Roseanne

Roseanne reminds me of simpler times. I miss her. I'm sorry things didn't work out with her and the reboot. I didn't approve of the Tweet (and I do believe her remorse was sincere), but I also stopped watching the show when they kicked her off.

Having watched all seasons aired in the UK the first time round, this show became like having a surrogate family on tv. The characters are well rounded, some relatable, all entertaining. Like many sitcoms, it got a bit weird towards the end, as all shows are victim to the 'we're losing ratings so let's shake things up to get 'em back' ethos of panicking writers which eventually killed it. The first 8 seasons are well worth revisiting if you're able. I hope this gets picked up by a streaming service so it can be enjoyed fully once more.

I realized why this show was such a success. Roseanne was so darn cute, and John was a great portrayal of a good husband and father. It's a realistic portrayal of the lower middle class, I knew a few families like this growing up, but the Connors were the Cleavers compared to most of the others I knew.

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.

"Roseanne" is a milestone in TV sitcoms. It shows a lower class family realistically and the problems and issues they face. It dealt with (for the time) risky issues that you didn't see on TV often. I still remember quite a stir when two separate episodes dealt with one of the girls "becoming" a woman and the son of the family discovering how to "pleasure" himself. Also it had episodes dealing with abortion, gay characters, alcoholism, drug abuse, premarital sex, workplace and sexual harassment, how to deal with elderly parents... None of the characters were squeaky clean or perfect...they all had huge flaws and faults. But all of this was done with realism, great acting and a strong (if sometimes caustic) sense of humor. You saw the characters grow and change over the course of the 9 years it was on the air. It totally fell apart during the last season (egos were going out of control on the set) and ended horribly but the previous eight seasons were just fantastic. And the Halloween episodes were among the funniest ever done for a TV series. Just great all around. If you've never seen it, catch an episode or two--it's worth the effort.