THE STORY: Roseanne is out of work, Dan’s bike shop goes under, Becky moves away, and that’s just the two-part season opener! In these 25 unforgettable episodes, the Connors electricity is turned off, Darlene turns sweet 16, The Lunch Box opens, Nancy comes out, David moves in, DJ becomes a peeping tom, and Dan and Roseanne celebrate their 20th Anniversary. There’s an RV trip to California, the death of Jackie and Roseanne’s father, classic Halloween and Christmas episodes, and much more in the year that won Emmy Awards® for both Roseanne and Laurie Metcalf. Natalie West co-stars in this hilarious season featuring the performances by Johnny Galecki, Sandra Bernhard, Danielle Harris,Wings Hauser, Loretta Lynn, Morgan Fairchild, Bill Maher, Shelly Winters, Estelle Parsons, Ed Begley Jr., Blake Clark, Tom Arnold, Red Buttons, Sally Kirkland, Tim Curry, Martin Mull, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Joan Collins.
THE REVIEW: The fifth season of Roseanne is like a whirlwind of ups and downs. It seems that everything that could happen did happen. From the heartbreak of Dan closing his shop to the diner Roseanne going out of business and Becky moves out while David moves in—not to mention another Becky joining the cast. The cycle of highs and lows kept the fifth season full of life—and then there is the depression which hung above the entire season.
Each episode seems to deal with major struggle. The third episode finds the Connors without power and to top it off the must deal with the possibility that Darlene and David might have had sex after they find out he spent the night in her room. The next episode is a shocker when Roseanne and Jackie are given money from their mother–but they can’t cut the cord when they realize they need her to be a partner in their business. Nancy (Sandra Bernhard) joins as a lesbian who has divorced Arnie.
Of course there are the great Connor holiday episodes. The Halloween episode is brilliant and the Christmas episode is a classic that finds the Conners plus guests stuck in their home when a snowstorm makes it impossible for anyone to leave. Jackie, as usual, has her own struggles. In the fifth season Jackie is in a relationship until Roseanne and Dan find out she is being abused by Fisher. Dan decides to deal with it man-to-man. Now Roseanne is caught in a tough situation because she pushed Jackie on him and now she must admit her mistake and tell her to steer clear of him.
THE EXTRAS: The video commentaries feature Roseanne discussing a few episodes. Then there is a weird feature called “Roseanne Answers the Top 10 Questions by Her Fans.” The problem is she only answers eight questions and they aren’t all that interesting.
FRANKLY: The fifth season of Roseanne is full of more laughs than drama. Roseanne was one of the best shows ever at taking the good with the bad and leaving us with a laugh. It’s true that the show spoke to millions of Americans because they were going through what she was on the show. Interestingly the show still has much of the same impact today as it did back then. The only thing different are the clothes and hairdos.
+ Charlie Craine
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