Roseanne Barrnoldargent has spent most of the last few years ruining the hard work she did in the 80s and 90s, making the most realistic American sitcom of the 20th century. While the original run of the series had its ups and -- hooooboy -- some very deep downs, it was mostly a well-written family comedy. John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, and even Roseanne were dextrous enough to be funny while still injecting drama without reaching Melodrama. For the most part, the show has been about being progressive and understanding no matter what your political background. It was about acceptance, and being good to each other, especially your family, no matter what. That's why Roseanne's current pro-Trump racist persona is so sad to people who loved the show.

I loved the show. And I still love what it was. We're only one episode into Roseanne Minus Roseanne, and it was...fine. But it certainly opened the possibility that the show could be great again, but without any stupid red hats.

​In the first two seasons, all three kids fit almost neatly into a little role. Becky had one moment where it seemed like she might be rebellious, and Darlene started to come out of her shell. In this season, we start to see a seismic shift in the younger generation (except DJ, whose personality so far can only be described as "weird").

Episode 1: Home Ec
It's Career Day! Darlene has always been a daddy's girl, so she's less than thrilled when Roseanne shows up at her school as a guest speaker in her Home Economics class. This is one of the better episodes of the show when it comes to dealing with gender and class., as Roseanne takes the class on a field trip to show them how to cook for a family of five on a tight budget.

Episode 2: Valentine's Day
It's Valentine's Day! Darlene and Becky each have a type when it comes to boys. So when Darlene's love interest turns out to be into Becky, she doesn't take it well. Also, Roseanne gets a job in a mall diner.​ So the kids are going to see her All The Time.

Episode 3: Her Boyfriend's Back
It's James Dean's birthday! What is Becky's type anyway? We haven't seen Chip in a while. Well, it turns out, Becky is into bad boys. This is our first glance at Mark Healey. He ain't Chip.

Episode 4: Trouble With The Rubbles
It's Love Thy Neighbors Day! We haven't seen much of little DJ this season, what is that forgettable scamp up to? Well, there are new neighbors for the Conners, and they have a kid DJ's age. Unfortunately, they're a little uptown Chicago, and not so thrilled with the Conners from Langford.

Episode 5: Scenes From A Barbecue
It's Mother's Day! Usually, we only get to see Nanna Mary on the Thanksgiving episodes. This year, all the generations converge on the Conner household on Mother's Day. Everything goes swimmingly. Except Mark is there. He ain't Chip.

Episode 6: The Pied Piper Of Lanford
It's Labor Day! Roseanne got a new job this season waiting tables, now it's Dan's turn. An old friend comes into town and tries to convince Dan to go for his dream job.

Episode 7: Darlene Fades To Black
It's Columbus Day! Jocky little Darlene goes gothy little Darlene . Or is she just depressed?

Episode 8: Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down
It's Halloween again! This year's holiday show has the added bonus of those snooty neighbors AND one of Jackie's exes comes back.

Episode 9: Thanksgiving 1991
It's Thanksgiving Day! Nana Mary is back! And Beverly! But there is someone missing. This continues the lovely theme of the generation of Roseanne and Dan's parents unraveling.

Episode 10: Santa Claus
It's Christmas in the mall! Roseanne plays Santa Claus, and as a Christmas gift, she gets to meet Darlene's new friend. Oh, and Darlene has a friend!

Roseanne Barrnoldargent has spent most of the last few years ruining the hard work she did in the 80s and 90s, making the most realistic American sitcom of the 20th century. While the original run of the series had its ups and -- hooooboy -- some very deep downs, it was mostly a well-written family comedy. John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, and even Roseanne were dextrous enough to be funny while still injecting drama without reaching Melodrama. For the most part, the show has been about being progressive and understanding no matter what your political background. It was about acceptance, and being good to each other, especially your family, no matter what. That's why Roseanne's current pro-Trump racist persona is so sad to people who loved the show.

I loved the show. And I still love what it was. We're only one episode into Roseanne Minus Roseanne, and it was...fine. But it certainly opened the possibility that the show could be great again, but without any stupid red hats.

Each season, after the first one, included a Halloween episode because Roseanne loves that particular holiday. While this season slightly predates Darlene's impending "fade to black", it does contain two of the better Halloween episodes, thus making this season, officially, a Horror Season.

Episode 1: Boo!
Recessions are terrifying! And in the heart of the Bush Sr years, the economy was in the tank, and independent contractors like Dan Connor lived week to week, and being unemployed, like Roseanne, means doing truly horrific jobs like magazine subscription telemarketing. To lift their spirits, the Conners stage a Tunnel Of Terror in their house and Roseanne and Dan battle to see who will be crowned the King/Queen of Halloween. See also The Conjuring.

Episode 2: Come Together
Halloween has nothing on Thanksgiving, when it comes to terror. Extended family. Tryptophan. The prospect of Uncle Creepy Touch and Racist Grandma imparting their various shades of incorrect wisdom to the next generation. Count me out. This episode is the first time we meet the previous generation of Harrises and Conners as both sets of grandparents show up to ruin the holiday. See also Addams Family Values.

Episode 3: Braindead Poets
Having spent most of the last twenty years tending bar at a poetry open mic/slam, I feel completely qualified to tell you that there is nothing more frightening than people performing poetry. Frightening? Boring? Annoying? All three? In this episode, jocky daughter Darlene is forced to read a poem she wrote at her school's culture night. See also Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The movie.

Episode 4: An Officer And A Gentleman
Anyone who thinks cops are only scary if you've commited a crime, hasn't watched the news in the last twenty years. Having given up her job in the plastic factory, along with Roseanne and Crystal, Jackie decided to become a cop. That only really factors into the title of this episode, as Roseanne has to deal with a family emergency, leaving Jackie and Dan in charge of the kids. See also The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.

Episode 5: April Fool's Day
Taxes! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! See also Shawshank Redemption.

Episode 6: Like A Virgin
You don't even need to have seen Scream to know that one of the surest ways to die in a slasher movie is to have sex. So Becky seems a prime candidate for a-slashin' in the Conner household. See also Hellraiser.

Episode 7: Like, A New Job
There are four major Nightmares that everyone seems to share: showing up to class naked, being in a play where you don't remember rehearsing, falling from a great height, and waiting tables in a restuarant where everything's gone wrong. Roseanne joins the waiting tables nightmare and adds to it by working at a mall, a job I wouldn't wish on anyone. Luckily, there are only about six malls left in The United States. See also Office Space.

Episode 8: Trick Or Treat
The second Halloween episode of the season focuses on gender in a progressive 90s way that is incredibly dated but inoffensive. See Dan try and figure out why he has a problem with his son dressing up as a witch. More importantly, see Roseanne infiltrate a tribe of toxic masculinity by dressing as a man. See also The Covenant.

Episode 9: Bird Is The Word
High School is an absolute nightmare all the time. Roseanne ends up getting called into the Principal's office (surprise, it's the guy from Law & Order) when one of her rebellious daughters is caught flipping the bird in the class photo. See also The Birds.

10: The Wedding
What would happen if one of your parents knocked up and married one of your childhood friends. Pretty Grimm way to end the season, huh? See also Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Roseanne Barrnoldargent has spent most of the last few years ruining the hard work she did in the 80s and 90s, making the most realistic American sitcom of the 20th century. While the original run of the series had its ups and -- hooooboy -- some very deep downs, it was mostly a well-written family comedy. John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, and even Roseanne were dextrous enough to be funny while still injecting drama without reaching Melodrama. For the most part, the show has been about being progressive and understanding no matter what your political background. It was about acceptance, and being good to each other, especially your family, no matter what. That's why Roseanne's current pro-Trump racist persona is so sad to people who loved the show.

I loved the show. And I still love what it was. We're only one episode into Roseanne Minus Roseanne, and it was...fine. But it certainly opened the possibility that the show could be great again, but without any stupid red hats.

I don't know how many seasons this imagining will be. I'm going to keep it to ten episodes a season, like a Netflix or BBC show. The first season throws us right in the middle of Lanford, Michigan, as we open with an episode where The Conners get a Huge Windfall, which will be a recurring theme in the show.

Episode 1: We're In The Money
Meet The Conners, a nice midwestern family with three kids and a live studio audience. All the positive elements of the show premiere here, as Roseanne and Dan work, argue about money, deal with work issues, try to raise their kids well despite being very flawed people, and spend their time in the outside world dealing with classism.

Episode 2: Lover's Lane
It's bowling time! The ladies of Lanford go bowling with their loved ones, including Jackie's love interest, George Clooney. Yes, that George Clooney. Meanwhile, Becky is in looooooooove with Chip, who is a 1980s feather-haired teenage dream. If you're into yuppie kids...named Chip.

Episode 3: Dan's Birthday Bash
Langford's local libations locale, The Lobo Lounge, serves as Dan's birthday palace, where everything goes completely smoothly and according to plan. Plus, Becky meets Chip's yuppie parents.

Episode 4: Becky's Choice
Chip's parents come to The Conner house for dinner.

Episode 5: Workin' Overtime
The American Dream is being a working class set of parents who have to work overtime so they can afford to pay the babysitters to watch their kids while they work overtime, right?  Featuring the first service industry employee in the show to not be an upper middle class snob.

Episode 6: We're Not In Kansas Anymore
Weather related tragedies were big business in 1980s/early 1990s television. Earthquakes, hurricanes, Poochinski. Lanford gets hit by a tornado and gives us our first look at a glorious Jackie meltdown.

​Episode 7: Death And Stuff
The age of the traveling salesman has long since given way to the age of popup ads, and this is the television episode that killed it!

Episode 8: Let's Call It Quits
The new boss at the plastic factory is no George Clooney. He inspires the cast to rethink their employment opportunities. It's misogymy and classism at its finest. Oh, and George Clooney is in the episode, he's just not the bad guy.

Episode 9: Inherit The Wind
The Conners parents come to the realization that, sometimes, raising your kids is a gas.

Episode 10: House Of Grown Ups
After a season of familial turmoil, it's time for sisterly bonding, as written by Joss "Buffy The Firefly Slayer" Whedon.