Father's Day

"Father's Day"
Season 1: Episode 14(14 / 231 episodes)
Network	ABC-TV
Air date	February 7, 1989
Written by	Lauren Eve Anderson
Directed by	Ellen Falcon
Episode Guide
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Next	Nightmare on Oak Street

Father's Day was the 14th episode of Season 1 of Roseanne, also the 14th overall series episode. Directed by Ellen Falcon and written by Laure Eve Anderson, it first aired on ABC-TV on February 7, 1989.

Summary

Dan's father visits, bearing gifts and all are thrilled to see him except Dan himself. The visit drags out and insults are hurled toward Dan, so Roseanne has to step in. Dan sees his father's philosophy of "Work smart, not hard" as a direct put-down on his life, while his father sees it as caring advice.

Cast

Starring

• Roseanne Barr as Roseanne Conner
• John Goodman as Dan Conner
• Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris (credit only)
• Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner
• Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner
• Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner

Also Starring

• Natalie West as Crystal Anderson

Guest

• Ned Beatty as Ed Conner

Trivia

• Ned Beatty makes his first appearance as Ed Conner. He'll end up appearing in five more episodes across Seasons 2–3 and Season 6 of Roseanne, appearing in "We Gather Together" (from Season 2), "The Courtship of Eddie, Dan's Father" and "The Wedding" (from Season 3), "Past Imperfect" and "Lies My Father Told Me" (from Season 6). Although physically absent, he also has a large role 25 years later in "Brothers, Babies and Breakdowns" and "Bad Dads and Grads" from Season 2 of The Conners.
• This episode is one of the greatest examples of Roseanne's unique composition. In this episode we see foreshadowing as to how Dan's father, Ed really is in Dan's life. Dan explains that his father was always on the road and tried to make up by buying gifts. This is seen through various episodes, but explained in truth during the sixth season when Dan finds out his mother needs psychological help.
• In this episode, Ed mentions that Dan's mother was eight months pregnant when he was 3 years old, meaning that he has at least one sibling. A sister was mentioned in one of the early episodes, but was never brought up again. This reference might've been deleted when the show began airing in syndication.
• Despite being credited, Laurie Metcalf (Jackie Harris) does not appear. This is the first of only three episodes that she is absent in, she'll later be absent in "Vegas, Vegas" (from Season 4) and "Arsenic and Old Mom" (from Season 9).