5
"Roseanne"
was the ultimate show
about motherhood.
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At a time when pregnancy was a politically charged issue, working
mothers were being demonized by fundamentalists and traditional mothers
were being ignored by organized feminism, Roseanne stepped up and made
motherhood the central theme of her show. And Roseanne's version of
motherhood was a fierce and mighty force that would not be denied. The
series was a cycle of pregnancies (Roseanne, Jackie, Dan's father's wife Crystal, Darlene), most of them unplanned. And, fittingly, babies are the
focus of Tuesday's one-hour finale, in which Darlene and David bring their
daughter Harris home from the hospital (occasioning a final Conner beer-and-pizza blast) and two more impending blessed events are revealed.
With her typical contrariness, Roseanne told the truth about motherhood.
It was a miracle and a pain in the ass ("This is why some animals eat their
young!" Roseanne shrieked at her squabbling kids in the very first
episode); it was a sacrifice (Roseanne was always giving up her basement
writing room to some kid who was moving back into the nest) and the
ultimate creative act. Most of all, it was a chance for a fresh start. For
all Roseanne Conner's crabbing, her identity was bound up in being a
mother. She was good at it, despite her own miserable childhood and despite
her fear of turning into her own mother, the babbling Bev.
"Roseanne" was the perfect antidote to the bummed-out boomer parents of
"thirtysomething," its onetime Tuesday night schedule mate on ABC. Roseanne's
full-throttle cackle at the end of the opening credits could have been
directed at Hope and Michael and their friends, and their endless worrying
about parenthood making them uncool. "You can't be a parent and not
be changed by it," Roseanne's cackle says. "Grow up!"
That unrefined honesty will be missed. Roseanne Conner was the toughest
mother of them all.
"Roseanne" series finale (8 p.m. Tues., May 20, ABC)
Join the discussion on "Roseanne's" final season in Table Talk.
A Star Implodes By Joyce Millman
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