by Sophia Josephina

Created on: February 03, 2011   Last Updated: February 07, 2011

Who couldn’t use a little humor in the everyday issues of life?  “The Cosby Show” and “Roseanne” sitcoms added a amusing relief to the typical 80s day all in the hilarious style that only these two shows can provide. These two shows have very similar qualities and values they portray.

Roseanne, played by herself - Roseanne Barr and Clair, played by Phylicia Rashad, are not all that different; both are mothers who care deeply for their family. Roseanne and Clair are the “reality ones” they realize that certain decisions must be made according to priorities, not according to wants. Sometimes this means a comical confrontation with their husbands: Dan, Roseanne’s husband and Cliff, Clair’s husband.

Clair and Roseanne smile at their typical husband’s responses to the problems that are encountered on these two half hour shows; Clair with her calm, classy demeanor, Roseanne with her loud and lively personality. In the end, both wives usually get their rational decisions across to their husbands.

Both wives, Roseanne and Clair work hard outside of their home so they have to leave the supervision of the younger child to one of the older ones.  Roseanne entrusts her oldest daughter Becky, first played by Lecy Goranson, then by actress Sarah Chalke, with the care of her youngest son D.J, played by Michael Fishman.

Clair has to entrust her youngest daughter Rudy, played by Keshia Knight Pulliam, to the care of Rudy’s older brother, Theo, played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner and her older sister, Vanessa, played by Tempestt Bledsoe.

Dan, played by John Goodman and Cliff, played by actor and comedian Bill Cosby have the same personality types.  Dan and Bill are both laid back and quiet fathers, they tend to handle situations in a calm manor, not giving into harsh punishment or yelling, but submitting and facing the everyday challenges of raising children in the eighties.

Both sets of parents demand family time whether it be sitting at the dinner table together as a family or going on a camping trip.

The Cosby kids and the Roseanne kids faced many of the same problems that the real world of the 80s did;  bulling in school, encounter with drugs, dating and going off to college were just a few. Both families handled these serious situations with a splash of humor, all while conveying to their television family and the world the reality and severity of the most common problems in the 80s.

No matter what the real life situation was, you could always count on “The Cosby Show” and “Roseanne” to see the humor in it and to find a comical solution.

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