Right off the bat I should tell you I was a never a big fan of the “Domestic Goddess” of comedy, Roseanne Barr. I found her humor at the beginning of her career to be fairly funny, but as she became more popular, she annoyed me more than made me laugh. So it goes without saying that when she debuted in her own sitcom back in 1988, I stayed far, far away. Oddly enough, the series struck a chord with some people and it became a huge hit, lasting for nine seasons. Still, you couldn’t get me to watch it. The only thing that tempted me from time to time was the casting of John Goodman as Roseanne’s husband, Dan. Goodman has always struck me as a brilliant performer, whose talents have landed him on TV, in movies and even the Broadway stage. Generally, if he’s in something, I’ll watch it. Yet, having Roseanne Barr playing a mother in a working class family, just didn’t interest me.

But then a few years ago, I happened to catch an episode from the first season (mostly because I was home sick and there wasn’t anything else on) and found myself getting into it. One of the stories in the episode revolved around daughter Becky (Lecy Goranson) refusing to dissect a frog in biology class. I was able to relate to it because I had a similar situation in junior high school where I made the same choice. I was curious to see if this story went the same direction my life did (I continued to refuse, my parents backed me up and the school was forced to see the point I was making).

After that, I became a casual fan of the series. I still wasn’t really into its star, but even I had to admit she could be funny from time to time. The rest of the cast was great, however. Even so, up until last year, I had still only seen a handful of episodes. Then Anchor Bay Entertainment released the entire 1st season and I got a copy to check out. I found that I wasn't dreading watching them as much as I might have had I not the handful of earlier episodes. I made it through all 23 of the episodes included and I have to say I enjoyed them much more than I expected.

Yes, Roseanne was still Roseanne and there were times that her ‘nails on a chalkboard’ voice would make my hair stand on end, but the series overall was well-written and often extremely funny. John Goodman’s Dan was a terrific sounding board for Roseanne’s character as was Laurie Metcalf as her sister, Jackie. Over the years, the series and its stars were nominated for and occasionally won Emmy’s, and if that 1st season was any indication of the seasons to follow, I could see why. The series “Roseanne” was finally added to the list of ‘times I was wrong.’

Since then, Anchor Bay has released the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th seasons and with each I saw the show evolve from one that was mildly funny, to one that often became hysterically funny. The writing became tighter with each season, as did the rapport between the stars and guest stars. Well, at least the rapport between the characters as there were constant rumors of behind the scenes arguments.

As for guest stars, the 6th season offered up some extremely inventive ones, including Shelley Winters, Mariel Hemingway, Ned Beatty, and Red Buttons. Even Anthony Geary and Genie Francis showed up as their "General Hospital" characters, Luke and Laura. Due to the show's rising popularity, it seemed stars kept lining up to make guest appearances.

The 6th season set, which is out this month, includes 25 full length episodes, which I must say is really important this time around. It seems the 1st season set had episodes that were heavily edited for some reason or another (which incensed fans). After that, Anchor Bay started making it a point to let fans know the newer sets had UNCUT episodes. But for the first time, there are no special features. I guess they ran out.
I never thought the day would come that I would recommend “Roseanne”, but then I never thought I’d ever try dipping pizza in ranch dressing. On both counts, they exceeded my expectations.

Episodes:
Two Down, One to Go
The Mommy's Curse
Party Politics
A Stash from the Past
Be My Baby
Halloween V
Homeward Bound
Guilt by Imagination
Homecoming
Thanksgiving '93
The Driver's Seat
White Trash Christmas
Suck Up or Shut Up
Busted
David vs. Goliath
Everyone Comes to Jackie's
Don’t Make Room for Daddy
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Labor Day
Past Imperfect
Lies My Father Told Me
I Pray the Lord My Stove to Keep
Body by Jake
Isn't It Romantic
Altar Egos

Starring: Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Chalke, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman
Extras: None
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital Stereo
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release Date: 12/5/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Roseanne: Season 6 a B.