“Roseanne” star Alicia Goranson may have played eldest daughter Becky for much of the show’s nine-year run, but when she left for good in 1996 during the penultimate season, she left the series completely behind. As in, she didn’t even watch the sitcom’s final year and had no idea how it ended until just a few days ago.
“I wasn’t there and I haven’t seen any of it,” she told TODAY.com while promoting WEtv’s celebration this month of the show’s upcoming 25th anniversary. “(Co-star) Michael (Fishman) said earlier that John’s character died. I didn’t know that happened!”
But the actor, who played little brother D.J., didn’t give his former co-star any spoiler warnings before revealing what happened.
“I felt like I was dropping bombs … on Lecy!” Fishman laughed. “You turn and you’re like, ‘Whaaaat?!’ “
In the last episode of the show, Roseanne (played by comedian Roseanne Barr) revealed to viewers that the series had been based on her book, and that she had changed some of the “facts.” Among them was that husband Dan (played by John Goodman) — the kids’ dad — had actually died of a heart attack in the previous season, and didn’t survive as the series had shown.
And when we broke the news to Goranson that another big revelation was that her character was really with David (Johnny Galecki of “The Big Bang Theory”) and not husband Mark (Glenn Quinn), her jaw dropped.
“Oooh … wow,” she said after giving it a few moments to sink in. “I don’t know. I’d probably hook up with Johnny. He’s cute! Nice Chicago boy. But I don’t know. Giving up Glenn, I don’t know I would’ve done that!”
Goranson isn’t the first actor who’s passed on watching the hit shows in which they’ve starred.
In a “60 Minutes” interview this year, Dame Maggie Smith said that she’s never watched “Downton Abbey,” in which she plays the whip-smart Dowager Countess. Despite having won several awards for the role, she explained that “it’s frustrating” to watch her work. “I always see things that I would like to do differently.”
Dominic Monaghan, who starred as Charlie on “Lost,” is another who passed on watching his show’s series finale. He explained to HuffPost Live that he didn’t watch the 2010 episode at the time because he was working on another project and didn’t want to become the character again. As for still not checking it out? “I’d have to go all the way back to season one and just kill myself watching it all again,” he said.
But he’s not the only “Lost” alum who passed on watching the drama. Stars Matthew Fox and Naveen Andrews also have never seen the show. “I don’t ever watch myself,” Fox told Newsweek. Co-star Andrews said during a UK TV interview, “I saw the pilot … but I never saw an episode of ‘Lost.’ “
Another popular series whose stars didn’t necessarily tune in is “American Horror Story.” Emmy-winner Jessica Lange told Gold Derby that she’s seen only the first episodes of the two seasons. “Mostly, I never look at anything I’ve done,” she said. During the show’s first season, Connie Britton also stayed away but her reasoning was a little different. “I’m too scared. I’m just too scared,” the actress told StarCam about the ghostly drama.
As for Goranson, if she chooses to catch up, the opportunity presents: WeTV is running the entire series in honor of the show’s 25th anniversary.
