4
"Roseanne"
raised the stakes for
the family sitcom.

"Roseanne" was structured like a lot of other family sitcoms -- the couch and TV front and center, the kids with all the usual growing pains. But "Roseanne" subverted the content, dealing with the situations other family sitcoms wouldn't talk about (the one where the Conners' son, DJ, discovers masturbation) or dealing with typical sitcom problems in atypical ways (the birth control episode). The Conners were often in pain. Dan's frightening rages, Roseanne's recovered memories of abuse by her father, Jackie's zero self-esteem, Darlene's inability to express tenderness toward the people she loved -- this was not light-hearted stuff. But at its best, "Roseanne" deftly walked that fine emotional line where things are so awful, you just have to laugh. 5. "Roseanne" was the ultimate show about motherhood.