ThLunarian
Member
Searching for "One Day at a Time" on this forum gave me exactly two results: this thread from 2006 about the original show with six replies, and this thread about the remake, with 22 replies. So far, there hasn't been a lot of interest in this show (at least on Neogaf).
There a very good reason for that: Nobody cares about the original One Day at a Time. It was a sitcom that somehow ran for 9 seasons(!) from 1975 through 1984. I assume that back then everyone was too busy getting coked out of their minds to remember anything about it, because all I knew before researching for this post is that it used to be a thing that existed. Maybe.
But the next time you're on Netflix and you see this pop up, you should resist that initial "meh, let's keep scrolling" impulse and try it out, because it's really great.
The show adopts the very basic premise of the original: A single mother is trying to raise two kids on her own, and on the way they all befriend the lovable building superintendent named Schneider. I know, it sounds like a snoozefest.
Fortunately, the Netflix Social Justice Brigade got their hands all over this one and decided to whip up the ho-hum ingredients into a provocative souffle of relevant social commentary.
In this version, the single mother is Penelope Alvarez, a veteran of the Afghanistan war who is suffering from post-traumatic stress. She is a second-generation Cuban, raising an unapologetic feminist/social justice warrior teenage daughter and a sort of boring pre-teen son (hopefully he'll get more interesting in season 2. He does have his moments in season 1 though).
The show covers topics such as immigration, deportation, exploring sexuality, the ethics of pornography (Penelope finds porn on her kid's laptop), gender roles, religion, the care (or lack thereof) of our veterans, and more, while also using Penelope's mother Lydia (played by Rita Moreno, who slays at her role) to humanize the old-school conservative values that often run counter to these more contemporary issues.
The major reason that the show works is the chemistry of the cast - specifically the family and Schneider. The scenes at Penelope's job are okay, but the meat and potatoes come from the scenes in the family home. Somehow, it's able to use cheesy 90's-style humor in an authentic and honest way, while tackling important contemporary issues AND covering multiple sides to each issue.
So yeah. I thought this show deserved more attention, so I'm hoping the title will catch more eyes and convince people to check it out. If you love cheesy 90's humor, you'll enjoy this. If you love Orange is the New Black because of its biting social commentary, you'll also love this. If you enjoy both of those shows like I do, then this will be an absolute slam dunk.
Some final notes:
-Yes, it's multi-camera, and yes, it has a laugh track. Try to look past it.
-There is an overarching storyline and significant continuity between episodes, so if that's important to you then you're good to go
-It's already been renewed for a second season
-I feel like the girl who plays the daughter could be a breakout star from this. I was really impressed by her performance throughout the season.
-I know it's been more than the standard 2 weeks since the show premiered, but it might be good to spoiler tag discussion of later plot points, since I get the feeling this hasn't been on many peoples' radars so far.
Enjoy!
There a very good reason for that: Nobody cares about the original One Day at a Time. It was a sitcom that somehow ran for 9 seasons(!) from 1975 through 1984. I assume that back then everyone was too busy getting coked out of their minds to remember anything about it, because all I knew before researching for this post is that it used to be a thing that existed. Maybe.
But the next time you're on Netflix and you see this pop up, you should resist that initial "meh, let's keep scrolling" impulse and try it out, because it's really great.
The show adopts the very basic premise of the original: A single mother is trying to raise two kids on her own, and on the way they all befriend the lovable building superintendent named Schneider. I know, it sounds like a snoozefest.
Fortunately, the Netflix Social Justice Brigade got their hands all over this one and decided to whip up the ho-hum ingredients into a provocative souffle of relevant social commentary.
In this version, the single mother is Penelope Alvarez, a veteran of the Afghanistan war who is suffering from post-traumatic stress. She is a second-generation Cuban, raising an unapologetic feminist/social justice warrior teenage daughter and a sort of boring pre-teen son (hopefully he'll get more interesting in season 2. He does have his moments in season 1 though).
The show covers topics such as immigration, deportation, exploring sexuality, the ethics of pornography (Penelope finds porn on her kid's laptop), gender roles, religion, the care (or lack thereof) of our veterans, and more, while also using Penelope's mother Lydia (played by Rita Moreno, who slays at her role) to humanize the old-school conservative values that often run counter to these more contemporary issues.
The major reason that the show works is the chemistry of the cast - specifically the family and Schneider. The scenes at Penelope's job are okay, but the meat and potatoes come from the scenes in the family home. Somehow, it's able to use cheesy 90's-style humor in an authentic and honest way, while tackling important contemporary issues AND covering multiple sides to each issue.
So yeah. I thought this show deserved more attention, so I'm hoping the title will catch more eyes and convince people to check it out. If you love cheesy 90's humor, you'll enjoy this. If you love Orange is the New Black because of its biting social commentary, you'll also love this. If you enjoy both of those shows like I do, then this will be an absolute slam dunk.
Some final notes:
-Yes, it's multi-camera, and yes, it has a laugh track. Try to look past it.
-There is an overarching storyline and significant continuity between episodes, so if that's important to you then you're good to go
-It's already been renewed for a second season
-I feel like the girl who plays the daughter could be a breakout star from this. I was really impressed by her performance throughout the season.
-I know it's been more than the standard 2 weeks since the show premiered, but it might be good to spoiler tag discussion of later plot points, since I get the feeling this hasn't been on many peoples' radars so far.
Enjoy!
