Roseanne (1988–1997)

The story of a working class family struggling with life's essential problems: Marriage, Children, Money and Parents in Law.

Creator:

Matt Williams

Stars:

Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 41 wins & 83 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Roseanne Barr	...	Roseanne Conner (221 episodes, 1988-1997)
John Goodman	...	Dan Conner (221 episodes, 1988-1997)
Laurie Metcalf	...	Jackie Harris (221 episodes, 1988-1997)
Michael Fishman	...	D.J. Conner (220 episodes, 1988-1997)
Sara Gilbert	...	Darlene Conner (219 episodes, 1988-1997)
Alicia Goranson	...	Becky Conner (146 episodes, 1988-1996)
Johnny Galecki	...	David Healy (92 episodes, 1992-1997)

Storyline

'Roseanne' is the story of a working class family struggling with life's essential problems: Marriage, Children, Money and Parents in Law. A classic sitcom, the story circles around the Connor family - a family of five (DJ, Darlene, Becky, Roseanne and Dan). The household's mother, Roseanne, is being accompanied in her quest to keep the family together by her sister Jackie and various friends over the years.

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Plot Keywords:

children | working class | marriage | sitcom | midwest | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Life and Stuff

Filming Locations:

619 South Runnymeade Avenue, Evansville, Indiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wind Dancer Productions, Carsey-Werner Company, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min 22 min (222 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

A few actors had more than one role in the series. Actor Dann Florek played Becky's Principal (Principal Hiller) in S3 EP9 and Darlene's doctor (Dr. Rudmen) in S9 E18-19. Actor Michael Des Barres played one of Darlene's doctors (Dr. Phillips) in S9 E19 and Leon's boyfriend (Steven/Jerry) in season three. Also actor Rob Fuller has a few parts; as does a couple of other people.

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Goofs

In the first season, the front door doesn't have a dead bolt on it. Then in a few episodes in the middle of the first season, the front door has a dead bolt. Then later on, the dead bolt is gone and then reappears officially in season 2.

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Crazy Credits

During the course of the series, Roseanne Arnold divorced Tom Arnold and changed her name to simply Roseanne. In the season-opener after the divorce, every cast and crew member in the opening and closing credits was listed onscreen by first name only.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Megan Fox/U2 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Theme"
by Dan Foliart & Howard Pearl
Arranged and Performed by Blues Traveler
Lyrics by John Popper
Music by W.G. Snuffy Walden

User Reviews

Original and hilarious

A highly original take on the tired genre of the American family sitcom. At the time, the gold standard was "The Cosby Show" and "Family Ties", both upper-middle class and completely unrealistic. "Roseanne" was the first high-quality sitcom since the Honeymooners to focus on working-class families. This show took the idea of the 80s family show and stood it on its ear.

It took risks and chances that other shows were afraid to take, discussing subjects like homosexuality, child abuse, alcoholism, and teenage sexuality not just as one-show ideas, but as recurring themes. And though it wasn't successful all of the time, most of the time it was hilarious. I'd rather see a show take tremendous risks and fail than take the safe course and receive middling success.

The last couple of seasons were less than stellar, and the very last season was terrible and marked the first time that Roseanne hadn't been in the top 10 (or top 20) in the ratings consistently since it started. But overall, it had the guts to change its situation every once in a while (Roseanne had, I think, ten separate jobs in nine years) to shake things up and add new elements.