We’re back! We’ve missed you, dear listeners, and we’re excited to embark on the FOURTH season of 714 Delaware St.! On this first episode, we take a deep dive into some Roseanne episodes from the series’ later run, when the show was somewhat preoccupied with referencing the “golden age” television sitcoms that Roseanne Barr and her contemporaries grew up on, like Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, and Gilligan’s Island. We were inspired in part by the new dark comedy Kevin Can F*ck Himself, which similarly engages with the traditional family sitcom, and the biases and retrograde perspective baked into its formula. Throughout its run, Roseanne made a point of reveling in its own deviations from this formula while at the same time emphasizing its place in family sitcom history. This is especially evident in the episodes “All About Rosey: The Clip Show,” in which Roseanne meets a group of sitcom moms from the past; “Sherwood Schwartz: A Loving Tribute,” which revolves around a funny-but-bizarre Gilligan’s Island spoof; and The Fifties Show, which reimagines Roseanne as a Father Knows Best-style wholesome sitcom, with black-and-white format, cigarette commercials and all. We hope you’ll enjoy this academic and nostalgic trip into some truly weird Roseanne before we move on to the new season of The Conners – listen & subscribe!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS