Terms of Estrangement, Part 1

"Terms of Estrangement, Part 1"
Season 5: Episode 1(98 / 231 episodes)
Network	ABC-TV
Air date	September 15, 1992
Written by	Sy Dukane & Denise Moss
Directed by	Andrew D. Weyman
Episode Guide
Previous	Aliens (Finale)
Next	Terms of Estrangement, Part 2

Terms of Estrangement, Part 1 was the season opening episode, the first episode of Season 5 of Roseanne, also the 98th overall series episode. Written by Sy Dukane and Denise Moss, the episode was directed by Andrew D. Weyman. It originally aired on ABC-TV on September 15, 1992.

Summary

Roseanne and Dan must adjust to losing their bike shop and money and they begin to seek new jobs. Also, Mark gets a great job offer in Minnesota and Becky runs off with him and they get married. 

Plot

In-Depth

Dan and Roseanne face facts that the motorcycle shop isn't doing well and they have to close it down. When they tell the girls, Becky only expresses concern for Mark's job there however that is the least of Dan and Roseanne's concerns since they are now both unemployed. When Mark drops Becky off at home from their date, she asks him how the job-hunting was. Mark tells her that he's been given a job offer that will pay 3x as much as Dan paid him working at the bike shop but the job is in Minneapolis.

Becky says he should take the job, of course but they will obviously have to break-up now or they eventually will break-up when the distance takes toll. The thought of losing him devastates her further and she finally tells him not to take the job. Mark says he won't.

The next day, the girls are in their bedroom getting ready for school. Darlene asks if Becky is going to give her a ride home. Becky is still in her nightgown (a rather baggy one & has make-up on) and says she is going job-hunting with Mark instead. She proceeds to tell Darlene of their exchange last night. Darlene says, "You mean he had the chance to get out of this place and you stopped him? He'll just end up blaming you when he fulfills his destiny of being a loser."

The scene cuts to the downstairs kitchen where Roseanne and Jackie look through the papers for job offers. There is one that will happen in the afternoon but during Dan's Close-Out sale at the shop. Roseanne knows something is up with Becky when Darlene won't be driven to school.

While she and Dan fight over her not being there for the Out-Of-Business sale, Becky tries to escape through the backdoor but Roseanne catches her and ask if she's going to school today. Becky admits she will go eventually after she sees Mark. Dan says he is fed up hearing about Mark and wants to hear more about her concern for the family.

Becky gets angry and says she has problems of her own too. Dan gets angry and calls her "the most selfish piece of work he's ever seen." Becky says as a matter of fact, she was just about to find Mark to tell him to take the job in Minneapolis and give him her goodbyes. "I don't have college, I don't have Mark, I don't have anybody!" She tells her father none of this would have happened if he had known how to run a business.

Roseanne shows up at the shop during the sale to report to Jackie that nearly 400 people showed up at the job interview for 6 positions and she didn't get anything. She goes into the back to try to comfort Dan when they get a phone call from Becky in Minneapolis. She tells them she and Mark have gotten married.

Becky is on the other end of a payphone trying to get a word in edgewise to her mother. Mark's car is parked nearby with the words "Just Married" written in the dust of the car's back window. Becky drops the receiving end of the phone and gets in the car. She gives Mark and hug and they drive off.

Cast

Starring

• Roseanne Arnold as Roseanne Conner
• John Goodman as Dan Conner
• Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris
• Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner
• Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner
• Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner

Also Starring

• Natalie West as Crystal Anderson
• Sandra Bernhard as Nancy Bartlett

Guests

• Glenn Quinn as Mark Healy
• Carl Franklin as Gil
• Don Keith Opper as Policeman
• Max Brooks as Snarky Customer

Trivia

• A new opening sequence debuted in this season. This time, it shows the Conner family eating pizza.
• Natalie West (Crystal) has been removed and is no longer credited in the opening sequence.
• Someone in the audience says "Whoa," right after it is announced that Becky and Mark got married.

Quotes

• Roseanne: I knew we shouldn't have gone into business for ourselves! There's no one to steal from.

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• Roseanne: You got anything you wanna say?
• Darlene: Can I have a pony?

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• DJ: Mom, if you want, I still have some birthday money left in my closet.
• Roseanne: Oh, no you don't, DJ, but thanks anyway.

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• Dan: What a beautiful day: the kind that starts with a hearty breakfast and ends with a newsreader saying "...before turning the gun on himself..."
• Roseanne: What, so now I'm supposed to make you breakfast?

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• Darlene: You're cutting school? But you like school, remember, you're a geek!
• Becky: I gotta help Mark find a job.
• Darlene: That's a great idea! I'll cut too and help him find his shoes!

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• Darlene: You were tossing and turning all night
• Becky: Do you watch me while I sleep?
• Darlene: Yes, Becky, you fascinate me. Sometimes the drool on your pillow is not your own.

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