Roseanne: Guilt by Imagination

Roseanne: Guilt by Imagination
ABC
November 9, 1993
Sitcom
DVD
B+

Pat Bullard, who'd later write three more Roseanne episodes, in one of which he'd play Deliveryman #1, and his collaborator Stevie Ray Fromstein, who'd played Bill earlier in the year, based this teleplay on the second of five Roseanne stories by Lois Bromfield, who had appeared as one Roseanne character already and would be another the next year.  Like the previous episode, it's laugh-out-loud funny but also real and insightful.

Vicki Lawrence appears in only the opening scene, but her role of Phyllis Zimmer has long-reaching consequences, into even the series finale.  Phyllis is the girl (I think referred to once before) that Dan slept with when he and Roseanne broke up in high school.  She invites Dan out to lunch and flirts outrageously with him in his office.  Nothing happens but Dan is flattered by her attention, and turned on enough to come home and passionately make love to Roseanne all afternoon.  Jackie is caught in the middle, when she's not a very good liar.  Meanwhile, Dan tells Fred to call attention to Jackie's ears, which she's insecure about, so Fred buys Jackie earrings, saying he's been thinking about her ears.  As Roseanne observes, "That's very flattering from somebody who's seen you naked."

Fabio makes an appearance in the tag as Roseanne's romantic fantasy.  This is the first episode without either Darlene or David, as the focus is more on the adults, but D.J. does get a good scene with Dan.  And we never hear how Fred and Jackie's date went.