Roseanne (TV series)

[ClassyCo]

Is there a discussion going about ROSEANNE already? I know there's at least half-a-dozen threads about Roseanne's racist tweets and ABC's decision to cancel the reboot of the show because of those racist tweets.

But I don't want to talk about that here (but yet I know it's going to come up).

I want to talk about ROSEANNE, the 1988 to 1997 television sitcom, that paved the way for a new kind of family comedy. It was one of the most popular shows on television for several years: for its first season alone the show was #2 in the Nielsen ratings, and during its second season, it tied with THE COSBY SHOW as the highest-rated series on television. ROSEANNE was a critical and audience success throughout the entirety of its run, only tapering off in viewership during its ninth and final season.

Any fans of the show?
​

 

[DallasFanForever]

One of my all time favorite sitcoms! No matter what anyone wants to say about her, Roseanne is a comic genius. I felt this show portrayed a family that pretty much anyone could identify with. Whether it be the sister that drives you nuts, controlling in-laws, everyday marital and family strife, ROSEANNE had everything.

The earlier seasons were obviously the best. But I think it remained strong most of its run. My only criticism would be that like most sitcoms back then it probably stayed on a season or two too long. I actually enjoyed that the last season ended up being imagined because it was absolutely dreadful.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

For all the talk of fame going to Roseanne's head and instability, she was an intelligent woman, and the greater control she got over the show, the better it got.

She also maintained, or reclaimed, a good relationship with all her exes except vile Tom Arnold, so you can't trust his assertions about Roseanne's alleged racist commentary around the house.

 

[Monzo]

I loved it, but I never watched the final season. Those were the days when I actually stopped watching a show when it has become bad IMO, nowadays I'm sticking with shows I've watched for many years until the bitter end.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I loved it, but I never watched the final season

You didn’t miss anything. It was so ridiculous. It went from being a show you look at for laughs to a show you laughed at. But I do love the final episode. It makes up for a lot of that last season.

 

[Jolly Jimmy Tinsel Todd]

I loved the show. Very intelligent humor and it addressed the real struggles of the working class.
There was also a funny sight gag in the scenes that took place at Rodbelll's. Diner in the mall. We all know restaurants often have signs, "We reserve the right to refuse
service." Near the coffee pots there's a sign that reads, :We reserve the right to serve refuse."
I love little gags like that discreetly placed in a sign. Did anyone spot any others?

 

[DallasFanForever]

I loved the show. Very intelligent humor and it addressed the real struggles of the working class.
There was also a funny sight gag in the scenes that took place at Rodbelll's. Diner in the mall. We all know restaurants often have signs, "We reserve the right to refuse
service." Near the coffee pots there's a sign that reads, :We reserve the right to serve refuse."
I love little gags like that discreetly placed in a sign. Did anyone spot any others?

I’ve honestly never noticed that sign. I have to look for this now

 

[ClassyCo]

I'm most partial to the earliest seasons of ROSEANNE: Roseanne working for Wellman Plastics or the beauty salon, Dan struggling to keep his dry wall business afloat, Becky is boy-crazy and dabbling in a relationship with Mark, Darlene is a tomboyish athlete with more interest in basketball than guys, D.J. is a nosy little pest of a kid aggravating his sisters, and Jackie is the slightly neurotic aunt with a shaky personal life.

So it's maybe the first three seasons I like best. To me there's a shift in the show when Darlene goes gothic, or 'fades to black' as the episode title calls it. Of course, the show does go in and out of having the same "feel" it had those first three years, but I don't like what they did to Darlene. Becky moves out of the house and then comes back with a different face (the character was re-cast with a different, prettier actress); 'Arnie' (played by Roseanne's real-life-hubby Tom Arnold) pops in and out and has a on-again off-again relationship with Nancy, whose whole gay/straight/bi arc I never bought or liked. It was cute when they had her date Morgan Fairchild for a couple of episodes.

Anything past season five, I'd say, I could pretty much take or leave. There's some good episodes to be had in those seasons, but they're fewer in my view.

One thing I do like about the later seasons is the more frequent inclusion of Estelle Parsons as Roseanne and Jackie's dizzy mother Bev. I always found her hilarious, and I enjoyed the animosity that Bev and Jackie shared. I enjoyed it when Shelley Winters popped in as Nana Mary as well, Bev's smart-mouthed mother. It was always ironic that the family preferred Nana Mary over Bev, especially at family gatherings.​

 

[Crimson]

ROSEANNE has one of the most uneven qualities of any long running sitcom, going from good to great to uneven to awful over the its span. It started out as a solid but unspectacular family comedy but, for a few years, achieved true greatness. During its prime, the show worked equally as well as a very funny sitcom as a blue collar soap opera, balancing comedy and drama even more deftly than ALL IN THE FAMILY had done. If Roseanne was responsible for the show's rise, she was also tied to the show's decline as it began to increasingly conform to her whims and follies. From its mid point, the show became increasingly indulgent, often ludicrous, and had too many distracting guest stars (Morgan Fairchild was iffy enough as a resident of rural Illinois, but when they trotted out Joan Collins as a cousin ... )

 

[ClassyCo]

ROSEANNE has one of the most uneven qualities of any long running sitcom, going from good to great to uneven to awful over the its span. It started out as a solid but unspectacular family comedy but, for a few years, achieved true greatness. During its prime, the show worked equally as well as a very funny sitcom as a blue collar soap opera, balancing comedy and drama even more deftly than ALL IN THE FAMILY had done. If Roseanne was responsible for the show's rise, she was also tied to the show's decline as it began to increasingly conform to her whims and follies. From its mid point, the show became increasingly indulgent, often ludicrous, and had too many distracting guest stars (Morgan Fairchild was iffy enough as a resident of rural Illinois, but when they trotted out Joan Collins as a cousin ... )

I wholeheartedly agree. ROSEANNE was great at the beginning, but it got too self-indulgent. Roseanne Barr ushered so many of her personal tastes and fads into the life of the show. It ended up hurting it in the long run. It died a pitiful death as well. That final season was dreadful.​

 

[Ollie james]

Have fond memories of that show when it was good it was excellent. Like most shows it kinda limped through the later seasons but I was defo a fan.

 

[ClassyCo]

Have fond memories of that show when it was good it was excellent. Like most shows it kinda limped through the later seasons but I was defo a fan.

If I weren't being too picky, I'd say ROSEANNE only really tapped out its final season. I've heard talk that the eighth season was supposed to have been the last, and I hate that it wasn't. The ninth season was a mess. I hate that they had Dan cheat on Roseanne: that was a major negative for this viewer. Dan and Roseanne had one of those rock solid marriages (despite all the hardships), and for him to 'step out' on her went against the very fundamentals of the show.

They way the writers handled Dan's affair wasn't that good either. I remember that episode and there wasn't hardly a laugh from the audience in it. ROSEANNE had 'jumped the shark' and they needed to stop. They went one year too many.​

 

[DallasFanForever]

I prefer the earlier seasons by far. Once Becky married Mark and Darlene paired off with David I think the show lost something. I can’t really put my finger on it but the show was starting to regress a little at that point to me.

I didn’t mind the roles Morgan Fairchild and Joan Collins played on the show. I know they didn’t look like the typical people living in Lanford but I think thats part of what made it work imo. They were different and more elegant than most of the people you would see in that town and I think that was part of their charm.

The scene with Joan and Roseanne trading insults is actually one of my favorite scenes in the history of the show. I thought it was great that they made a wink and a nod to Joan’s accent when Roseanne chastised her for talking like that when she comes from Illinois.

 

[Chris2]

I think the best seasons are 3 and 4. The young actresses playing the daughters really came into their own, and Roseanne’s acting had improved. Bob Myer was the showrunner at this point. The scripts are amazingly consistent and hilarious. I also think the Rodbell’s diner, with Leon and Bonnie, was her best work setup.

Season 5 is when the changes started. Roseanne had increasingly more creative control over the show. A new showrunner came in (at this point, the showrunner changed almost every year). Lecy Goranson, always so underrated as Becky, left the show and it really upset the balance of the characters in the family. Sara Gilbert started delivering all of her lines in this monotone. Crystal was eased out of the show, and Nancy became more prominent. The Becky character was recast and completely changed in season 6.

Also, the Roseanne Conner character became increasingly mean and nasty. Early Roseanne Conner is sarcastic but warmhearted. She’s someone you wouldn’t mind hanging out and having a beer with. Remember the episode where Roseanne sucks it up and apologizes to her hated neighbor Kathy, so DJ can play with her son again? That would have never happened in the later seasons, where many of her lines are about how superior she is, and she insults people to their faces.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Lecy Goranson, always so underrated as Becky, left the show and it really upset the balance of the characters in the family

Nothing against the actress who replaced her but I just don’t think the show was the same without LG. She had great established chemistry with the other characters, especially Roseanne and Darlene, and watching someone else take over that role just didn’t feel right. I got used to Becky #2 after awhile but it just wasn’t the same.

 

[Avery Merry Christmas]

I appreciated how Roseanne acknowledged The Rotating Beckys, most notably when Goranson returned the first time (after a few years away). She entered the scene and Roseanne, somewhat in character but mostly in a "meta" joke asked "Where the hell have you been?".

 

[DallasFanForever]

I appreciated how Roseanne acknowledged The Rotating Beckys, most notably when Goranson returned the first time (after a few years away). She entered the scene and Roseanne, somewhat in character but mostly in a "meta" joke asked "Where the hell have you been?".

I remember that! That was classic Roseanne. The show was good at those inside jokes every once in awhile. Another one was after the controversy when Roseanne sang the national anthem and then the next season she comes out in the kitchen after waking up and says “I just feel like singing this morning.” Love her or hate her for the anthem incident, it was kind of funny the way she got it in the show.

 

[ClassyCo]

I appreciated how Roseanne acknowledged The Rotating Beckys, most notably when Goranson returned the first time (after a few years away). She entered the scene and Roseanne, somewhat in character but mostly in a "meta" joke asked "Where the hell have you been?".

There were also 'in-joke' references to the different actresses as Becky. For instance, I recall one episode where Sarah Chalke (who was Becky #2) came into a scene and there was a sudden freeze frame: an announcement came over and said how Becky would be played this evening by Sarah Chalke. That gesture was poking fun at soap operas, who often did that for 'fill-in' actors.

I recall an episode epilogue where the family is watching a BEWITCHED rerun. Roseanne and Jackie make jokes about that show re-casting Darrin after five years. Jackie says something to this effect: "Well, they a hit show, and figured they'd get away with anything." The audience bursts out in laughter. After that, Becky (played by Sarah Chalke in that episode) says: "Well, I like the second Darrin much better." This was an obvious joke to her being the 'second' Becky. The audience again burst out in laughter.

ROSEANNE was quite well-known for doing that type of 'meta' humor, even when it wasn't fairly common among other blue collar sitcoms.​

 

[DallasFanForever]

I think my favorite scene was after Jackie and Roseanne’s father died and Roseanne makes the call asking about having him shipped and what it entails. She even asks if he will be coming down the conveyor belt with the luggage.

And then Jackie makes the next call to an Aunt who is hard of hearing. Classic stuff!

 

[darkshadows38]

actually i kinda get a kick out of Tom Arnold i dunno why but i never minded him but i get why she wouldn't be close with him on the type of guy he is well i dunno about now but on how he was back than. i haven't seen the show when it came back on the air or even it's spinoff to be honest. one can say that Roseanne lost her mind in the last season, it's not the worst tv season i've ever saw but it's a weak season that needed better writers i think. this is the show that Introduced me to George Clooney and i've been a fan since. i remember when he came back in (1992) for i think it was their Halloween episode wasn't it? i was hoping he would have stayed cause i liked the character booker i believe his name was? i kinda miss Crystal once she just did a Judy Winslow and just vanished without a word