Roseanne - Season 3

A few days ago I finally wrapped up season three of Roseanne (s3 highlights) and that means it is time for another entry with my key takeaways from the season. Click here for my recaps of previous season.

-As I mentioned in my previous recaps while I liked the first two seasons, they do not feature a lot about what I originally remembered of the cast. Season three is where a lot of the key character and plot traits I originally identified with the cast started to take shape.

-That first trait is Roseanne (Roseanne Bar) working at the diner. She inexplicably is jobless again at the beginning of the season, but winds up employed at a diner in the mall. I always remembered Roseanne and Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) working together at a more traditional diner and not in a mall though, but I am presuming that is to come in later seasons. We do meet Roseanne’s co-waitress Bonnie (Bonnie Bramlett) who nails the role of an old-shool truck stop waitress who does not take crap from anyone. Needless to say, she and Roseanne gel well. We also meet their boss Leon (Martin Mull). We learn a few episodes after his introduction that he is a homosexual, and the waitresses are perfectly accepting of him. I do not know my TV history that well, but I am presuming this is one of the earlier cases of a respectful portrayal of a homosexual character in TV history.

-I recall Dan (John Goodman) mostly working in a bike shop throughout the show’s run, and at the very end of season three we find out how he starts up the bike shop in a must-see show-defining season finale. Darlene (Sara Gilbert) is the character who evolves the most this season. She is still rocking her tomboy look and is still all about sports at beginning of the season, but as season three progresses she switches up her hairstyle to the long, wavy perm look I always associated her character with and she starts to deepen her voice more too and embrace her first couple of boyfriends this season too. She is not quite all the way their into her dry wit/super emo self yet, but she is well on her way.

-There are a couple seeds planted for DJ (Michael Fishman) being the stereotypical ‘weird kid’ this season. One is where he collects the heads of Darlene and Becky’s old dolls. DJ is primarily in the backdrop this season and is featured in a handful of episodes. Season three sees introduction to Becky’s longtime boyfriend Mark (Glenn Quinn). He is only in two or three episodes this season, though I imagine he will be more prominent later on. The Conner’s are not fans of Mark’s bad biker-boy demeanor and ban Becky (Alicia Goranson) from seeing him. Obviously that did not work out.

-I do not know if the third season featured a transition with some new writers that took awhile to mesh well together or what, but the first several episodes of the season are lackluster and feature a lot of sitcom clichés and/or gimmicky themes in a series that established itself up until this point as that being anything but the case (minus the annual Halloween-themed episode). I was starting to get worried about the show going for a turn for the worse, but the writers eventually started clicking and getting their act together several episodes in.

-Odd story arc this season goes to Roseanne’s friend and former factory co-worker, Krystal (Natalie West) marrying Dan’s father and the two having a child together by the end of the season. It provoked quite the reactions from Dan & Roseanne, and watching those two go haywire from learning the news and come to embrace them was a fun journey to embark on. Jackie had a bad break this season as she lost her boyfriend and job early in the season and remained jobless for the rest of season three. She did remain as affable as ever though.

-My favorite episode in season three is an easy choice and goes to the episode “Scenes from a BBQ” where the Conner’s throw a Mother’s Day BBQ where all their friends and neighbors attend. It brought back memories of the chaos and fun of my old family BBQs with the family going nuts getting all the food ready, but eventually enjoying each other’s company by the end of the night. Unlike Mr. Connor however, my dad was not a master strummer of the guitar as the episode concluded with a delightful family sing-a-long.

-Like the past seasons, there are two bonus interviews that make up the extra features. They are interviews with Laurie Metcalf and Lecy Goranson. Both are a little under 10 minutes, and both are by-the-numbers interviews where they give their key memories of the major cast members and what it was like first coming on the show.

-Season three started off stumbling over itself for the first several episodes, but found its footing a third of the way through. It seems by the end of the season Roseanne is pretty close to solidifying its foundation for what I mostly remember it being, and I am anticipating starting off season four!

Past TV/Web Series Blogs

2013-14 TV Season Recap
2014-15 TV Season Recap
2015-16 TV Season Recap
Adventures of Briscoe County Jr: The Complete Series
Angry Videogame Nerd Volumes 7-9
Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Season 1
OJ: Made in America: 30 for 30
RedvsBlue - Seasons 1-13
Roseanne – Seasons 1-9
Seinfeld Final Season
Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle
Superheroes: Pioneers of Television