The Ten Best ROSEANNE Episodes of Season One

[TMC]

https://jacksonupperco.com/2022/03/3...of-season-one/

By that same token, Roseanne, whose push for more literal realism invites higher standards of believability — particularly for its characters — is at its best when its leads can capably inspire the working-class tension that it posits as more universally relatable than the comfortable family fare from earlier in the decade. So, I’m not looking at it to be a rowdy burlesque — that would be unfair. As long as it’s a consistent and comedic slice of life for a middle (to lower-middle) class white family, utilizing its leads to, per its wishes, honestly reflect a specific segment of humanity, then it’s an unqualified success — using its “situation,” and mostly, its characters, in pursuit of comedy. In this regard, while I said above that I find Married… With Children to be a funnier show, I also know it’s not wise to demand the exact same type and frequency of humor from Roseanne, given that they have different ambitions. Sure, every sitcom should reveal its comic purpose explicitly so that it can be considered competitive within this genre as a whole (because comedy is a fundamental requirement), but I know that Roseanne is purposely not trying to be as brazenly uproarious as Married… With Children, even though a similar blue-collar straightforwardness and no-B.S. creed undergirds both. I mean, I want Roseanne to be funny, but I don’t need it to be as funny as Married… With Children in order to celebrate it within the context of this study. Instead, it’s more productive to focus on when Roseanne is the best sitcom it alone can be, based on the “situation” it establishes and communicates to us as intended, so we can recognize the alternative: when it fails to use its characters well — engaging stories that aren’t motivated by them or don’t corroborate their realism — and/or it fails to project the appropriate working-class tenor, associated with said realism. That’s typically when we’ll find fault. Also, since Roseanne is not averse to indulging heavier, more dramatic moments — mostly in false synonymization of tragedy with truth — we’ll also have to look out for the instances when such notions are unearned, and/or the drama feels prioritized over the comedy, so the genre’s elemental needs are not met. As always, the quantity and quality of humor can determine hierarchies of episodic value too, in the same way character/”situation” usage can.