Roseanne: Becky Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Roseanne: Becky Doesn't Live Here Anymore
ABC
January 22, 1991
Sitcom
DVD
B+

This Sherman & Heath story is another great one focusing on Becky but giving everyone in the family a chance to shine.  (OK, D.J. as usual doesn't get a lot to do, but him getting his head caught in a drawer and then entering with olive oil all over his hair is one of the laugh-out-loud moments.)  The director is also a woman, Gail Mancuso, who would go on to do fifty more for the series over the next five years.

Becky is seeing Mark again.  (He doesn't appear but will in later episodes of course.)  She gets Darlene to lie for her, but their parents sense the truth. Becky moves in with Jackie, which causes tension with Roseanne and Jackie.  And Darlene resents being punished while Becky isn't.  Things aren't tied up neatly at the end, although there is enough closure for this week, just like real life.  OK, some things are exaggerated for humor, like in the (described rather than seen) prank phone call where Crystal is surprised to hear from Nancy Reagan (another LOL moment).  Note, there is of course some irony to Becky saying that Darlene is jealous and wishes she had a boyfriend like Mark.

This is the 100th show I've given a B+, and you know the series will be earning more.