Skip to content
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Features
  • Subscribe FREE to Ray Hanania’s Columns
  • Advertise
Suburban Chicagoland

Suburban Chicagoland

Original News, Features & Opinion

  • About
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Our Writers
      • Ray Hanania
      • Bill Lipinski
      • Aaron Hanania
      • Steve Metsch
      • Steve Neuhaus
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Reach Out
  • Sections
    • Opinion
    • News
    • Features
    • Seniors
    • Comic Strip
  • Library
    • Midnight Flight Book
      • Midnight Flight Introduction
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 1
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 2
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 3
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 4
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 5
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 6
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 7
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 8
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 9
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 10
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 11
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 12
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 13
    • Villages, Cities & Towns
    • Federal Office Holders
    • County Officials
    • Legislators
  • Seniors
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Comment
  • Podcast
    • Two Guys on Politics Podcast: A Centrist View on Politics
    • Two Guys on Politics
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • The Arab street Podcast
  • Submit a Press Release
  • Toggle search form
  • Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) Wednesday (August 10, 2022 visited Rick and Corey Johnson’s Farm in Monee, IL and held a ‘Barn Hall’ with farmers, growers and food security advocates from the Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Soybean Association, Greater Chicago Food Depository and the USDA Office of Rural Development.
    Rep. Kelly Hosts ‘Barn Hall’ Conversation with Farmers and Food Security Advocates Federal
  • Gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and his wife
    Pritzker lives in glass house of money and hypocrisy Blogger
  • Orland Park Trustee Dan Calandriello at a Village of Orland Park Board meeting.
    Candidate Calandriello announces “Biking the 17th” to raise awareness for Cook County Forest Preserves Cook County
  • Soccer. Photo by Md Mahdi on Unsplash
    International soccer returns to SeatGeek Stadium Cook County
  • Piano. Photo by Dolo Iglesias on Unsplash
    Too old to rock? Elton John, in town tonight, turning back the clock Blogger
  • President George W. Bush walks across the tarmac with NFO Lt. Ryan Phillips to Navy One, an S-3B Viking jet, at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego Thursday, May 1, 2003. Flying to the USS Abraham Lincoln, the President addressed the nation and declared "Mission accomplished" in Iraq to justify diverting forces from Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Right from the Middle: Can we win the war in Ukraine? Bill Lipinski
  • Congresswoman Marie Newman, 3rd District Illinois
    Kelly, Foster, Newman among those voting to pass Assault Weapons Ban Act Crime
  • Hanania newspaper column on Pritzker pushing for Democratic National COnvention
    Pritzker push for Democratic National Convention could backfire Blogger
  • Fire Truck, Fire District. Photo courtesy of the Orland Fire Protection District
    Orland Fire District will maintain “all services” despite delayed county tax collections Cook County
  • Mike Porfirio, Democrat endorsed candidate for 11th Senate District
    Porfirio urges “full investigation” into reported racist rant of local official Cook County
  • New Lenox offers Free CERT training
    New Lenox offers free Disaster Preparedness Training to residents Government
  • Patricia Joan Murphy Worth Township Supervisor
    Partnership Will Offer Economic Development and Employment Support in South Suburbs  Business
  • USO barbecue for the troops 2022
    USO hosts Barbecue for the Troops July 23, 2022 Cook County
  • TikTok Screen shot
    TikTok generates nearly $4 billion in consumer spending Business
  • Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
    Tough punishment needed in wake of Danny Golden shooting Blogger
Roseanne Barr at the Hard Rock Cafe in Maui in 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Roseanne revival brings back memories of great TV

Posted on April 6, 2018November 29, 2019 By Ray Hanania No Comments on Roseanne revival brings back memories of great TV
SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  

Roseanne revival brings back memories of great TV

Television has always reflected the worst of our society, but in recent years it has gotten even worse especially int he area of politics. But the revival of a former TV sitcom, Roseanne, has returned us to the glory days of TV when comedy and humor in the 1970s and 1980s was driven by talent rather than by who you hated in national politics. Published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group April 5, 2018

By Ray Hanania

They used to say TV – the “boob tube” – would corrupt our little minds. These days, it has never been truer as partisan, poisoned politics spreads like a cancer into everything.

TV is a warzone of partisan hate, these days, so I cheer when something rises that challenges the one-directional river of hate that plagues most TV news, entertainment and talk. I am talking about the excessive and nauseating anti-Trump hate on TV. It’s really disgusting.

I’ve avoided watching the mainstream news shows because I don’t need to be reminded about how much they hate President Donald Trump. The mainstream news media really sucks.

English: Roseanne Barr at the Hard Rock Cafe i...
Roseanne Barr at the Hard Rock Cafe in Maui in 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With only a few exceptions, many of today’s TV sitcoms are cheap knock-offs of rehashed humor. I love the spin-off of the hit comedy series “King of Queens,” called “Kevin Can Wait.” Partnering Kevin James with Leah Remini makes the second season very entertaining.

I’ve run from commercial “free” TV – which isn’t free from hate or commercials – and turn instead to pay channels like HBO, Netflix, Hulu and even Amazon Prime where the biggest problem is internet consistency. You can find both sides of the political spectrum there.

But somehow, someone in mainstream TV figured out what the public needs and revived the 1980’s series “Roseanne,” a sitcom about a lower middle-class family (living in a fictional home based on Elgin, Illinois) that just about does everything right.

It stars Roseanne Barr and John Goodman, parents of a dysfunctional brood that probably reflects real American life better than other TV shows.

The humor is phenomenal, and that’s no wonder because Whitney Cummings, an American comedian with a true sense of humor that cuts deep into the American psyche, is the executive producer.

Cummings was born in the early 1980s, and that is ironic because much of the Roseanne revival reflects a lot of the 1970s and 1980s TV flavor that was killed off by an entertainment media which followed the flute of a dying mainstream news media over the cliff like lemmings. Or, I could have written today’s sitcom producers have been drinking the anti-Trump cool aid like Jim Jones worshipers in Guyana.

I love TV from the 1970s and 1980s. Remember some of the hits that filled our TV screens?

Several great programs began in the 1970s and died in the 1980s, replaced by other great shows. They included “The Jeffersons,” “WKRP in Cincinnati,” “Three’s Company,” “The Love Boat,” “Happy Days,” “Diff’rent Strokes,” “Laverne & Shirley,” and “Taxi.” The Korean War series “M*A*S*H” came to an end in the 1980s.

The 1980s continued with great shows like “Married with Children,” “Who’s the Boss,” “Cagney & Lacey,” “Night Court,” “Dynasty,” “The Facts of Life,” “Murphy Brown,” “Newhart,” followed by “Cheers,” “Miami Vice,” “Family Ties,” “Magnum P.I.,” “ALF,” “Nightrider,” “Hill Street Blues” and the world’s best comedy sitcom, “The Golden Girls” which ran from 1985 until 1992.

This isn’t the entire list of great shows, just a few I remember that I once enjoyed.

My mother loved “The Golden Girls,” and so did I. It had political humor, but the humor had respectful limits, boundaries allowing for discussion unlike the cleverly disguised hatred that spews from George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, Joe Scarborough, Jake Tapper, or the garbage spread on hate sites like Huffington Post and so many more.

Born in the late 1980s, Roseanne continued for nine seasons thru 1996, one of the last great series on mainstream TV, which has become so rotten.

Every Tuesday at 7 pm, I get to do what I’ve been doing for years, point the TV remote and happily flip past all the garbage to one show, ABC.

Don’t call my cell, message me on Facebook, SnapChat, WhatsApp, or Facetime, or Tweet to me when the Conner family is reigning royal.

Let me enjoy the glorious past!

(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist, author and former Chicago City Hall reporter. Contact him through his website at www.Hanania.com or at rghanania@gmail.com.)

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.

Follow RayHanania on Gettr.com, the uncensored Twitter Ray Hanania on Gettr, the new Twitter
Ray Hanania
Latest posts by Ray Hanania (see all)
  • Sheriff Dart Warns Public of Spike in Thefts of Kia & Hyundai Vehicles - August 12, 2022
  • Rep. Kelly Hosts ‘Barn Hall’ Conversation with Farmers and Food Security Advocates - August 11, 2022
  • Pritzker lives in glass house of money and hypocrisy - August 11, 2022
  • Tweet

SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  
 
 
 
           
Blogger, Commentary, Features, Opinion, Politics, rayhanania, Television Tags:biased entertainment, boob tube, corrupted TV media, entertainment, John Goodman, politics, President Donald Trump, quality, Roseanne, Roseanne Barr, TV Sitcom

Post navigation

Previous Post: Groups plan to protest Confederate presence at Chicago cemetary
Next Post: Rosenkranz has the right prescription for a magical show

Related Posts

  • Municipal Attorney Michael Del Galdo
    Attorney Michael Del Galdo receives “Super Lawyer” recognition for 12th Year Business
  • The body of 4 year old Rahaf Hassan is prepared for burial in a Gaza Mortuary. Rahaf was murdered along with her mother, and her mother's unborn baby by an Israeli military terrorist airstrike against civilian targets in Zeitoun, Gaza Strip early Sunday morning, Oct. 11, 2015. Copyright (C) 2015 Mohammed Asad. All Rights Reserved.
    Rally for Gutierrez for opposing Israeli detentions of children, Chicago, IL Chicago
  • Orland Park Police Safety logo, courtesy of the Orland Park police
    Orland Police showcase safety initiatives Features
  • Goodman Theater in Chicago, Photo courtesy of the Goodman Theater
    Goodman Theater announces cast for Shakuntala by Lavina Jadhwani Chicago
  • Carnival and food concessions open on Thursday and Friday Oct. 3 and 4, at 5 PM until 10 PM at Lombard Avenue and the L Strip. The Houby Festival continues Saturday Oct. 5 beginning at 12 noon. The Parade kicks-off on Sunday Oct. 6, 2019 at 12 noon at 54th Street along Cermak Road in Cicero and heads west to East Avenue in Berwyn.
    Cicero hosts Houby Festival Oct 3 – 6, 2019 Entertainment
  • Two Guys on Politics Podcast with former Congressman Bill Lipinski and former Chicago City Hall reporter Ray Hanania
    Two Guys on Politics podcast adds Facebook and Twitter accounts Bill Lipinski

More Related Articles

Piano. Photo by Dolo Iglesias on Unsplash Too old to rock? Elton John, in town tonight, turning back the clock Blogger
Police Squad Car, courtesy of Wikipedia Stop focusing on guns, focus on the criminals Blogger
Dr. Rachel Levine, Asst Secretary for Health and Human Services in Biden administration. First transgender appointee to Federal office. Photo courtesy of Biden Transition Committee Biden names Rachel Levine as Asst. Secretary for Health & Human Services Federal
Movie offers compelling story about TV's Fred Rogers A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood brings nostalgic memories to viewers Baby Boomers
Less booze at SoxFest 2018 than at CubsFest Blogger
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth Duckworth introduces law to crack down on illegal robocalls Briefs

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Login with your Social ID
  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and his wife
    Pritzker lives in glass house of money and hypocrisy
    August 11, 2022
  • Piano. Photo by Dolo Iglesias on Unsplash
    Too old to rock? Elton John, in town tonight, turning back the clock
    August 5, 2022
  • President George W. Bush walks across the tarmac with NFO Lt. Ryan Phillips to Navy One, an S-3B Viking jet, at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego Thursday, May 1, 2003. Flying to the USS Abraham Lincoln, the President addressed the nation and declared "Mission accomplished" in Iraq to justify diverting forces from Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Right from the Middle: Can we win the war in Ukraine?
    August 3, 2022
  • 17t year old Hadi Abuatelah runs after Oak Lawn police stopped the vehicle he was in asking him to leave a suspicious looking bag in the back seat. Instead, Abuatelah took the bag and tried to run but was caught and beaten to force him to let go of the bag
    Arabs and Muslims wrongly rush to judgment in Oak Lawn police beating of teenager
    August 3, 2022
  • Hanania newspaper column on Pritzker pushing for Democratic National COnvention
    Pritzker push for Democratic National Convention could backfire
    July 29, 2022
  • Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
    Tough punishment needed in wake of Danny Golden shooting
    July 20, 2022

Subscribe

  • Ray-Hanania-Newsletter-300-wide-Banner.jpg

Trending

  • Police Squad Car, courtesy of Wikipedia Two passengers killed in... Two passengers killed in car-semi collision in Bridgeview Bridgeview Polic... posted on July 16, 2022
  • car crashed through the front window of CosmoProf at 9109 W. 151st Street in Orland Park on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 11:45 AM. Vehicle crashes into Orla... Vehicle crashes into Orland Park cosmetic store front A car crashed throug... posted on July 19, 2022
  • Stolen vehicle recovered... Stolen vehicle recovered, offender arrested in Orland Park car theft On Fr... posted on July 18, 2022
  • Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash Tough punishment needed i... Tough punishment needed in wake of Danny Golden shooting Society must dema... posted on July 20, 2022
  • Felon Donzel Jenkins charged with armed weapons possession in Orland Park July 22, 2022 Orland Park Police arrest... Orland Park Police arrest armed felon charged with weapons possession and v... posted on July 23, 2022
  • NEWS
  • Cook County Sherif Tom Dart
    Sheriff Dart Warns Public of Spike in Thefts of Kia & Hyundai Vehicles
    August 12, 2022
  • Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) Wednesday (August 10, 2022 visited Rick and Corey Johnson’s Farm in Monee, IL and held a ‘Barn Hall’ with farmers, growers and food security advocates from the Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Soybean Association, Greater Chicago Food Depository and the USDA Office of Rural Development.
    Rep. Kelly Hosts ‘Barn Hall’ Conversation with Farmers and Food Security Advocates
    August 11, 2022
  • Hastings files lawsuit against Frankfort police after politicized domestic violence report released
    August 10, 2022
  • Orland Park Trustee Dan Calandriello at a Village of Orland Park Board meeting.
    Candidate Calandriello announces “Biking the 17th” to raise awareness for Cook County Forest Preserves
    August 10, 2022
  • Soccer. Photo by Md Mahdi on Unsplash
    International soccer returns to SeatGeek Stadium
    August 7, 2022
  • Piano. Photo by Dolo Iglesias on Unsplash
    Too old to rock? Elton John, in town tonight, turning back the clock
    August 5, 2022
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png

The Political Pundit

Political Pundit Aug. 24, 2021. Taliban thanks president for boxes of MAGA hats
  • WORD PRESS REVIEWS
  • MyCloud by Western Digital, a hard drive that doesn't last. Don't purchase Western Digital.
    Western Digital tubes its loyal customers for profit
    October 17, 2021
  • Macho Themes website front page. Don't buy their themes. They don't work
    Difficulties with Macho Themes for WordPress
    August 21, 2021
  • TECHNOLOGY REVIEWS
  • TikTok Screen shot
    TikTok generates nearly $4 billion in consumer spending
    July 21, 2022
  • Netflix is the best streaming service, despite drop in stock price
    April 20, 2022
  • Book Cover "Laptop from Hell" by Miranda Devince
    Questions remain unanswered about Hunter Biden’s ties to Ukraine
    February 20, 2022

Follow Ray Hanania at
Gab.com, MeWe.com
IDobbinate.com,
Twitter, Facebook

Creative Commons License
All works on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

What We’re Reading

Arab News Newspaper Leading English Language Publication in the GulfArab News Newspaper

Ray Hanania on Politics
SW News Newspaper Group

  • SPORTS
  • Soccer. Photo by Md Mahdi on Unsplash
    International soccer returns to SeatGeek Stadium
    August 7, 2022
  • Stefan Noesen, Chicago Wolves
    Chicago Wolves Noesen wins President’s Award
    July 22, 2022
  • SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview
    Chicago Fire sets dates for “home games” at SeatGeek Stadium because of date conflicts with Soldier Field and Bears
    July 22, 2022
  • Chicago Wolves celebrate Calder Cup Championship 2022. Photo courtesy of the Chicago Wolves
    Calder Cup Champions Chicago Wolves sign two veterans forwards
    July 18, 2022
  • NEWS RELEASES
  • Hastings files lawsuit against Frankfort police after politicized domestic violence report released
    August 10, 2022
  • Senior Care Home, eberhard 🖐 grossgasteiger on social or copy the text below to attribute.
    Nursing Home Violations for First Quarter of 2022
    June 7, 2022
  • John B. Schulz, 36, of the 7400 block of Brookside Drive in Hanover Park
    Hanover Park Man Charged with Multiple Felonies After Attempt to Meet Minor for Sex
    May 27, 2022
  • State Rep Fran Hurley 35th district
    Hurley-led Measure to Support Families of Fallen First Responders Signed by Governor
    May 24, 2022
  • Orland Township hosts Job Fair
    Orland Township events: Walk & Talk program, and Summer Job Fair
    May 17, 2022
Two Guys on PoliticsTwo Guys on Politics

John Kass Columns

Order the book PoweR PR; Ethnic Activists Guide to Strategic Communications
  • BUSINESS NEWS
  • Patricia Joan Murphy Worth Township Supervisor
    Partnership Will Offer Economic Development and Employment Support in South Suburbs 
    July 25, 2022
  • TikTok Screen shot
    TikTok generates nearly $4 billion in consumer spending
    July 21, 2022
  • Agave Cocina and Tequila Bar at 6050 W. 159th Street on Oak Forest, Illinois
    Restaurant Review: Agave Cocina in Oak Forest
    July 10, 2022
  • Congresswoman Marie Newman, 3rd District Illinois
    House passes two bills sponsored by Congresswoman Newman to support small businesses and strengthen trade
    June 9, 2022
Click this link to watch or use the widget below:

Click here to view the video on YouTube or use the widget below.
Email Ray Hanania for more information about performing at your event at rghanania@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2022 Suburban Chicagoland & Urban Strategies Group

Powered by PressBook Premium theme