I'm sure a lot of people feel it never did (well, except in the last episode), but I think the show did jump the shark in season 5. Lecy Goranson left, Roseanne Barr's weird Hollywood friends began to take over the show and the storylines were getting stranger.
shareI'd say around the time she had her plastic surgery. The whole tone of the show changed from likeable smart aleck characters who would be fun to have around, to mean, one dimensional people you wouldn't want to know.
shareI'm torn. I'd say when Darlene got pregnant or winning the lottery. There were some hit or miss episodes before that, but everything really began getting bad around the pregnancy/lottery season for me.
shareOfficially? When she went Segal on a train. Technically, when they won the lottery. In reality? The show was in a slow descent from season one. Each successive season was just a little bit worse than the one before it.
They were all funny (except for the last season), but the raw charm of the first season didn't last long. Roseanne's character moved closer and closer to Roseanne the person. She went from being rough around the edges to just being rough. She went from being a strong woman to a nasty, man-hating third wave feminist. And the more her personal life fell apart off-screen, the more vindictive her character became on-screen.
I hated the way Jackie morphed into a complete bumbling fool at the end. Ditto for Mark.
Once Roseanne dyed her hair black the show, as it had existed previously, was effectively over.
Season 1 is the gold standard for me. No other season even comes close.
Very thoughtful response. I agree with everything you said. I hated it when Roseanne completely changed her face thru plastic surgery. Didn't even look like her anymore. And the black hair---ugh.
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