television – Page 3 – 714 Delaware St. Podcast

S4 E10: A Legacy of Snooping

In our latest installment, we discuss The Conners episode “Hot for Teacher and Writing a Wrong,” in which Becky falls for her psychology professor (Matt Walsh) and Darlene accuses Mark of selling drugs — when he’s actually selling college admissions essays. We cringe as Becky’s interest in education gives way to questionable “feelings for” a professor she barely knows, and hope this doesn’t jeopardize her studies. We also consider Darlene’s Roseanne-esque tendency to snoop behind Mark’s back, and compare her plot line with the Roseanne season two episode “No Talking,” in which Roseanne searches Becky’s room and is tempted to read her diary. We ponder whether Darlene is a more permissive parent than Roseanne and analyze the generational differences between Becky and Mark’s 14-year-old drama: Becky’s “leave me alone, I hate you” approach vs. Mark’s the tell-the-truth and offer a rational explanation approach.

Join us for all this plus Maura’s detailed thoughts on Olympic figure skating and discussions of teacher-student relationships, diaries, and more. Listen and subscribe on Apple podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

S4 E9: Darlene’s Dilemma

In our latest episode, we discuss The Conners S4 E11, “Patriarch’s and Goddesses,” a great hangout episode which features the one and only JOE WALSH of The Eagles (as Aldo’s dad). We revel in this old-school storyline that features Walsh’s character drinking beer with Dan, mooching, rambling, and ultimately jamming (with John Goodman on harmonica) over the closing credits. Just like the old days! (Spoiler alert: Katherine admits she likes the f-ckin’ Eagles.) We also enjoy this episode’s thoughtful Darlene storyline, in which she’s unable to handle Ben’s new lady-friend and must grapple with her difficulties in making the relationship work. This caused us to look back to a Darlene-centric episode from the original series, “Daughters and Other Strangers,” in which Darlene once again puts up a tough front to hide the fact that she’s scared to go to art school without David.

Join us for this Darlene deep-dive plus our thoughts on the following: natural deodorant, patchouli, and memories; what makes a good ’80s night; why Pat Benetar is always on the radio constantly all the time; the white wine age-cheapness continuum; and why Ghost World is our fave. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

S4 E8: Don’t Go Chasin’ Waterbeds

In our new episode, we discuss The Conners “Three Exes, Role Playing and A Waterbed” and “Spills, Pills and The Midnight Lasagna” — but first, we have to get down to business re: our sadness over the recent passing of so many icons of television, music and film, particularly Betty White and Ronnie Spector (little-known fact: Ronnie sang the theme song to Roseanne Barr’s short-lived cartoon show Little Rosey!). We also dig into all the great stuff we’ve been watching over the holidays, namely Yellowjackets and The Beatles: Get Back. We’re head over heels for these shows and we’ll shout it from the rooftops!

But we’re also enjoying The Conners, especially these two zippy episodes that seem, frankly, inspired by our podcast, from the waterbed storyline and very familiar comforter (The Conners, WHY ARE YOU STEALING OUR MEMORIES) to Darlene’s decision to call it quits with the man we have taken to calling Fake Fred Savage. As usual, we enjoy dissecting Darlene’s relationship woes, praising Jay R. Ferguson’s hair, and sinking our teeth into some excellent storylines involving Jackie and Neville and Mark’s Saved by the Bell-esque obsession with pills (he’s so excited…he’s so…scared!). Flop down on your Big Sur waterbed and sail away with us! Listen and subscribe on Apple podcasts.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

S4 E7: Holiday Tidings & Heavy Furniture

We’re dropping one final episode before the holidays! Join us for a discussion of The Conners episode “Yard Sale, Phone Fail, And a College Betrayal” in which Dan finds it hard to part with his and Roseanne’s old bedroom set from Montgomery Ward. We saw fit to pair this with a hidden gem from Roseanne season 1, “Canoga Time,” a fun and cozy episode in which Dan and Roseanne try to part with some of their beloved old kitsch in service of a rummage sale. We consider the connections between these two episodes and the meaning that kitsch objects and furniture seem to hold in both Roseanne and The Conners, and we also have fun diving into these episodes’ b-plots — from Jackie and Booker (George Clooney!) to Darlene and her new beau who, according to Katherine, has the personality of “a styrofoam cup.”

As usual, we can’t help to branch out to other topics, and begin with an in-depth discussion of the Hallmark/Lifetime/Netflix holiday movie-making machine, including takes on new films Love Hard and Single All the Way as well as favorites Snowglobe with Christina Milian (2007), The Christmas Setup with Fran Drescher (2020), and the elusive Shannen Doherty pumpkin fable Growing the Big One (2010). Happy holidays to our listeners!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

S4 E6: Mothers and Daughters and Birth Control Pills

In our latest, we discuss The Conners episode “Let’s All Push Our Hands Together for the Stew Train and The Conners’ Furniture” (ugh, that title!) in tandem with one of Roseanne‘s most memorable Very Special Episodes, “A Bitter Pill to Swallow,” in which Becky asks Roseanne to help her get birth control pills. We take a close look at Darlene and Harris’s fraught relationship and how they might be able to mend it after years of choosing control and defiance over mutual understanding and compassion. We compare Darlene’s parenting with Roseanne and Dan’s strategies (with Jackie’s help) in navigating Becky’s choice to have a sexual relationship with Mark and, above all, take responsibility for her life and health. We also can’t help but tie the conversation around birth control and women’s choices in these episodes to the threats currently facing abortion rights in this country. Join us as we dig deep into these mother-daughter dynamics and issues of women’s agency, plus discussion of Designing Women, Murder, She Wrote, and our dislike of fake Fred Savages.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

S4 E5: A Vest, A Young Guest, and Darlene is a Pest

In this episode, we discuss two very different recent episodes of The Conners. The first is “Peter Pan, The Backup Plan, Adventures in Babysitting, and a River Runs Through It,” a sort of non-Halloween episode that attempts to catch us up on storylines from Darlene’s spiritual quest (Darlene, you’re still doing it wrong) to Becky’s new life as a college student, Emilio’s new girlfriend, Harris’s romance with Aldo (whose children are portrayed as nerd-serial-killer hybrids), and Dan’s somewhat odd obsession with virtual reality. The second and our favorite, “Young Love, Old Love, and Take This Job and Shove It,” introduces one of the first in-depth storylines focusing on the now-teenage Mark, who develops a reciprocated crush on a young, Moonstruck-quoting goth lad named Logan. Join us as we plunge into these storylines as well as such compelling topics as vests and the women who love them (us), Kieran Culkin, The Babysitters’ Club, Saved by the Bell, and Katherine’s obsession with Cher’s aerobics phase.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

S4 E3: Simple Pastor Energy

In this episode, we catch up on The Conners season 4 episodes “Education, Corruption, and Damnation” and “Sober Sex, Plastic Silverware, and Losing My Religion” – and boy, are these some episodes! We’re reeling from Darlene’s pinball-style emotions, and we’re skeptical of her sudden interest in seeking counsel from a pastor, played by Jason Alexander with a soft southern accent and strong, presumably accidental whiff of untrustworthiness. (In short: he’s not giving Simple Pastor Energy, but rather George Costanza Energy.) We also cringe our way through Becky’s awkward tryst with her friend Mikey, and wonder how exactly this is going to help her on her sobriety journey. Join us as we ride the roller coaster of Conner family emotions and deal with our own complicated (mostly negative) feelings about pastors and other clergy. And stick around for tangents on the camp classic Sal Mineo film Who Killed Teddy Bear?, the new Brittany Murphy documentary, Nine Perfect Strangers, Scream 2 and more. Listen and subscribe on Apple podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

S4 E2: Thank You for Being a Conner!

In this episode, we kick off The Conners fourth season with a recap of the gimmicky live episode “Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience.” We ask the important questions, like, Why are the Conners obsessed with the word “trucking,” and does it have to do with Jackie’s big-rig experience? Why is Ben such a threatening hipster werewolf? Why is Brian Austin Green so charming? Does Louise REALLY want a fancy wedding cake? Why does Darlene care about the opinion of a psychic — and has the world gone mad? Needless to say, we’re not too thrilled about Darlene’s sudden interest in religion and spirituality, prompted by nothing more than the fact that Ben is an asshole and a psychic told her she had no “light.” We consider the Conners’ history with religion, and where the show might be going with this storyline. Join us for these debates plus forays into topics such as David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, Netflix’s Fear Street series, minor league baseball, and dim-witted assistant managers. Listen and subscribe on Apple podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

S4 E1: “Rosey” Knows Best

We’re back! We’ve missed you, dear listeners, and we’re excited to embark on the FOURTH season of 714 Delaware St.! On this first episode, we take a deep dive into some Roseanne episodes from the series’ later run, when the show was somewhat preoccupied with referencing the “golden age” television sitcoms that Roseanne Barr and her contemporaries grew up on, like Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, and Gilligan’s Island. We were inspired in part by the new dark comedy Kevin Can F*ck Himself, which similarly engages with the traditional family sitcom, and the biases and retrograde perspective baked into its formula. Throughout its run, Roseanne made a point of reveling in its own deviations from this formula while at the same time emphasizing its place in family sitcom history. This is especially evident in the episodes “All About Rosey: The Clip Show,” in which Roseanne meets a group of sitcom moms from the past; “Sherwood Schwartz: A Loving Tribute,” which revolves around a funny-but-bizarre Gilligan’s Island spoof; and The Fifties Show, which reimagines Roseanne as a Father Knows Best-style wholesome sitcom, with black-and-white format, cigarette commercials and all. We hope you’ll enjoy this academic and nostalgic trip into some truly weird Roseanne before we move on to the new season of The Conners – listen & subscribe!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

S3 E9: The Anxiety Years

In our latest episode, we do our best to catch up with The Conners by discussing “Panic Attacks, Hardware Store and Big Mouth Billy Bass” and “A Stomach Ache, A Heartbreak and a Grave Mistake.” We delve into the show’s realistic depiction of Darlene’s anxiety (featuring Dr. Fred Savage to the rescue!) as well as our own anxiety (Zoom-related and not), imposter syndrome and its relationship to class and gender. We also analyze Ben’s frustrating white-dude hubris, his relationship with Dan, and Jay R. Ferguson’s talent (he DID graduate from Evening Shade University). We also revel in the second episode’s Roseanne-centric plotline, featuring our beloved Patton Oswalt and a fun subplot involving Becky, Harris, Fatal Attraction, and coffee-table books. Join us for all this plus some extra nonsense about massages, furniture-store props, and fake maple syrup.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS