Roseanne

As with the original, the new Roseanne is most enjoyable when it focuses on the everyday life of the Conners. ... Gilbert’s delivery of Darlene’s brutal zingers remains deadpan perfection (“The only reason you look younger than me is because you’re embalmed in Mike’s Hard Lemonade,” she tells Becky); Metcalf balances her character’s exaggerated intensity with superb comic timing; and the old-married-couple chemistry between Barr and Goodman is still relaxed and believable.

How much you enjoy Roseanne‘s return will probably depend a great deal on how well you’re able to overlook that Trump Plaza-sized continuity gaffe. I largely managed to do that, which speaks volumes about the strength of these new episodes (only two of which I’ve seen). The cast brought its “A” game.

They've done a great job reviving the show without forfeiting its original appeal, which is no easy feat.

Extremely funny. ... While the premiere is heavily political, that does die down in subsequent episodes, though the show’s “edginess” doesn’t. We put that in quotes because the renegade way in which the show courted controversy decades ago has now, thanks to the doors it kicked open, become normalized.

Roseanne is a revival that’s willing to grapple with the time that’s passed rather than deny it. It’s feisty and funny and a little sad. And like that old couch you can’t throw out, it may just have a good year or two left in it.

Of the recent reboots, Roseanne fares better than most because it has allowed its characters to change. The political discussion jars a bit (was the series always this pointed?) but the family bonding holds no matter who’s in crisis mode. ... Executive Producer Bruce Helford (who was fired from the original at one point) has done his homework and found a way to make this stand on its own and pay tribute to the past.

It’s the rare revival that not only justifies its existence, but draws most of its strength from how much time has passed and what’s happened in the interim.

With Bruce Helford (The Drew Carey Show) and Whitney Cummings (2 Broke Girls) overseeing the writing, the punchlines come fast and furious.

It's a surprise that Roseanne manages to recreate what was enjoyable about it the first time around while also feeling very much of the moment. Anything can happen, obviously, but so far, at least, the Conners are darned good company.

The writing is sharp, the performances skilled. Ms. Barr and Mr. Goodman are their splendidly seasoned comic selves, and that’s more than enough reason to welcome the return of Roseanne.

Because it’s so true to its roots, the new Roseanne does feel somewhat dated at times with longer, talkier scenes than many of today’s comedies. But the writing is crisp, smart and, most importantly, funny.

The scripts may make political points here and there, but Roseanne is still a comedy about a family--a family of individuals. Resurrected shows give us a chance to remember what things were like when “Roseanne” and “Will & Grace” first aired, and consider how different many things are today. ... How nice to be able to turn to old friends for their take on it all.

Goodman and Metcalf slip Dan and Jackie back on like second skins; Barr isn't nearly as subtle as her co-stars, but she still has her verbal fastball, and delivers consistently solid punchlines with merciless precision. Gilbert, one of the original show's most striking presences, has seasoned Darlene's awkwardness to reflect the character's ongoing sense of misplacement and newfound feelings of failure. But the biggest surprise is Goranson, whose expressions of misery are among this new season's most haunting and nuanced flourishes.

It takes a little while to rediscover its rhythms, but once it does, it feels tuned in to its world and its country in a way few sitcoms are anymore.

The new Roseanne, from the very first cackle, feels pretty close to the old Roseanne. ... There’s some off timing in later episodes, but the first episode gets into its old groove with eerie facility.

The new Roseanne sometimes feels a little stiff--as though it hasn’t quite settled on its tone yet. ... There are numerous laughs in these new episodes (I’ve seen three of them), and Metcalf and Gilbert are very effective in all their scenes. (I’m reserving judgment on Goodman, who thus far seems to be reacquainting himself with the great performances he used to give regularly, as though he feels he still has to work out some of the kinks.)

It may not be quite as good or as groundbreaking as the original, but it holds up.

Later, in the three episodes made available to critics ... The family will clash and jab and continue the brand of lovingly mutual mockery that made the original show so compelling. ... The first episode of the reboot--the premiere that announces the rearrival of the Conner family on the American stage--has the feel of a sitcomic form of Stockholm syndrome, its stories held captive to the battle that ended two years ago.

The sweetness of Roseanne is of a more tart variety, with that trademark Roseanne cackle and attitude serving as an astringent, but the series' more recent heirs like The Carmichael Show and Netflix One Day at a Time did similar things in a multicam format with more immediate vitality. Of course, vitality is less what Roseanne is going for than the impressive proficiency of stars who make multicam look easy.

[There's] quite a lot to unpack--and the first episode is awkward at times compared to the two subsequent ones made available for review. Barr’s acting is noticeably mechanical in the early going while Goodman (who seems to have made a million movies in the interim) initially seems a little lost in the transition back to playing a character for which he received seven Emmy nominations without ever winning.

The end results are mixed. ... There are many efforts to update the story lines, some of them painful and others more interesting and successful. ... When I finished three episodes, I was ready to sit down with three more.

The Connors find plenty to laugh about, but Barr and the Roseanne writers never let the series enter the realm of the sunny multi-cam fantasy. Happiness comes from the people you love. The world is another matter. What’s so frustrating about those on-the-nose “political” arguments is that they’re nowhere near as interesting as the actually topical stories in which they’re abruptly plunked down, like a dumbbell on the dinner table.

Unfortunately, the revived series is a bit rough around the edges. Not in terms of its humor or content, which are remarkably well-adapted for a modern audience, but in terms of its pure execution; it’s undoubtedly quite difficult to return to the rhythms of a sitcom that debuted 29 years ago. The timing all feels a little off; the transitions are abrupt, the dialogue layers unevenly, and the punch lines don’t land.

Three episodes shown to critics (there are nine in this new season) certainly do an entertaining job of updating the characters. ... Still, once Jackie and Roseanne bury the hatchet, there’s a sinking feeling of lost promise. Roseanne needs to do more than acknowledge that a Trump-voting grandmother can get along with her liberal-leaning sister and adore her sparkle-riffic grandson. It should courageously allow the Conner family to more tumultuously grapple with the idea that America is coming apart and changing profoundly.

The show takes a while to get past its politically-skewed power dynamic. ... To be fair, other top-of-mind social concerns are handled with more nuance and heart than the script’s willful leap over our simmering racial conflicts. The new Roseanne is at its best when the story explores the contortions and compromises Americans have to go through in order to secure decent health care or economic stability.

The new Roseanne doesn’t try to carve a spot in the existing landscape so much as it lazily settles into comfortable grooves in a very old couch.

Overall, the premiere episode tries too hard to hit too many topical targets in its 22 minutes. It’s all over the map, failing to distinguish itself from other by-the-numbers sitcoms in recent years.

If you're looking for familiar faces and easy watching, Roseanne will probably satisfy. For those looking for something sharper, ABC has plenty of other family comedies to choose from.

Like everything else about the show, the politics thus feel more abrasive than clever.