ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020018
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBIN DOUGHERTY KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
By ditching his role as Dan Conner in favor of his film career, actor John Goodman has burdened the writers of ``Roseanne'' with the awkward task of writing him off the show.
Replacing regular characters in television series is a problem that often breeds desperate solutions. And the popular Goodman's departure will surely be no exception.
Sources at Carsey-Werner, the producers of the sitcom, say that Goodman may be back this fall, but will not appear in every episode. (One scenario reportedly puts Dan in the bathroom during most of next season). But there's always the chance, of course, that Dan will follow the path of countless disappeared TV characters before him and vanish, never to be spoken of again.
Or that he'll simply be killed off.
Roseanne as a single mother may make for great television, but Goodman's absence creates several problems.
For the past eight years, the actor's presence has humanized Roseanne. Long before the comedian found her mark as an actress - much less a social force - Goodman's teddy-bear warmth drew people into the show. Indeed, while one recurring thread on ``Roseanne'' is the idea that women are a higher form of life than men, the tacit subtext is that Dan Conner is a gem, for a man. And in the show's universe, fueled by matriarchal anger, Dan's presence makes women's issues - such as deciding whether or not to end a pregnancy - pertinent to men as well.
What's more, as a specimen of the working-class sitcom father, Goodman is one of the most noble figures to light up a cathode-ray tube in years.
Over the eight-year run of the show - which coincided with a crippling real-life economic recession - Dan's contracting business gave way to a motorcycle shop that went belly up. He was forced to take a boring job at county machine shop. He faced weeks with no paycheck. Through it all, Goodman personified the frustration of blue-collar wage-earners who suddenly couldn't put food on the table.
Just as important - as far as ``Roseanne's'' writers are concerned - is that it's difficult to just ``lose'' a 250-pound man with a ``Mr. Ed''-sized grin.
Not that it hasn't happened before. After all, someone named Shannen Doherty was once the star of ``Beverly Hills 90210.'' When the actress ran afoul of the show's producers, Brenda was sent off to school in London never to be mentioned again. And years before, Richie on ``Happy Days'' was shipped off to a remote Army post when Ron Howard left the show.
Usually a substitution is made because an actor wants out of a contract, but the practice of re-arranging TV reality to suit real life has led to a number of bizarre occurrences. Not the least of which is the situation created earlier on ``Roseanne,'' when Lecy Goranson, who originally played daughter Becky, went off to college during the show's fifth season.
Actress Sarah Chalke played Becky for two seasons. Then, with no explanation whatsoever, Goranson reappeared in the role.
In the case of Dan Conner, however, there would surely be a small nuclear cataclysm should he actually be killed off.
Still, though Goodman's dissatisfaction reportedly has to do with Roseanne herself, he's probably not in danger of the sort of revenge exit traditionally doled ought to actors who cross their producers.
Delta Burke's much-publicized feud with the ``Designing Women'' honchos got her kicked off the show and her character sent to Japan. When David Caruso left ``NYPD Blue'' after annoying almost everyone involved with the show, his character departed under an ethics cloud.
Of course, the sinister work of replacing an actor often has ridiculous consequences. If ``Roseanne'' were to go on for several more seasons (not likely), it's possible the writers could make a ``My Three Sons''-inspired switch and replace Goodman with a Dan-like figure in the way that Bub (William Frawley) was succeeded on that show by Uncle Charley (William Demarest).
Given the way the show already dealt with two actresses playing Becky, it's more likely ``Roseanne'' will pull something akin to witchcraft. Indeed, as ``Roseanne's'' writers well know, the most famous replacement ever of a sitcom actor was that of Dick York, who played the original Darrin on ``Bewitched.'' When York left the show after four seasons, Darrin was played by Dick Sargeant, an actor who not only shared York's first name, but remotely resembled him.
Could this happen on ``Roseanne''?
It's difficult to imagine that a John Goodman look-alike walks the earth (Hanna-Barbera characters notwithstanding). But if one does, here's hoping that the ``Roseanne'' writers uphold the basic contract inherent in the Darrin switch: The wacky agreement between the people who watch TV and the people who make it says that reality can intervene - and characters can morph into strange, new bodies - as long as the show goes on.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 linesby CNB