But there you go! She didn’t mention it because the job wasn’t ABOUT computers. It just involved working with one. Which makes it all the more permissible to fudge. Of course what Muriel should have said was here’s what you need to know…know it by Monday morning. If she thought she was the right person for the job otherwise…goodness, the stuff you need to know on a computer for most jobs isn’t that complicated.
And now that I’m emotionally invested in tv characters the other thing that alway bothered me was her distaste for her job at the hair salon. How was that more demeaning than other jobs she had? It was less so because the people there supported her. I never understood that.
Yes she did. She spanked DJ after he stole a car and drove it into a house. She ended up apologizing, and talking about the abuse she suffered during her childhood at the end though.
This one makes me laugh out loud just remembering it.
I’ve kept the television on in the background all this year, tuned to Nick at Night while I’m busy doing other things, and it has occurred to me several times this year to start a “most hilarious moments in Roseanne” thread, though I wasn’t sure how it might be received. I was starting to wonder if I was the only fan left on the face of the earth due to my insomnia. Moments that slay me every time I see them, even when I know they’re coming:
Roseanne’s little “sex talk” with Darlene, where Darlene insists she hasn’t had sex yet because she doesn’t want to. Roseanne, already the mother of one girl who had sex without her knowing it, takes the “fool me once, shame on you” stance on the issue, saying she’s not stupid, and that Darlene and David could have had sex while everyone was in the house, because they could do it “real quiet”. Darlene’s retort is instant and perfect: “Oh yeah? You can’t!” Roseanne is stunned into sudden introspective silence, and you can see her mind reeling with this information, and as the audience laughter dies down, Darlene mutters, “God, I had to tell David you were moving furniture last night.”
Even better is later on, at the end of the show, where Dan is roaring about being let in on things that happen in the family, after Roseanne bitches about never knowing how he’ll react, since he already has one daughter he doesn’t talk to. So Roseanne finally gets frustrated and gives it to him: “You really want to know, Dan? The kids can hear you having sex!” It’s Dan’s reaction that makes the whole scene. He freezes, and manages to look simultaneously stunned, thoughtful, tired, doubtful, and wishing he’d never opened his mouth in the first place.
A very early show where Roseanne’s parents come to visit and stay the night, and no one gets any sleep, everyone is cranky and frustrated, tempers are flaring - and Dan’s exhaustion is apparent, though he’s trying hard. His mind isn’t exactly like a bear trap in this state, as he talks to his FIL and rambles on in his responses to his FIL’s ridiculous statements. "You* really * used to say that? And now you don’t? " He muses aloud on this for some time. Later, Roseanne and Jackie get into a huge, screaming argument in the bedroom - Jackie stalks out, fuming, Roseanne throws her hands in the air, screaming about how dysfunctional they are, and also stalks out, Dan is left standing there, not quite getting it… then shrugs and does an hugely exaggerated stalk out of his own, chin in the air, hips swinging.
I also find Becky realistic - I grew up with a lot of snotty, lower-middle-to-low class girls who were little princesses, and majorly spoiled brats. Some much worse than Becky, some about the same. A few Darlenes. And DJ, wow. That one really, really hits home with me. My brother was much like DJ - weird, strange, a sense of humour nobody got, but he was mom’s favourite. Not weird as in “creepy” weird - he would never hurt anybody - just weird as in caught up in his own little world, making jokes that only he gets and that aren’t very clever or funny, etc. Like when DJ went over to visit Jackie after she had the baby, and Fred doesn’t want him around anymore. Nailed my bro at that same age. They grow out of it, eventually. But for a while, they are awkward, genuine dweebs. Unfortunately, by the time we get to see DJs personality coming through, the show is coming to an end. He was never really developed much past just being the youngest child, occasionally getting into scrapes, serving mostly to be a minor annoyance to Becky and Darlene. Which, sometimes, for better or for worse, is how it really goes, anyway. The youngest one is sometimes, but not always, easy to overlook. But mama always loves him to bits, even if we forget about him.
Exactly! I thought that was a good episode. Where they’re talking about how even a crap job can be a good job if you’re not treated in a demeaning manner. Amen! (says the girl who currently has a crap job.) But then subsequently they talk about this job as something she has to get out of. They seem to go with the idea that it’s a horrible job.
Not to mention it didn’t make sense to me that she or Dan or anyone would see that as particularly bad. Worse than breaking apart plastic forks all day? Worse than the fast food job she tried to keep? That Dan tried to help her keep? That was a much worse job. So it doesn’t make sense to me.
And no, sitcoms don’t make sense so why am I asking one to? Well, because it was that good and that realistic so those things stand out.
:dubious: Yeah but did they really have that child or did Roseanne just write about it? I just don’t know what to believe anymore!!! desolves into tears
norinew, I so agree with you about Sandra. I hated that all of sudden Nancy was there and Crystal just disappeared-whatever happened to her? Crystal was much more entertaining-the uptight, super-sensitive worry-wart who was always soooo scandalized by Jackie and Roseanne. Nancy was just annoying. So was David-I HATED him. So whiny and insecure. Shut up!
I liked the one where Becky and her friend got drunk when they were supposed to be studying (Dan and Roseanne were at her parents’ and took DJ, Darlene had basketball practice).
Becky’s making the drink, pouring in generous amounts of booze. Then she goes to add soda pop, and does this quick little pour-almost as if she’s afraid to get ANY soda into the glass. Hehehe!
Oh, and I LOVED Shelley Winters as Nana Mary. I wish she were my great-grandmother. I loved the time she pretended to be senile to drive Bev insane.
One thing I didn’t understand-okay, we all know her father beat her, right? Yet, in the early days of the show, they never mention that-they’re always happy to see Dad, and they feel bad that he has to put up with Mom, and how Dad was always so cool, and how much they loved him, etc. Or am I dreaming this?
Oh, I just thought about one of my favorite Rosanne moments: the Connors were filing their taxes at the very, very last minute, and end up at the IRS office, looking for help. The scene at the IRS was funny, but what really killed me was after the show was over, John Goodman, standing there talking about how the disrespect displayed towards the IRS was his character, Dan Connor, not him, law-abiding, tax-paying, IRS-respecting John Goodman. Priceless.
I have been mulling this OP over.
I think Roseannewas the most realistic Family sitcom ever for it first 4-5 years. That is a great run of both humor and realism.
Barney Miller was probably the most consistently realistic sitcom ever. The characters were consistent and believable. The set was very realistic and it actually interacted with the real world events and location. It dealt with Police strikes, NYC bankruptcy and the Bicentennial. It dealt with homosexuality very early on for TV, before SOAP. It had some race issues, a little bit of anger over Vietnam from both sides of the debate. It was very well written and almost never descended to silliness.
So my vote would be that Barney Miller was the most consistently realistic sitcom ever. Roseannewas the most realistic Family sitcom ever.
Yeah, there was one episode where that was a point.
Dan asks Darlene if she wants to help him with a drywalling job that weekend, but doesn’t ask Becky. Roseanne gets mad and says he should ask Becky too. Dan retorts that Roseanne never does anything with Darlene either.
Then Roseanne tries to watch a basketball game with Darlene and talks to her about how they’re different and she always got along with her mom while Jackie got along with their dad. Dan goes to the mall with Becky and they run into some of Becky’s friends, who Becky wants to run off with leaving Dan behind.
At the end of the episode, Roseanne calls up her parents’ house and asks to talk with her Dad.
Jackie and Roseanne embodied, to an extent, the classic personality types of abused kids. Jackie didn’t “get along” with her dad so much as tried to rationalize or excuse the worst of his behavior by thinking that she was a lousy person and so, on some level, deserved it. Roseanne responded by getting angry and acting out; she didn’t get along with her mother particularly well (better than Jackie did, however), but her mother wasn’t violent toward her so she didn’t have that kind of anger toward her.
That’s why I liked this show … not a lot of sitcoms with characters you could discuss this way.
I seem to remember them playing around with that character a bit before they settled on whiny, insecure David. The same guy played Mark’s little brother Kevin for about half an episode. He was a lot like Mark, very cocky. Dan came home and seemed pleased that Darlene had found a little boyfriend. Roseanne mentions that he’s Mark’s brother and, without missing a beat, says “Come on Kevin, I’ll drive you home.” He grabs him by the back of his shirt and pulls him out the door. The big smile never left Dan’s face.
Dan was probably my favorite character. He’s a great guy, good husband and father, and does everything he can to protect his family. The scene where he learned that Fisher beat up Jackie still gets to me every time I see it. After Roseanne takes her out of the kitchen, he paces back and forth a bit, then just grabs his coat and leaves. I like to think that’s what I would’ve done, too.
Not sure how to phrase that any more clearly. Do you notice how, say, The West Wing tends to show a world that’s a liberal Democrat utopia, but occasionally shows problems that the Philosopher King Bartlet can’t solve, or will very occasionally show a situation that’s better handled by Republicans like Walken and Vinick?
Roseanne is never like that. Roseanne (the actress) has a very consistent worldview (Blue-collar feminist liberal, who believes that salvation is just a lottery ticket or a power crystal away) and her show never seems to challenge it. In that light, the show seems less realistic to me than it could be. It’s still a quality show, but some other shows are actually better in this specific regard. Hope I’ve cleared that up for you.
the other thing that alway bothered me was her distaste for her job at the hair salon. How was that more demeaning than other jobs she had? It was less so because the people there supported her. I never understood that.