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EspañolROSEANNE (TV SERIES)
:''Jackie Harris redirects here. For the football player, see Jackie Harris (football player)''.
'''Roseanne''' is an Emmy Award winning American sitcom which aired on ABC from 1988 to 1997, starring stand-up comedian Roseanne Barr. The show portrayed a working-class family living in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois, struggling to get by on a limited income. It was considered the most socially ground-breaking sitcom in generations, as it was the first situational comedy that realistically identified with what most Americans already had been doing for decades: it showed both parents of a traditional family working out of the house.[1] For many years, ''Roseanne'' was, in contrast to many of the most popular shows at the time, tackling subjects such as poverty, alcoholism, narcotics, sex, first menstrual periods, masturbation, obesity, feminism, domestic violence, and homosexuality. Another important theme was Roseanne's dominance in raising her children and husband Dan (John Goodman) joking that his wife "wore the pants" in the family, but deep down inside loving her as she is.
''Roseanne'' was a breakthrough for women because it was one of the first shows to put an overweight, dominant, yet smart woman as the lead role. It also showed women sticking by each other and speaking their minds without being "punished" in some way.
The show was hugely successful from its beginning, spending its first six seasons in the top five of the Nielsen ratings and inspiring a rash of stand-ups getting their own sitcom deals, a practice that continued for years afterwards. During the seventh season the show dropped some in ratings, but still managed to stay in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings. However, during its ninth, and final season, the show's ratings dropped considerably and drifted away from its original storyline and had fallen out of the top thirty.
:''This is a list of the main characters. For more detail on these and other major characters, see here.''
''Main characters''
★ Roseanne Barr - 'Roseanne Harris Conner'
★ John Goodman - 'Dan Conner'
★ Laurie Metcalf - 'Marjorie 'Jackie' Harris'
★ Lecy Goranson and, later, Sarah Chalke - 'Rebecca 'Becky' Conner Healy'
★ Sara Gilbert - 'Darlene Conner Healy'
★ Sal Barone (pilot) and Michael Fishman - 'David Jacob 'D.J.' Conner'
''Other characters''
★ Glenn Quinn - 'Mark Healy'
★ Johnny Galecki - 'David Healy', first introduced as 'Kevin Healy'
★ Estelle Parsons - 'Beverly "Bev" Harris'
★ Martin Mull - 'Leon Carp'
★ Sandra Bernhard - 'Nancy Bartlett'
★ Natalie West - 'Crystal Anderson Conner'
★ Garett Hazen and Kent Hazen - 'Andy Harris'
''Characters played by celebrities''
★ George Clooney - 'Booker'
★ Shelley Winters - 'Nana Mary'
★ Morgan Fairchild - 'Marla'
★ Ned Beatty - 'Ed Conner'
★ Traci Lords - 'Stacey'
★ Leonardo DiCaprio - 'Darlene's Classmate'
In the late 1980s, ''Roseanne'' burst onto television with its groundbreaking first season, introducing a blue collar family struggling with their children, money, careers etc. while also delivering the maximum amount of humor to push the envelope on the phrase "sitcom." The most notable events of the first season include Darlene's first period, Roseanne quitting her job, and the fan favorite episode "Toto, We're Not in Kansas Anymore." The first season truly categorized what each character was all about, and combined with witty humor and comical situations, ''Roseanne'' became an instant classic. Roseanne would forever be remembered as the mid-western Goddess of domesticity, whose catchy humor and classic one-liners truly made the show. Her husband, Dan Conner, proved himself to be Roseanne's equal when it came to humor, and was the most realistic character of all. Their children, Becky, Darlene and D.J., differed in numerous ways. While Becky was busy growing up and chasing the opposite sex, Darlene would rather play basketball with Dan or go to softball practice, and in between it all was D.J., the cute little character that grew up to be "weird," peeking at his sisters undressing and stashing an army of beheaded barbies beneath his bed. Of course, there was always Roseanne's sister Jackie, who was known for her frequent visits and sticking her nose in where it didn't belong, which earned her the name "the sister who never leaves."
Over the years, Roseanne and Dan Conner faced many struggles with their jobs. Roseanne was an employee of Wellman Plastics at the show's inception, followed by a cashier at a local fast-food joint, then a magazine subscribers telemarketer, a shampoo girl at a hair salon,a clerk for the front desk at Dan's bike shop a waitress at Rodbell's Department Store Luncheonette, and later, along with her sister Jackie, friend Nancy, and mother Beverly (who insisted she was a "silent partner") a proprietor of the "Lanford Lunch Box." Another frequent trademark of the series was Jackie's spinster-like values, remaining single for most of the show and sleeping with men on a number of occasions. Many transformations occurred in the early years, ''Roseanne'' began to develop more serious storylines such as unwanted pregnancies, abortion, domestic abuse, infidelity and child abuse while dashing some humour into situations which normally would have been impossible to laugh at.
Ratings began to drop when season seven ended, and producers wanted to leave the series at eight seasons, but was again renewed for one final season (season nine). The ninth and final season showed the most changes in the lives of the Conner household, as they win the lottery and live an ultra-extravagant lifestyle. However, increasingly low ratings and decreasing enthusiasm towards the show warranted cancellation.
Roseanne Conner was originally portrayed as a non-stop humorous typical housewife struggling to pay the bills and raise her three kids, while also reversing the emblematic version of a typical housewife. Roseanne was categorized as the spouse who "wore the pants" and brought home the bacon, although Dan also maintained a job and earned a living. Her birth date is given as somewhere in October-November of 1952, mentioned in a Thanksgiving episode. Roseanne lacked much character development throughout the nine seasons, maintaining a comical personality and hatred towards her mother from start to finish of the highly popular series. Roseanne and Dan's marriage rarely went through struggles, and never went through "divorce scares" until Dan's heart attack and subsequent affair. Roseanne witnessed the departure of Becky and Darlene while trying to revert D.J., since he was really her "baby" for most of the series, that is, until little Jerry arrived. Roseanne's fourth child, Jerry made his grand entrance on Halloween 1995 during the eighth season, he was the child that Dan and Roseanne had in their forties. Roseanne was the main character for the original run and was absent for only one episode between 1988-1997.
Dan Conner was heavily depicted as the 'perfect husband' or 'the lovable teddy bear' of the series, since the majority of Roseanne's friends admire Dan's sense of humor and personality. Dan's birth date changed in numerous episodes, since between 1993-1994 he is addressed as being both 42 and 44, although there are a number of hints that he is older than Roseanne. Dan frequently raised his eyes at Jackie's presence, but the pair secretly couldn't live without each other. Not much is told of Dan's early years, yet his mother's mental health is issued a number of times, and his relationship with his father is one of animosity, especially after his father married Crystal and had two kids with her in his sixties. Dan bonded with Darlene mostly, since Becky was less of a tomboy and D.J. was young.
Played by Lecy Goranson for most of the show's original run, Becky was depicted as the classic "boy crazy" or "rebellious wildchild" of the series. Such incidents as underage drinking and eloping with her boyfriend earned her the role as the rebellious teen, especially in the first five seasons of the show. Becky's birth date is given as March 15, 1975 in the episode "Sweet Dreams" which means she was 13-22 throughout the series. Becky was absent for the majority of the fifth season, and was later played by Sarah Chalke from 1993-1995 and 1997. When Becky eloped with Mark in the season opener of season five, she was absent for almost the entire season, and returned shortly afterwards. Becky and Mark's relationship sustained however, after many of Roseanne's failed attempts to break them up. Their relationship was always strained by the disapproval of Becky's family, and this resulted in their brief departure, when the duo moved to a trailer park. Becky and Mark eventually moved back into the Conner household and continued to struggle with income. After almost five years of marriage, Becky got pregnant and announced the news in the final episodes of ''Roseanne'', right after Darlene had her baby.
Darlene was the most similar child to Roseanne, given her one-liners and quick jokes that earned her the "brat" role. Darlene's sweet sixteen is celebrated in the fall of 1992, which means she was born in late 1976. This would make Darlene ages 11-20 throughout the series. She started out as a tomboy character who loved nothing better than playing basketball with Dan. In the season 2 episode "Brain-dead Poets Society", we see Sara show her vulnerability for the first time when she appears close to tears reading a poem she has written "To Whom It Concerns" — a reminder that underneath the basketball-playing, acid-tongued tomboy does live a sensitive young woman.
In season 4, Darlene met David, Mark's brother, who had a rough domestic life living with his mother. This earned him a place in the Conner clan, as Roseanne allowed him to move in with her family. Darlene and David suffered many rifts and fights in their relationship, the majority of animosity caused by the arrival of Jimmy, for whom she had broken up with David. Darlene was the first Conner to go to college. Darlene and David later went on to get married and have a baby girl, who was delivered prematurely.
D.J. was originally the cute addition to the series, but he transformed between seasons three to six into a more bizarre and perverted child. Frequent jokes are made about his puberty in the series, and mostly lead to his regular tantrums in the later seasons. When D.J. was all grown up, he met Heather, the girl he would lose his virginity to, in season nine. D.J.'s storylines usually included bizarre references to his "weirdness" as Darlene liked to call it. Since he and Darlene were the youngest for a period of time, most episodes start off with Darlene chasing him around the house after he aggravates her. D.J. appeared in 220 episodes and his birth date is given somewhere in 1981, which would make him 7-16 in the series' original run. D.J.'s full name, David Jacob, was only mentioned in a few episodes. A darker side of D.J. was seen in the episode entitled "White Men Can't Kiss" when he refused to take part in a school play that would require the lead role to kiss an African-American girl. This action made Roseanne and Dan re-examine their views on race.
Jackie was a spinster for most of the series' original run, unable to maintain a relationship due to her lack of self-esteem infiltrated by her mother. She was born c.1956. Her actually name is Marjorie, but became known as Jackie because a young Roseanne was unable to pronounce Marjorie (saying "My Jackie) - the name just stuck over the years. She became a policewoman in season 2 (much to the initial chagrin of Roseanne) and started her first serious relationship, but after she was injured in the line of duty, her boyfriend finished their relationship. Jackie went on to move out of her apartment and start a relationship with Fisher (her real-life husband). Since she was nine years his senior, frequent jokes were made about their age difference. Fisher started abusing Jackie, which made the impact of Jackie's belt-beatings as a child more harsh than she would have liked to recall. Jackie soon ended it with Fisher and had a one-night stand with Fred, resulting in her pregnancy. Jackie later had a son named Andy and accepted that her marriage to Fred could not go on. In the ninth and final season, Jackie finally meets her prince charming, literally. Her latest squeeze turns out to be prince of moldavia (an obvious spoof of Dynasty's infamous storyline) but it is later revealed that in reality she was a lesbian.
One of the most documented moments of the series occurred in the fifth season when Lecy Goranson (the actress who portrayed Becky Conner) left the series to attend Vassar College. The character was absent for the second part of season five and the first part of season six with the explanation that she was living with her husband, Mark Healy. Instead of writing Becky out, the character was recast with actress Sarah Chalke (now of ''Scrubs'' fame). Wary of the potential backlash against reshaping a longtime role, producers sought to diffuse the criticism. At the end of Chalke's first episode, the Conner family watched a ''Bewitched'' episode, and several characters complained about the recast of Darrin Stevens. Chalke said she'd always liked the second Darrin best and smiled.
Goranson returned to the role two seasons later. When Lecy first returns as Becky in the eighth season premiere, Roseanne and Darlene say things like, ''Where the hell have you been? It feels like you've been gone for three years''. Becky responds, ''Why does everyone keep saying that?'' The episode concludes with Goranson and Chalke dancing as if they were each other's reflection in a black-and-white parody of the closing credits of ''The Patty Duke Show'', where Patty Duke played two identical cousins. The song, ''Nearly Identical Beckys'', is set to the tune of ''The Patty Duke Show'', featuring altered lyrics. William Schallert, who played Patty's father on the series, appears with Dan in a cameo at the end of the parody. This parody was excised from the season eight DVD box set. The eighth-season opening credits -- showing morphed images of each cast member over the years -- featured images of both actresses as Becky, but only Goranson's name was displayed on-screen. The changes had become a running gag. Later in the eighth season, Goranson and Chalke both played the role of Becky in different episodes, depending on Goranson's availability.
In one eighth-season episode after ABC was acquired by The Walt Disney Company, the show, like many others on the channel, created a plot about the characters visiting Walt Disney World. Chalke played Becky during this particular episode and tells Roseanne how excited she is to be going to Disney World when the announcement is made, leaving Roseanne to comment, ''Aren't you glad you were here this week?''
After season eight, Goranson left again and was replaced by Chalke full-time. Chalke returned to the role in the ninth season because Goranson had signed on only for the eighth season, believing it would be the show's last.
In an episode that pretends to glimpse into the future, Jackie, dressed very much like her television mother Bev, is apparently D.J.'s guardian and only living relative (or at least the only one who will speak to him). During a visit to a psychiatrist with an adult D.J., played by John Goodman, she fearfully asks why D.J. keeps muttering, ''They say she's the same, but she isn't the same.'' At the end of the episode, snippets from the series show the two actresses playing Becky with a voiceover of the adult D.J.'s mantra, ''They say she's the same, but she isn't the same,'' clearly driven mad by his sister's twin-like identity.
The final season marked a complete departure from the rest of the series - the formerly working-class Conner family wins the lottery and begins living an extravagant lifestyle. Additionally, the series became quite surreal, with an abundance of fantasy sequences and celebrity guests. This change in tone fared poorly with critics and viewers, but has been staunchly defended by Barr. She felt that Roseanne Conner winning the lottery was similar to her landing a sitcom deal, and thus helped the series to parallel her life. [2] The season's detachment from reality was somewhat explained in the last moments of the series finale.
For the first time in the history of the series, the introductory music for the final season featured lyrics, sung by John Popper of Blues Traveler.
The final episode ended on an unusual note, with a 15-minute closing monologue by Roseanne revealing that after she was given a writing room (referencing a story thread from a few seasons beforehand), the entire series was all story written by the character of Roseanne Conner and based on her family life and experiences, although the last season was totally fictional. She also revealed that whatever parts she hadn't liked about her real life, she'd changed in the story; for instance, it was her sister Jackie - not her mother Beverly - that had come out as a lesbian. Dan's "leaving" for another woman was also used to symbolize the pain Roseanne had felt when following his massive heart attack at the end of season eight; Dan had actually died. Thus, the ending scene of season eight at the moment when Dan opens his eyes in the hospital following his surgery shows that all the ninth season is fiction.
It was also revealed that, despite actually happening, Becky and Darlene eventually ended up with the ''opposite'' Healy brother (Becky with David, and Darlene with Mark).
It is also important to note that John Goodman only appeared in 12 out of the 24 episodes that were produced. [Episodes 1-4,12-14,18,19,22-24]. However, his voice is heard in episode 21.
The surrealism of season nine was explained as the "real" Roseanne Conner's way of dealing with the tragedy of Dan dying, which she snapped out of as a result of Darlene giving birth. The Conners' living room then returns to the way it was for the first eight seasons of the show, and Roseanne embarks on a career as a writer. The episode ends with a wide aerial shot of Roseanne sitting on the living room sofa, and text is displayed on the screen:
Roseanne's trademark laugh is then heard, in a manner similar to the opening of nearly every episode, and then the scene fades to black.
One of the final episodes of the eighth season (in which Dan had the heart attack) was originally intended to be the series finale, but after the show was picked up for one last season, writers introduced a plot revolving around Dan not taking the hospital's orders after the heart attack. This led to Roseanne and Dan having their worst fight in the show's history, with a second part to the heart attack episode being the first episode of the ninth season. During the fight, Roseanne says that Dan is lazy and unwilling. After she throws the dishes off of the table because Dan had been cheating on his diet, they move to the living room where the violence starts. After a comment made by Roseanne, Dan throws and smashes everything on top of the fireplace ledge. Roseanne tells Dan that he can pick the things up with his ass, starting with the sharp things. Then, Dan calls Roseanne a controlling bitch, and flips the coffee table over. Roseanne then refutes Dan's comment, saying she's willing to do anything to get Dan up and away from the TV, as she throws a model dinosaur through the TV screen. The end of the episode shows all of the things that were broken and destroyed during their fight.
The last season stayed around #35 in the ratings the entire year, with the series finale episode finishing at #9.
In the end credits of the series finale, Roseanne says "Thank You" to Eric Gilliland who had left the show at the end of season eight. Eric Gilliland was set to remain as executive producer through season nine however, like so many, he was under the impression that the show's eighth season would be the last. He inked a deal with Fox. He had remained on the show for a total of four years, longer than any other executive producer on the show. He was the only executive producer who was never fired. Roseanne asked him back to help write and run the final episode, which he did as a favor due to his respect for the show.
;Roseanne's comments on the final episode
The following comment comes directly from Roseanne Barr herself. On December 23, 2006, she posted this on the message board of her website:
"Thanks to user Dan Kelly, I was able to revisit the last episode of my show, where Roseanne reveals that writing is what she used to survive depressing times. The ''Roseanne'' sitcom was based on my real life; I was suicidal and broken when I gathered all that was left of myself and wrote five minutes of jokes, which became an act, and ultimately the ''Roseanne'' show. As we leave our protagonist in her living room, completion of her book just managed, she will have a quiet moment alone to think, before she throws the windows and the doors open and steps out into the world to make feminist television history, much as I did."
★ Shelly Winters plays Estelle Parsons' mother in the show, although they are only seven years apart.
★ In the first episode introducing David in 1992, he is referred to as 'Kevin'. For the rest of the series' run, he is referred to as 'David'. The producers wanted to name him David originally but changed his name to Kevin because he was already playing a character named David on another show and did not want viewers to get confused. His other show was cancelled by his second appearance on "Roseanne" so he was named David again. This is referenced in season 6 when Roseanne says that David is what Darlene changed his name to because she has so much control over him.
★ Sal Barone originally played the character of D.J. in the pilot, but because of decisions made by producers, Micheal Fishman became D.J. In a ''Roseanne'' reunion, which aired on Roseanne's talk show ''The Roseanne Show'', Sara Gilbert revealed that there existed animosity between Barone and her, resulting in his departure as D.J.'s character because Barone's mother did not want him to be on the show with her. However, according to Sal Barone himself, the show decided to recast the role of D.J. because they felt Sal Barone was too young for the role.
★ In the season three episode, ''The Test'', a reference to Roseanne Barr's National anthem controversy when Roseanne wakes up and says, "the morning is so beautiful she could just sing." She then opens her mouth like she is about to sing, but does nothing. The audience then cheers and applauds.
★ ''Roseanne'' was set in fictional Lanford, Illinois, which according to Ms. Barr was based on Moline, Illinois. On the show, Moline was where Roseanne Conner's parents lived until her father's death, after which her mother relocated to Lanford, much to her daughters' dismay. Lanford was often characterized on the show as town on the wane and offering limited opportunities, which realistically depicted the economic struggles of the working-class in the factory cities of the Midwestern United States during the late 1980s recession. The region was hit particularly hard during this recession and it was a significant subtextual theme of the show in its earlier seasons. Despite the show's association with Moline, all the camera shots of fictional 'Lanford' were actually of Evansville, Indiana.
★ Two actresses played Becky (Sarah Chalke and Lecy Goranson), two actresses played Dan's mother (Ann Wedgeworth and Debbie Reynolds), two actors played Crystal's son (Josh C. Williams and Luke Edwards), and two actors played Todd (Troy Davidson and Adam Hendershott). Two actors also played DJ Sal Barone and Michael Fishmsn (although Sal Barone for the pilot episode only).
★ In the season three episode, ''Home Ec'', Roseanne makes a comment about ''The Little House on the Prairie'', which is possibly a reference to Sarah Gilbert's sister, Melissa Gilbert, who was on ''Little House''.
★ ''Roseanne'' was famous for the unmentioned disappearances of some of the regular characters, such as Crystal, the Tildens, and Bonnie.
★ The show's original title was ''Life and Stuff'', but the producers decided to change it to ''Roseanne''. That title would later be chosen as the title of the show's pilot episode. The title would be parodied in two other ''Roseanne'' episodes: ''Death and Stuff'', when Roseanne lets a traveling salesman into her house and he dies in their kitchen, and ''Fights and Stuff'', the 8th season finale (which actually uses dialogue that parallels dialogue in the pilot).
★ There are a few actors and actresses that guest-starred before they were famous, which include Allison Hannigan, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres, and Matt Roth. Bruce Willis also made a tiny appearance interrupting a taping in which he crawls in bed with Roseanne and surprises her during the ending of an episode.
'Emmy Awards:'
★ Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Roseanne Arnold (1993)
★ Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Laurie Metcalf (1992, 1993, 1994)
'Golden Globe Awards:'
★ Best TV Series-Comedy/Musical (1993)
★ Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical, John Goodman (1993)
★ Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical, Roseanne Barr (1993)
'Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards:'
★ Best Actress in a Television Series, Roseanne Barr (1992)
'Peabody Award:'
★ Excellence in television broadcasting, ''Roseanne'' (1992)
'Emmy Awards:'
★ Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Roseanne Arnold (1992, 1994-1995)
★ Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, John Goodman (1989-1995)
★ Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Laurie Metcalf (1995)
★ Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Sara Gilbert (1993, 1994)
'Golden Globe Awards:'
★ Best TV Series-Comedy/Musical (1989, 1994)
★ Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical, Roseanne Arnold(1989, 1991-1992, 1994)
★ Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical, John Goodman (1989-1991)
★ Best Performance by a TV Supporting Actress, Laurie Metcalf (1993, 1995)
'Screen Actors Guild:'
★ Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, Roseanne Arnold(1995)
★ Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series, John Goodman (1995)
'Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards:'
★ Best Actress in a Television Series, Roseanne Barr (1994)
''Roseanne'' consistently ranked in the Nielsen top shows listing for each of its nine seasons. It reached its pinnacle in its second season with a #1 ranking, and only fell out of the top 20 in its final season. The following table lists the ranking for each season.
'Season Releases'
''Roseanne'' is currently being released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The first eight seasons are now available. The DVD release of the series has so far proved to be somewhat controversial as the first season was issued with cut, syndicated versions of the episodes. From the second season to the seventh season, the DVDs contain the original, unedited episodes. The eighth season had scenes altered for music rights, and even some tag scenes replaced with a black screen to remove music. The first season did not contain the original episodes because Anchor Bay Entertainment was unable to attain the rights to them and apparently did not succeed in their second attempt to do so, after complaints of the episodes on the DVD set. Although the first season DVD includes syndicated episodes, it is the only DVD set to include bloopers from the season.
A special "Halloween Edition" DVD was released in August, 2006, featuring uncut Halloween-themed episodes, and commentary by Roseanne.
It is worth noting that the Region 4, Season One set released in Australia was produced by another company - Magna Pacific, and unlike the Region 1 and 2 sets, it does actually feature non-syndicated, full-length episodes from Season One.
Seasons 1-3 have been published as RC2/PAL boxes in Europe as well, each one shortly after the RC1/NTSC releases in the USA. However, this has somehow been frozen from Season 4 onward: 'As of August, 2007, ''Roseanne'': Season 4 is slated for an April, 2008 release.'
Potential European purchasers of the RC1/NTSC DVD boxes should note two things: Firstly, the DVD player has to be RC1-compatible (or region code-free) to play U.S. DVDs. Secondly, the U.S. DVD boxes of ''Roseanne'' contain just the English soundtrack, with no subtitles included. They, however, contain Closed Captioning which unfortunately cannot be displayed with ordinary European TV equipment. However, current versions of some software DVD players, such as Nero ShowTime (part of the Ahead Software's Nero Burning Rom suite), Cyberlink's Power DVD, or InterVideo's WinDVD can display Closed Captioning instead of subtitles.
1. TV's Greatest Sitcoms, , Stephen, Wizenburg, PublishAmerica, ,
2. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0510/07/lkl.01.html
★ List of Roseanne episodes
★
★ Roseanne Barr's Official Web-Site
★ Encyclopedia of Television
★ Nick At Nite's Roseanne
★ Roseanne on DVD
★
'''Roseanne''' is an Emmy Award winning American sitcom which aired on ABC from 1988 to 1997, starring stand-up comedian Roseanne Barr. The show portrayed a working-class family living in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois, struggling to get by on a limited income. It was considered the most socially ground-breaking sitcom in generations, as it was the first situational comedy that realistically identified with what most Americans already had been doing for decades: it showed both parents of a traditional family working out of the house.[1] For many years, ''Roseanne'' was, in contrast to many of the most popular shows at the time, tackling subjects such as poverty, alcoholism, narcotics, sex, first menstrual periods, masturbation, obesity, feminism, domestic violence, and homosexuality. Another important theme was Roseanne's dominance in raising her children and husband Dan (John Goodman) joking that his wife "wore the pants" in the family, but deep down inside loving her as she is.
''Roseanne'' was a breakthrough for women because it was one of the first shows to put an overweight, dominant, yet smart woman as the lead role. It also showed women sticking by each other and speaking their minds without being "punished" in some way.
The show was hugely successful from its beginning, spending its first six seasons in the top five of the Nielsen ratings and inspiring a rash of stand-ups getting their own sitcom deals, a practice that continued for years afterwards. During the seventh season the show dropped some in ratings, but still managed to stay in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings. However, during its ninth, and final season, the show's ratings dropped considerably and drifted away from its original storyline and had fallen out of the top thirty.
Cast
:''This is a list of the main characters. For more detail on these and other major characters, see here.''
''Main characters''
★ Roseanne Barr - 'Roseanne Harris Conner'
★ John Goodman - 'Dan Conner'
★ Laurie Metcalf - 'Marjorie 'Jackie' Harris'
★ Lecy Goranson and, later, Sarah Chalke - 'Rebecca 'Becky' Conner Healy'
★ Sara Gilbert - 'Darlene Conner Healy'
★ Sal Barone (pilot) and Michael Fishman - 'David Jacob 'D.J.' Conner'
''Other characters''
★ Glenn Quinn - 'Mark Healy'
★ Johnny Galecki - 'David Healy', first introduced as 'Kevin Healy'
★ Estelle Parsons - 'Beverly "Bev" Harris'
★ Martin Mull - 'Leon Carp'
★ Sandra Bernhard - 'Nancy Bartlett'
★ Natalie West - 'Crystal Anderson Conner'
★ Garett Hazen and Kent Hazen - 'Andy Harris'
''Characters played by celebrities''
★ George Clooney - 'Booker'
★ Shelley Winters - 'Nana Mary'
★ Morgan Fairchild - 'Marla'
★ Ned Beatty - 'Ed Conner'
★ Traci Lords - 'Stacey'
★ Leonardo DiCaprio - 'Darlene's Classmate'
Original run
In the late 1980s, ''Roseanne'' burst onto television with its groundbreaking first season, introducing a blue collar family struggling with their children, money, careers etc. while also delivering the maximum amount of humor to push the envelope on the phrase "sitcom." The most notable events of the first season include Darlene's first period, Roseanne quitting her job, and the fan favorite episode "Toto, We're Not in Kansas Anymore." The first season truly categorized what each character was all about, and combined with witty humor and comical situations, ''Roseanne'' became an instant classic. Roseanne would forever be remembered as the mid-western Goddess of domesticity, whose catchy humor and classic one-liners truly made the show. Her husband, Dan Conner, proved himself to be Roseanne's equal when it came to humor, and was the most realistic character of all. Their children, Becky, Darlene and D.J., differed in numerous ways. While Becky was busy growing up and chasing the opposite sex, Darlene would rather play basketball with Dan or go to softball practice, and in between it all was D.J., the cute little character that grew up to be "weird," peeking at his sisters undressing and stashing an army of beheaded barbies beneath his bed. Of course, there was always Roseanne's sister Jackie, who was known for her frequent visits and sticking her nose in where it didn't belong, which earned her the name "the sister who never leaves."
Over the years, Roseanne and Dan Conner faced many struggles with their jobs. Roseanne was an employee of Wellman Plastics at the show's inception, followed by a cashier at a local fast-food joint, then a magazine subscribers telemarketer, a shampoo girl at a hair salon,a clerk for the front desk at Dan's bike shop a waitress at Rodbell's Department Store Luncheonette, and later, along with her sister Jackie, friend Nancy, and mother Beverly (who insisted she was a "silent partner") a proprietor of the "Lanford Lunch Box." Another frequent trademark of the series was Jackie's spinster-like values, remaining single for most of the show and sleeping with men on a number of occasions. Many transformations occurred in the early years, ''Roseanne'' began to develop more serious storylines such as unwanted pregnancies, abortion, domestic abuse, infidelity and child abuse while dashing some humour into situations which normally would have been impossible to laugh at.
Ratings began to drop when season seven ended, and producers wanted to leave the series at eight seasons, but was again renewed for one final season (season nine). The ninth and final season showed the most changes in the lives of the Conner household, as they win the lottery and live an ultra-extravagant lifestyle. However, increasingly low ratings and decreasing enthusiasm towards the show warranted cancellation.
Characters
Roseanne Conner
Roseanne Conner was originally portrayed as a non-stop humorous typical housewife struggling to pay the bills and raise her three kids, while also reversing the emblematic version of a typical housewife. Roseanne was categorized as the spouse who "wore the pants" and brought home the bacon, although Dan also maintained a job and earned a living. Her birth date is given as somewhere in October-November of 1952, mentioned in a Thanksgiving episode. Roseanne lacked much character development throughout the nine seasons, maintaining a comical personality and hatred towards her mother from start to finish of the highly popular series. Roseanne and Dan's marriage rarely went through struggles, and never went through "divorce scares" until Dan's heart attack and subsequent affair. Roseanne witnessed the departure of Becky and Darlene while trying to revert D.J., since he was really her "baby" for most of the series, that is, until little Jerry arrived. Roseanne's fourth child, Jerry made his grand entrance on Halloween 1995 during the eighth season, he was the child that Dan and Roseanne had in their forties. Roseanne was the main character for the original run and was absent for only one episode between 1988-1997.
Dan Conner
Dan Conner was heavily depicted as the 'perfect husband' or 'the lovable teddy bear' of the series, since the majority of Roseanne's friends admire Dan's sense of humor and personality. Dan's birth date changed in numerous episodes, since between 1993-1994 he is addressed as being both 42 and 44, although there are a number of hints that he is older than Roseanne. Dan frequently raised his eyes at Jackie's presence, but the pair secretly couldn't live without each other. Not much is told of Dan's early years, yet his mother's mental health is issued a number of times, and his relationship with his father is one of animosity, especially after his father married Crystal and had two kids with her in his sixties. Dan bonded with Darlene mostly, since Becky was less of a tomboy and D.J. was young.
Becky Conner
Played by Lecy Goranson for most of the show's original run, Becky was depicted as the classic "boy crazy" or "rebellious wildchild" of the series. Such incidents as underage drinking and eloping with her boyfriend earned her the role as the rebellious teen, especially in the first five seasons of the show. Becky's birth date is given as March 15, 1975 in the episode "Sweet Dreams" which means she was 13-22 throughout the series. Becky was absent for the majority of the fifth season, and was later played by Sarah Chalke from 1993-1995 and 1997. When Becky eloped with Mark in the season opener of season five, she was absent for almost the entire season, and returned shortly afterwards. Becky and Mark's relationship sustained however, after many of Roseanne's failed attempts to break them up. Their relationship was always strained by the disapproval of Becky's family, and this resulted in their brief departure, when the duo moved to a trailer park. Becky and Mark eventually moved back into the Conner household and continued to struggle with income. After almost five years of marriage, Becky got pregnant and announced the news in the final episodes of ''Roseanne'', right after Darlene had her baby.
Darlene Conner
Sara Gilbert played Darlene Connor in ''Roseanne''.
Darlene was the most similar child to Roseanne, given her one-liners and quick jokes that earned her the "brat" role. Darlene's sweet sixteen is celebrated in the fall of 1992, which means she was born in late 1976. This would make Darlene ages 11-20 throughout the series. She started out as a tomboy character who loved nothing better than playing basketball with Dan. In the season 2 episode "Brain-dead Poets Society", we see Sara show her vulnerability for the first time when she appears close to tears reading a poem she has written "To Whom It Concerns" — a reminder that underneath the basketball-playing, acid-tongued tomboy does live a sensitive young woman.
In season 4, Darlene met David, Mark's brother, who had a rough domestic life living with his mother. This earned him a place in the Conner clan, as Roseanne allowed him to move in with her family. Darlene and David suffered many rifts and fights in their relationship, the majority of animosity caused by the arrival of Jimmy, for whom she had broken up with David. Darlene was the first Conner to go to college. Darlene and David later went on to get married and have a baby girl, who was delivered prematurely.
D.J. Conner
D.J. was originally the cute addition to the series, but he transformed between seasons three to six into a more bizarre and perverted child. Frequent jokes are made about his puberty in the series, and mostly lead to his regular tantrums in the later seasons. When D.J. was all grown up, he met Heather, the girl he would lose his virginity to, in season nine. D.J.'s storylines usually included bizarre references to his "weirdness" as Darlene liked to call it. Since he and Darlene were the youngest for a period of time, most episodes start off with Darlene chasing him around the house after he aggravates her. D.J. appeared in 220 episodes and his birth date is given somewhere in 1981, which would make him 7-16 in the series' original run. D.J.'s full name, David Jacob, was only mentioned in a few episodes. A darker side of D.J. was seen in the episode entitled "White Men Can't Kiss" when he refused to take part in a school play that would require the lead role to kiss an African-American girl. This action made Roseanne and Dan re-examine their views on race.
Jackie Harris
Jackie was a spinster for most of the series' original run, unable to maintain a relationship due to her lack of self-esteem infiltrated by her mother. She was born c.1956. Her actually name is Marjorie, but became known as Jackie because a young Roseanne was unable to pronounce Marjorie (saying "My Jackie) - the name just stuck over the years. She became a policewoman in season 2 (much to the initial chagrin of Roseanne) and started her first serious relationship, but after she was injured in the line of duty, her boyfriend finished their relationship. Jackie went on to move out of her apartment and start a relationship with Fisher (her real-life husband). Since she was nine years his senior, frequent jokes were made about their age difference. Fisher started abusing Jackie, which made the impact of Jackie's belt-beatings as a child more harsh than she would have liked to recall. Jackie soon ended it with Fisher and had a one-night stand with Fred, resulting in her pregnancy. Jackie later had a son named Andy and accepted that her marriage to Fred could not go on. In the ninth and final season, Jackie finally meets her prince charming, literally. Her latest squeeze turns out to be prince of moldavia (an obvious spoof of Dynasty's infamous storyline) but it is later revealed that in reality she was a lesbian.
History
The new Becky
One of the most documented moments of the series occurred in the fifth season when Lecy Goranson (the actress who portrayed Becky Conner) left the series to attend Vassar College. The character was absent for the second part of season five and the first part of season six with the explanation that she was living with her husband, Mark Healy. Instead of writing Becky out, the character was recast with actress Sarah Chalke (now of ''Scrubs'' fame). Wary of the potential backlash against reshaping a longtime role, producers sought to diffuse the criticism. At the end of Chalke's first episode, the Conner family watched a ''Bewitched'' episode, and several characters complained about the recast of Darrin Stevens. Chalke said she'd always liked the second Darrin best and smiled.
Goranson returned to the role two seasons later. When Lecy first returns as Becky in the eighth season premiere, Roseanne and Darlene say things like, ''Where the hell have you been? It feels like you've been gone for three years''. Becky responds, ''Why does everyone keep saying that?'' The episode concludes with Goranson and Chalke dancing as if they were each other's reflection in a black-and-white parody of the closing credits of ''The Patty Duke Show'', where Patty Duke played two identical cousins. The song, ''Nearly Identical Beckys'', is set to the tune of ''The Patty Duke Show'', featuring altered lyrics. William Schallert, who played Patty's father on the series, appears with Dan in a cameo at the end of the parody. This parody was excised from the season eight DVD box set. The eighth-season opening credits -- showing morphed images of each cast member over the years -- featured images of both actresses as Becky, but only Goranson's name was displayed on-screen. The changes had become a running gag. Later in the eighth season, Goranson and Chalke both played the role of Becky in different episodes, depending on Goranson's availability.
In one eighth-season episode after ABC was acquired by The Walt Disney Company, the show, like many others on the channel, created a plot about the characters visiting Walt Disney World. Chalke played Becky during this particular episode and tells Roseanne how excited she is to be going to Disney World when the announcement is made, leaving Roseanne to comment, ''Aren't you glad you were here this week?''
After season eight, Goranson left again and was replaced by Chalke full-time. Chalke returned to the role in the ninth season because Goranson had signed on only for the eighth season, believing it would be the show's last.
In an episode that pretends to glimpse into the future, Jackie, dressed very much like her television mother Bev, is apparently D.J.'s guardian and only living relative (or at least the only one who will speak to him). During a visit to a psychiatrist with an adult D.J., played by John Goodman, she fearfully asks why D.J. keeps muttering, ''They say she's the same, but she isn't the same.'' At the end of the episode, snippets from the series show the two actresses playing Becky with a voiceover of the adult D.J.'s mantra, ''They say she's the same, but she isn't the same,'' clearly driven mad by his sister's twin-like identity.
Final season (1996-1997)
The final season marked a complete departure from the rest of the series - the formerly working-class Conner family wins the lottery and begins living an extravagant lifestyle. Additionally, the series became quite surreal, with an abundance of fantasy sequences and celebrity guests. This change in tone fared poorly with critics and viewers, but has been staunchly defended by Barr. She felt that Roseanne Conner winning the lottery was similar to her landing a sitcom deal, and thus helped the series to parallel her life. [2] The season's detachment from reality was somewhat explained in the last moments of the series finale.
For the first time in the history of the series, the introductory music for the final season featured lyrics, sung by John Popper of Blues Traveler.
The final episode ended on an unusual note, with a 15-minute closing monologue by Roseanne revealing that after she was given a writing room (referencing a story thread from a few seasons beforehand), the entire series was all story written by the character of Roseanne Conner and based on her family life and experiences, although the last season was totally fictional. She also revealed that whatever parts she hadn't liked about her real life, she'd changed in the story; for instance, it was her sister Jackie - not her mother Beverly - that had come out as a lesbian. Dan's "leaving" for another woman was also used to symbolize the pain Roseanne had felt when following his massive heart attack at the end of season eight; Dan had actually died. Thus, the ending scene of season eight at the moment when Dan opens his eyes in the hospital following his surgery shows that all the ninth season is fiction.
It was also revealed that, despite actually happening, Becky and Darlene eventually ended up with the ''opposite'' Healy brother (Becky with David, and Darlene with Mark).
It is also important to note that John Goodman only appeared in 12 out of the 24 episodes that were produced. [Episodes 1-4,12-14,18,19,22-24]. However, his voice is heard in episode 21.
The surrealism of season nine was explained as the "real" Roseanne Conner's way of dealing with the tragedy of Dan dying, which she snapped out of as a result of Darlene giving birth. The Conners' living room then returns to the way it was for the first eight seasons of the show, and Roseanne embarks on a career as a writer. The episode ends with a wide aerial shot of Roseanne sitting on the living room sofa, and text is displayed on the screen:
Roseanne's trademark laugh is then heard, in a manner similar to the opening of nearly every episode, and then the scene fades to black.
One of the final episodes of the eighth season (in which Dan had the heart attack) was originally intended to be the series finale, but after the show was picked up for one last season, writers introduced a plot revolving around Dan not taking the hospital's orders after the heart attack. This led to Roseanne and Dan having their worst fight in the show's history, with a second part to the heart attack episode being the first episode of the ninth season. During the fight, Roseanne says that Dan is lazy and unwilling. After she throws the dishes off of the table because Dan had been cheating on his diet, they move to the living room where the violence starts. After a comment made by Roseanne, Dan throws and smashes everything on top of the fireplace ledge. Roseanne tells Dan that he can pick the things up with his ass, starting with the sharp things. Then, Dan calls Roseanne a controlling bitch, and flips the coffee table over. Roseanne then refutes Dan's comment, saying she's willing to do anything to get Dan up and away from the TV, as she throws a model dinosaur through the TV screen. The end of the episode shows all of the things that were broken and destroyed during their fight.
The last season stayed around #35 in the ratings the entire year, with the series finale episode finishing at #9.
In the end credits of the series finale, Roseanne says "Thank You" to Eric Gilliland who had left the show at the end of season eight. Eric Gilliland was set to remain as executive producer through season nine however, like so many, he was under the impression that the show's eighth season would be the last. He inked a deal with Fox. He had remained on the show for a total of four years, longer than any other executive producer on the show. He was the only executive producer who was never fired. Roseanne asked him back to help write and run the final episode, which he did as a favor due to his respect for the show.
| Storyline of the season | Roseanne Conner's "real life" |
|---|---|
| Dan Conner survived his heart attack | Dan Conner died after his heart attack at Darlene's wedding |
| Darlene married David | Darlene married Mark |
| Becky married Mark | Becky married David |
| Roseanne's mother, Bev, was a lesbian | Roseanne's sister, Jackie, was a lesbian |
| The Conner family won the lottery | The Conner family did not win the lottery |
;Roseanne's comments on the final episode
The following comment comes directly from Roseanne Barr herself. On December 23, 2006, she posted this on the message board of her website:
"Thanks to user Dan Kelly, I was able to revisit the last episode of my show, where Roseanne reveals that writing is what she used to survive depressing times. The ''Roseanne'' sitcom was based on my real life; I was suicidal and broken when I gathered all that was left of myself and wrote five minutes of jokes, which became an act, and ultimately the ''Roseanne'' show. As we leave our protagonist in her living room, completion of her book just managed, she will have a quiet moment alone to think, before she throws the windows and the doors open and steps out into the world to make feminist television history, much as I did."
Trivia
★ Shelly Winters plays Estelle Parsons' mother in the show, although they are only seven years apart.
★ In the first episode introducing David in 1992, he is referred to as 'Kevin'. For the rest of the series' run, he is referred to as 'David'. The producers wanted to name him David originally but changed his name to Kevin because he was already playing a character named David on another show and did not want viewers to get confused. His other show was cancelled by his second appearance on "Roseanne" so he was named David again. This is referenced in season 6 when Roseanne says that David is what Darlene changed his name to because she has so much control over him.
★ Sal Barone originally played the character of D.J. in the pilot, but because of decisions made by producers, Micheal Fishman became D.J. In a ''Roseanne'' reunion, which aired on Roseanne's talk show ''The Roseanne Show'', Sara Gilbert revealed that there existed animosity between Barone and her, resulting in his departure as D.J.'s character because Barone's mother did not want him to be on the show with her. However, according to Sal Barone himself, the show decided to recast the role of D.J. because they felt Sal Barone was too young for the role.
★ In the season three episode, ''The Test'', a reference to Roseanne Barr's National anthem controversy when Roseanne wakes up and says, "the morning is so beautiful she could just sing." She then opens her mouth like she is about to sing, but does nothing. The audience then cheers and applauds.
★ ''Roseanne'' was set in fictional Lanford, Illinois, which according to Ms. Barr was based on Moline, Illinois. On the show, Moline was where Roseanne Conner's parents lived until her father's death, after which her mother relocated to Lanford, much to her daughters' dismay. Lanford was often characterized on the show as town on the wane and offering limited opportunities, which realistically depicted the economic struggles of the working-class in the factory cities of the Midwestern United States during the late 1980s recession. The region was hit particularly hard during this recession and it was a significant subtextual theme of the show in its earlier seasons. Despite the show's association with Moline, all the camera shots of fictional 'Lanford' were actually of Evansville, Indiana.
★ Two actresses played Becky (Sarah Chalke and Lecy Goranson), two actresses played Dan's mother (Ann Wedgeworth and Debbie Reynolds), two actors played Crystal's son (Josh C. Williams and Luke Edwards), and two actors played Todd (Troy Davidson and Adam Hendershott). Two actors also played DJ Sal Barone and Michael Fishmsn (although Sal Barone for the pilot episode only).
★ In the season three episode, ''Home Ec'', Roseanne makes a comment about ''The Little House on the Prairie'', which is possibly a reference to Sarah Gilbert's sister, Melissa Gilbert, who was on ''Little House''.
★ ''Roseanne'' was famous for the unmentioned disappearances of some of the regular characters, such as Crystal, the Tildens, and Bonnie.
★ The show's original title was ''Life and Stuff'', but the producers decided to change it to ''Roseanne''. That title would later be chosen as the title of the show's pilot episode. The title would be parodied in two other ''Roseanne'' episodes: ''Death and Stuff'', when Roseanne lets a traveling salesman into her house and he dies in their kitchen, and ''Fights and Stuff'', the 8th season finale (which actually uses dialogue that parallels dialogue in the pilot).
★ There are a few actors and actresses that guest-starred before they were famous, which include Allison Hannigan, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres, and Matt Roth. Bruce Willis also made a tiny appearance interrupting a taping in which he crawls in bed with Roseanne and surprises her during the ending of an episode.
Awards & Nominations
Awards Won
'Emmy Awards:'
★ Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Roseanne Arnold (1993)
★ Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Laurie Metcalf (1992, 1993, 1994)
'Golden Globe Awards:'
★ Best TV Series-Comedy/Musical (1993)
★ Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical, John Goodman (1993)
★ Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical, Roseanne Barr (1993)
'Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards:'
★ Best Actress in a Television Series, Roseanne Barr (1992)
'Peabody Award:'
★ Excellence in television broadcasting, ''Roseanne'' (1992)
Awards Nominated
'Emmy Awards:'
★ Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Roseanne Arnold (1992, 1994-1995)
★ Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, John Goodman (1989-1995)
★ Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Laurie Metcalf (1995)
★ Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Sara Gilbert (1993, 1994)
'Golden Globe Awards:'
★ Best TV Series-Comedy/Musical (1989, 1994)
★ Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical, Roseanne Arnold(1989, 1991-1992, 1994)
★ Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Comedy/Musical, John Goodman (1989-1991)
★ Best Performance by a TV Supporting Actress, Laurie Metcalf (1993, 1995)
'Screen Actors Guild:'
★ Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, Roseanne Arnold(1995)
★ Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series, John Goodman (1995)
'Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards:'
★ Best Actress in a Television Series, Roseanne Barr (1994)
Ratings
''Roseanne'' consistently ranked in the Nielsen top shows listing for each of its nine seasons. It reached its pinnacle in its second season with a #1 ranking, and only fell out of the top 20 in its final season. The following table lists the ranking for each season.
| 'Years' | 'Season' | 'Ratings Rank' |
| (1988-1989) | 1 | #2 |
| (1989-1990) | 2 | #1 (tied with The Cosby Show) |
| (1990-1991) | 3 | #3 |
| (1991-1992) | 4 | #2 |
| (1992-1993) | 5 | #2 |
| (1993-1994) | 6 | #4 |
| (1994-1995) | 7 | #10 |
| (1995-1996) | 8 | #16 |
| (1996-1997) | 9 | #35 |
DVD releases
'Season Releases'
| Season | Ep amt. | RC1 Release Date | RC2 Release Date | RC4 Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete 1st Season | 23 | August 30 2005 | September 19 2005 | June 7 2006 | Roseanne-on-Roseanne candid interview, Bloopers, Season One highlights, Interview: John Goodman Takes a Look Back, Wisdom from the Domestic Goddess. |
| The Complete 2nd Season | 24 | December 6 2005 | February 6 2006 | October 4 2006 | John Goodman: A candid interview, Best of Season Two, Wacky Jackie, Roseanne Untied: Season 1 Launch Party, John Goodman's audition. |
| The Complete 3rd Season | 25 | March 21 2006 | May 15 2006 | February 7 2007 | Laurie Metcalf Interview: The Sister that Never Leaves, Lecy Goranson Interview: I As a Teenage Becky, Best of Season Three. |
| The Complete 4th Season | 25 | June 27 2006 | April 2008 | June 6th, 2007 | Interview with Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman, Roseanne Interview: "Life Imitating Art, Imitating Roseanne", Audio commentary with Roseanne on select episodes. |
| The Complete 5th Season | 25 | September 12 2006 | TBA | TBA | Video commentaries with Roseanne, Roseanne Answers Top |
| The Complete 6th Season | 25 | December 5 2006 | TBA | TBA | No Special Features |
| The Complete 7th Season | 25 | April 3 2007 | TBA | TBA | No Special Features |
| The Complete 8th Season | 25 | August 7 2007 | TBA | TBA | Video commentaries with Roseanne and Michael Fishman, Roseanne: Working-Class Actress Interview |
| The Complete 9th Season | 24 | October 16, 2007 | TBA | TBA | Two new exclusive interviews: 'Legacy of Class' and 'Breaking the Sitcom Mold' |
''Roseanne'' is currently being released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The first eight seasons are now available. The DVD release of the series has so far proved to be somewhat controversial as the first season was issued with cut, syndicated versions of the episodes. From the second season to the seventh season, the DVDs contain the original, unedited episodes. The eighth season had scenes altered for music rights, and even some tag scenes replaced with a black screen to remove music. The first season did not contain the original episodes because Anchor Bay Entertainment was unable to attain the rights to them and apparently did not succeed in their second attempt to do so, after complaints of the episodes on the DVD set. Although the first season DVD includes syndicated episodes, it is the only DVD set to include bloopers from the season.
A special "Halloween Edition" DVD was released in August, 2006, featuring uncut Halloween-themed episodes, and commentary by Roseanne.
It is worth noting that the Region 4, Season One set released in Australia was produced by another company - Magna Pacific, and unlike the Region 1 and 2 sets, it does actually feature non-syndicated, full-length episodes from Season One.
Seasons 1-3 have been published as RC2/PAL boxes in Europe as well, each one shortly after the RC1/NTSC releases in the USA. However, this has somehow been frozen from Season 4 onward: 'As of August, 2007, ''Roseanne'': Season 4 is slated for an April, 2008 release.'
Potential European purchasers of the RC1/NTSC DVD boxes should note two things: Firstly, the DVD player has to be RC1-compatible (or region code-free) to play U.S. DVDs. Secondly, the U.S. DVD boxes of ''Roseanne'' contain just the English soundtrack, with no subtitles included. They, however, contain Closed Captioning which unfortunately cannot be displayed with ordinary European TV equipment. However, current versions of some software DVD players, such as Nero ShowTime (part of the Ahead Software's Nero Burning Rom suite), Cyberlink's Power DVD, or InterVideo's WinDVD can display Closed Captioning instead of subtitles.
References
1. TV's Greatest Sitcoms, , Stephen, Wizenburg, PublishAmerica, ,
2. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0510/07/lkl.01.html
See also
★ List of Roseanne episodes
External links
★
★ Roseanne Barr's Official Web-Site
★ Encyclopedia of Television
★ Nick At Nite's Roseanne
★ Roseanne on DVD
★
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