Roseanne Reviews B

This is a set of reviews of Roseanne episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I will focus only on the political aspects and will mention what percent of lines spoken by non-family members are spoken by people of color.

“Lover’s Lane” Episode 6, Season 1. The wikipedia summary is: “On a night out at the bowling alley, Roseanne sneaks a peek at Becky's first boyfriend. Meanwhile, Booker makes a bet with Jackie for very high stakes; if he wins she has to spend the night with him.”

The only significant political thing here is that they bowl, which is definitely more of a working-class thing than a middle-class thing.

Also, out of about 50-75 lines spoken by non-family members, none are spoken by a person of color, which really sucks.

“The Memory Game” Episode 7, Season 1. The wikipedia summary is: “Dan's enthusiastic plan to take photographs for his and Roseanne's 15th high school reunion yearbook exposes a 15-year-old secret he has kept from Roseanne. His attempt to explain to an angry Roseanne bring hilarious results.”

There are two bits of pro-labor stuff. First, the female part of a mostly-female factory workforce threaten to strike over the paper-towel supply in their bathroom. And a female worker speculates earlier that management wants them distracted by that instead of focused on pay and benefits. It’s far from a full-throated endorsement of unions, but we see that at least once in the show later on and there MIGHT be a union at the factory, it’s not clear.

There are about 30 lines by non-family members and about 10% are by a Latina work friend of Roseanne's who started the mimi rebellion over paper towels .

“Here’s To Good Friends” Episode 8, Season 1. The wikipedia summary is: “Roseanne and Jackie console a brokenhearted Crystal after her boyfriend breaks up with her. A night at the Lobo Lounge, reflecting on love and men, help to set her right. While at the Lobo, a miffed Jackie embarrasses Booker when he shows up with another woman after telling her he was spending the evening with his mother.”

Only thing worth mentioning is that out of about 50-75 lines by non-family members, only about 5% are by are by people of color (in this case, a Latina work friend of Roseanne's), which really sucks.

“Dan’s Birthday Bash” Episode 9, Season 1. Wikipedia summary is: “Roseanne and the kids surprise Dan with an elaborate birthday breakfast. Later that evening, Roseanne throws Dan a party at the Lobo. During the celebration, Dan barely avoids a fight with a loud-mouthed jerk after Roseanne stops him. Afraid of looking like a wimp, Dan vows to beat up the bully the next time he sees him. Becky is invited to Chip's home for dinner.”

Only thing worth mentioning is that out of about 45 lines by non-family members, none are by people of color, which really sucks.

“Saturday” Episode 10, Season 1. Wikipedia summary: “It is Saturday at the Conners', and Dan plans to spend the afternoon "working on" (that is, drinking beer and talking in front of) an old truck with his friends. Roseanne, having heard Dan make similar claims before, bets him that the guys will not finish the repair work by the end of the day. Dan takes the bet, but soon realizes he may lose.”

There’s some class stuff as they fix their own truck instead of paying someone else to and look for clothes on really good sales at the mall. There a bit feminism, although the response to the sexism could have been more devastating.

And even though they added a new recurring character whose a friend of Dan’s a few episodes earlier and have one brand new minor character that’s a friend of Dan’s in this episode, all 50 or so lines by non-family members are by white characters. That DOES change at least briefly and to a moderate degree at some point in the series. I think so far it’s about 2% of such lines are by people of color but I think that in the first 8 seasons it’s closer to 20%. Also, in all fairness I should mention that about 1/4-1/3 of the extras at the factory Roseanne and Jackie work at are Black at this point in the show, and maybe around 20% of the extras in general are people of color.