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Johnny Galecki first appeared on the popular sitcom “Roseanne” in its fourth season, playing the character David. He became a regular fixture on the show until its original conclusion and even returned for the 2018 revival. His debut as David was broadcast in January 1992. Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time Galecki and Roseanne Barr had worked together. Just two months earlier, they both starred in the ABC television movie “Backfield in Motion,” marking their initial collaboration.
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In “Backfield in Motion,” Barr portrays Nancy Seavers, a newly widowed mother who relocates to a new town with her son Tim, played by Galecki. The duo quickly learns that the town’s pride revolves around its high school football team. Unwilling to merely watch her son join the team while she remains on the sidelines, Nancy advocates for a mother-and-son football game to complement the existing father-and-son tradition. The film features Tom Arnold, Barr’s then-husband, as the school’s vice principal.
While Johnny Galecki is best known for his roles in “Roseanne” and “The Big Bang Theory,” his film career began earlier. He notably played Rusty Griswold in the holiday favorite “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” At the same time, Roseanne Barr was blazing trails on television and expanding into film. She starred alongside Meryl Streep in the black comedy “She Devil,” a movie that didn’t fare well critically, and lent her voice to the character Julie in “Look Who’s Talking Too.”
Regarding “Backfield in Motion,” The New York Times offered a somewhat favorable review, stating, “Not a cinema classic, to be sure, but ‘Backfield in Motion’ provides an unusual and, in many ways, extraordinary performer with a serviceable showcase.” Given the context—a made-for-TV sports comedy from 1991 starring Roseanne Barr—perhaps “serviceable” is as much as one could reasonably expect.
Backfield in Motion was a ‘serviceable’ made-for-TV football comedy
ABC
People sometimes forget that Johnny Galecki had already made his mark in movies before becoming a sitcom legend. While the actor is most commonly associated with his roles on “Roseanne” and “The Big Bang Theory,” Galecki had previously landed the role as the third Rusty Griswold in the holiday classic “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Meanwhile, Roseanne Barr’s groundbreaking sitcom was already going before she took her own first swings at being a movie star. Barr initially starred opposite Meryl Streep in the black comedy flop “She Devil” — a role Streep should have said no to — followed by Barr voicing Julie in “Look Who’s Talking Too.”
As for “Backfield in Motion,” The New York Times review at the time was actually somewhat kind to the movie. “Not a cinema classic, to be sure, but ‘Backfield in Motion’ provides an unusual and, in many ways, an extraordinary performer with a serviceable showcase,” it reads. And really, could you expect anything better than “serviceable” for a 1991 made-for-TV sports comedy starring Roseanne Barr?
