Before Anyone Asks Who Roseanne Rosannadanna is. . . .

Roseanne Rosannadanna was a character that Gilda Radner played on the TV show _Saturday Night Live_ in the 1970s.

Belphoebe

"Belphoebe" wrote in message news:1nWwa.84168$[email]...

Oh, and here's a picture of her (it's all about the hair):

http://tinyurl.com/bvw3

Belphoebe

I'm so glad they made that reference! I totally didn't think of that, myself. And I'm a '70s SNL fanatic (just ask anyone on the SNL ng), too. I must be slipping......

Well, it just goes to show you, it's always something...! ;o)
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"If there were more men like you, there'd be less men like you"

"...Because Buckwheat would've wanted it that way." ;-)

If it's not one thing, it's something else...... "Goodnight, my little Rosanne Rosannadanna!" AND Monica's hair DID look like it!!!! What a hoot! ~~~ Kathy

"Mibbitmaker" wrote in message news:[email]...

myself.

It did during the ping pong game, but earlier in the show...I didn't think it looked all that bad. Kinda "wildchild" and untame in a psudo-sexy way.

*knows all about that humidity thang with the hair...*

the TV

I thought that was a very brave joke to include, especially in a big season finale like that. I can almost imagine the NBC Big Wigs at the 1st script readthrough: "I dunno, are our viewers gonna KNOW this reference?" Thank goodness they left it in. T'was very funny (almost as good as Chandler's "invisibility" gag around the same time in the episode).

Con

"Con" wrote in message news:[email]...

Oh, I agree--the Roseanne Rosannadanna reference was right on, and it cracked me up. Then I imagined people all over the world writing "who is that" messages! :)

The "invisibility" line was great, too.

Belphoebe

On Thu, 15 May 2003 23:25:11 -0400, "Con" wrote:

Good grief! A "very brave joke"??? How old are you people? Anyone the age of the characters on Friends would immediately get it. They've certainly made more obscure pop culture references.

And at this point in the game, you can bet there are no NBC "Big Wigs" challenging the jokes. Especially that one, since it refers to an NBC classic.

"Daddy Freddy" wrote in message news:[email]...

wrote:

of the

more obscure pop

Yeah, I'm in that age group, and my thought wasn't so much that people in the U.S. wouldn't get the reference, but that folks from other countries wouldn't be familiar with it.

Belphoebe

Don't kid yourself, despite what some naysayers have said here, I am convinced that fully half the people watching that evening didn't 'get' that particular joke (and even less knew the name of the song OR the group that was featured near the end of the episode, when Joey decides to go to Rachel's room, but that's a different subject for a different thread altogether). And I agree, those from outside of the USA (e.g. the UK, where 'Friends' is very popular) certainly wouldn't get it at all.

Con

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On Sat, 17 May 2003 20:25:08 -0400, in alt.tv.friends you wrote:

Pity them. Friends is an American show written by American writers for an American audience. The fact that it's caught on overseas only means extra $$ for everyone involved.

And don't kid yourself about the intelligence of the viewers. The studio audience got it, and I'd bet an overwhelming majority of the viewers got it, too.

Also, it's hardly a requirement to know the name of a song or group to enjoy it in context.

And before you go slagging me for the American comments, I certainly do not get 100% of the jokes in British comedies. But I can survive the day without knowing why the studio audience laughed and I didn't. And finding out why a joke is funny in a newsgroup doesn't make the joke funny. You either get it the first time or you don't.

Bull. I didn't get the reference (as a Dutch person), but getting it from something like a newsgroup definitely does add to the fun. Not at the moment I saw it the first time, but it will stick in my head and be something to remember during reruns.

And instead of not caring about who else besides American citizens get to watch Friends, you should actually be glad. Non-Americans pick up lots of American traditions, customs and their way of life in general, so they're more likely to appreciate America. Unless you don't care about that either.

Bram

On Mon, 19 May 2003 19:15:06 -0000, Bram wrote:

Wow - you totally misread me! I never said I didn't care who else watches Friends. But the show is written for a more "pop culture" aware audience. That's a big part of it's appeal. It doesn't always take the lowest common denominator approach.

It's good that you now know the source of the joke, but do you honestly think it's as funny with someone explaining it to you as opposed to having a dormant memory revived with a couple words? I'm typing this with a smile on my face remembering Gilda Radner - not only as Rosanne Rosannadanna, but as Baba Wawa (Barbara Walters), or in the beautifully touching dancing sketch with Steve Martin. It was a very cool, yet subtle, tribute to a great comedienne - one who died far too young of cancer, exactly 14 years ago today.

You just can't get all that from a newsgroup message simply explaining that Monica's frizzy hair was similar to a character on SNL in the '70s.

Belphoebe:

If you mean the dubbed versions - don't worry, the translation kills off even much easier jokes. The people who speak the six here in Germany don't even try to copy emphasis or style of the original. Joey's slang, Monica's shrillness, all gone. Friends in German is probably the worst translation and dubbing I've ever experienced (with the possible exception of Once Upon a Time in the West, but I guess the people responsible for that were on drugs, it being the late '60s and all).

Marco

Apparently, people study that sort of thing. I can't remember any of the details, but a few years back a local paper ran an article about someone's thesis, which was something about the translation of TV shows into French.

Michael

it's un american to NOT know who she is!!!!!!

In alt.tv.friends on Tue, 20 May 2003 at 00:01:21, Hi Hello wrote :

That's OK then - I'm not American.

FYI....the SNL character was taken from a local NYC newscaster Roseanne Scamardela. Hmmm wonder where she is now? SS

"Belphoebe" wrote in message news:1nWwa.84168$[email]...

On Sun, 18 May 2003 17:00:47 -0500, "Shirley Smith" wrote:

She's still alive, about 60 years old, working for the Office of Radio & Television in Connecticut. She quit NYC's ABC newscast in 1983.

Here's a picture from her high school yearbook:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~now1/sndngs39.jpg

As you can see, the only thing Gilda Radner appropriated was the name - there's no physical resemblance to the character.