Ask Matt
@TVGMMattRoush ABC’s The Conners should be renamed The Darlene Show. Why does the show revolve almost entirely around Darlene (Sara Gilbert)? Why do the other characters receive so very little screen time? Why are D.J. (Michael Fishman) and his family virtually excluded? —AN MATT ROUSH: You say this like it’s a bad thing—although I agree D.J.’s minibranch of the family is too rarely seen. (One explanation: They don’t live in Dan’s house, where most of the action is.) The way I see it is that after Roseanne’s unceremonious departure, Darlene stepped up as the show’s natural center. (It doesn’t hurt that Gilbert is one of the executive producers.) Darlene is the most like her mother in terms of sarcastic attitude and life experience as a beleaguered, and in her case single, mother.…
