TV: "One Day at a Time"

(2017) Norman Lear was king of TV sitcoms in the 1970's, and when recent news of planned modern-day "reboots" of some of his best series hit social media, it was enough to make a fan's stomach clench (especially "All in the Family" - talk about screwing with perfection!).  Somehow the "One Day at a Time" update slipped by my radar until one day (haha) it popped up on Netflix and, after a few Tylenol I gave the pilot a try.  I enjoyed the version I watched as a teen, which debuted in 1975 and starred Bonnie Franklin as the widowed mother of two daughters trying to make it in Chicago, but it was never a particular favorite ... which was maybe a good thing, because the only thing I recognized from that version to this was a set with a vaguely familiar set-up, and one character: a building janitor named Schneider.  Otherwise it's an entirely different show, starring Justina Machado as a former military mom separated from her husband (still in Afghanistan), trying to get used to civilian life again while raising her strong-willed teen daughter and mischievous tween son, at the same time keeping an eye on her wisecracking, old-school mom (Rita Moreno).  It's three generations of a Cuban-American family in modern-day America, but sadly the humor is set up in the exact same style as any other weakly-written sitcom today; strictly set-up/joke, set-up/joke, set-up/joke.  By the end, the pilot did manage to work up some genuine heart - giving me a bit of hope - but overall the show just felt too much like so many of the family-friendly, cookie-cutter sitcoms airing today: trying too hard, all formula/no passion, and just not very funny.  (Netflix) Grade: C+