Here at Pop Culture Spin we refuse to accept that Halloween is only one day. We’re going to be celebrating Halloween all month, by highlighting one of our favorite Halloween episodes every day. Today’s we’re looking at the Roseanne episode “Boo!”
Basic Info
Directed by: John Pasquin
Written by: Norma Safford Vela
Episode Number: Season 2, Episode 7
Where to Watch It: Netflix
Why It’s Great
Roseanne, especially in its early seasons, did an incredible job of capturing little slices of life. In this episode Becky isn’t invited to a cool party at her high school and Dan worries about talking a client into hiring him for more work.
The episode is full of family bonding moments that capture the small wins and small losses of every day life.
Why It’s Full of Halloween Spirit
Roseanne and Dan are super into Halloween. They spend the episode trying to freak each other out with escalating scary pranks to prove who’s the master of Halloween scares.
Their teenage daughters aren’t so impressed with Halloween, but by the end of the episode they get into the escapism of creating an elaborate wanted house and having some spooky fun.
Unlike other sitcoms that stay on the silly side, this one really embraces how gross Halloween is. For the Conner family, the bloodier a prank is and the more horrifying a costume is, the better. Even Roseanne’s speech to Becky, rather than focusing on self-esteem and not caring about what other people think about you, is about how the dead rise on Halloween and might drag people back to hell. It’s morbid, but Becky ends up having fun.
Costume Count
There are glimpses of a few costumes in this episode, but here are the ones worn by main characters.
Roseanne – The Wicked Witch of the Midwest
Darleen – a multiple stab wounds victim
DJ – a dead ninja
Becky – a dead flight attendant
Dan – a dead mad scientist
