Original Flavor Season Talk: Dinner at Rodbell's

[Mmmfloorpie]

Having a bit of a brain fart and hoping you all can help me out. I'm pretty sure throughout the show they would say "the Diner" in reference to the Lunchbox right?

Did they refer to Rodbell's as "the Diner" too? I think I remember them calling it a luncheonette once?

[peacheslatour]

I think they called it the restaurant although once I think when it was closing Bonnie called it a coffee shop.

[Mmmfloorpie]

Just realized that Todd Bowman in season 3 was a different actor in season 4 lol. Wow.

[DB in CMH]

Caught a neat little easter egg - in the episode Good Girls, Bad Girls (5x10), when Darlene is begging to go to the concert, Roseanne is thumbing through a TV Guide, which is her own cover from August 29, 1992.

 

http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/archive/suboffer/1990s/1992/19920829_c1.jpg.html

[StaceyNotStacie]

Caught a bit of the concert episode with Darlene and Molly. Even though she wasn't shown much afterwards, I'd love to see that Molly stayed in Lanford and remained a thorn in Darlene's side. Maybe they both have kids the same age who are friends and they're forced to interact because of it. 

[txhorns79]

Quote

Caught a bit of the concert episode with Darlene and Molly. Even though she wasn't shown much afterwards, I'd love to see that Molly stayed in Lanford and remained a thorn in Darlene's side.

It would have made the show feel a little less claustrophobic, I think.  It also would have been nice for Darlene to have had some other people with which to interact, even if she was pretty horrible to Molly from the get go. 

[StaceyNotStacie]

Since they eventually ended up writing in Laurie's pregnancy, they should have had her end up with Molly's father. Jackie as a stepmother with the girls as stepcousins would have been interesting. It would have been an interesting dynamic with the Becky and Darlene since they had their aunt to themselves all their lives and sharing her with other teenage girls. 

[Mmmfloorpie]

1 hour ago, txhorns79 said:

It would have made the show feel a little less claustrophobic, I think.  It also would have been nice for Darlene to have had some other people with which to interact, even if she was pretty horrible to Molly from the get go. 

I know what you mean about claustrophobic. In seasons 1-5 it seemed like almost every episode there was a new set built just for that episode. They were always going to new locations. Seasons 5.5 - 8 they really got stuck in never leaving either Roseanne's house/Jackie's House/Landford City Garage/Lunchbox. That was it. There were still the occasional episodes where they "went somewhere" new but not as many. Then season 9 was substituting new locations and lazy writing for engaging storylines that were faithful to the rest of the series.

30 minutes ago, Stacey1014 said:

Since they eventually ended up writing in Laurie's pregnancy, they should have had her end up with Molly's father. Jackie as a stepmother with the girls as stepcousins would have been interesting. It would have been an interesting dynamic with the Becky and Darlene since they had their aunt to themselves all their lives and sharing her with other teenage girls. 

But what about the episode when they drive to LA and she can't stand him? Lol

[StaceyNotStacie]

I watched the Disney episodes and the ones leading up to Darlene's wedding. Caught the cold open where the kids were trying to race little Jerry and the giant turtle. All I could think was where did they find that giant turtle in Lanford. 

[JakeyJokes]

Are there any networks that regularly show Roseanne in syndication besides LOGO? Logo edits the eps horribly, to the point that you even lose some of the plot.

I recorded Party Politics from S6, which might be my favorite episode of the whole show as it almost veers into farcical. DJ is skipping school but is being helped by Darlene, who is only helping him because she is mad at Roseanne for trying to get her back with David. David and Darlene end up reuniting but Darlene wants to keep up the charade as a matter of pride. Meanwhile, Roseanne schemes to invite Fred to Jackie's housewarming party only so that Fred will give Jackie (meaning Roseanne) a microwave.

It's perfection, but Logo edits out a key scene, and my conspiracy theory is that it's Dan's only scene in the show and it's their way of saving a royalty check. But it's the scene where DJ almost gets busted, because his scheme is eating all the chips but then putting the bag back in the cabinet so that Roseanne and Dan always blame each other!

Roseanne: Wait a minute. This is the same chip fight we had last week!

(all eyes on DJ. Darlene dramatically enters)

Darlene: I did it. I ate the chips.

[DkNNy79]

2 minutes ago, JakeyJokes said:

Are there any networks that regularly show Roseanne in syndication besides LOGO? Logo edits the eps horribly, to the point that you even lose some of the plot.

I recorded Party Politics from S6, which might be my favorite episode of the whole show as it almost veers into farcical. DJ is skipping school but is being helped by Darlene, who is only helping him because she is mad at Roseanne for trying to get her back with David. David and Darlene end up reuniting but Darlene wants to keep up the charade as a matter of pride. Meanwhile, Roseanne schemes to invite Fred to Jackie's housewarming party only so that Fred will give Jackie (meaning Roseanne) a microwave.

It's perfection, but Logo edits out a key scene, and my conspiracy theory is that it's Dan's only scene in the show and it's their way of saving a royalty check. But it's the scene where DJ almost gets busted, because his scheme is eating all the chips but then putting the bag back in the cabinet so that Roseanne and Dan always blame each other!

Roseanne: Wait a minute. This is the same chip fight we had last week!

(all eyes on DJ. Darlene dramatically enters)

Darlene: I did it. I ate the chips.

TV Land shows episodes very early in the morning during the weekdays I think.  Also on Saturdays, morning til 4pm.

[harrie]

LAFF TV, which is a digital channel that may or may not be on your television provider's system, shows Roseanne every night from 8p - 12m.

Edited September 9, 2017 by harrie

[StaceyNotStacie]

CMT and TV Land also show the episodes, but the editing is awful. I watched the Disney episode today. They got to the park and showed them entering the park, but edited out the part where Dan was looking for the beer line and ends up running out of the park to go to Epcot so he can drink beer  (which annoys me for other reasons that I won't get into). 

I wish Netflix streamed the episodes. I'd love to watch the entire series without editing issues. 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Stacey1014 said:

I wish Netflix streamed the episodes. I'd love to watch the entire series without editing issues. 

If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can get the complete series on DVD for only $27.99 right now! 

[peacheslatour]

18 hours ago, Stacey1014 said:

CMT and TV Land also show the episodes, but the editing is awful. I watched the Disney episode today. They got to the park and showed them entering the park, but edited out the part where Dan was looking for the beer line and ends up running out of the park to go to Epcot so he can drink beer  (which annoys me for other reasons that I won't get into). 

I wish Netflix streamed the episodes. I'd love to watch the entire series without editing issues. 

Dan's ignorant racism?

[StaceyNotStacie]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Dan's ignorant racism?

I'm not a drinker, so the constant beer drinking is one of the things I don't care for in the series. The Disney thing bothered me. Who the hell leaves the Magic Kingdom just after the rope drop because they don't serve beer. If you need it that much, there might be a problem. As much as they made reference to Bev's drinking, they tiptoed around Dan drinking. 

[JakeyJokes]

Amazon Video has the whole season, so I just signed up for a 30-day trial. Hoping to bang out the classics and get through some Batman: The Animated Series.

I'm watching with my roommate, who is younger than me and has never seen it! We aren't watching all of Season One, but it's funnier than I remembered. I work retail, so the mall episode feels like a sad relic.

[Mmmfloorpie]

10 minutes ago, JakeyJokes said:

Amazon Video has the whole season, so I just signed up for a 30-day trial. Hoping to bang out the classics and get through some Batman: The Animated Series.

I'm watching with my roommate, who is younger than me and has never seen it! We aren't watching all of Season One, but it's funnier than I remembered. I work retail, so the mall episode feels like a sad relic.

Season 1 is better than 6-9 put together. Most shows are weird in season 1. Not Roseanne.

[TheLastKidPicked]

1 hour ago, JakeyJokes said:

We aren't watching all of Season One, but it's funnier than I remembered. I work retail, so the mall episode feels like a sad relic.

Funny how many of the TV shows from the 90's revolve around "Going to the mall".

 

Good times. . .

[Bastet]

I don't think the show fires on all cylinders until season two (and is at its peak in season four), but season one is still good, especially once Roseanne was able to get rid of Matt Williams and his loyalists; that's when I can see this is something that's going to be much more special than a funny but generic family sitcom, and season two builds on that.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Bastet

[JAYJAY1979]

On 4/20/2017 at 6:36 PM, BitterApple said:

I completely agree with your statement, but I always thought Roseanne feeling like she needed to clean up Jackie's messes was sort of strange. Aside from being a disaster with men, Jackie was pretty competent in every other area of her life. She lived independently and supported herself. She was always the one loaning Dan and Roseanne money, not the other way around. Even though she bounced around in terms of careers, she accomplished everything she set out to do (i.e., truck driving school and the police academy) and it was her idea to start a business with the money their mother gave them. I think Roseanne definitely saw herself as the successful sister because she had the stable family life, but Jackie ran circles around her in every other category.

I also agree with qtpye that Roseanne really did nothing to better her station in life. Pre-bike shop, any time Roseanne would quit or get fired from a job, Dan's first response would be "we're okay, I've got a ton of work lined up" so I always got the impression Roseanne's salary was more pin money than an absolute necessity for supporting the household. After the episode where she didn't get the secretary job due to her lack of computer skills, you'd think that would've been a wake-up call to sign up for a couple classes at the community college or something. 

Reminds me of the season 3 episode where Bev visits..admitting she was always critical of Jackie because of all the potential she saw in her..while she always knew Roseanne would be a good mother and wife.

[DB in CMH]

Just watched 2-17 Hair, where Roseanne gets a job at the salon. It feels like a back-door pilot.

I would rank the seasons 5>4>6>3>2>7>1>8>9. Season 1 is too generic for me. Season 4-6 are the absolute peak, and season 5 is chalked full of brilliance.

I think the early 90s recession was an absolute boon for the show. They clearly aren't in great financial shape in seasons 1/2, but when things start really going down the tubes in season 4 is when the show really tapped into a zeigeist.

Edited September 14, 2017 by DB in CMH

[JAYJAY1979]

Regarding Roseanne feeling less than stellar, that goes all the way back to season 2 when she was passed over for that job because of a lack of computer skills.  If that had been me, is be going to classes on the weekends to learn those skills...jackie or fan could have watched the kids while she was in class...and her kids could have helped her with the class work.

But the point is when she's lamenting quitting her stable job because she let her boss get to her.  Then stating everyone else that quit with her had better jobs then her, even saying 'even crystal has a job'.

I think crystal being phased out in season 5 as the bad luck friend resulted in Jackie gradually fulfilling that role as the walking punch line for Roseanne.  

If I were to tell people what seasons to watch, if say seasons 3 to 5 hands down are perfection.  Seasons 1 to 2 are more a typical sitcom, but still good quality.  Season 6 started warping into the mean spiritedness of season 7 to 9, but still had some of the charm..and Darlene was still kind of a snarky, yet loveable daughter.  She and Roseanne become bitter/mean in season 7 to 9...Becky gets ditzy in season 7 to 9..and DJ also changes but he was maturing into a teen so I can buy that.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Season 6 started warping into the mean spiritedness of season 7 to 9,

Yep and season 7 is when Jackie morphed into Barney Fife and was no longer the cool aunt. And Fred. Fred, Fred, Fred.

[Mmmfloorpie]

21 hours ago, Bastet said:

I don't think the show fires on all cylinders until season two (and is at its peak in season four), but season one is still good, especially once Roseanne was able to get rid of Matt Williams and his loyalists; that's when I can see this is something that's going to be much more special than a funny but generic family sitcom, and season two builds on that.

Have to disagree with you there. Season 1 was more "bottle episodes". There wasn't really a through line plot wise between the first episode and the last. It was a new series and no one knew if it would last. Despite this, all the episodes work pretty good. The only exception I can think of is the one where Sonny is in the bridge.

Season 2 however was a bit of a mess in my eyes. I think the studio still had a lot of control over the show and they tried to pigeonhole the series into numerous sitcom tropes. Jackie becomes a cop and finds a man. Roseanne experiments with jobs at the beginning but then gets a job at a hair salon with a bunch of broadly drawn characters including her ex boss! Knee slapping comedy was bound to ensue!

Dan's contracting company was doing great and the family was financially stable. More character driven stories about Becky and Darlene dating and Jackie falling in love but feeling insecure and Roseanne going through all the dumb jobs.

Season 3 is when Roseanne Barr really got in control of the show and you can tell. Right at the beginning Jackie quits her job, dumps Gary and Roseanne quits the hair salon and starts at the Luncheonette. All that cliched garbage from season 2 was gone. Still character driven stories.

Season 4 is the height of the series for me. Still character driven but they started with the theme episodes too like the birth control one right at the start. Then the infidelity of Roseanne's father. Also the overarching theme of blue collar becomes more apparant in the stories. The bike shop isn't a great success and they start to struggle.

Season 5 is just after peak as the themes and issues start to take over the character stories.

Seasons 6-9 are a freefall from there lol.

2 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Regarding Roseanne feeling less than stellar, that goes all the way back to season 2 when she was passed over for that job because of a lack of computer skills.  If that had been me, is be going to classes on the weekends to learn those skills...jackie or fan could have watched the kids while she was in class...and her kids could have helped her with the class work.

But the point is when she's lamenting quitting her stable job because she let her boss get to her.  Then stating everyone else that quit with her had better jobs then her, even saying 'even crystal has a job'.

I think crystal being phased out in season 5 as the bad luck friend resulted in Jackie gradually fulfilling that role as the walking punch line for Roseanne.  

If I were to tell people what seasons to watch, if say seasons 3 to 5 hands down are perfection.  Seasons 1 to 2 are more a typical sitcom, but still good quality.  Season 6 started warping into the mean spiritedness of season 7 to 9, but still had some of the charm..and Darlene was still kind of a snarky, yet loveable daughter.  She and Roseanne become bitter/mean in season 7 to 9...Becky gets ditzy in season 7 to 9..and DJ also changes but he was maturing into a teen so I can buy that.

Crystal was phased out because they were starting the Diner and they picked Sandra Bernhardt to be one of the partners. Crystal had 3 kids and an absent husband so she couldn't do it. Plus Roseanne and Berhardt were friends off screen.

I also feel the Crystal and Ed relationship was one of the main reasons they kept her around. Theres hints going back to season 1 that there is something between them so you feel like it was planned from the start. Once they married her off and have her 2 infant babies I think they just ran out of storylines.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Roseanne experiments with jobs at the beginning but then gets a job at a hair salon with a bunch of broadly drawn characters including her ex boss! Knee slapping comedy was bound to ensue!

Right? All the hair salon episodes leave me cold. I think the worst one was where they give her an empty room in the heretofore unseen basement for her to do her "writing".

[Mmmfloorpie]

On 9/14/2017 at 6:17 PM, peacheslatour said:

Right? All the hair salon episodes leave me cold. I think the worst one was where they give her an empty room in the heretofore unseen basement for her to do her "writing".

The episode that really gives me chills is the one where Meg hits Roseanne with her car. It foreshadows what "could have been" in my eyes.

Imagine the series for the next 7 years with Roseanne working at the beauty shop. We get to know the other employees there. Marsha who runs the shop and is a little kooky when it comes to her deceased husband Art. Iris is the loveable ethnic stereotype who is presumably a bit shellshocked from the Vietnam War but still maintains a sense of humour about it. The ditzy blonde Debbie is, well, a ditzy blonde.

Meg continues to pester Roxanne as her former employer. Jackie the cop visits regularily in her police garb and talking like Joe Friday. She eventually weds Gary and we get all the storylines of Jackie still being a doormat and letting Gary control things. 

Crystal stays on the scene since she is a client at the beauty shop. Getting her "do done" gives the writers an excuse to put her in scenes without having to constantly write explanations of why Ed and the kid aren't there with her that week. 

Becky helps guide Darelene into adolescense and the world of dating. She continues to date Mark whenever the writers need some extra conflict. When the time comes and she ages out of high school, she decides to go to community college (or a heretofore unmentioned Lanford University) so she can remain a regular on the show.

DJ continues being either the butt of jokes or the cute little deliverer of one liners. "Uh oh, someone's in trouble!"

Dan continues to find success with his contracting business. He is the bread winner of the family, just like Ward Cleaver, but still finds time to be a loveable skamp.

Disgusting isn't it?

Edited September 15, 2017 by Mmmfloorpie

[readster]

7 hours ago, Mmmfloorpie said:

The episode that really gives me chills is the one where Meg hits Roseanne with her car. It foreshadows what "could have been" in my eyes.

Imagine the series for the next 7 years with Roseanne working at the beauty shop. We get to know the other employees there. Meg who runs the shop and is a little kooky when it comes to her deceased husband Art. Iris is the loveable ethnic stereotype who is presumably a bit shellshocked from the Vietnam War but still maintains a sense of humour about it. The ditzy blonde is, well, a ditzy blonde.

Meg continues to pester Roxanne as her former employer. Jackie the cop visits regularily in her police garb and talking like Joe Friday. She eventually weds Gary and we get all the storylines of Jackie still being a doormat and letting Gary control things. 

Crystal stays on the scene since she is a client at the beauty shop. Getting her "do done" gives the writers an excuse to put her in scenes without having to constantly write explanations of why Ed and the kid aren't there with her that week. 

Becky helps guide Darelene into adolescense and the world of dating. She continues to date Mark whenever the writers need some extra conflict. When the time comes and she ages out of high school, she decides to go to community college (or a heretofore unmentioned Lanford University) so she can remain a regular on the show.

DJ continues being either the butt of jokes or the cute little deliverer of one liners. "Uh oh, someone's in trouble!"

Dan continues to find success with his contracting business. He is the bread winner of the family, just like Ward Cleaver, but still finds time to be a loveable skamp.

Disgusting isn't it?

Sounds like Alice if it was set in a beauty salon. 

[DB in CMH]

Skipping through episodes. Checked out Fights and Stuff for the first time since probably the original run - perhaps the last great episode of the series. Very viscerally real - the characters felt true to form in a way they hadn't during the entirety of season 8 and a good chunk of season 7. The only "off" thing about the episode was Metcalfe's mugging during her short scene - WTF convinced Laurie that was the way to go? She's been consistently excellent in everything since, so I have no idea why her Jackie went off the rails so badly. Goodman and Roseanne are in super fine form in the episode.

Any other recommendations from season 8?

[Mmmfloorpie]

9 hours ago, DB in CMH said:

Skipping through episodes. Checked out Fights and Stuff for the first time since probably the original run - perhaps the last great episode of the series. Very viscerally real - the characters felt true to form in a way they hadn't during the entirety of season 8 and a good chunk of season 7. The only "off" thing about the episode was Metcalfe's mugging during her short scene - WTF convinced Laurie that was the way to go? She's been consistently excellent in everything since, so I have no idea why her Jackie went off the rails so badly. Goodman and Roseanne are in super fine form in the episode.

Any other recommendations from season 8?

Ill think about and get back to you lol.

[JakeyJokes]

S8 is iffy and I don't think I've seen all of it. But from the top of my head:

 

Let Them Eat Junk - Jackie takes issue with Roseanne letting Andy eat junk food when he visits.

 

Doogie Howser, M.D. - Becky thinks of going back to school and Mark freaks out. One of the rare episode in which Mark has acknowledged feelings and isn't a caricature.

The Thrilla Near the Vanilla Extract - a food fight episode in which the set-up is arguably funnier than the payoff. 

White Sheep of the Family - Darlene is offered a lucrative job and debates turning it down. The Connors are both proud of her but also feel she's too good for them now.

December Bride - Roseanne plans Leon and Scott's wedding and makes it full of tacky gay stereotypes that she enjoys. 

[Bastet]

My favorite episodes from season eight are (sorry, I can't remember titles for later seasons like I can with the earlier ones):

- The "That's Our Rosey" parody of '50s sitcoms that skewers everything that was awful about those shows -- the in-show advertisements, the anti-Communist hysteria, the parade of gender stereotypes, "that darn Anderson account," the cute little kid with a tag line because he can't act to say anything else, etc. 

- The one when Roseanne and Jackie go on road trip, pick up Riot Grrrl Jenna Elfman, and get to talking about how sexist the music they grew up on was.  A lot of people don't like it, and it's definitely filler, but I don't mind the random, meandering trajectory under the circumstances, because it just feels like road trip conversation.  Roseanne and Jackie are having fun, and Roseanne and Laurie seem to be as well, and I totally catch their mood.  And I love the way they are amuse themselves by trading insults with the sexist truck driver, a la Thelma & Louise. 

- The Thanksgiving episode, with DJ's Pulp Fiction-style play (it cracks me up on its own, and then comes Anne Marie's perfect reaction to that "people came to this country for the freedom" woman) and Roseanne's imagination sequence. 

- The "Don't get above your raising" episode (White Sheep of the Family, per the above post) with Darlene turning down the job with good (by Lanford standards) pay and benefits in favor of finishing school and using her skills on something more meaningful than coming up with ad slogans.  She's now a "them" rather than one of "us," and that makes Dan and Roseanne react differently to her usual comments about the house, the town, their lives, etc. 

- Becky Howser, M.D., when Darlene's opportunities get Becky thinking.  She tells Mark she wants to go to college and become an EMT or physical therapist or something like that, and he takes that as she's going to become a doctor and move on without him.  It's incredibly well done, but then they switch back to Sarah Chalke and it's all gone.

- David and Darlene's wedding, for the great moment between Dan and Darlene as he's waiting for her to finish puking so he can walk her down the aisle.  One generation saying, "Oh, we have plenty of time" and the older one saying, "You think you have all the time in the world to do all the things you dream of doing, but the next thing you know fifteen years will have passed and your life will be far more about obligations than aspirations" is fantastic.

- The next one, with Roseanne and Jackie at the hospital.  "I've been with him since I was 16 years old."  I'm not sure if this is in the same episode, or the next one, but when Darlene intends to install the new garbage disposal and Becky tells her not to, as it will make Dan feel like they regard him as an invalid who can't do those things anymore.  I'm SO glad they had Lecy for that one; it's the last good moment between the sisters. 

- The brutal fight when Dan comes home from the hospital and cheats on his diet/exercise plan.

[JAYJAY1979]

26 minutes ago, JakeyJokes said:

S8 is iffy and I don't think I've seen all of it. But from the top of my head:

 

Let Them Eat Junk - Jackie takes issue with Roseanne letting Andy eat junk food when he visits.

 

Doogie Howser, M.D. - Becky thinks of going back to school and Mark freaks out. One of the rare episode in which Mark has acknowledged feelings and isn't a caricature.

The Thrilla Near the Vanilla Extract - a food fight episode in which the set-up is arguably funnier than the payoff. 

White Sheep of the Family - Darlene is offered a lucrative job and debates turning it down. The Connors are both proud of her but also feel she's too good for them now.

December Bride - Roseanne plans Leon and Scott's wedding and makes it full of tacky gay stereotypes that she enjoys. 

I just watched White Sheep of the Family.  It highlighted how different Darlene was from the rest if the Family in subtle ways.

 

Another Mouth to Shut Up is another good one with Darlene finding out she's pregnant, proposing marriage to David..and explaining her thought out plan to Roseanne.  It showed the difference between Becky and Darlene where Becky was book smart but was impulsive while Darlene had street smarts yet was a planner.  

 

Is like to think once Harris was a little older that Darlene worked from.home as a copy writer to be with her daughter.  She had skills that meant she wouldn't ever be in the same boat as Roseanne.  While she had the same sardonic and sarcastic personality of Roseanne, she had a drive that her mother Roseanne didn't.

[Dee]

7 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Another Mouth to Shut Up is another good one with Darlene finding out she's pregnant, proposing marriage to David..and explaining her thought out plan to Roseanne.  It showed the difference between Becky and Darlene where Becky was book smart but was impulsive while Darlene had street smarts yet was a planner. 

Roseanne: "Oh no, I think something is up. Yeah, I've seen enough of that "Murder She Wrote" to figure that out. Let's see here, David is pale & kind of weak-kneed & all nervous, so there's no clues there. But Darlene wants to sit next to me & she said something nice to her brother. Ooh, I wonder....I know, you're pregnant!"

David & Darlene: *remain quiet*

Roseanne: "THAT WAS MY JOKE GUESS!"

Edited September 20, 2017 by Dee

[qtpye]

14 hours ago, JakeyJokes said:

S8 is iffy and I don't think I've seen all of it. But from the top of my head:

 

Let Them Eat Junk - Jackie takes issue with Roseanne letting Andy eat junk food when he visits.

 

Doogie Howser, M.D. - Becky thinks of going back to school and Mark freaks out. One of the rare episode in which Mark has acknowledged feelings and isn't a caricature.

The Thrilla Near the Vanilla Extract - a food fight episode in which the set-up is arguably funnier than the payoff. 

White Sheep of the Family - Darlene is offered a lucrative job and debates turning it down. The Connors are both proud of her but also feel she's too good for them now.

December Bride - Roseanne plans Leon and Scott's wedding and makes it full of tacky gay stereotypes that she enjoys. 

I loved both the episodes where Becky wants to go back to school and Darlene turns down what they consider an incredible job opportunity.

It really illustrated how the Connors had no understanding of higher education or the white collar world.

Not only do we get a glimpse of a human emotion from Mark, but it almost feels like we have our old Becky back.  She realizes that if she does not do something soon, the life she has always dreamed about will slip out of her reach.

It is also a harsh reality that both her and Mark realize that her doing better might mean the death of their relationship.  He was just not meant for that world.  Of course, this character growth does not last.

Later Dan and Roseanne realize that the rebel daughter they had thought might be more at home in prison the college, might have the life they thought was destined for Becky.  They are shocked and disturbed. With Becky's failure they had convinced themselves that there was no way that people like them could get ahead. Now, Darlene was showing them that it was possible with the right combination of dicipline and savvy.  It was a mirror for all the times they did not make the right decisions for their own lives.

It also amused me that they just thought it would be very simple for Becky to become a doctor, just because it was what she wanted and she had always had good graded.  They really had no clue about all the education and training required for that profession.

[SparklesBitch]

News of the revival has me watching old favorite episodes again, and I swear that I will never get tired of Scenes from a Barbecue as long as I live. The whole thing makes me laugh from start to finish. 

Between Nana Mary giving the radio show what for, her cheating Darlene at cards, her hilarious conversation on the phone with Bev when she saves Jackie from enduring another moment of the phone call, to her refusing to move in with them, and lastly the drama surrounding her secret potato salad, this is my favorite Nana Mary episode, hands down. 

Also, we get Chuck, Anne Marie AND Bonnie, whose singing voice blows me away. 

Dan and Chuck over the grill: "No Chuck, I was going to stack them and let them cook as a team!" about the burgers after arguing about the coals reminds me of every family barbecue I went to as a kid. 

Roseanne and Jackie's phone call with Bev, even before Nana Mary, never fails to crack me up too. I love how Bev can make Jackie crazy even through the phone line and there's something about the way that Roseanne delivers the whole "I would. I would. I would." about how she'd tell Bev if it was a big deal to take back the blouse they got her for Mother's Day that kills me. She looks annoyed and Jackie totally gets it. Roseanne forcing Jackie onto the phone for her turn is hilarious and I love the way Laurie delivers the "I hate you" to her over it. I love how gleefully unfazed Roseanne is. 

And my favorite moment of the whole episode: both Roseanne and Jackie's reactions to Jackie telling Bev "well I know you liked him Mom, but then, you didn't have to sleep with him." Roseanne's "yes!" is so hilariously perfect. 

I hope the revival makes me laugh at least half as much as this episode always does! 

[Browncoat]

6 hours ago, SparklesBitch said:

I will never get tired of Scenes from a Barbecue as long as I live.

I agree -- it's one of their best episodes.

[Mmmfloorpie]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

I agree -- it's one of their best episodes.

First appearance of Nana Mary and Chuck. 

Did the title of this thread change?

[Dee]

Scenes From A Barbecue is the quintessential episode of Roseanne imo.

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, Mmmfloorpie said:

First appearance of Nana Mary and Chuck. 

Did the title of this thread change?

I noticed that too.

[Annber03]

12 hours ago, SparklesBitch said:

Roseanne and Jackie's phone call with Bev, even before Nana Mary, never fails to crack me up too. I love how Bev can make Jackie crazy even through the phone line and there's something about the way that Roseanne delivers the whole "I would. I would. I would." about how she'd tell Bev if it was a big deal to take back the blouse they got her for Mother's Day that kills me. She looks annoyed and Jackie totally gets it. Roseanne forcing Jackie onto the phone for her turn is hilarious and I love the way Laurie delivers the "I hate you" to her over it. I love how gleefully unfazed Roseanne is. 

And my favorite moment of the whole episode: both Roseanne and Jackie's reactions to Jackie telling Bev "well I know you liked him Mom, but then, you didn't have to sleep with him." Roseanne's "yes!" is so hilariously perfect. 

I love that whole bit, too. Jackie's gleeful little hop when Nana Mary starts turning the tables back on Bev is a cute touch, too :D. 

And Nana explaining why she has to call in to that one show (a sex talk show, I think?) towards the end of the episode-she says something to the effect of, "If I don't call, they worry." 

[SparklesBitch]

55 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I love that whole bit, too. Jackie's gleeful little hop when Nana Mary starts turning the tables back on Bev is a cute touch, too :D.

Yes! Super cute! =)

[Dee]

There isn't a scene in that episode that isn't perfect.

From Anne Marie teasing Chuck Jr. about forgetting Mother's Day, to Becky knowing Nana Mary was cheating at cards, to Bonnie's pride at the sweater her daughter sent her ALL THE WAY FROM OREGON & her amusement at Roseanne telling everyone to serve themselves, to Arnie vying to be picked before DJ in touch football, to a pregnant Crystal snarkily telling Nana Mary she's glad to see bad manners don't run in the Conner family after Roseanne teases her about eating all the food, to the Conner kids groaning response to Dan telling them that every day is 'Kid's Day.'

It's just a perfect episode.

[formerlyfreedom]

15 hours ago, Mmmfloorpie said:

Did the title of this thread change?

 

11 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I noticed that too.

Yep! We'll probably do individual episode topics for the reboot, so we needed to make it clear that this topic was for the original run of the series.

[anna0852]

I've been rewatching the original run on Amazon Prime and it's starting to occur to me that Roseanne and Dan both had pretty solid middle-class upbringings.  You don't hear either of them referring to any sort of finanical struggles as children or having to do without or anything like that.

Dan father is referrenced to making a good living as a salesman, things don't seem at all tight on that side until after he marries Crystal and has 3 more kids to support. Dan was an only child growing up and there are multiple references to him owning a very nice motorcycle in high school, something he probably wasn't going to be able to affort on a part-time job. Dan not going to college seems more of a lack of parental involve/direction than lack of money. Ed was always on the road and Audrey was battling mental illness.

For Al and Bev (Roseanne's parents), Bev doesn't seem to have ever worked after getting married, they owned a decent home in Lanford and have plenty of money in those later years, enough to loan Dan and Roseanne money towards the purchase of the house and before the divorce there was a certain amount of travel. Bev always seems very comfortable after the divorce as well, in fact it's implied that she retained most of the marital assets. Roseanne didn't go to college because she wasn't encouraged to do and was determined to get out of her parents house as soon as possible. 

To me, all this adds up to Roseanne and Dan actually taking an economic step backwards when they married and started their family. Both parents had to work outside the home and things were consistantly much tighter than what they grew up with. I think that might actually explain some of the poor financial decisions they made over the years. They knew things were supposed to get better, as witnessed in their own upbringing, but neither knew to effectively make that happen.  Dan presumably has some sort of contractors license but Roseanne clearly has no secondary eduction or certification even though Becky wasn't born until they'd been married for 4 years, durning which time Roseanne could have obtained some sort of job training.

[qtpye]

6 hours ago, anna0852 said:

I've been rewatching the original run on Amazon Prime and it's starting to occur to me that Roseanne and Dan both had pretty solid middle-class upbringings.  You don't hear either of them referring to any sort of finanical struggles as children or having to do without or anything like that.

Dan father is referrenced to making a good living as a salesman, things don't seem at all tight on that side until after he marries Crystal and has 3 more kids to support. Dan was an only child growing up and there are multiple references to him owning a very nice motorcycle in high school, something he probably wasn't going to be able to affort on a part-time job. Dan not going to college seems more of a lack of parental involve/direction than lack of money. Ed was always on the road and Audrey was battling mental illness.

For Al and Bev (Roseanne's parents), Bev doesn't seem to have ever worked after getting married, they owned a decent home in Lanford and have plenty of money in those later years, enough to loan Dan and Roseanne money towards the purchase of the house and before the divorce there was a certain amount of travel. Bev always seems very comfortable after the divorce as well, in fact it's implied that she retained most of the marital assets. Roseanne didn't go to college because she wasn't encouraged to do and was determined to get out of her parents house as soon as possible. 

To me, all this adds up to Roseanne and Dan actually taking an economic step backwards when they married and started their family. Both parents had to work outside the home and things were consistantly much tighter than what they grew up with. I think that might actually explain some of the poor financial decisions they made over the years. They knew things were supposed to get better, as witnessed in their own upbringing, but neither knew to effectively make that happen.  Dan presumably has some sort of contractors license but Roseanne clearly has no secondary eduction or certification even though Becky wasn't born until they'd been married for 4 years, durning which time Roseanne could have obtained some sort of job training.

This is what it seemed like to me in the early episodes.  Roseanne's and Dan's parents would be probably silent generation.  They grew up during the Depression and probably game of age in the fifties.  They were comparably frugal and responsible with their finances.  Dan and Roseanne would be Baby Boomers, the first generation of Americans that grew taking things like indoor plumbing and electricity for granted.  Also, the world had changes.  Technology was replacing humans in many middle to lower middle class professions and a college degree went from being a luxury to a necessity.   I always felt like the early episodes kind of hinted at the backward progress and wondered if Dan and Rosanne were poorer then their parents or at least not as financially secure?

Of course by the time the series ended, the narrative had become that they were just another line in proud generations of white trash.  It would of been interesting if they looked at a family going backwards on the social economic scale.  There would also be a chance that Gen X'ers, Mark and Becky, might not do a well as Roseanne and Dan, particularly if Becky go pregnant and never goes back to school.  Mark should be making a good living as a mechanic, but who knows?

[anna0852]

Once the revival starts, the really interesting part is going to be seeing essentially three very distinct generations all dealing with economic issues. You have Roseanne and Dan the Baby Boomers, Mark and Becky along with David and Darlene who are Generation X and then finally Harris, Andy and Jerry who are all millennials. And while Andy and Jerry are being raised by Baby Boomers, Harris will probably have a very different childhood as she is being raised by Gen X. 

And another thing I thought of, Bev had to get married when she got pregnant with Roseanne. And given her upbringing with Nana Mary she probably felt she was Marrying Up. Which is why she's probably so hyper critical of her daughters. Even though she never felt Rosanne would be more than a wife and a mother, she clearly feels that she could have been a better one. That Roseanne should have waited at least a couple of years, maybe worked some sort of token job or gone to secratrial school or something, then married a man in a white collar profession. Isn't that what most 50's mothers were exorting their daughters to do? And then there were the educational and professional aspirations that Bev had for Jackie that also went unfulfilled. And neither does Jackie seem capable of a stable relationship. So Bev sees many disappointments in both her daughters.

Edited October 2, 2017 by anna0852

[Dee]

DJ's Gen X too.

His future should be one of the most interesting seeing as he isn't as shackled to never-ending debt like his Boomer parents, doesn't feel the constant need to prove something like earlier Generation X kids Becky/Mark/Darlene/David and isn't under tremendous economic/cultural pressure like Millenials Andy/Jerry/Harris.

Edited October 2, 2017 by Dee

[anna0852]

That's a really good point. When we last saw him, DJ was not dealing with a young marriage or early parenthood. Admittedly he was 14 and it would have been very odd for that to be an issue. Provided that he did well in school and avoided the mistakes of his older sisters, DJ has a pretty bright future in front of him. He's only a couple of years older than me and I think I was some of the last people to go to college without worrying about crippling educational debt (graduated HS 2000, college 2004). DJ stands a very good chance of getting through college and into the workforce ahead of the recession and without the student loan debt.

[StaceyNotStacie]

It's hard to tell how they will go with DJ. He seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders, but I wouldn't be surprised to have them portray him as the weird uncle still living in mom and dad's basement.