I watched a lot of sitcoms growing up in the eighties and nineties; in fact, I would say I watched most of them. But if I had to choose a favorite, Roseanne is almost certainly it.
I cannot ever recall a time when my family didn’t have cable TV, which is really a very lucky thing to be able to say; The Connor Family probably couldn’t do the same.
Of all the “other” families that were invited into our living room every week night, The Connors, with their working class values, far from perfect family portrait, and often painfully relatable humor, is the one I always felt the closest to. My sister and I are Becky and Darlene (I’m Darlene, in case you’re wondering). DJ is the little brother I never had. Aunt Jackie is the cool Aunt I always wanted. And my parents have certainly had their ups and downs just like Dan and Roseanne. (And also just like Dan and Roseanne, they live to embarrass the shit out of me.) The Connor Family is everyone’s family.
If you love Roseanne as much as I do, there’s three recent newsworthy things you’ll probably want to know about:
#1 – Comedy Central’s Roast of Roseanne Barr
Comedy Central’s Roast of Roseanne will air Sunday, August 12 at 10/9 Central.
Helmed by Roast Master Jane Lynch and featuring a dais of roasters Katey Sagal, Carrie Fisher, Ellen Barkin, Seth Green, Wayne Brady, Anthony Jeselnik, Jeffrey Ross, Amy Schumer and Gilbert Gottfried — with a special appearance by Tom Arnold — the #RoseanneRoast was taped at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on Saturday, August 4. It’s a fiery battle of wits as every comedian and actor on the dais gets their chance to knock the legendary Roseanne down a peg, before Roseanne roasts like a champ and delivers her fair share of burns in this epic event.
[via Comedy Central]
#2 – ‘Roseanne’ Cast Reunion (Sort Of)
The reason why “Roseanne Reunion” was trending the other day:
Television viewers will see a few familiar faces during the Comedy Central Roast for Roseanne Barr, which is set to air on August 12.
Several of the 59-year-old comedienne’s “Roseanne” cast members will make appearances on the program including Sarah Chalke, Michael Fishman and Alicia “Lecy” Goranson. Barr can be seen posing with Fishman and Goranson, who played her TV children D.J. and “original” Becky, in the photo above taken on the red carpet before the roast.
“I think this is kind of like every angry teenager’s dream come true,” Fishman, 30, joked to OnTheRedCarpet.com. “You get to see your mom, she’s gonna get roasted. People are gonna say nasty stuff to her and she’s just gonna take it. It’s a perfect night.”
[via OTRC]
4 Years ago…
Back in 1998, Entertainment Weekly got the whole cast of Roseanne (including both Beckys!) together to pose for these awesome reunion pictures.
Back in the Day
Roseanne’s first of nine seasons premiered back in October of 1988. Here’s loudmouth mom Roseanne (Roseanne Barr), goofy dad Dan (John Goodman), prissy, nerdy older sister Becky (Lecy Goranson), sarcastic tomboy little sis Darlene (Sara Gilbert), misfit little brother D.J. (Michael Fishman), and of course crazy Aunt Jackie (Laurie Metcalf).
#3 – Downwardly Mobile
A new TV show starring Roseanne AND John Goodman AND set in a trailer park sounds too good to be true, right?? Sadly it is.
We missed out on a “Roseanne” reunion when NBC passed on “Downwardly Mobile,” another blue-collar comedy that would’ve reteamed former TV husband and wifeRoseanne Barr and John Goodman. Barr would’ve played the proprietor of a trailer park full of colorful characters, with Goodman playing the park’s handyman. (They wouldn’t have been married, though.) But don’t break out the harmonicas just yet; “Mobile” couldn’t find a spot to park on NBC’s fall schedule.
[via Yahoo!]
