MovieChat Forums > Roseanne (1988) Discussion > Evil Roseanne vs. Nice Roseanne

Evil Roseanne vs. Nice Roseanne

posted 8 years ago by NightSprings
18 replies | jump to latest

I was watching the episode where Roseanne throws her back out and it's suggested to her that she gets a boob job. The first thing she does is have a discussion with Dan and gets his opinion on the subject. And even though his opinion is a TAD bit selfish, Roseanne hears him out and agrees with him.

I can't help but compare this to demonic Roseanne from later seasons who goes around telling everyone that no one can tell her what to do with her body and her pregnancy and Dan doesn't get a say or get to have an opinion. She even scolds DJ for supporting her and basically tells him he's not allowed to express his opinion to the woman if he's ever in a similar situation.

Whoa.

I think these two episodes are the most polar opposite versions of Roseanne we see. In one episode she's caring and considerate and sane despite being scared, stressed, and being in pain and in the other episode she's clearly lost her grip on reality and is an evil, selfish, bitch who was on a mission to make everyone suffer.

What other scenes from the early seasons can you not picture Roseanne from the later seasons doing?

[–] alanjobe 8 years ago

I think you make the best point I can think of and it's the way she treats Dan and their marriage.

In the early seasons, there is some level of love and respect for him vs the later seasons where she constantly hides things from him and puts him down constantly.

But Roseanne's lowest point IMO is when she tells 16 year old Molly that if she wants to crawl into a car with a boy and get raped to 'go ahead. I don't care'. I realize she was angry at the time but that was inexcusable behavior for an adult speaking to a teenager.

[–] MrsZbornak 8 years ago

you make a good point. she cared more about his opinion in the earlier seasons.
and actually treated him with some respect compared to the way she talked to him in later seasons.

one episode i hate how she yells at him is season 6; dont make room for daddy.
when fred sues jackie for custody of their baby when she was pregnant. and Roseanne basically calls Dan an idiot

Dan had more of a backbone in the earlier seasons too. remember when she didnt get that computer job and was yelling at Dan. Dan stood up for himself.

in the back story, she actually understood Dan and even said she even worries about losing her breasts too. which i know what she means. even thought you dont want to say breasts are important to woman, but it is.
she had her breats since she was a preteen since they said she developed when she was 9 years old.

of course she would feel different without them. or much smaller

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Honeybefine 8 years ago

Dan's business wasn't dumb, though. He not only had a skill (mechanic), he was passionate and knowledgeable about it. Someone like that doesn't feel at a business. Roseanne's stupid loose meat sandwich would have failed in real life. Not only was it dumb, she was a horrible boss, a horrible server, and dirty. She put her tooth in the food.

[–] NightSprings 8 years ago

Dan's business was extremely dumb, IMO. How many people in the small town of Landford do you think drove a motorcycle?

[–] Honeybefine 8 years ago

A lot of people travel for good work/custom cycles. Look at American Choppers. I always imagined that's how it really would have ended for Dan and Mark. Roseanne would probably end up closed down for health code violations and in jail for breaking into the other better restaurant.

[–] WhiteManFromTown1986 8 years ago

During early 90's rising inflation costs?

A bike shop is a terrible business for a small town. It was started on complete emotion with no logic.

I didn't see them networking, marketing, branding, or anything to be honest.

New business owners should also attend any seminars available and have a strong business plan with plan b's.

[–] Honeybefine 8 years ago

Your post says it all. Ok, let's go to a "seminar" and become millionaires with hot babes/dudes afterwards. :/

[–] NightSprings 8 years ago

Actually, some hot babes and dudes might've helped sell some bikes. The whole shop was weird. Dan ran it like a family business. Most people interested in purchasing motorcycles don't want family friendly. They don't wanna go into a shop and see the wife, and kids, and grandma! It's a shame Traci Lords' character wasn't around when the shop was. Could've helped sales. But even then it'd be a stupid idea.

[–] jname967 8 years ago

Dan's business was extremely dumb, IMO. How many people in the small town of Landford do you think drove a motorcycle?

This.

Other things that Evil Roseanne would never do:

In Season 2's "Somebody Stole My Gal" (which I used to loathe 'cause it's so depressing and weird, but now I've grown to like the competent writing in it)—Roseanne was clearly indulging this friendless sad sack of a guy 'cause she felt sympathy for him. Evil Roseanne wouldn't blink twice about kicking him to the curb.

Crystal. Evil Roseanne would never put up with such a frumpy, square, wishy-washy friend (other than her sister, Jackie lol).

In "Death of a Salesman", Nice Roseanne also displayed a level of sensitivity towards the death of the salesman that Evil Roseanne never would.

Obviously, Nice Roseanne was very compliant with her parents in the first episode they showed up in as well as when she had to break the news about them staying at a motel for Thanksgiving. Evil Roseanne treated her parents like crap.

Overall, I agree w/ the post here that said Nice Roseanne was all bark but let everyone walk all over her. It's true! Roseanne was a pushover with her kids especially. She had a soft spot, for better or worse then. Evil Roseanne became a b--- on wheels and would happily plot against everyone.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] MrsZbornak 8 years ago

i was thinking the same way. he should have also fixed cars since i know he knows how to do it.
and he would get more business.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] tambourine_man36 8 years ago

He had the passion and was an entreprenuer. So it wasn't a totally dumb idea. Plus, the bike shop was a pre-existing entity, so it's not like he was starting from scratch; he was assuming a business.

Roseanne's diner was an idiotic move. I couldn't believe they all got so pissed that gov't place they went refused to recommend a bank loan for three inexperienced an unqualified women. None of them had owned a business or even know the first thing about restaurant management. Sure, Roseanne was a sever at a dinette, but that obviously wasn't a positive skill of hers.

[–] banjo-peppers 8 years ago

Well of course the stress Roseanne was going through when they didn't know if there was anything wrong with the baby and having to decide whether to abort or not was affecting her behavior, but she just went SO OVERBOARD with it. Won't even consider talking her husband, thinks DJ is telling her what to do when he's pretty much saying he'd help either way, and then she doesn't even acknowledge how unpleasant she was being or that Dan might also have been feeling stressed out. Even though he's not the one pregnant, it's still his baby and his wife who's going through it, so treating him like he's some uncaring lug who doesn't care at all is hugely unfair to him, and she never seems to make it up to him.

Yes it's her body, and it's stressful, but she acted like she was the only one who would be affected and nobody else's opinion matters and she's Roseanne so she can be mean to everyone and not even listen just because it's her body. Dan just wanted to talk through the issue, not tell her what to do, but Roseanne just assumed he was going to tell her what to do and doesn't apologize at any point for being so rude to him. Or to anyone else, ever.

They didn't have to all sit down as a family and have a lovely conversation with Full House music playing in the background, but the way it was written in the episode, it doesn't make Roseanne look like a woman who's stressed out over a difficult situation, it just makes her look like an overbearing bitch.

[–] Honeybefine 8 years ago

The only nice thing Roseanne did, that really had nothing in it for/selfish reason, was defend Jackie from Fisher. I wish it was later seasons. She probably would have cut off his penis and put it

[–] crlnrgbrght5 8 years ago

I think that's why I didn't like the later seasons. I don't know how much influence Roseanne Barr had in the writing of the show, but it became a political platform in the later seasons.

[–] The_Stranggler 8 years ago

Yep that always destroys comedy. I'm a sicker for the special episode but remain neutral or don't use it for a whole season