This is a digital copy of an interview from Tv-Guide with Sara Gilbert titled: The Freshman; Roseanne's Tv-Daughter Sara Giblert is off to Yale, but she won't wonder far from the set.

For Yale freshman Sara Gilbert, back-to-school shopping means buying a few pairs of blue jeans, some sweatshirts--and a gown for the Emmys.

"It's kind of far-out," says Gilbert, 18, who is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as daughter Darlene on the top-rated Roseanne. "I had to get the dress now because I leave soon." Before Gilbert relocates to Yale's ivy towers in New Haven, Conn., she'll have finished shooting three Roseanne episodes in Los Angeles and will have a return ticket home for the Emmys. "Lucky for me there's no chance I could win," she says in her typical deadpan. "I'd be scared to death to have to get

on-stage and thank people." But she may have to. After five years on the show, Gilbert knows her way around a wisecrack. And her ability to trade barbs with TV mom Roseanne Arnold won her the Emmy nomination-- and made her too valuable to lose. "I first went to Roseanne and Tom and said, 'I want to go to college,' and Roseanne said she supported me in that," says Gilbert. "Then I said I wanted to go to school back East, and that was the shocker that caused a lot more discussion." Since Gilbert had one more year on her contract, the discussions could have been short--but Arnold urged her to talk it through with executive producer Marcy Carsey. "Marcy has a daughter around the same age who is going to college, so that helped. She basically told me the wouldn't hold me to a dicision I made when I was 12." says Gilbert. Still, insiders say there was tension on the set because nobody wanted Gilbert to leave. Now it's been resolved. "They let me give up the last year of my contact, and we have a handshake in the sence that I want to do shows and they want me to do shows." she says. This season, Darlene will go to a Chicago art school, but she'll be calling home to her parents and visiting on vacations. "I've been taping inserts of calling home from school before I've even left," says Gilbert. The producers plan to build a dorm-room set in New York (a quick hop from Yale)-- which means that mama Roseanne may even come for a visit. "I'm flattered I'm going to be missed," says Gilbert with a laugh. "It really means a lot to me that they're not sending me off without a little bit of panic involved. If thay had said, "Bye, we're writing you out.' I would have been crushed." Why the extraordinary effort to keep her involved? The wisecracking Gilbert is a perfect foil to Arnold and TV husband John Goodman. Her teenage antics and angst have given Roseanne a chance to show off her down-to-earth mothering skills. She's not exactly Donna Reed, but her pragmatic approach to parenting wins praise--even from her TV daughter. "She's a mother who cares about her children and fights fiercely for them." says Gilbert. "There's a really important balance between our two characters. Darlene has to be as quick and witty and sarcastic as she is. You want to see someone snapping back at Roseanne. But there's never any doubt that thay love each other--and that keeps Roseanne from looking mean." If her fellow freshman at Yale have questions about Arnold, Gilbert is ready with some unexpected answers. "I guess it would surprise most people to know that Roseanne is very warm. She'll look you straight in the face and say. 'You did a great job.' Or she might give me a hug. Not what people expect! "People think [Roseanne] is so bold, but I think she's so incredibly shy that's her defense. She may be more shy than all of us, and that's why she has to be outspoken, to overcome that. I think it's wonderful that she'll say anything she needs to. She's not afraid to be who she is, which is really incredible!"

Translated to HTML by P.D. Krijgsman for The Unofficial Sara Gilbert Fan Page. Special thanks to: Phil for sending me a hardcopy. Copyright 1993 - Tv-Guide.

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