# Roseann: What Was Hollywood Thinking? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roseann-what-was-hollywood-thinking/191811 "2003-07-30T02:20:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roseann-what-was-hollywood-thinking/191811/21 "2003-07-31T02:42:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by refusal \* > **…Darlene was the love object of every geeky guy in the Western world.** _ **I’m not a geek!** _ I still love to watch _Roseanne_ and I’m glad it’s gonna be readily available. Goodman was terrific, as was most of the cast. (What _was_ DJ’s deal, anyway?) Martin Mull was also present, as Leon. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roseann-what-was-hollywood-thinking/191811/22 "2003-07-31T03:37:44Z")
She had a good stand-up routine built up, which provided enough material for the first season or so, plus she was paired up with John Goodman, who can deliver the most absurdly hilarious lines in perfect deadpan better than almost any American actor alive and is also damn fine in serious roles. The show had these two strong advantages to begin with, and then the people involved were able to follow it up with storylines that viewers enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roseann-what-was-hollywood-thinking/191811/23 "2003-07-31T05:22:05Z")
I loved Roseanne. I lost interest in the show eventually and missed the whole last season but I read both her books and her sister’s book and was fascinated by Roseanne and her whole scary evolution. I thought the show was very good and very funny. I always took it to be a show about a middle class family, not a poor family. I thought some of the humour was very insicive. I thought the show got better as she got more control but when she got ultimate control it got worse. Honestly I think that sitcoms are screwed up and most of them are awful because too many people get a say creatively and Roseanne struggled to be the creative center of the show, I admire that. Eventually she had so much control that she lost her vision (imho) but that’s part of the package sometimes. I don’t begrudge her the excess. I thought the things she did right on that show far outweighed the stupid dramas in the media. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roseann-what-was-hollywood-thinking/191811/24 "2003-07-31T06:32:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by omni-not \* > \*\*Agreed. > > About ten years ago. \*\* More than ten years ago. [1988](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0094540) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roseann-what-was-hollywood-thinking/191811/25 "2003-07-31T13:27:59Z")
I still love the 'Darlene gets her first period ’ episode. Dan (punches her on the shoulder) Good job. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roseann-what-was-hollywood-thinking/191811/26 "2003-07-31T20:01:25Z")
Roseanne’s on Nick at Nite? That might be my motivation for getting cable, honestly. I really loved that show when it was on. A working-class, imperfect family that still managed to pull through life pretty well…things weren’t usually “perfect” at the end of every episode. People did good things, bad things, stupid things…they were three-dimensional characters and reminded me of people I knew. Time to check the cable prices… ---
**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roseann-what-was-hollywood-thinking/191811/27 "2003-07-31T20:32:33Z")
I agree with all who said she was a great stand-up (something we forget) and a lousy actress. I also agree that John Goodman was great. All in all, there were just too many Beckys! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roseann-what-was-hollywood-thinking/191811/28 "2003-08-01T03:37:14Z")
What don’t you people get about DJ? He was the youngest and nobody gave a crap about him, so he created his own little world. There’s one episode that just makes my blood boil. It’s Thanksgiving; Becky and Crystal’s son Lonnie refuse to sit at the “kids table”; Darlene refuses to come downstairs at all; so DJ is at a card table off in the corner, all by himself. Like he’s not even a member of the family. Then Roseanne **yells** at him for wanting to know what they’re talking about. Bitch. In fact, there were a lot of incidents like that, when R & D despaired of him, without making the connection that you can’t expect your kid to be functional when the only attention he gets is being yelled at for screwing up, which he did while you were giving him no attention at all. Freak? No. Neglected? Yes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roseann-what-was-hollywood-thinking/191811.md?page=1)