"Cheers represented writing, acting, and directing at the very highest levels, and Sam and Diane remain the gold standard for a complicated, fascinating relationship on TV. Many have tried to equal their chemistry. All have failed. Television may never see another Roseanne, but I find myself constantly yearning for another Cheers."
-Shawn Ryan, creator of The Shield, wrote a nice piece for Vulture's TV comedy tournament "Sitcom Showdown," comparing Cheers to Roseanne before rightfully concluding that, although both are great, Cheers is the best.
Yep. After dressing as Colonel Gaddafi at last year's roast, Jeff Ross stepped it up this year, dressing as the deceased former Penn State coach Joe Paterno. Ross told The Hollywood Reporter: “If [people are] offended by what they see, they can do what Joe Paterno did – look the other way.” The roast, which taped this weekend, airs Sunday, August 12 at 10pm. We can look forward to: "Joe Paterno wouldn't have fucked Roseanne with Jerry Sandusky's dick. (And probably couldn't have.)"
Before Joss Whedon convinced an absurdly large number of normal world citizens to see a movie about Norse gods, frozen past-men, and Robert Downey Jr.’s goatee, he was the nerd-worshipped creator of cult hits like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and (the author begrudgingly included) Dollhouse. Even before that, however, Whedon was a sitcom writer. At the tender of 24, he was a story editor and staff writer for Roseanne, securing the writing credit on five episodes in the second season: The Little Sister, House of Grown-ups, Brain-Dead Poets Society, Chicken Hearts, and Fathers and Daughters.
Staff writing on a television show typically isn’t a place for individual flair; [...]
The Best Sitcom Episode Ever Tournament is pitting 32 of the greatest episodes of funny TV shows ever produced against each other in a single-elimination winner-takes-all (well, takes-nothing) competition. Every day, we're putting up episodes for you, our loyal readers, to vote on. Today: 30 Rock vs. Community and Roseanne vs. Mary Tyler Moore.
Community — “Modern Warfare,” May 6, 2010 In what would come to define Community’s style, the original “paintball episode” is jam-packed with references to action movies, from Rambo to Predator to The Terminator (“Come with me if you don’t want paint on your clothes”). But the original story itself — and the development of Britta [...]
While visitingLettermanto promote the aptly named Roseanne's Nuts, the comedic mother of us all described how her sister overheard two people in the audience of the Roseanne pilot complaining, "Who's gonna watch this? This show's a piece of crap. Who's going to watch this show about fat people?" The fact that those people were Roseanne's agent and the show's producer should be a surprise to absolutely no one, provided they've listened to anything the woman has had to say in last few decades. Another roll of butcher paper for the fired list!
Last season, NBC ordered a pilot called Downwardly Mobile starring Roseanne Barr and John Goodman as a couple living in a trailer park. The show didn't make it past the pilot stage, but the network is now taking another stab at developing a new show around Barr, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She'll produce and develop the series alongside Steven Greener, whom she worked with on her one-season-and-out Lifetime reality show Roseanne's Nuts last year. No title or plotline has been announced. Roseanne Barr recently filmed an episode of IFC's Portlandia and will appear in a three-episode arc in The Office's final stretch of episodes as a [...]
As is the case with their roasts, Comedy Central has assembled a rag tag group of comedians, celebrities, and "celebrities" to roast Roseanne. The list includes Sharon Stone, Carrie Fisher, Katey Sagal and Seth Green (expect Green Party jokes) because I assume they are friends with Roseanne or something. Stone will likely fill the role of crazy person, which has long been a fixture of the roasts. In terms of pros, Jeffrey Ross, Amy Schumer, and Anthony Jeselnik will be there to actually make the thing watchable. The roast shoots this Saturday and will air on August 12. More names will be added in the coming days; hopefully, [...]
Duels or “classy show-downs” as they are often called by no one, have been solving hot debates for ages. They're useful for delivering crowds a champion, through often unpredictable means (just ask Alexander Hamilton). Television loves a surprise, so what better way to measure and battle elements of TV than with a duel? Here, we will battle two characters in an imaginary contest of wills. Sometimes a winner will be crowned because of pertinent facts, and sometimes in spite of them.
This week? Roseanne v. Donna Reed in motherhood.
It’s the Mother’s Day edition of the duels. Here we pit two iconic mothers against one another to find out who is the [...]
It’s tough enough for TV writers to make viewers laugh for 22 minutes — to extend an episode’s length to 44 minutes, even spread over two weeks, that’s just downright crazy. But every so often, a sitcom plot will be spread over two episodes (with the occasional “To Be Continued” thrown in for good measure), oftentimes with mixed results. Below we choose twelve of the best two-part episodes, some season-ending cliffhangers, some series finales, and some that work as a two-part story arc. And don't worry: some Simpsons, too.
Stop whatever you're doing (unless it's directing air traffic or something; hopefully you have a lunch break soon) and read Roseanne Barr's New York Mag article. In her searing, riveting "And I Should Know," Barr lays bare her grueling experience making her classic sitcom, including the non-stop meddling of producers and the viscous sexism she experienced even when her show hit #1. "It didn’t take long for me to get a taste of the staggering sexism and class bigotry that would make the first season of Roseanne god-awful," she writes, explaining "Nothing real or truthful makes its way to TV unless you are smart and know how to [...]
Those are some good zings. There is one Ross zing, however, that Comedy Central announced it won't air: “Seth [Green], congratulations. This is actually a great night for you. You haven’t gotten this much attention since you shot all those people in Aurora. I’m kidding, you are not like James Holmes. At least he did something in a movie theater that people remember.” Alas, as the previews below suggest, there will be enough off-color and/or mean jokes to [...]
I always wonder two things when I hear about an upcoming Comedy Central roast: how mean will it be, and is the roastee really on board for it? As Joan Rivers said in A Piece of Work, "They keep telling you it’s an honor. I'm telling you that if I had invested wisely, I wouldn’t be doing this." The upcoming roast of Roseanne Barr is no different. Is Roseanne really into the idea and thinks it'll be fun, or is this just a cash grab to keep her nut farm afloat? It's hard to say, although the second question got a little complicated with the announcement that [...]
Finally going through with her promise/threat from August, Roseanne Barr has filed the paperwork to run for president and says on her Twitter that she doesn't expect to win, but hopes bring attention to the Green Party by running. If she did get elected, here's an incomplete list of what she'd likely focus on in her first 100 days in the Oval Office:
- invest in technology futures for nut manufacture - promote tax subsidies for menopausal women - hire a cabinet led by John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, and Johnny Galecki - write searing, eye-opening essay about sexism on the political campaign trail [...]
Good news! Your crazy aunt is getting into politics. Yes, Roseanne is running for president as a member of the "Green Tea Party." She has many sensible ideas, such as getting rid of all taxes and money and switching to a barter system. Because vegetables "have way more value than our currency." OK! We'll see if she gets any further into the process than Stephen Colbert did in 2008. And really, I hope she does. It's not like the current field of candidates is all that sane; at least Roseanne owns being crazy.
Splitsider Presents is a digital comedy store selling great comedy directly to you. There are no hoops to jump through, and you don't need to hand over your identity. Buying is simple and straightforward; you don't need a credit card or an existing account. You can complete payment and be watching a show in seconds, choosing to pay via either Amazon or Paypal.
Splitsider keeps only 20% of the cost of the purchase after transaction, bandwidth and legal costs, with about 70% going directly to the artist.
You can stream your purchases on whatever device you like, or download them to your computer to keep forever in DRM-free file formats.
Purchase/Playback Info
For $5 you get 5 HD or SD DRM-free downloads and 3 streams, allowing you to watch on your computer or any other device. You can choose to pay via either Amazon or PayPal, and you'll be able to log into the site whenever you want to re-download or stream your purchases.
WATCH videos online
DOWNLOAD videos (HD+SD)
SIMPLE payment system
ACCOUNT to access videos
Need Help?
Buying and watching shows on Splitsider Presents should be simple, quick and undemanding, but if you run into trouble, we have an excellent <A href="http://splitsider.com/store/docs/help">help section and customer service</a> to assist you.
