Roseanne Review: Twenty Years to Life / Dress to Impress (Season 10 Episodes 1 and 2)

Roseanne is the name. Nostalgia is the game.

Going into Roseanne Season 10 Episodes 1 and 2, I was a bit skeptical. Growing up relating to the original product on a deeply personal level had me worrying that the new reboot/continuation wouldn’t live up.

However, within minutes, I was proven wrong.

From the opening moments, the show reminds us why we fell in love with it, to begin with. Roseanne and Dan are older, but none the wiser about how to be more couth. They remain shameless about their private life and their worldview.

This allows the audience to rest easy and truly take in each moment the show has to offer.

From talking about health care to the current president, the Conner’s continue to entertain with their laugh out loud humor and rough honesty.

While Clinton and Trump are very touchy subjects for the entire country right now, the show manages to take both camps and bring them together in a familiar and loving way. They give a real face to the reasons behind some of Trump’s working-class supporters, while also remaining neutral in their portrayal of the “angry women” supporters of Clinton.

As always, we find Roseanne and Jackie on opposing sides of this intense debate. This issue actually stays in line with the two sisters we have loved all these years.

Even though it has been about twenty years we still find ourselves sucked into the mutual denial of needs found between the sisters. Historically, Jackie and Roseanne are always at odds over decisions one of them makes or an opinion they have. It’s what makes them so relatable.

By continuing this bond, the new Roseanne ensures that the magic that made the show what it was in the 90s is still present today.

Darlene: Is anyone gonna tell her she’s like 50?

The same can be said about the Darlene and Becky relationship. Despite the sisters being much older, and Darlene being a mother, they too clash over opinions and decisions much like their mom and aunt do.

Darlene still knows the perfect moments and decisions in Becky’s life to criticize and get a rise out of her. Their bickering makes the audience believe that they haven’t missed a beat in all these years.

Their synchronicity and timing show a familiarity between actresses that doesn’t age or go away.

The bond of family definitely remains at the heart of this show. It’s what makes the classic quality of it endure.

Harris: You’re ruining my life. You all suck.

Dan: I haven’t seen that movie in years. Ahh, the classics really do hold up.

All of Darlene’s life she has rebelled against showing her feelings or vulnerability. Adult Darlene is no different. She loses her job and has to move back home, but still insists on playing it off as her parents needed her to take care of them.

She doesn’t want to appear weak or less than worthy in her children’s eyes or even her parents’. To this day she remains closed off and hard to crack. However, Roseanne manages to see through it all.

Her words and comfort are the more serious parts of Roseanne that we know and love.

Darlene: Here’s the thing, you’re weird. I’m weird. Heck, this whole family is weird. You just gotta hang in until everyone realizes that weird is cool.

In a way, her mothering habits have passed down to her daughter. We really see it when in one scene, Roseanne defends her grandson to his classmates and in the next Darlene comforts him.

Both instances show how this show is really good at showcasing family love at the heart of it all. Through it all, you can always rely on your family to give you crap for doing something, but also defend you to the death for your right to do it.

One of the greatest things this show could do is show just how the Conner children have grown and been shaped by their upbringing. The strongest example of that is Darlene.

Darlene has become a slightly more loving and accepting version of Roseanne. She got all the best parts of both her crazy, opinionated parents.

As for Becky, it’s evident in her actions that she is still ashamed of where she came from. Fans know that she acted this way many times when she was younger in order to try to rise above it all.

Now, she is trying to once again better herself, but at the expense of her family. She wants them to be tamer versions of themselves in order to look great to the potential mother she is going to surrogate for.

Years ago, that quality in her grated on my nerves. While it’s nice to see some things never change with her, I really wish that this part of her would’ve died off.

Sure, the Conners are a bit unrefined, but that is what makes them so lovable and amazing. Why would you ever want to change that? I’d die to be a part of this family.

As the season continues it will be interesting to see how the grandson, Mark, and his creative ways will change the hearts and minds of his extended family. It’ll also be fun to watch Darlene and Roseanne deal with the stresses of being under the same roof again in a similar role: mother.

I will be interested to see if the show continues to hold its own as a newer product while still retaining some of the integrity of the original.

Other Thoughts:

• It was nice to see DJ at the family dinner. Interested to learn more about his absent wife, daughter, and career with the military.
• Who else forgot that Gerry existed? Oops…though it was nice he got a mention.
• Mark RIP. It was beautiful that despite his absence the show still paid homage to him.
• The father/daughter bond unique to Darlene and Dan is still going strong which I was worried about with Darlene being older.
• Making “other” Becky the woman Becky is a surrogate for is a clever plot device to explain the two actresses.

What did you think of this episode of Roseanne? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Roseanne airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.

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