The Sixth Season

Roseanne was a popular sitcom from the late eighties and its cast has been given numerous awards for their performances. The series is about a lower class family, living in Lanford, Illinois, struggling through that odd thing we call life. The show has an intrinsic cast and they are a hard bunch not to like. Roseanne looks at some of the most common daily situations from the home and the work place. In most cases these situations turn out to be funny. However unlike some sitcoms that rely on slapstick comedy to make ordinary situations a riot, Roseanneuses witty dialogue to get laughs. For more background information about the series please refer to my reviews of season one, season two, season three, season four, and season five.

Season six has several changes and events for the cast. Most notably, this season marks Sarah Chalke's first appearance on the series (replacing Lecy Goranson as Becky). Additional big happenings this season deal with the Becky-Mark relationship, the Darlene-David relationship, Jackie's pregnancy, Leon and the Lunchbox, and other things. Overall, season six makes for a great addition to the series. Fans will appreciate how well this series handles dramatic situation and produces laugh after laugh.

In the beginning of the season, Roseanne's life undergoes a rather big change and she loses another daughter. Darlene, who was accepted to college in season five, prepares to leave for Chicago to start her new life. Roseanne is unhappy to be losing another child (recall Becky left in season five to be with Mark). David is also not excited about the matter and he tries to convince Darlene to stay, which ends with the pair splitting up. The Darlene-David relationship comes back over and over again throughout the season as they move into together and later face Dan and Roseanne's wraith when they find out Darlene and David were living together. The storylines offer very dramatic storylines that are complimented by Darlene's sarcastic personality. It works quite nicely.

Also in the early episodes stemming from Roseanne's household shrinking, she decides to wants to have another baby. She and Dan try, but eventually give up when Jackie announces she is pregnant. Roseanne then focuses her efforts on Jackie's coming baby. The pregnancy introduces a new reoccurring character, Fred (Michael O'Keefe) as the estranged father. O'Keefe is a solid addition to the cast. His character has a great dynamic with Roseanne and Jackie. Lots of laughs.

While Becky moved out in season five to live with her newlywed husband Mark, they return to the Conner household after Mark loses his job and they run into a major financial setback. They become permanent faces in the house once again. There are some decent stories dealing with them, which include Roseanne and Dan (despite their best wishes) trying to patch things up between them after a major spat and Becky getting a job at Bunz (a Hooters like restaurant). Also, as previously mentioned Sarah Chalke replaces Lecy Goranson for the role of Becky. I had mixed feelings about the cast change. Chalke works with the rest of the cast, but lacks the same chemistry Goranson had developed with them over the years.

There are many other big happenings this season: Bev upsets Roseanne's world by selling her share of the diner to Leon--Leon and Roseanne's love-hate relationship is a fun dynamic that works quite well this season, Dan faces his past and comes to terms about his mother's condition when she is admitted to a mental hospital, DJ gets into trouble on more than one occasion, which includes a lesson about masturbation, stealing the family car, and going to church, Roseanne visits a gay bar with Nancy, and in one of the funniest stories of the season, Roseanne learns about Bev's sex life.

Overall, season six of Roseanne offers one strong episode after another. The season does a fantastic job producing hilarious storylines with a touch of drama. While this season featured the first cast change of a major role, the cast still works nicely together with a fun dynamic. In the end, this season is great and should not be missed.

Episode Guide

1. Two Down, One To Go: Roseanne is forced to say goodbye to another daughter going away to college. David is in hope that Darlene will stay, so he decides to propose to her.
2. The Mommy's Curse: Jackie is convinced by Dan that she should date a guy from his work but only if Roseanne fires Bev. Roseanne later finds out that Bev is out for vengeance.
3. Party Politics: Roseanne finds out that Darlene and DJ are up to no good. IN addition, Fred is attempting to get back with Jackie.
4. A Stash From The Past: Roseanne and Dan begin reminiscing about their teenager days after finding a stash of marijuana at the house.
5. Be My Baby: Roseanne wants to have another baby, but is soon to find out that Jackie is on the way to having one herself. So Roseanne pushes her wants to the side to help Jackie.
6. Halloween V: While Roseanne is persuading Dan to pull a prank on Nancy, Darlene and David have a Halloween prank up their sleeve to scare Roseanne.
7. Homeward Bound: Darlene makes a surprise visit home from school, while DJ goes through a puberty surprise. Also, David secretly moves in with Darlene.
8. Guilt By Imagination: Dan goes on a lunch date with an old girlfriend, where sparks fly; as Roseanne daydreams about model Fabio.
9. Homecoming: Sarah takes the place as Becky at the Conner's residence, while Becky takes marital advice from Roseanne.
10. Thanksgiving '93: During family dinner a fight arises and a secret is revealed, which leaves everyone full of emotion.
11. The Driver's Seat: Roseanne has a lot on her plate, dealing with DJ stealing the family car at home and Leon trying to take control at work.
12. White Trash Christmas: The neighborhood association comes up with a law on how much you can decorate your house for the holidays. So Dan and Roseanne go all out nasty for Christmas.

13. Suck Up Or Shut Up: DJ is going through problems at school because Roseanne joins a women's group to increase the traffic at the diner.
14. Busted: While Becky and Mark are having problems, Roseanne learns that David moved in with Darlene at school.
15. David Vs. Goliath: Dan also learns about Darlene and David living together and is storming. As if there couldn't be anymore problems between Darlene and David, David misunderstands Darlene's affection as flirting.
16. Everyone Comes To Jackie's: Jackie has to move back home after her parents find out her secret, and David thinks that he is moving back in too, but Dan disagrees.
17. Don't Make Room For Daddy: Dan gives Fred advice, which leads him to suing pregnant Jackie for custody.
18. Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Roseanne goes out with Jackie to a gay bar and Roseanne finds that she has an admirer.
19. Labor Day: Roseanne doesn't include Fred in the happiness of Jackie's newborn baby.
20. Past Imperfect: Roseanne and Dan are finding different ways to cover up Dan's father's missing alimony payment.
21. Lies My Father Told Me: Roseanne is trying to convince Dan that the lies Dan's father told him about his mother's mental state were only white lies.
22. I Pray The Lord My Stove To Keep: DJ shocks Roseanne with some serious ethical questions while he discovers a new religious side.
23. Body By Jake: Bev moves in with the Conners after they find out shocking news on how she "really" broke her hip.
24. Isn't It Romantic: Romance is in the air at the Conners' house. Roseanne and Dan are renewing their love for each other, while Fred is trying to figure out how to propose to Jackie.
25. Altar Egos: Jackie and Fred are both having hot and cold feet about walking down the aisle together.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio 1.33:1 full frame color. Overall, the picture looks decent. The transfer is a little dirty with a noticeable grain and other imperfections (minor aliasing, rough edges, and compression artifacts). It is an acceptable transfer and shouldn't ruin the viewing experience.

Audio:
The audio track included with this release is English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The sound quality is good with dialogue consistently audible. It is an average TV on DVD track. It is dialogue driven and as a result remains pretty flat and has very little distinction with channel separation. This release does not come with subtitles, but it is closed caption enabled.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this season set. I thought this was a shame, because past seasons have had extras that have ranged from commentaries to featurettes.

Final Thoughts:
Roseanne is a fun sitcom with very likable characters and engaging storylines that are always filled to the brim with awesome humor. Season six has twenty-five hilarious episodes. I had a great time sitting through this episodes and I think that anyone who enjoys rich dialogue, superb acting performances, and solid storylines should enjoy every minute this season set has to offer. It comes highly recommended.