I recently discovered the last episode of Roseanne, thanks to Netflix. I always loved the show, but I mostly saw it in reruns. I hadn’t seen much of the later years (especially after they won the lottery in the last season), so I’d never seen the last episode, which aired during my freshman year of high school, in May 1997.
In the last episode, it was revealed that rather than having an affair, Dan had actually died of a heart attack. Roseanne’s response was to write the novel she always wanted to write, and she took liberties with the family story. For instance, Becky was actually married to David, and Darlene to Mark, not the other way around. Jackie was a lesbian, not their mom. And the family never won the lottery, that was a plot point Roseanne dreamed up.
The last half of the last episode was made up of Roseanne’s monologue explaining the book and what it means to her, and it includes a flashback to the early episode in which the family transforms the basement into her writing studio. I thought the monologue was a great way to end the show, although I’m not a fan of all the “big reveals.”
But I’d love to know what happened to the Conners after the show ended (besides half of the actors ending up on the cast of Big Bang Theory, another show I love!) They are still one of my favorite TV families, especially Darlene. Hmmm, favorite TV families sounds like a future blog topic ….
So, what would the Conners be doing today? In December 2009, Barr posted a blog entryregarding what a possible Roseanne reunion would be like. Some highlights: Mark dying in Iraq, David leaving Darlene for a woman half his age and then Darlene meeting a woman and having a test tube baby, Becky working at Walmart, Roseanne and Jackie opening the first medical marijuana dispensary in Lanford, Jerry and the grandsons forming a band, and (yay!) Dan reappearing alive after faking his death. We can only hope!!
In a side note, wow……..Roseanne’s blog is very, um, very unusual. Yeah, that’s it … unusual!
Frivolity is Fun! 