I agree with this. Jackie was rudderless in the early seasons, but other than having no real direction, she more or less had it together except when it came to men. Around the time the baby was born, she just became a complete spaz…she was totally acting like the baby would be traumatized for life if her daily schedules and diets for it were deviated from one little iota. Prior to that, she HAD been very realistic.
Actually, I think Jackie going completely neurotic with the baby was very realistic. You could just tell some “crazy” was always simmering under the surface, plus she probably spent years thinking about all the mistakes she wouldn’t make (all the ones Roseanne did of course). I got the sense that she always wanted something really stable in her life, and she didn’t get that with her various jobs, or the various men, but she did have that with the kid. So she just went overboard.
I’m sure Roseanne would have pushed that through if she’d wanted it, but it would have been a really natural character progression.
My favorite moments:
After Becky complains that Mark is always busy working, because he’s trying to pay her tuition, Roseanne cuts her off, tells her she’s being a spoiled brat, and complains that Becky is forcing her to defend Mark.
Darlene reading her poem at the high school, then the shot of the orchestra playing
The whole episode that involves random stuff happening on a Saturday morning that Roseanne had wanted to herself, including a cop helping Darlene make baklava and a door-to-door salesman dying in their kitchen.
Perhaps my all-time favorite sitcoms for about the first 5 seasons. One of my all-time least favorites from there till the end…probably about the time Becky & Mark got married was the beginning of the end for me.
But everything you say is right, Sampiro…it’s probably the most REAL sitcom that’s ever been on television…the sets, the characters, the storylines. And it was pretty darn funny as well.
I was a devoted fan of this series from its first episode until they won the lottery (which pretty much ruined it for me), mostly for the reasons that have been expressed so well already in this thread. I just wanted to add that the carved pumpkins displayed in each Halloween episode were so cool, they inspired me to start a family pumpkin-carving tradition that persists to this day.
I think my mother had the pattern for the same exact afghan because it is packed away in my linen closet. It is at least 40 yrs old because I remember it at our lake house backin the 60’s. It is warm too!
I think Laurie Metcalf made the show. One of my favorite scenes is when she was telling her (apparently deaf) Aunt Barbara on the phone that roseanne’s and jackie father died. She starts screaming on the phone “Dad is dead” over and over and the Aunt doesn’t understand.
Loved it when Darlene complains about DJ spending hours in the bathroom with doors lock, and implying that he is either very good at it or very bad at it.
I am surprised that there has not been a reunion show or made for TV movie. (or has there?)
Not that I really want to see one but there has been precedents.
This is one of my favorite episodes!
Darlene: Yeah I heard DJ got caught playing with his instrument in band.
DJ: I’m not in band stupid!
Cracks me up every time.
My brother and I were talking about how in the late 80’s and 90’s that men were almost always represented as morons who are always bested by their wives in sitcoms. While we were talking, Roseanne came up, and we both agreed that it was really surprisingly fair in that respect. Sure Roseanne seemed like the ‘de facto’ queen of the household, but a lot of that was because she presented herself as if she was. In reality, Dan was almost always on the same playing field despite the, “because I said so”, attitude. It was a good show but I never saw the last few seasons, but from what I’ve heard, it may be for the best.
And his father-son talk later. (Paraphrased, not directly quoted):
DAN It’s nothing to worry about. Everybody does it.
DJ Do you do it?
DAN Well… um… yes, I do.
DJ How often?
DAN Well… um… you know how I said everybody does it? It’s also true that nobody talks about how often they do it.
Or Jackie sitting in the tub. “Is this the sink?! Am I shrinking?!” Best laugh I’ve had from a TV show since Hawkeye pretended to eat a human liver in front of Frank.
My strongest memory is the show in which Roseanne and Jackie’s father has died and they’re in the house, reminiscing about how abusive he was. They stare over the front doorway and remember how he had the (paddle? belt?) that he used to beat them mounted there as a reminder of his power over them. It was raw and pained. At the end, Roseanne, alone in the room, says goodbye to him, taking him to task for the fear he instilled in them, and then pauses just at the doorway, turns her head slightly back to the room with her eyes down, and mutters ‘Thank-you-for-your-humor-goodbye.’ It seemed so real and so heartbreaking.
Also, this was the first show in which I noticed Mr. George Clooney, who played Booker in the early seasons, Roseanne and Jackie’s boss at the factory and eventually Jackie’s boyfriend.
Yeah, great show. I grew up watching it, and it really informed my sense of humor and love of witty comebacks. My family argued as much as the Connors, but whenever I tried to insert a zinger for a little levity, I got busted for being a “smart alec”.
Oh, and I can’t believe I’m the first to bring up the chicken and egg communal shirt. Jumping off of that, I appreciated how their wardrobe wasn’t an endless closet like every other television show ever. The people on Survivor probably have more changes of clothes than the Roseanne cast. Just another class detail that made it feel more real than Family Matters, Full House, and the rest of the slew of horrid sitcoms in that time.
Oh, I forgot to add my love for John Goodman. Who else could’ve played endearing to Roseanne’s abrasive better?
His comic genius really hit me over the head by the time I saw The Big Lebowski in the theater. It’s a shame he’s not in more films, and yes, I’ve seen Big Ralph.
I was a huge fan of this show during its run, but can’t stand it in reruns. I find it hard to separate the character from Roseanne herself.
The one thing that always bothered me at the time: Whenever they showed the house from outside, at night, every single damn light was always on. You’d think, for a working-class family with limited income . . . on second thought, yeah, they were totally in-character, not bothering to turn off the lights.
I love love love Roseanne. I watch it nearly every night on Nick at Nite. I have seen every episode numerous times. Interestingly, although I was a teenager when the show originally aired (actually the same age as Darlene) I never watched it when it was originally on. I fell in love with it over the years as repeats on Nick at Nite.
I love Dan. As in, he would be my perfect husband. He’s sexy and perfect in every way to me.
I especially loved Darlene and Jackie.
One of my favorite scenes is the pot scene in the bathroom. Jackie is especially hilarious in that.
I also love the afghan. One day, I would like to crochet a replica.
I had no idea that Mark was really Irish, and that he died. How sad!
drastic_quench mentioned the chicken and egg shirt - I’ve always wondered about that - what is the story behind it? There was also a nearly identical bee and hive shirt, IIRC.
Thanks for starting this thread, Sampiro. I am glad there are others who appreciate the show as much as I do!
I watched it, but, somehow, I totally missed the last season. While I’m sure it ruined the characters and the plot line, I’m kind of interested. I especially want to see the last episode. Let’s see if I can find it online…
Edit: Yay, it’s on TV.com.
I never watched Roseanne (or Scrubs, for that matter), so I had no idea who Sarah Chalke was until I started seeing commercials for her on Lifetime; that said, I would do unbelievably obscene things to her right now. Of course, I don’t know how she looked back in the day …
I used to think Sarah Chalke was prettier, I don’t know what happened, but my opinions changed to the point where I don’t even think Chalke was all that pretty to begin with. I don’t know why. Lecy Goranson, (who I always thought was pretty), still looks GOOD!
Roseanne had two of the funniest-scenes-without-the-character saying a word:
Later as Roseanne and Dan are talking about it in the kitchen, David comes in and sits down as Roseanne says “How hard can it be? It’s just masurbation, Dan.” David immediately gets up and walks out.
And Bev telling Roseanne she’s sold her share of the restaurant.
Roseanne: Where are you going to find a buyer in this market?
Bev: It wasn’t hard…
and the camera focuses on Leon eating that sandwich.
Nobody has mentioned Martin Mull as the gay Leon Carp, Bonnie Bramlett as Bonnie and Shelly Winters as Nana Mama. They all made real contributions to the show.
ETA: I started watching this show with the episode where Darlene got her period. When Sara Gilbert screamed “I got my period OK” and ran out of the room, I knew she was going to be a star.