Do you think that she was quite frankly, awful in the role (https://roseanne.fandom.com/wiki/Barbara_Healy)? I mean, her acting in this scene (http://reviewingeverytvshowiown.blogspot.com/2017/07/roseanne-its-boy.html) below was simultaneously wooden and over-the-top, which is a difficult thing to achieve, don't you agree?

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I dont think she was that bad.

I thought Sally Kirkland was great in the role. Barbara Healy clearly had mental issues going on with her, with how her moods would change so quickly, and how she was prone to outbursts, something wasn't right there and Sally Kirkland sold that very well.

In this scene, we see a range of emotions in a short amount of time. We see her go from being confused about the situation to being upset with David, to being rageful, to pleading and looking for forgiveness. She does the classic thing abusers do when they say they won't act or talk that away again, then tries to fault David by asking him, hurtfully "Don't you love me?"

When he refuses to do it anymore, she goes back to being rageful again. IMO It is really a great scene because it gives you a serious look into the home life that David was dealing with, and even Mark before he was kicked out of the house. That constant walking on eggshells never wanting to upset Barbara, and if he did wanting to get as far away from that as possible.

What's weird is that the Conners moved David in their house because his mom was physically and emotionally abusive, but, ignored the fact that Roseanne could be just as harsh with her words.

Sally Kirkland, Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress, dies at 84 (https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-11-11/sally-kirkland-dead)

Kirkland, who amassed 270 credits in a career spanning more than 60 years, died this morning after she was placed in hospice care last week with a diagnosis of dementia. Kirkland was best known for her Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning performance in the 1988 film Anna. She also earned a Golden Globe nomination for the 1991 Fox TV movie The Haunted (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyUIM7p_opM). Kirkland’s TV credits include guest appearances on Kojak, Starsky and Hutch, Three’s Company, Charlie’s Angels, Three’s Company, Roseanne, Murder, She Wrote, The Nanny, Felicity, The Agency and Criminal Minds. Kellerman also had a brief recurring role on Days of Our Lives and starred on the 1994 syndicated Valley of the Dolls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdSehb8adFI) series.