Once upon a time – in an America not yet gripped with fat-phobia, before the small screen was dominated by Pretty People, before the everyday realities of blue-collar families were invisible – there lived Roseanne.
Reruns of this fabulous show have been keeping me up past my bedtime for weeks. I really miss Roseanne, even though I can still watch it in syndication. The show ran from 1988 to 1997, and there hasn’t been anything like it on TV since. A woman – comedian Roseanne Barr – was the star of the show, and the supporting cast was dominated by women. Amazingly, Roseanne passed the Bechdel Test in every episode; it was a rare gem.
Roseanne Conner was not stylish, or slim, or “feminine.” She was not prim or proper and she certainly wasn’t perfect. But she worked for a living and raised her three children in an egalitarian marriage with her husband, Dan. Neither was conventionally attractive but they had a sex life, and their looks were not lampooned. The couple complemented each other, though they were not constrained by stereotypical gender roles. Dan was not a bumbling idiot like most sitcom husbands in the new millennium. Roseanne was extremely outspoken and strong and did not apologize for it. They loved – but didn’t coddle or spoil – their children (three great characters themselves).
“Roseanne gave working-class feminism a face,” said writer Barbara Ehrenreich. The family struggled financially, and the show honestly addressed their economic hardships. The Connors’ home was not palatial, like most sitcom backdrops. It was modest and messy and the decor didn’t match. The family’s relationships were messy as well. The characters’ personalities were complex; none were caricatures or stereotypes. The show featured more than one gay character, and it dealt with homosexuality (and heterosexuality!) very progressively.
There were tender moments on Roseanne but it was never sappy or phony. The show’s ensemble cast was truly one of the most talented on television. They didn’t come across as actors playing roles; watching the show was like being a fly on the wall in a neighbor’s house (only funnier). Rosanne addressed sexism, racism, class, abortion, masturbation, domestic violence, and drug use, among other topics that are rarely broached in prime time today. Roseanne broke sitcom ground that hasn’t been walked upon since.
I too continue to watch Roseanne. I wish that we had something like it today. It seems that much of what is new on television is a reproduction of the beautiful cardboard cut out people and their drama. Why is it so hard to show real people living real lives? Roseanne proved that there is a market for such a thing and would think that producers would have taken the ball and ran with it. It seems to much to ask as they (the media) seem determined to have us pining for something that we will never be or have..
Yes!!!! I am on her mailing list and friends with her on myspace (yes, I am uber 2003). This show was such a huge part of my childhood; it’s actually amazing that my parents let me watch it because I was toiling under a brutal regime of TV censorship and with all the sex and drugs and stuff in the show you would think they would object. But my mom was kind of weird about what she thought was ok and what wasn’t; for example her grounds for disallowing Barbie were mainly class based — she didn’t want me to idolize having a “dream car” and a “mansion,” so maybe the reality of Roseanne cancelled out its dangerousness in her mind. Or maybe she just wanted to watch it with me!
Dan is also still my ideal husband. I would run away with John Goodman in a heartbeat. But really, I love every character. Aunt Becky puts all other sassy, slutty aunt tropes to shame.
This post definitely brightened up my morning.
I didn’t watch this show growing up–chez Sharper we were elitist fans of the Huxtables. But when I was in college, I watched it in reruns and I loved it. Unlike Cosby, it never felt preachy or aspirational. It portrayed the American family in a way that was realistically messy but it still treated them and their issues respectfully.
Also, the first gay marriage on TV! Sure it mined the whole Judy Garland-pink triangle stuff for laughs, but that was such a huge step forward, particularly for a show that was overtly pitched to blue-collar and middle America.
(About the last couple seasons, though, the less said the better. When Roseanne started getting plastic surgery and the Conners won the lottery, the wheels really came off).
And by Aunt Becky, I mean Jackie. Becky was the older sister right?
Remember how George Clooney was in it for a second?
Hah! JD, I wasn’t technically allowed to watch it but I managed to sneak it in. We should bond over brutal regimes of TV censorship some time.
@JD: Yeah, Jackie! I loved that her love life was so unapologetic. There was a great moment where one of her boyfriend asked Dan approximately how many men he thought Jackie had slept with and Dan said something like “Well, you got to figure a couple different boyfriends a year for the last 20 years…yeehaw!” And while it was funny, he said it TOTALLY NON-JUDGMENTALLY–it wasn’t a “LOL, she’s such a slut!” moment like it would have been on pretty much any other show.
Becky, I remember that episode SO WELL. She couldn’t list them all so she just figured 2 a year for 20 years…40 guys. I mean 2 a year isn’t even that much! I honestly think I used it to comfort myself in moments of feeling unredeemably slutty in my younger days. Thanks Aunt Jackie!
I also loved when Darlene’s (ADORABLE, beta, egalitarian, arty) boyfriend moved in with the Conner’s. It was so realistic, they were obviously having sex but it wasn’t about them being edgy or rebellious or whatever, just about the bf having a kind of chaotic home life, and you saw again the big -heartedness of the Conners, and then this totally non-patriarchal relationship where the bf was sensitive and helped around the house and darlene was just like her mom!
Amazing writing. Never condescended to the viewer.
I love Darlene and David so much. In fact, the other night I saw the episode where DJ is interested in religion and thinks Darlene and David shouldn’t be having sex.
Also I liked how both Roseanne and Jackie — esp Jackie I think — had non traditionally female jobs like police officer, truck driver, factory worker, etc.
SMC — such a cute plot point, really shows poor DJ trying to find his place in that loud, opinionated, family and how the only one trying to stop them from having sex is the kid! Lol.
I love this show! They’ve been showing re-runs on…what the hell network? tv land? anyway the BF and I have been re-watching all summer. She is such a cool woman, I remember back in the day she was on Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central (with the odious Bill Maher) and he started giving her shit about, “a man comedian could never get away with saying about women the things you say about men, the feminists would eat him alive. whine whine whine” and Roseanne cut him right off and was like, “if a man had an act where he went after women he would BE SELLING OUT HUGE ARENAS JUST LIKE SAM KINISON AND DICE-CLAY” and Maher had no come back. It was so awesome.
p.s. and her tone when she said it was so, “shut the fuck up you annoying, deluded idiot.” Total inspiration.
I will always associate Roseanne for teaching me about menstruation thanks to the episode in which Darlene gets her first period. My mom was mortified. Also, young Clooney. I usually wanted to be Darlene, but I kind of wanted to be Aunt Jackie during THAT episode. Laurie Metcalf really kicked ass.
My husband is 52 and had never seen this show, except for some episodes from the later seasons that Becky mentions (ugh). He comes home late from a gig last weekend to find me watching the re-runs and he’s like “Roseanne? Really?” I said, “Dude, just check it out.” We stayed up ALL NIGHT watching it. He loved that Dan wasn’t a bumbling idiot (and JD, I agree that Dan is the ultimate husband).
Seconded. I’ve been watching Roseanne reruns the last couple of weeks, too. (Yay, summer!)
I loved that show. I was already grown when it premiered (I was in grad school, in fact), but it was the first time I ever saw a family on TV that was even remotely like the one I grew up in.
One of my friends likes to say that her parents are Howard and Marion Cunningham (an d having met them, I concur). I respond that mine are Roseanne and Dan Connor.
I love this show too. I think most young Harpies were probably told they were just like Darlene at one time or another.
Also, I like to think Joss Whedon learned something from the lady.
DJ was mondo creepy though. Poor Michael Fishman.
I really agree with everyone who says that Dan is the ultimate husband. The way men were portrayed on this show was pretty awesome and mold-breaking. They weren’t bumbling dudely fools, macho dick-swingers or “father knows best” types. They treated their wives/girlfriends with respect and humor and I loved that.
I loved Roseanne, too. Their house was furnished like ours. They sounded like us. Roseanne worked because she HAD TO, like my mom.
And I was already a devotee of her stand-up special on HBO. After seeing that, my mom started referring to herself as “Domestic Goddess.”
As entertaining as shows like the Cosby Show and Family Ties were, they just didn’t bear any resemblance to my life.
I love this show too! I watched it growing up and then sort of forgot about it until recently. It really holds up. Hilarious. Yes, I definitely identified with Darlene, and the episode where they estimate Jackie’s body count is vivid in my mind too. I think Roseanne and Jackie guess 2-3/year, and it’s clear from their tone that they’re low-balling it. Also estimating “up” that she lost her virginity at 18 or whatever.
David was so cute, but doesn’t Darlene get pregnant toward the end of the show, when they’re still pretty young? Like Becky and what’s-his-face all over again.
I watched the show sporadically when it was in prime time, but in college, I ONLY got ABC, and Roseanne was on in syndication every night after the news. I think I appreciated it much more once I’d grown up a little. And PSoul, DJ was creepy. And the Halloween eps were amazing.
I LOVE Roseanne! one of my favorite scenes that pops into my mind often… she jumps him on their bed, the camera shot is of her big butt in the air, they’re laughing and loving each other. Nice, normal, fat couple sex… I LOVE that imagine, I see it often in my own bedroom mirror…. if they showed that on prime time now I can only imagine the “oh gross!” comments coming from the younger crowd.
Spark: Yes, she does. And Roseanne’s line is, dripping with sarcasm,
“finally a Conner woman is ready to wait until she’s 19 to get married. Becky married Mark at 17, I married your Dad at 18, and here you are”. Which is not really a great way for Darlene’s character to end, but is at least realistic.
just to clarify… Roseanne and Dan are clothed in that scene for those who never watched. It WAS a family friendly show and they weren’t actually having sex… just the foreplay.
I loved this show back then and still love it now! My mom wasn’t always a fan of the show but I don’t think she ever made me stop watching. I learned so much. And I LOVED Darlene. I have an old diary that has her poem copied into it, from the episode where she wins a writing contest. “To whom it concerns, Darlene’s work will be late. It fell on her pancakes and stuck to her plate.” It went on to be poignant and I identified with her so much. Can’t say enough about this show.
I grew up watching Roseanne with my family – it was one of our favorite shows. It always felt real (until the very end) and it reflected the real families and circumstances I saw around me.
I haven’t watched it in years, but the way Roseanne and Dan interacted/ supported/ fought/ talked/ negotiated their sex life, etc., with eachother definitely impacted my view of what makes a good marriage. I think it gave me a pretty realistic view of the “long haul”, and it wasn’t depressing about it. Sometimes you’ll disagree, sometimes you’ll be really angry and say mean stuff, sometimes you’ll get in a rut sexually, but so long as you talk it out and always love and support eachother you’ll make it through. (I just realized my husbands name is actually Dan.)
The Darlene and Jackie roles were also such a real reflection of life. Darlene let me see another adolecent who was smart and moody and whose life was not centered around boys, beauty, and cheerleading – she let me feel normal and okay as I was. Jackie let me see a woman who was independent and funny, and while sometimes lonely and struggling she was never just a sad sack to be pitied.
I think I need to watch some of the re-runs again – this show helped form my views of adulthood more than I probably realize.
I loved Rosanne growing up, and watch it whenever I get the chance now. So many things that were important in the lives of not just women, but working class families were handled so well. Television hasn’t known it’s equal.
Thanks for this!
I can’t watch today’s sitcoms. Man, has tv regressed since Roseanne. Several months ago there was an article in the NY Times, written by Charles McGrath, about John Goodman, which identified him thusly: “His most famous role is Dan Conner, the henpecked husband on ‘Roseanne.’” Pissed me off so much. Roseanne and The Cosby Show were the only sitcoms I can think of where a married couple really were equal partners; neither was or wanted to be the others’ parent. Maybe McGrath can’t imagine a relationship between married people in which neither dominated the other; he should watch Roseanne and learn. Clearly McGrath didn’t watch Roseanne, but thought Dan must have been “henpecked” because of the twit’s view of Roseanne herself.
As Roseanne used to say (not on the show): “Some people say I’m not feminine enough. Well, they can suck my dick.”
sh — you should watch british tv for more normal looking people who are allowed to have love and sex lives. so dorky, don’t kill me emily anne, but i recently watched and enjoyed the most recent series of the Vicar of Dibley, in which the rubinesque and hilarious dawn french plays a small village vicar and totally has a hot (tho relatively chaste) relationship with a tall, dashing, not-fat man and they never once act like it is weird that the vicar is large sized and he isn’t. just for an example.
AttyMom, the other thing that your comment makes me realize is that even though Jackie was the “pretty”/skinny sister, it didn’t make her any luckier in love or happier (or less so) — the characters were real, not just functions of hotness. Just really subtle, real life messages like that are so hard to find now.
I wish so-called ‘reality’ tv programming was half as realistic as “Roseanne.”
It’s just as timely ten years into syndication as it was when my mum and I were watching new episodes ten years ago.
And this is why it makes me sad to watch the reruns. Because you cannot find average-looking people, equal marriages, or such subversive/progressive social messages on American television in 2009. Can’t find it in Hollywood either.
JD – i have to say the only other person i know who watches and loves the Vicar of Dibley is my dad (who can be very dorky). But actually its a good point – British sitcoms do feature more normal looking people, you just have to compare the original Office cast to that of the US Office.
Roseanne was my favourite sitcom as a child, like most people i had the biggest Darlene crush but also i will add my husband actually reminds me of an Irish Dan Connor in many ways, which is just one of the reasons we got married.
I know, Emily, my husband has been trying to get me to watch it for ages but after he forced me to sit through two seasons of Yes Minister I refused to take his advice, but I have to admit when I finally broke down and watched it I chuckled merrily through the whole thing. I think because my expectations are so low from american tv (though with HBO and a few others things are improving in some ways, but still not on the normal-looking tip).
Anyway it’s not only looks that are more normal in British TV, it is also class — I know you can’t compare these things directly but even look at your soap operas — East Enders is about working class people. Our soap operas are all about multi-millionaire magnates who periodically become posessed by demons and have incestuous affairs and stuff.
I blame the fact that BBC is publicly funded so it is not simultaneously trying to entertain us and sell us Nair products at commercial breaks like American TV is.
JD – hahahaa, although it doesn’t explain why the northern genius of Coronation St flourishes on commercial ITV.
Also British people are slightly transfixed by US soaps when they catch them, because they are truly utterly insane and because one day can seemingly last a year. There was a really crazy one that came to the UK a while ago with a woman who had a talking ventriloquist/voodoo doll which did evil things to her competitors. I was convinced the writers had access to unbelievable drugs after watching it.
I’m sad that Yes Minister didn’t do it for you however, I will always have a soft spot for that show.
I haven’t watched the show since it originally aired, but it floats around in the back of my mind, especially now that I’m a parent. Turns out, Roseanne is a parenting role model for me – she always managed to find the funny in any situation. Still expressing anger, or hurt, or whatever, but always with a sense of humor. I struggle to try and keep my sense of humor in the forefront when dealing with my kids, not always an easy task.
Oh, oh, AND! OMG, I can’t believe I never made this connection consciously before – Roseanne and Jackie’s sibling relationship made me feel like it might be ok to have more than one kid. I had/have such a shitty relationship with my own sister, in large part because my parents set us up as rivals to each other (which I understand now, but didn’t while I was growing up), that I was very ambivalent about having another baby thereby creating siblings. I remember being amazed that Roseanne and Jackie had obvious fondness for each other and their experiences growing up together. They saw each other as allies, not enemies. There have obviously been lots of sibling relationships portrayed on TV, but this show was so well-written that R & J’s relationship rung true for me, and was seriously the first healthy sibling relationship I remember.
Complain-o, I love Roseanne’s humor as a mother too. She wears her heart on her sleeve and lets herself be vulnerable in front of her kids, human, in a really tender and ultimately equality-promoting way that takes the edge off of her aggression and emotional carelessness. The kids always know they are loved; Roseanne owns her shit and doesn’t project it or deny her own subjectivity. It’s really mature I think. My own mother, while unimpeachable and I don’t mean to malign her in the slightest, really took her role as Mother seriously and kept her shit together at all times, not allowing me (she thought) to see any weakness or doubt. It gave me a very secure upbringing but it limits the relationship and keeps it hierarchical; she controls the level of intimacy. Annnywaaay, therapy hour with Roseanne can come to a close now.
J.D., yes! All of that! It’s like the idea of being a “perfect” mother never entered her mind. She was unapologetically herself to her children, not a persona.
Roseanne gave us a sense of comfort and security in knowing that we weren’t the only ones going through difficulties in life. Sometimes life can’t be solved in 30 minutes and her show gave us a weekly dose of reality mixed with humor, and I think we were better off for it. Her show grounded us and, for many, made our lives actually look pretty good compared to hers.
Roseanne dealt with every day, real issues that were taboo for television. Some of these included financial difficulties, substance abuse, mental and physical abuse, abortion, depression and equality for women. Roseanne was also the first family sitcom to show a woman, not a man, in charge of the household. I’m also grateful Roseanne brought gay characters to the forefront of American television and paved the way for them to be on television.
Roseanne did all this while having one of the greatest television casts of all time. Roseanne Barr won an Emmy for her role as Roseanne, John Goodman was nominated 6 times for best actor as Dan, Laurie Metcalf won 3 Emmys and was nominated a total of 4 times for her supporting role as Jackie, and Sara Gilbert was nominated twice for best supporting actress as Darlene. Everyone played off of each other extremely well and the acting was top notch. Laurie Metcalf as Jackie was pure genius.
To put it simply, Roseanne blended comedy and drama perfectly. An example of why I love this show is in the pilot episode. The oldest daughter, Becky, is taking cans of food to school for a food drive and says it’s for “poor people,” and Roseanne quips back, “Well tell ‘em to drive some of that food over here!” Unfortunately, this show probably has more relevance and “realism” in today’s economy than back when the show first aired. Roseanne was recently quoted in Entertainment Weekly saying, “I’m very proud of it’s timelessness and, you know, the fact that it has a political edge; that it is even more relevant now than it was then.”
Roseanne spent its first 6 seasons as one of the Top 5 most watched shows on television, and was the #1 sitcom in America for 4 years. Roseanne made it OK to talk about the darker side of the American family, but in a way that made you feel at ease with it. They could always laugh off their problems through sarcasm, which made everything they were going through not seem so insurmountable.
On a personal level:
Roseanne reminds me of my mother in many ways. They are both sarcastic, smart, business savvy women who run their households with an iron fist. Roseanne was the ultimate show about motherhood and in my household, mother knows best, and without my mom everything would fall apart. That’s how it was in Roseanne’s household, too, which is why her show was so groundbreaking — Roseanne was unapologetic about being the boss.
I also relate to Roseanne and the relationship she had with her sister Jackie. Roseanne always tried to make decisions for her sister because Jackie wouldn’t always make the best choices. And when Jackie would make a mistake, she would expect Roseanne to clean it up. That’s sort of the relationship I have with my cousin. I always want to make decisions for my cousin because I care for her and don’t want to see her make a mistake, just like Roseanne wanted to do for Jackie.
I also identify with both daughters, Darlene and Becky. I, like Darlene, became “depressed” and “gothic” for part of my teen years. I relate to her mentality during those years and how hard things can seem. I also relate to Becky because she was always yelling at her parents and getting into arguments with them. Sometimes what she said was hurtful, and I remember doing that to my parents during my teen years. I was sort of a mixture between both Darlene and Becky, so I see part of myself in each of them.
But to be honest, the show simply makes me laugh. And nothing can beat laughter!
Oh man, I’d forgotten how great that show was. I loved Darlene. Now I need to watch it again…
When I lived in the UK I realized that most of what people abroad think about how Americans live comes from our TV programming. I think Roseanne is probably the show that comes the closest to showing a realistic and honest portrait of an American family. That’s quite an achievement.
I saw odd episodes when I was little, they did show it in England but maybe it was on later or something. But you have inspired me to watch them on Youtube, and god I love that program! I kind of want to be Roseanne a little bit and be married to Dan. They are great.
I used to watch that show all the time as a kid with my mum & dad. I think I’ll have to watch it again and jog the memory bank a bit
I love Roseanne as much now as I did in high school when it was on prime time. For all the reasons set forth above. Also because Dan was my fantasy dad. That is all.
I lost track of this wonderful show in its last few seasons, so I’m sorry to hear it jumped the shark. I was always impressed by the quality of the acting and that knack of showing how funny real situations are.
Can anyone tell me how they wound it up? Was there a tie-off ending, or did it just stop?
[...] and one last thing: this post made me remember how much I loved the show Roseanne! I need to get some DVDs of it! Tags: class, [...]