My favourite variation of the opening credits and theme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj2-ctjIW18

I love how close they all still are.

I really wish Roseanne the show would make a comeback. I think it would do just as good.

Edited November 26, 201410 yr by KMan101

I think her make-up is the bigger problem.

That purple lipstick...

Recasting questions

Why did they drop Sal Barone as DJ after the pilot?

Also why recast Becky. I thought Lecy was supposed to recur

Lecy Goranson was accepted into Vassar College, and wanted to have a normal college life, which is why they recast her with Sarah in season 6. By her senior year, however, she was missing the show, so she arranged her schedule so she could come back. Mid season it became a problem, however, which is why Sarah went to Disney World instead of her. As for why she wasn't there for season 9, I think everyone thought season 8 would be the last season, and by the time it got picked up again, she couldn't do it, which is why Sarah was there instead.

Speaking of which, a year after Roseanne went off the air, she had a reunion (the first since the show had ended) of the cast on the Roseanne Show, her short-lived daytime talk show, which did NOT include Lecy, but DID include Sarah. Weird.

Thanks

Any idea why they switched DJ's after the pilot?

Sarah was better as Becky anyways, Lecy's Becky was a whiny C*nt

The strange thing is, the show worked around Sara Gilbert's schedule when she went to college (to Yale) during the 6th season. I believe they would even move some production to New York at times just to tape some scenes with Gilbert.

The Becky recast was jarring and ultimately unnecessary (Becky should have stayed gone for all I care). But can you imagine if they recast Darlene as well? To me, only Sara could play that role.

Roseanne once said they switched DJ's because Sal Barone (the DJ in the pilot) and Sarah Gilbert would always fight and things were getting a bit rough with them on set.

Edited November 27, 201410 yr by BetterForgotten

Lecy was and will always be Becky to me. Yes, she was whiny and annoying but so are most teenaged girls. Sarah was very aloof and ultimately did not fit in with the Connor family, looks and personality wise.

I agree with the general consensus that seasons 3-6 were the best. My ultimate favorite being season 5. I can and have rewatched the 2 part episode where Jackie gets beat a million times. Darlene visiting Dan in the slammer is comedy gold!

http://youtu.be/0Il8jV6r-tk

And yes, season 9 was a mess but I love love LOVE the final episode. The last 5 minutes is some serious and heavy stuff. This is the show that had a major impact on me and my life. I cannot even imagine life without it.

ETA: Darlene is my favorite character and I always loved the poem she read during the second season. I always wished I grew up in the Connor house.

Edited November 27, 201410 yr by MrPrezident

I have to share this. Lecy as Becky's many tantrums.

I loved Lecy's Becky, too. The scene where she pretends to be depressed like Darlene is one of my favourites.

Chalke's Becky wasn't even a character. They wrote her like a dimwit who would randomly run into scenes to yell at Roseanne/Mark/Darlene and would then run off after. She had no personality whatsoever.

Part of that was Chalke being a very green actress at the time (she's improved a lot since her stint on Roseanne), but the writing was never there to support the character with her in role.

I can't help but wonder if that was deliberate on Roseanne's part, almost as if she felt Lecy embodied that character so much (which she certainly did, IMO) that she didn't even bother to write for Sarah's Becky that much, and when she did, it only served to further destroy her character (her excitement over moving into a trailer especially).

Now, I'm a big fan of Lecy, and Sarah definitely was very new to acting when she started the show, but it seems like everyone did her a great disservice by either writing Becky as so out of character, or not even bothering to write for her at all.

The fact that Becky was written in character again once Lecy came back makes it even more telling.

Becky never drove story under Chalke. Even when they had Mark flirt with Stacy that went no where. Also Sarah was like 17 when she got Roseanne. So her young age probably played a factor as well.

Edited November 28, 201410 yr by John

It looks like Nat Geo took down the full documentary they had on the 90's that I posted earlier in this thread, but here's the Roseanne-only segment for those interested:

Yes, she was whiny and annoying but so are most teenaged girls.

Uhm she was like that even after Lecy returned when Becky was out of her teens. Lecy's Becky was a whiny, entitled, self centered c*unt