While Roseanne and Jackie anticipate indulging themselves to unlock their "divine female essence" at a luxury spa, Dan is just plain morose - and finally admits why: nagging worries about a family member, his institutionalized mother.
The show portrayed a working-class family struggling to get by on a limited income in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. Many critics considered the show notable as one of the first sitcoms to portray an American family in which economics necessitated two parents working jobs outside the home.