Roseanne Connor — the character from the show — and Roseanne Barr, the actress who plays her. Arnold, despite his painful exit from the show and marriage, likes the new reboot of Roseanne. (Arnold was a star and writer on Roseanne in the early 90s.)
Arnold thinks the reboot is blessed with Roseanne’s “peerless” timing. Arnold says the reboot Roseanne is loaded with the stuff of its original genius: real characters in real situations, with no easy answers and plenty of laughs. Arnold wrote all this down for The Hollywood Reporter, which had the savvy to ask him to review the new Roseanne. Arnold’s conclusion? “This is as good as it’s going to get.”
But the main thing a reader comes away with after Arnold’s take is that he loves Laurie Metcalf as much as Dan Conner loves a cheeseburger. Maybe more. Below are a few choice Arnold quotes about Metcalf, who is, of course, a comic genius. (And by all accounts a nice person.) Arnold also gives a couple of nice details about the confrontation scene between Roseanne, a Trump fan, and Jackie, who is “wearing a ‘Nasty Woman’ shirt and has a pussy hat in hand.” (“What’s up, deplorable?” she greets her sister.)
Arnold likes Jackie (and Metcalf) more than Roseanne (and Roseanne) but he still sees that special “glint” in Roseanne’s eyes. [Roseanne airs Tuesdays at 8pm on ABC.]
- “Most importantly, Jackie is in the house!”
- “I’ll full-on admit to Laurie Metcalf superfandom, personally and professionally.”
- “Laurie is a tour de force. She could carry this show. She could carry every show ever.
