Roseanne Roseannadanna - Routine

Routine

Rosanadana's Saturday Night Live commentary would follow a strict formula. She would read a letter from the ever-curious Richard Fader of Fort Lee, New Jersey (although, on one occasion, she read a letter from a "Mrs." Richard Fader, and on another occasion the Faders had re-located to Mount St. Helens, Washington). The letter would ask a series of questions, usually about some current social issue, to which Rosanadana would usually reply, "Mr. Fader, you sure do ask a lot of questions for a guy from New Jersey," or "You belong in New Jersey!" She then would sometimes make a derogatory comment about New Jersey before moving on to the question.

While answering the questions, she would invariably digress, launching into a lengthy anecdote with no relevance to the topic at hand, frequently having to do with an encounter Rosanadana had had with a celebrity (Bo Derek, Princess Grace, Gloria Vanderbilt, etc.). Invariably, the story would lead into Rosanadana's going into disgustingly graphic detail about bodily functions or personal hygiene; with these details, she would use a famous celebrity as an example and say that she would ask these celebrities, "What are ya tryin' to do, make me sick?!"

Eventually, Jane Curtin would interrupt, stating, "Roseanne, you're making me sick." Curtin would then ask her what her comments had to do with the question. Rosanadana's response was, "Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something--if it ain't one thing, it's another."

She would then wrap up her comments by sharing a piece of advice passed down from a family member (often her father, but sometimes her "Nana" Rosanadana; in one episode, she mentioned her aunt Pollyanna Rosanadana, while in others, her "musically happening cousin, Carlos Santana Rosanadana," her religious aunt Hosanna Rosanadana, and her singing cousin Lola Falana Roseannadanna). In the final episode, she mentioned her fashion designer aunt Murjani Roseannadanni.