The Halloween episodes of “Roseanne” are probably some of the best moments on the series and very much a part of the tradition of ABC sitcoms to embrace Halloween as a fun and festive holiday. In the nineties, many ABC shows had Halloween specials. “Full House” had a few, “Family Matters” had some, and of course, “Home Improvement” often rivaled “Roseanne” in the Halloween department with their own hilarious specials celebrating the Halloween holiday. “Roseanne” however had a more home grown atmosphere toward their Halloween episodes, and most of them are absolutely entertaining. Much like the entire series, as the Halloween episodes go on, they utterly diminish in quality, but they’re still a wonderful tradition of the series.
Featured in this DVD is the complete collection of Halloween episodes from the series. The show didn’t start the tradition until season two, so it’s mostly a complete collection since season one was still finding its bearings. “Boo!” is the first and best Halloween episode of the series where the Conner family prepare to celebrate Halloween by building their own haunted house, and making it a mission to taunt one another with sick and morbid pranks. Roseanne and Dan find themselves at a stalemate when they go on a mission to find out who rules the roost every year with the best pranks. There are some truly excellent and hysterical moments to be enjoyed here, and the finisher is a real whopper. This is easily the best of the series, and was never been topped.
In “Trick or Treat,” the follow up to “Boo!” is equally hilarious as cross dressing becomes an unusual norm for the holiday. Dan finds himself disturbed at the fact that DJ wants to be a witch for Halloween, with the broom and all, anxiously trying to convince him to be a warlock instead and risks DJ being hurt by his disapproval. Meanwhile, Roseanne and Jackie are stranded at the Lobo bar, and dressed as a man, Roseanne waits for Dan and takes the opportunity to mix with the men of the bar and learns a thing or two about their rituals and habits. She runs afoul a cranky bar mate who is intent on fighting Roseanne, unaware she’s a man. There are many memorable one-liners in this episode and an especially hilarious finisher when Dan comes to the rescue for Roseanne. Bada Bing, Bada Boom!
“Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down” is a very funny trifecta as Dan and Roseanne take the opportunity to play a horrible prank on their cranky neighbor Kathy. Convinced Kathy is out to pay her back Roseanne stalks Kathy, while attending the lodge party with Dan and running in to old friends like Arnie, and Booker. Meanwhile, the kids are completely jaded with the holiday much to Dan and Roseanne’s sadness. This episode has the same festive attitude of the earlier specials with Dan and Roseanne performing for the lodge, and there’s a hilarious moment between Jackie and Crystal when they learn they’re wearing the same costumes for the party.
“Halloween IV” is a less enthusiastic and pretty ho hum special. Upset and depressed that Becky has left home, Roseanne chooses not to celebrate the holiday, in spite of the family’s mission to cheer her up and get her in the mood for the festivities. Staying home rather than going to the lodge party, the episode takes a turn in the “Christmas Carol” tradition where Roseanne is visited by the ghosts of Halloween and restored of her Halloween spirit.
“Halloween V” is a step up with many hilarious moments as Roseanne finds herself angered at character David’s insistence on moving on from Darlene and finding a new girlfriend. Meanwhile, character Nancy is convinced Dan doesn’t like her since he refuses to play a prank on her. Threatening to sell her share of the restaurant to Leon, which will make him Roseanne’s boss, she begs Dan to prank Nancy, but Dan won’t grant her the privilege. Ending a laugh out loud note, John Goodman displays his shocking skill for physical comedy with a particularly gory moment, and the final scene really does live up to the spirit of the past episodes with David now in on the fun.
“Skeleton in the Closet” is a fun episode where the Conners opt to celebrate Halloween at Roseanne’s restaurant “The Lunch Box” where she gets two shocking revelations. Convinced she is going to lose her hair, Roseanne spends much of the party inspecting mom Bev’s hair for signs of baldness, while harping on the suspicion that Jackie’s husband Fred could be gay since he seems to know many of Leon’s gay party guests, and is garnering particularly extra attention from Leon. The episode ends on a really funny note with one last prank, and then unfortunately sputters out with a goofy finisher that doesn’t even really seem to know how to end it all.
“Halloween – The Final Chapter” is one of the worst episodes of the series, as Roseanne, now fully pregnant, opts to celebrate Halloween with the family, and finds herself going in to labor with her new child. The episode is only about Halloween in the first ten minutes as the rest of the installment is Roseanne giving birth and being visited by the ghost of Jerry Garcia in one of the more unfunny and self-indulgent moments of the series that really just lacks any kind of laughter or wit. The episode even ends with Roseanne herself taking questions from the audience, since it’s apparent no one knew what the hell the episode was even supposed to indicate.
“Satan, Darling” is the last yawn inducing hurrah of the tradition where Roseanne, now wealthy, finds Darlene and her unborn baby the target of wealthy satanists who want her baby’s soul for the devil. It’s basically all one big call back to Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby” and really just never serves as a watchable last go around for a show that turned the holiday in to a day of the year we could look forward to for laughs and clever plot twists. All in all, this compilation is very much worth your money, especially if you’re a fan of the “Roseanne” Halloween specials that gave fans a taste of the horror fun.