I
wanted to do something special for Thanksgiving, but wasn't sure what
to talk about. But then I remembered this show, and I have a lot to say
about these episodes. I decided that the only way to do it correctly is
as a whole article. So today I am taking a look at all the Thanksgiving
episodes of Roseanne. And be warned, some ranting is coming!
Roseanne
was of course the classic 90's sitcom which portrayed an average blue
collar family just trying to get by. It was funny but more importantly,
it was real. Well as real as it got back then anyway. This show is more
famous for its Halloween shows, but there were Thanksgiving episodes
which ranged from personal favorites to gut wrenching awful. Let's take a
look:
"We Gather Together"
The
first and one of my favorite Thanksgiving episodes. It does what
Roseanne did best, portray regular struggles of an average family. The
show is filled with story lines competing for attention, and yet the
show manages to find sufficient time for them all. We have Dan's mother
with a new boyfriend while his father flirts with Crystal, Jackie
stressed out from her mother and announcing she is becoming a cop, and
Roseanne trying to find the best way to tell her parents she has booked a
nice hotel room for them. All
the characters feel real (this was an early episode, before Bev became a
cartoon character) and the situations entirely familiar. It feels like
we are peeking in on some family's Thanksgiving dinner, and I love it.
"Thanksgiving 1991"
Another
classic, though not quite as good as the previous but it comes close.
It's actually weird to watch these back to back. Bev gets nuttier and
nuttier. But more than that in the previous episode Roseanne's father
seems like a nice enough guy. In this episode it's revealed that her dad
has been keeping a girlfriend for years! In the next episode we hear
about how abusive the guy was. Man did they retcon that character! Bev
reveals this secret which sets several future episodes. But in this one
the secret doesn't go past Roseanne and Jackie. Elsewhere in the
episode, Darlene is in full teenage mode as she mopes in her room.
Crystal and Lonnie are having trouble, what happened to them anyway? The
annoying in this episode is Jackie, I get she loves her father more
than her mother but the attitude she takes in front of Bev is pretty
disrespectful.
"Thanksgiving '93"
This
is an interesting episode. We see Dan and Mark almost get into a fist
fight, Darlene doesn't make it home, a pregnant Jackie forced to spend
time with Fred, and another revelation from Bev. I guess this was
becoming a fast tradition. This time it's the fact that she got married
after she became pregnant with Roseanne. Not that bad though it was
starting to became a little to cliched. The main focus is Becky and Mark
who are married and the family is still adjusting. I do like the end of
the episode when Bev finally gets to pull one over on Nana Mary. Nice
to see her get a little payback.
"Thanksgiving 1994"
I
don't like this episode, but it's a hard one to hate. It isn't bad, but
the sad story really makes it a depressing episode. The story involves
Roseanne, who is pregnant and gets some bad news regarding her
pregnancy. Problem is she is unable to get any conclusive answer about
what the problem is. It's strong stuff but it also sucks all the life
out of the Thanksgiving stuff. There is a wasted gag about David giving
Mark incorrect information about Football
which really has no good payoff. Also Nana Marie has a new husband who
is very old. Not sure what the point of that was, but I dont get it. I
think it would have been better if they had just dumped the Thanksgiving
stuff for this episode, it just doesn't mesh with the heavy pregnancy
story.
"The Last Thursday in November"
I
hate this episode. It makes my skin crawl every time I watch it! I am
not a history expert but come on! Ok, let me see if I can sum this up.
After an opening which comes off like Roseanne and Laurie Metcalf didn't
realize the cameras were rolling, we find DJ is in a school pageant
regarding the first Thanksgiving. However, the director, who happens to
be Native American, lets the kids do what they want. So the pilgrims
then don mobster outfits and begin gunning the Indians down! This
offends me on so many levels. First, that any teacher would allow kids
to perform something so historically inaccurate. Secondly it's true, the
Pilgrims weren't always nice to Native Americans, though who could know
in those days the diseases The Pilgrims would bring with them, but all
they do in this episode is exaggerate the other way. Pilgrims and
Indians did get along sometimes, including a three day feast which did
in fact happen. If you're going to discuss a sensitive topic you need to
be fair and equally represent both sides! In this episode Indians were
persecuted and the Pilgrims were evil, end of story. After the play
nonsense we get a fantasy sequence where The Connors play Pilgrims. The
scene is more honest, making the awful play look even more ridiculous.
This was late in the series run, when the writing sucked and the show
was on its way out, and it shows! Look if you want to talk about the
persecution of the Indians that's fine. I think that should be talked
about. Just do it honestly! I just hate this episode! It's boring, full
of propaganda, and is not funny.
"Home is Where the Afghan Is"
This
was from the last season. I try to block that last season out of
memory! But the funny thing is, this episode feels a lot more like a
normal episode of Roseanne than the awful episode from the year before.
It still sucks because this is when the lottery crap was in full swing,
but it has it's ok parts. Jim Varney guest stars and begins a pointless
story about his character, a prince, chasing Jackie. Then Bev reveals
she is gay....wait, I changed my mind. This episode is stupid. It feels
like they were trying too hard to recapture the old days, forcing the
annual reveal from Bev even if it makes no sense. Though better than the
previous still bad.
This
show could be fantastic, but when it missed it really missed! I hope
you liked this I hope to do more articles like this in the future. But
for now,
Happy Thanksgiving all!
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