Into That Good Night: Part 2 (20 May 1997)

Family and friends gather at the Conner house to celebrate baby Harris' Homecoming and everyone takes a turn chatting with the new edition to the family. Mark and Becky have some exciting ... See full summary »

Director:

Gary Halvorson

Writers:

Matt Williams (creator), Roseanne Barr,

Stars:

Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Roseanne Barr	...	Roseanne Conner (as Roseanne)
John Goodman	...	Dan Conner
Laurie Metcalf	...	Jackie Harris
Sara Gilbert	...	Darlene Conner-Healy
Michael Fishman	...	D.J. Conner
Sarah Chalke	...	Becky Conner-Healy
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sandra Bernhard	...	Nancy Bartlett
Johnny Galecki	...	David Healy
Garrett Hazen	...	Andy
Kent Hazen	...	Andy
Martin Mull	...	Leon Carp
Estelle Parsons	...	Beverly Harris
Glenn Quinn	...	Mark Healy
Cole Roberts	...	Jerry Garcia Conner
Fred Willard	...	Scott

Storyline

Family and friends gather at the Conner house to celebrate baby Harris' Homecoming and everyone takes a turn chatting with the new edition to the family. Mark and Becky have some exciting news, as do Leon and his husband Scott. During dinner, Roseanne takes time to reflect on each member of her family and reveals she has been writing a book; everything we see is Roseanne's altered version of actual events. Roseanne reveals the true story and admits she changed whatever details she didn't like about her life and the people in it. In truth, the Conners never won the lottery; it was all a fantasy Roseanne created in order to cope with a devastating reality. In the final moments, Roseanne sits alone in her basement writing room. She goes upstairs, passing through the old kitchen and the old living room. Roseanne sits on the old couch with the classic afghan on the back and silently takes in the warmth and comfort of the family home as the lights slowly fade.

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Plot Keywords:

series finale | surprise ending

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 May 1997 (USA)

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wind Dancer Productions, Carsey-Werner Company, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is from a poem by Dylan Thomas, which begins "Do not go gentle into that good night, / Old age should burn and rage at close of day; / Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

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Goofs

As the family surrounds Roseanne at the stairs, the camera lens can bee seen on the left side of the frame.

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Quotes

Roseanne Conner: [closing monologue] Everyone wonders where creative people get their inspiration. Actually, I've found it's all around you. Take Leon for instance... Leon is not really as cool as I made him. He's the only gay guy I know who belongs to the Elk's Club... Then there's Scott. He really is a probate lawyer I met about a year ago and introduced to Leon. I guess I didn't get too creative there... A lot of kids have called my son a nerd but, as I told him, they called Steven Spielberg a nerd too. A lot...

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Connections

Featured in TV's Most Unforgettable Finales (2011)

User Reviews

One Final Goodbye to our favorite blue-collar family....

This was the final part of the final 2 part episode of perhaps one of the greatest sitcoms on television ever. This ties everything throughout the series we've seen so far, and tells the truth of many different situations at once. For instance, who the kids were married to, who was actually gay, and did Roseanne really win the lottery? I don't know, you'll have to wait and see it. But the end will leave you in tears, it was as good as any movie climax I've ever seen, and all I can say is from the realistic stand-point, it was the best way to end the series.

From dreams to flights of fancy, this series as a whole deserves a ten, but this episode itself is a ten from the get-go. Hope you like it if you get to see it.