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(More customer reviews)This DVD contains the Halloween special episodes of Roseanne from seasons 2 through 8. Oddly enough, the Halloween special episode from season 9, "Satan, Darling", is not included. Many people who hate season 9 of Roseanne - and there are a lot of you - will cheer at this news, but I, personally, am disappointed since that particular episode was officially as much a part of the Roseanne Halloween collection as any, and also because it is interesting to contrast the writing, acting, and overall atmosphere of season 9 with all of the others. I include a brief synopsis of all of the Halloween episodes included on this DVD below:
Season 2 (Boo) - The Conners are welcoming the neighborhood kids to their "Tunnel of Terror" as Roseanne and Dan decide to find out who can scare the other the most. First Dan pretends he cuts off his hand while repairing the garbage disposal. Roseanne thinks this is on the level and comes to his aid until she realizes it's a stunt and he is using fake blood. Later Dan hears Roseanne on the phone talking to Bev about her moving in with them. A horrified Dan nearly has a heart attack and Roseanne is declared the winner.
Season 3 (Trick or Treat) - DJ decides he wants to dress as a witch for Halloween this year, and this has Dan very upset as he believes it might mean DJ is having trouble with his own gender identity. You see, Dan believes only girls should dress as witches. Meanwhile, Roseanne decides to find out what it's like to be one of the guys by dressing up in Dan's clothes. She then goes to the Lobo and enjoys conversing with a group of men there on a variety of subjects. You even see Roseanne trying to make conversation with "another" man at the urinal. Unfortunately, the restroom scene has been cut from most (if not all) syndicated showings of this episode. We also get another look at Crystal's desperation for male companionship as she shows an interest in Roseanne ( alias Bob) after "Bob" pays her some well placed compliments.
Season 4 (Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down) - Dan and Roseanne scare the wits out of their next-door neighbor, the snobby Kathy Bowman, when they have her convinced that Roseanne has murdered Dan in a fit of homicidal rage. Roseanne then spends the rest of the episode expecting Kathy to retaliate for the prank that has been played on her. When she doesn't, Dan finally has to fake a retaliation at the end of the episode so that Roseanne will stop obsessing over this. Meanwhile, Jackie flirts with a stranger at the Lobo Lounge costume party who turns out to be her ex-boyfriend Booker (George Clooney) in a Moose costume. This is George Clooney's final appearance on Roseanne. Booker hadn't appeared on Roseanne since the season one finale, "Let's Call It Quits". There are some good gags in this episode, but it wasn't as good as the previous two Halloween specials. This is the only episode with video commentary.
Season 5 (Halloween IV) - Roseanne sends everyone to a party while she stays home, depressed over the absence of Becky. She is subsequently visited by the ghosts of Halloween past, present, and future. She has her normal smart-mouth retorts even to the ghosts though, comparing the ghost of Halloween present to a big piece of candy corn.
Season 6 (Halloween V) - Roseanne believes that Darlene and David are dating other people, and this is all part of a prank the two are playing on her in which Roseanne finally gets bested. To me, this was the best Halloween episode since the one during season three.
Season 7 (Skeleton in the Closet) - Dan and Jackie's husband, Fred, convince Roseanne that Fred is hiding his true sexual orientation when all of the guests at Leon's Halloween party at "The Lunch Box" seem to know Fred a little too well. There are also some hilarious scenes with Jackie speculating that her mother wears a wig and may be bald. This leads her to the conclusion that she may go bald as she ages too. Jackie then puts on the wig and begins doing an imitation of her mother, even getting the voice down pat: "Oh Roseanne! Roseanne, a woman your size should not wear horizontal stripes, you should wear black! Or stay at home!". For some reason, this particular episode isn't aired much in syndication, not even during the Roseanne Halloween episode marathons.
Season 8 (Halloween: The Final Chapter) - This episode begins with Halloween at the Connors. They have a seance around the table and Dan and David fool some trick or treaters. Then Roseanne and Jackie play with the ouija board. They ask when is Roseanne going to have her baby, and it spells out the word "NOW". The scene suddenly changes and Roseanne is in the hospital. Jerry Garcia appears from beyond the grave via a videotape with a message especially for Roseanne. Meanwhile the doctors and nurses are dancing around Roseanne's bedside as though they are accompanying vocalists of some type. In the end, we see that all of this strange stuff was Roseanne halucinating while she was having the baby. Roseanne and Dan's new son Jerry Garcia Connor is born, which is particularly strange since the show has been saying the baby is a girl for months. This is the second poorest of the Halloween episodes, the poorest being the one from season nine that is not included in the DVD. It gives a foreshadowing of what we see a lot more of the following year - the absurd and the bizarre replacing the great original comedy of the earlier years.
If you are a Roseanne fan, I highly recommend this DVD set. If you are not familiar with Roseanne, some of the unexplained subplots in the Halloween episodes may leave you somewhat confused.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Roseanne: Halloween Edition (1988)
Most TV shows celebrated the holiday season with warm & fuzzy Christmas specials. But for the cast, crew and creators of ROSEANNE, the year's best celebrations always belonged to Halloween. In these seven classic episodes, the Conners unleash tricks and treats on one of the greatest sitcoms in television history
Click here for more information about Roseanne: Halloween Edition (1988)
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