Not only was it funny, I totally believed in the characters. I believed Dan and Roseanne were married, I believed Becky, Darlene and DJ were their children, it all seemed very real. And it all seemed very honest.
I must have spent many days of my life watching Roseanne, which was on Channel 4 when I was growing up - in fact, I grew up with it (along with Kevin Arnold in The Wonder Years). It's where comedy almost tips over into soap opera - because you are so involved in every part of the characters lives.
All that said, I didn't see Roseanne to the end - partly because my viewing habits and tastes changed, and partly because Roseanne seemed to change too. I seem to remember it got rather angry and shouty. (And did they win the lottery, or did I imagine that?) I'm sure there's a blog post in how to sustain a series of 200+ episodes but that is something that most of us will never really have to worry about...
