Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0013131362190
Format: Box set
Label: Starz / Anchor Bay
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
Number Of Items: 4
Publisher: Starz / Anchor Bay
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2005-12-06
Running Time: 530
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Theatrical Release Date: 1988-10-18

Related Items
Roseanne - The Complete Third Season Roseanne - The Complete First Season Roseanne - The Complete Fourth Season Roseanne - The Complete Fifth Season Roseanne - The Complete Sixth Season

Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: And the best sitcom in TV history is....
Comment: Ahh Roseanne, quite easily the greatest sitcom in TV history (sorry Seinfeld [overrated and repetitive] and move over MASH). For a great many Americans, Roseanne was the ONLY sitcom depicting house life that even remotely approached ringing true. My wife and I are both such big fans that we periodically watch the show from beginning to end (yes, all the episodes), something made easy by the fact that we never watch TV, only DVDs (greater freedom, no commercials). As I do in many of my reviews I will try to offer a few observations that other reviews haven't already made.

The show was serendipitously blessed by its cast, the best any sitcom has ever enjoyed. The comic timing between Roseanne and John Goodman was not only flawless, but their chemistry rang so true that they really did seem like they were married. The show was lucky to cast both Goodman and Metcalf, two actors whose performances really raised the entire show up another level.

The show starts off wonderfully, portraying a blue-collar family that not only seems real, but is real funny (and that says a lot--most sitcoms are not actually all that funny, and, believe it or not, studies show that people are not actually laughing at the jokes [which suck] but because they hear the sound of other people laughing). This in-and-of-itself had a lot to do with the show's immediate appeal: finally here was a family most Americans could actually relate to. Forget the Cosby family (the No. 1 show at the time).

Though the scenes at the plastic factory are pretty flat (which Roseanne was aware of--she joked that the set was built over a burial ground and cursed), the rest of season one is dynamite. In season two the show peters out with a few episodes that are actually quite boring and stupid. Many people say the show got worse in later seasons, I actually think (excepting the last season) that some of season two's episodes are the worst the show ever saw. In fact, in my opinion, the season two episode Sweet Dreams is the worst episode in the entire show's run. Other than this it's still excellent. Seasons three, four, and five are all great, maintaining the show's high standard. At times more episodes focus on incidences outside the Conner residence, which to me is unfortunate as the shows staying inside the house (especially the kitchen) and focusing on the whole family together are the ones that really shine. Thus, when a season focused too much on Roseanne at work (such as endlessly boring scenes of Roseanne at the beauty salon or in the mall's caf) it really detracted from the humor.

With season six Sarah Chalke was devastatingly miscast as Becky. It really didn't matter that she didn't at all look like Lecy Goranson, the problem was that the performance she turned in was of an entirely different character (and it was quite a bad performance at that). Sure, other characters changed as the show progressed, but this was ridiculous. Roseanne, for instance, becomes more sarcastic and bitchy as the show progresses, but as my wife pointed out to me, if you revisit season one you'll see that she didn't at all start out that way (in fact she was quite the loving mother at first). And yes, her appearance constantly changed as she lost weight, tanned and had surgeries. Jackie's character changes too, dramatically, as many others have noted here. Many here say that season seven or eight is the beginning of the end of the show. I however think that the beginning of the end was Roseanne's real-life marriage to show producer Tom Arnold. After that fiasco, if I recall, Roseanne went kind of nuts in real life, becoming all new agey and crap, and it started to show in the show. Though the show's very last episode tried to bring things home a little bit, the debacle that was season nine needs a lot of explaining. How did they EVER think that having the Conners win the lottery was in ANY WAY a good idea? Was Roseanne trying to give a comic blue-collar commentary on the wealthy? I don't know, but that simply didn't work.

Some trivia and observations (and feel free to discuss some of this by leaving comments, and by all means, explain the reasoning behind season nine): Lanford Illinois does not really exist. The footage is from Evansville Indiana. Most if not all of Dan's comic mannerisms John Goodman seems to have borrowed from Curly (The Three Stooges), which he justified by making the character of Dan a big fan. When the Conners are watching TV, from the sound of it they are usually watching old movies, especially old B horror movies, sci fi and westerns. The coffee table is almost always covered with comic books. Season one disappointingly does not have a Halloween episode, but Nightmare on Oak Street kind of counts, starting off with a great Halloween feel to it. There are, throughout the first three or four seasons, a great many references to corn and creamed corn (can somebody please explain the significance of this in-joke?) In the pilot Dan tries to make a giant can of corn for dinner. In other episodes Roseanne is called the corn goddess, we see decorative corn hanging on the wall, Dan jokes that he's afraid that aliens are after their creamed corn, and, in the worst episode in the history of Roseanne, Dan's method of execution is to be boiled in creamed corn.

On a side note, it's amusing that Anchor Bay's disclaimer of the "Roseanne trivia" that laces the inside of every jacket reads that they in no way guarantee the accuracy of the information provided. It's a good thing too, because quite a few of their answers are wrong! Examples: In the fourth Halloween episode Roseanne does not dress up as "the goddess of gore," but as the Statue of Liberty. It's not Roseanne who refuses to serve Loretta Lynn, but Darlene.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Roseanne Strikes Again!
Comment: Keeping in touch with the Roseanne family parenting methods, she doesn't let us down in this Season Two Super pack of "How to best manage a family".

Complete with great extras and commentary, you've got hours of fun in store for you with this great set of DVD's. I don't know if I can pick a favorite episode, but the Halloween episodes are always a favorite, and Season Two is a zinger!

Extra's include: The Best Of Jackie or "Wacky Jackie", The season one launch party, John Goodman's ORIGINAL audition, several cast interviews, and Season Two Highlights.

After you enjoy this set, get READY for Season 3!!

Customer Rating:

Summary: An overall review of the series Roseanne...
Comment: I usually don't like American sitcoms, but Roseanne is not only a great sitcom, but one of the greatest sitcoms ever made. It is due to many factors. The writing was first rate on this show. It was one of the most realistic depictions of a middle class family in the history of television. It was bracingly honest, and it tackled controversial topics (such as birth control, gay marriage, and lesbianism) with candor and realism. It was done matter of factly, not as a "very special episode". The series didn't really start to get old until the last season, but that's a hell of a run. The second reason this series was so good was Roseanne herself. Many female comics talked about weight issues (Margaret Cho, Janeane Garofalo, and Roseanne), but Roseanne was the only one who didn't care that she was "fat". She never slimmed down for her sitcom, and she wore her curvy figure with pride. Roseanne really revolutionized female standup and sitcoms by sticking true to herself. Sure, she was a pain in the a** on the set, rewrote a lot of episodes, ordered a few people around, and like all long running sitcoms, the cast hated each other by the time it finished. But Roseanne still remains one of the greatest sitcoms ever produced, and one that will stand the test of time...

Customer Rating:

Summary: very good
Comment: my wife absolutely loved it and it came just in time thanks.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The Early Seasons are the Best
Comment: We watched these episodes rather quickly and are looking forward to the next season. This collection included the first Halloween special - by far the best reason to watch Roseanne. The timing of each scene is uncanny as well as the cast and how they relate together in the second season. This family is disturbed and lovable.

More Reviews

Editorial Reviews:

In its prime, Roseanne was the most honest reflection of American life ever shown on television--and also one of the funniest. The second season of this essential sitcom, built around former standup comedian Roseanne Barr, was perhaps its best. The sterling cast--which featured John Goodman (Raising Arizona, Matinee) as Roseanne's husband Dan; Laurie Metcalf (Dear God) as her sister Jackie; and Lecy Goranson, Sara Gilbert, and Michael Fishman as Becky, Darlene, and D.J., her three kids--were confident and eagerly stretching themselves. The writers (including Joss Whedon, later to create Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly) knew how to write smart but credible dialogue and stories; in one episode, Darlene writes a poem that sounds exactly like a 13 year old girl's poetry, yet squeezes your heart. Watch almost any other sitcom and then watch Roseanne; it's startling how much more natural Roseanne feels.

In the season opener, Becky passes gas in front her classmates at school; but that in itself isn't half as funny as the glee that Darlene takes in describing the event--the kind of viciousness that only real families can cultivate. That's the key to Roseanne's success: The utter believability of the relationships. Dan and Roseanne are a loving couple, but their affection works because their fights are just as potent as their flirting. The relationship between Roseanne and Jackie became particularly strong in this season, as Roseanne fought against Jackie's desire to become a cop and meddled in her relationship with her short-lived fiance Gary (Brian Kerwin); Roseanne and Metcalf developed an interplay that could be caring, playful, and bitterly jealous--and sometimes all three at once. The daily urge of parents to both coddle and strangle their kids was thoroughly explored, as was the fusion of need and contempt children feel for their parents. There is one misstep: A dream episode in which Roseanne goes on trial smacks of star ego in a way the show is normally careful to avoid--and makes clear how sharp the other episodes are. The extras are paltry, but this isn't a collection you get for the frills; the show itself lives up to its reputation. --Bret Fetzer