Wayne Brady Names His Top 5 TV Shows

[PYLdude]

And the shift to more of a dramedy tone made that worse.

That was about the same time that Roseanne really started to go off the deep end, if I recall correctly.

And THEN came that ridiculous final season.

[BrandonFG]

And the shift to more of a dramedy tone made that worse.

That was about the same time that Roseanne really started to go off the deep end, if I recall correctly.

And THEN came that ridiculous final season.

My g/f and I were talking about this not too long ago. Winning the lottery was probably the last straw for a show that had already gone downhill. It probably should've wrapped up after season 7 or 8, and worked so much better when the Conners were simply a Midwestern blue-collar family. I agree, the final season was just too ridiculous for words, not to mention the finale. Not sure if it's coincidence, but I pinpoint the downward slide to around the time Roseanne and Tom Arnold divorced.

/The theme song suddenly having words was kinda crummy too
//Found myself watching reruns from the first few seasons, a few years ago
///Still had me laughing

[Jimmy Owen]

I never understood the appeal of "Roseanne;" terrible show that got progressively worse.  

Really? What about it didn't you care for? Besides the manic braying of the star, I mean?

That, and the celebration of trailer park mentality.  "Grace Under Fire" was of the same ilk.

[chad1m]

the celebration of trailer park mentality..

Well, excuse the hell out of America, J. Bradford Owen III Esq. Believe it or not, most of which the good seasons of Roseanne "celebrated" is the way a good portion of the way the country really is. Some people do indeed live paycheck to paycheck and have to take many (albeit not as humorous) jobs to support the family. Ir's not "trailer park," it's blue collar.

[clemon79]

Ir's not "trailer park," it's blue collar.

And when the star and creator of the show is perfectly content to portray the whole thing so stereotypically and use material like "what, you want to go to college, are you too good for this family?", it gets a whole lot closer to "trailer park."

It is absolutely possible to be blue collar and literate at the same time.

[Matt Ottinger]

And THEN came that ridiculous final season.

Which was almost justified (almost) by what I felt was the wonderful payoff in the final episode that all the preposterous, ridiculous, silly antics of the lottery-winning Connor family had actually been the overwrought fantasies of the poor, widowed main character.  Basically a big "screw you" from Roseanne to her loyal viewers.  And she wonders why she isn't more popular.

[chad1m]

"what, you want to go to college, are you too good for this family?", it gets a whole lot closer to "trailer park."

The two college storylines, that I recall, involved Roseanne getting pissed at Darlene because she turned down a high-paying job while she was in her art school. (She only protested to the art school in the first place because she was underage, not graduated, going farther away and going with a boy.) The other one involved Becky being mad because they had no funds for her to go to school. (They later gave her a check for a class at the community college, which she promptly handed to Mark for his training.) I don't recall any "lolwut, college?" instances going on, but an actual portrayal about how they did want her to go on to do better than they had... they just simply couldn't help as much as they wish they could.

I believe you're thinking of Rick Santorum's sitcom.

[Fedya]

And THEN came that ridiculous final season.

Which was almost justified (almost) by what I felt was the wonderful payoff in the final episode that all the preposterous, ridiculous, silly antics of the lottery-winning Connor family had actually been the overwrought fantasies of the poor, widowed main character.

One could argue Bob Newhart did it first.

And then one could argue Patrick Duffy did it before Bob Newhart.

[clemon79]

"what, you want to go to college, are you too good for this family?", it gets a whole lot closer to "trailer park."

The two college storylines, that I recall, involved Roseanne getting pissed at Darlene because she turned down a high-paying job while she was in her art school. (She only protested to the art school in the first place because she was underage, not graduated, going farther away and going with a boy.) The other one involved Becky being mad because they had no funds for her to go to school. (They later gave her a check for a class at the community college, which she promptly handed to Mark for his training.) I don't recall any "lolwut, college?" instances going on, but an actual portrayal about how they did want her to go on to do better than they had... they just simply couldn't help as much as they wish they could.

I believe you're thinking of Rick Santorum's sitcom.

I admit I pulled that concept out of thin air simply as something representative of the show. But in your reply I think my point is being missed (though, again, I admit I didn't make it very obvious), which is that the "too good for this family" schtick certainly came up more than once over the years. Yes, by the end of the show they also usually tried to smooth it over with the "we just want you to do better than we did" pablum, but in all comedy there is truth, and to hold up Roseanne as a paragon of good ol' blue-collar values is an insult to a lot of people who identify with that class.

[GrandGame1440]

One could argue Bob Newhart did it first.

And then one could argue Patrick Duffy did it before Bob Newhart.

That was actually Victoria Principal's dream.

/Just saying.

[Matt Ottinger]

And THEN came that ridiculous final season.

Which was almost justified (almost) by what I felt was the wonderful payoff in the final episode that all the preposterous, ridiculous, silly antics of the lottery-winning Connor family had actually been the overwrought fantasies of the poor, widowed main character.

One could argue Bob Newhart did it first.

And then one could argue Patrick Duffy did it before Bob Newhart.

I never said it was a unique idea. (See also St. Elsewhere, among others).  I would counter-argue that Newhart did it better and more cleverly, and Dallas did it out of desperation.  Though I don't know for sure, my gut instinct had always been that Roseanne's little stunt was planned from the start.  She's not stupid, and that final season was just SO tonally out of whack with the rest of the series.

[Steve Gavazzi]

She's adorkable!

Just for the hell of it, I looked this word up on TVTropes tonight.  The first person listed for it under "Live Action TV?"  Bill Cullen.

[jjman920]

Roseanne was and is an escape for people like most television programs are. Let's avoid the drama of our lives by getting wrapped up in theirs. I don't look to Roseanne to run my life, and for that reason alone I can sit and watch the show and laugh at the fun she pokes at different culture groups.

I didn't like the final season not because of the lottery aspect, but because of how they wrote out John Goodman for damn near half the season and sent Roseanne and Jackie out as the new Laverne and Shirley.

By the way, Bob Newhart perfected the "all-a-dream" theme. He knew exactly how to use it. The motivations behind Dallas were clearly written on the wall.

Also, if you get a compliment from Carol Burnett like that, you might as well dig your grave and die now. Wow.

[Matt Ottinger]

I didn't like the final season not because of the lottery aspect, but because of how they wrote out John Goodman for damn near half the season and sent Roseanne and Jackie out as the new Laverne and Shirley.

In fairness to them, that was pretty much at the request of Mr. Goodman.  Word was he didn't want to come back at all.

[BrandonFG]

By the way, Bob Newhart perfected the "all-a-dream" theme. He knew exactly how to use it. The motivations behind Dallas were clearly written on the wall.

Agreed on both. With Patrick Duffy wanting back on the show, the options were pretty limited. Either way there was going to be a daytime soap stunt.