Why I LOVE Roseanne

[Overdose]

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!

[80sTrivia]

Roseanne is such a true classic show. I watched an episode last week and it really struck me how relevant the show was and continues to be, especially in light of the economic hardships the world is facing currently. Roseanne was a true pioneer and helped change the image of what a mother, wife, sister and daughter should be. The show never shied away from the difficult topics, but successfully managed to deal with them in a humorous way. I still say the pairing of Roseanne and John Goodman is the greatest couple in television history. They were absolutely perfect together in every way. The entire cast was sheer perfection, most notably Laurie Metcalf as flaky sister Jackie and Sara Gilbert as the perfect sarcastic foil Darlene. My favorite episodes were always the Halloween shows. Such a treat! I also admire Roseanne's outspoken views... you might not agree with them, but she will certainly speak her mind.