When the first season of Roseanne was released on DVD, it was met with a lot of controversy. This was primarily due to the way the episodes were edited. Ultimately, fans were in an uproar about the way that they ended up paying for edited versions instead of the full uncut versions. With pressure on them to come to the table with full versions of the episodes or ruin the DVD release franchise before they really get started, Anchor Bay has delivered a winner.
For anyone that doesn't know (which is few, I'm sure), Roseanne was an amazingly innovative sitcom when it first came out. It detailed the view of life of a poor family in Chicago, and mixed comedy with the real-world situations of troublesome kids, unemployment, and basically just struggling to get by in day to day society. While the first season defined the characters and was well received, it was in season 2 where this show really started to blossom. Most interesting in this season was the character development of the 2 daughters - Becky (Lecy Goranson) and Darlene (Sara Gilbert). More than in the previous season, you feel Becky's need to be "popular" at school, as well as Darlene's neverending attempts to bring Becky down. In "Inherit The Wind," Darlene drives Becky insane as she goes on the offensive after Becky passes gas at school. Becky's troubles continue throughout season 2, primarily in the neverending mother-daughter problems between Becky and mother Roseanne (Roseanne Barr). On "No Talking," Becky and Roseanne are at each other's throats throughout. Throughout this seasons, you get the feel of real-world family living, although teased with some of the best comedy timing a sitcom has ever seen.
Another major piece to the puzzle of this long-running show was relationship between Roseanne and her husband Dan (John Goodman). The irony that they built for years was the tensiion between the two while you fully realize their undying love for each other. Early on, the problems the two had with each other were based in the root of all family issues - money. The family cannot live on the on-again/off-again employment of Dan. At the same time, Dan always resents when Roseanne has to get a second job in order to help out. This comes to light in season 2 on "Lobocop," when the two confront each other when Roseanne gets a second job at the local bar.
Article comments
1 - Don Baiocchi
This really is one of the best sitcoms ever. The writing, the acting...all top notch. I just got the first season on DVD and I also wasn't thrilled with the edited versions, but it's still enjoyable. Season 2 is good, but I can't wait for 3 and 4 to come out, because I feel like that's when it really started to hit its peak.