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DVD Roseanne - The Complete First Season
Roseanne burst onto the screen in 1988, when top-rated sitcom The Cosby Show exuded a smug Father Knows Best glossiness. In contrast, the blue-collar Conner family bickered with the offhand nastiness of real families, which didn't mean they loved each other any less. Front and center was Roseanne Barr (now known by the single name Roseanne), a former stand-up comedian who wasn't afraid to rock the boat (her fights with producers were legendary). When even the fat guys on sitcoms have svelte, hottie wives, it's hard to believe that this woman--overweight, abrasive, with a voice like a wood chipper--became top of the television heap. Roseanne spoke up for a kind of lower-class feminism; she didn't concern herself much with politics, but within the family she just as much in charge as her husband Dan (the ever-dependable John Goodman, Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski)--though in the final episode of the first season, she took a stand at her factory job that was half Norma Rae, half Cool Hand Luke. But most often the show turned the ordinary rituals of domestic life (putting the kids to bed, coping with visiting parents) into sharp comic scenarios. The stories were smartly hidden in a series of scenes that felt organic and unforced. The entire cast--one of the best ensembles ever, including theater veteran Laurie Metcalf (Scream 2) as Roseanne's sister Jackie; Lecy Goranson as eldest daughter Becky; Michael Fishman as youngest child D.J.; and especially Sara Gilbert (Poison Ivy, ER) as middle daughter Darlene--swiftly cultivated the mixture of comfort and tension that marks most family relationships. The result was a portrait of American family life that rang achingly, hilariously true.
Roseanne's first season was solid from the start; few shows have had such an immediate grasp of their ideal tone and rhythm. Roseanne may have been a little stiff in the first few episodes, but she developed her chops quickly. By only the third episode, in which Roseanne and Dan run into a divorced friend at a restaurant and do some impromptu evaluating of their own married life, Roseanne was already exploring the psychology behind the wisecracks. By episode 6, set in a bowling alley, Roseanne begins to truly inhabit her character, growing more physically and emotionally expansive (she herself singles out this episode as the one where she started to have fun). Roseanne was never afraid to share the spotlight; Goodman, Metcalf, and the kids all had central roles in one episode or another, and one of the most striking episodes focused on Roseanne's coworker Crystal (the underrated Natalie West), whose husband had been embedded in concrete while working on a bridge. This black comic premise gave way to surprisingly touching grief when old secrets emerged. Guest performers like George Clooney (a semi-regular in the first season), Ned Beatty (as Dan's father), Estelle Parsons (an insidious turn as Roseanne's mother), and Fred Thompson (as a domineering supervisor) always had meaty material to work with. Simply one of the best sitcoms of all time. Caveat: the set uses the episodes as they were shortened for syndication, not the originally broadcast versions that were 2-3 minutes longer.--Bret Fetzer
Review(s): DVD Roseanne - The Complete First Season
Great DVD for Roseanne Fans
This DVD is great. Good for anytime you need a "Roseanne" fix and Nick@Nite isn't on:) Can't wait for the second season and all the other seasons.
Long live Roseanne
nice to see this show again and this time on dvd. It always brought a smile and laugh to me...this dvd is worth the purchase as all future seasons of Roseanne..
Roseanne tops TV list of recent DVD releases.
Of all the TV shows in recent years to deserve a season DVD release, Roseanne tops my list of personal favorites. Not only is Roseanne Barr iconic for the 80's, but her TV show chronicling the white collar antics of the Conner family and their friends earned a place in many an american living room. Set in Lanford Illinois, Roseanne became a show many of us could identify with. Her brash reality is something that the TV mothers of the 50's, 60's and 70's were never truly allowed to be shown on network TV and was much closer to the lives of middle America than the June Cleavers of the world. For me, I think Roseanne is one of the bravest and most well written of the 80's sitcoms, tackling topics that were taboo until Roseanne dealt with them. Spousal abuse, alcoholism, homosexuality, sexual harrassment in the workplace are just a few of the topics that earned network respect among the shows peers. Definately worth a second look and always guaranteed a laugh - I recommend this DVD set whole heartedly. I actually took mine to a performance that Roseanne Barr was giving, and she graciously signed it for me! Check it out - season two is due to be released in December of 2005.
Related DVD's Roseanne - The Complete First Season
I have gotten word that Anchor Bay has also given us a brief future and distant release schedule of Roseanne. Season 3 will be out March 21, and season 4 is expected in early July, possible around Tuesday, July 4. Special features will include interviews from the children of Roseanne and best of season 3. Season 4 is due for somewhere around October 19. Season 5 should be out early January 2007, while seasons 6, 7, 8, 9 will be out by the end of the 2007 year, or very early January 2008. Also expect a different box art from season 1 and 2 for season 3. More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: 06 December 2005
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As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and the second season of The Golden Girls picks up where the first ended. The same classic quartet--Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia--is back, along with their snappy retorts, shoulder pads, and cheesecake. Well, there was one change. In the season premiere, "End of the Curse," Blanche (Rue McClanahan) goes through menopause.
Highlights of the 26 episodes include "Ladies of the Evening," featuring a cameo from Burt Reynolds, just a few years prior to his own network sitcom, Evening Shade. As Blanche exclaims, "Mr. Burt Reynolds is one of our finest living actors...I mean, you put Sir Laurence Olivier in Cannonball Run--see what he can do." Then there's "Isn't It Romantic?" with Lois Nettleton (In... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 17 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Looking back at season 1 of The Cosby Show, it's easy to forget that momentous history was being made. Not only did this immensely popular sitcom hold the #1 spot among all network TV shows for five consecutive seasons (a record that still stands), but it promoted an evolutionary progression that influenced the entire TV industry from that point forward. African Americans had enjoyed sitcom success in the past (on Julia, The Jeffersons, and Good Times), but the idealized family of Cliff and Clair Huxtable (Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad) represented a new and quietly revolutionary perspective; married for 21 years with five children (one in college, a detail unmentioned in the pilot episode), the Huxtables were happy and successful (he's a doctor, she's a... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Nancy Stern DVD Release Date: Released the 02 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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While it might seem like something out of another dimension given the world we're living in now, this prime-time show that aired from 1985 to 1992 about the hilarious exploits of four single women of a certain age living out their semi-retirement in Miami still stands up. The plots are mostly predictable, and the set never changes, but this ensemble cast really comes into its own in the third season--one that earned them three Emmys and a Golden Globe. Blanche is just as man-crazy as ever, Sophia works her brutal honesty and "picture Sicily stories" to perfection, Dorothy remains the eternal stalwart straight man without compare, and Rose's dull-witted reveries always make for a great gag. Standout episodes in this season include "A Letter to Gorbachev," where Rose pens a letter urging... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 22 November 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Sony brings to DVD the first season of this one-of-a-kind sitcom starring Fran Drescher as the warm-hearted, nasal-voiced nanny from Queens who lands a job caring for three children of a wealthy, widowed Broadway producer from Manhattan. During the show’s six-year run (1993-1999), Drescher dazzles as Fran Fine in a role she created and developed (as writer and producer in several episodes) and obviously relishes, whether she’s flirting, whining, sparring, or showcasing her sensational wardrobe. The three-disc collection features 22 episodes beginning with "The Pilot," when Fran knocks on the Sheffield’s door and is mistakenly hired as their new nanny, establishing the show’s shtick of "blue collar meets blue blood." Immediate chemistry between Nanny Fine and Maxwell... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Fran Drescher DVD Release Date: Released the 12 July 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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