John Goodman, left, Roseanne Barr and Sarah Gilbert after the first "Roseanne" finale. (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)
(Editors note: “Roseanne” has returned to ABC after a 20-year hiatus. How does the new show measure up to the old one, and how will a sitcom featuring a white, working-class family resonate in the Trump era? Pulled from the Los Angeles Times archives, here is a 1997 review of the original “Roseanne.”)
A good sitcom is funny; a great one earns your respect and attention even when it’s not funny. For years, ABC's “Roseanne” cut it in both categories.
At the very least, it tops all of TV’s distinctively blue-collar comedies.
Even that NBC antique, “The Life of Riley,” where William Bendix's lunch pail became an extension of his arm in the 1950s? Get real.
Even Fox’s outgoing “Married ... With Children”? Are you kidding? The Bundys wouldn't know a plant whistle from a screaming teapot.
Even Fox's genius cartoon, “The Simpsons”? Don't go there. IQ, not social class or workplace, is what indelibly stamps Homer. …
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