My favourite variation of the opening credits and theme:

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

Yes she was...which made it all the more satisfying when kid sister Darlene would burst her bubble pre Goth period.

When Sarah played Becky, you almost felt sorry for her

I mean, there's really no contest, IMO. Lecy was Becky. That was the Becky persona. Pretty, but smart. Ambitious, but had a weakness for bad-boys with no future. She wanted to be one of the cool kids, but ultimately she was a tad bit nerdy. Lecy's Becky was great at going head-to-head with Roseanne.

Becky: "Oh, is that so, Roseanne?"

Dan: "Hey!! Her name is mother."

Sarah Chalke eventually shined in other roles, but on Roseanne, she was just a pretty stand-in. Granted, the writing completely changed her, but Sarah's Becky had no ambition other than to strut her buns at Bunz, a skanky Hooters-like restaurant. They tried to show some dimension when she first debuted, admitting to Roseanne that she wished she could turn back time to when she lived at home and was just dating Mark, instead of being married to him. Very poignant, but ultimately fell flat because Sarah's performance was lukewarm. Had Lecy been back in the role, I would've felt for her.

They clearly didn't have much faith in Sarah as Becky and relegated her to the backburner for most of her run, giving Mark more storylines without Becky. Once Lecy returned in season 8, they started writing true to the character again, when Becky admitted she was unhappy with her trailer park life and wanted to go to college. That was Becky. She was an overachiever who wanted to make something better of her life than just having meaningless jobs like her mother.

Edited December 7, 201410 yr by Gray Bunny

Extremely spot on and well said Gray Bunny! Lecy *was* Becky. Becky could be infuriating but what teenager couldn't be? It felt very real to me.

I do think Roseanne pushed the bitchy rebellious Becky and goth Darlene a bit too long but it felt very real to me.

I never really saw Darlene as "goth" per se, outside of maybe season 4. IMO, after things got heavy with David in season 5, she wasn't as gothy as she had been.

She was probably the only character that has a full on evolution throughout the course of the show (which is sometimes rare on sitcoms).

I agree completely, it was great seeing her evolution. But her "dark" period to me just lasted too long. She was dour and unlikeable for a little bit there and it was just time to wrap it up. That's what I was meaning. I don't mean she was like that the entire series, I know she wasn't lol.

All the talk about child stars talk made me realize that the child stars on this show turned out pretty damn well for Hollywood standards. Lacy and Sara both attended and graduated from prestigious college (and still work in the industry), Michael Fishman now works behind the scenes, Sarah Chalke has consistently found work since the show ended, and Johnny Galecki has built out a new fanbase for himself thanks to TBBT.

I guess Glenn Quinn was the only odd example, but he was an adult when he started on the show.

As volatile as she was, I'm guessing Roseanne was a pretty damn good surrogate mom to her TV children and the kids on the show must have really respected her.

As volatile as she was, I'm guessing Roseanne was a pretty damn good surrogate mom to her TV children and the kids on the show must have really respected her.

I agree. They never fail to show up when there's a reunion get-together, no matter where or when. She has a very nurturing aura about her, and I guess that comes from her own coming-of-age experiences. It's awesome that she's always looked out for them.