Golden Girls: Classic or Dud?

Yeah, normally the serious ones don't do a whole lot for me either, which is why I didn't list "Sick and Tired" (which has sleep deprived Blanche) or "72 Hours" (the AIDS ep).

I agree. One of the serious ones that I really dislike is where Dorothy gets chronic fatigue syndrome and lectures everyone about it for the entire episode.

haha i love that episode but mainly cuz there's this one hypochondriac at work we'll make fun of by comparing her to dorothy in that episode. great post eric, it's been interesting to see golden girls critical rep in recent years.

02. "Ebbtide's Revenge" (S6, E12) -- It's no secret that Sophia is my least favorite of the four main characters, but in this case her antagonism just makes the moment she lets the facade drop all the more powerful. Structurally, this is a replay of the "Good Times" episode when Florida seems to be refusing to cry for her dead husband, but this episode goes much deeper into the nature of grief beyond the denial stage. Even beyond the obviously touching GLAAD Award-ish affirmation of Phil's cross-dressing, the episode taps into that regret we feel about the feelings we withhold from people, only to realize too late that they were standing in the way of fully realized relationships. Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Bea Arthur were all consistently great in the show. But none of them ever delivered a moment as unexpected and raw as Estelle Getty's admission of parental shame. I've admittedly never been a "drama trumps comedy" personality, but that's about the only explanation I can think of why this heartbreaking episode didn't flat-out take first place.

this episode has changed my life more than most things in this world for sure. the ending is unreal, and you are otm through your analysis of the reasons why.

yeah I don't go in for the issue/serious ones v much. altho I do like the Blanche's bro is gay one.

amazing that when this show starts Dorothy/Blanche/Rose are all supposed to be in their 50s

01. "Till Death Do We Volley" (S4, E19)

watched this last night after reading this post and yeah this is SUCH a good ep - blanche's faux-scandinavian!

I bet Blanche was supposed to actually be roughly 5 years younger than the other two. (Which was probably tough for Rue, since she was 12 years their junior.)

03. "Journey to the Center of Attention" (S7, E19) -- By the last season, the bloom was definitely off the rose (and the other three too). But there were a handful of episodes that got fresh mileage out of subtle twists on the characters' traits. And, in the case of this particular episode, offered the most rewarding switcheroo in the show's history. Blanche comes to terms -- kicking and screaming, at that -- with the fact that Dorothy has a talent for attracting men that she herself can't hope to compete with. And what a beautiful talent it is. Bea Arthur's performance of "What'll I Do" is an astonishment, effortlessly moving from quiet melancholy into a totally unexpected punchline (when she decides, after noticing she's entranced the entire room, to have another go around with the song).

have also frequently listed this a favorite. Dorothy's performance is wondrous, and the dichotomy btw blanche and dorothy has never been more relatable than it is here. a beautiful way of looking at the world.

Thanks guys! Happy to share the GG love.

guys (in Blanche voice) "Girls."

to me this show is all about two things: 1) Bea Arthur deadpan reaction shots and 2) hermetically sealed world of bizarre-o old lady fashions

She was winning Worst Dressed Awards in '88 and '89, an acknowledgment of how horrible they looked even then.

even her nightgowns have like three scoop necks and two extra sets of sleeves

some of her deadpan reaction shots have literally stopped me from breathing in laughter

and yet funny how i would wear any of her outfits in a heartbeat

I just watched the performance of "What'll I Do?" Man.

not to mention "hard-hearted hannah" from the same episode

vamp of savannah GA!

A song she also did on "Maude." He loved that one.

She was winning Worst Dressed Awards in '88 and '89, an acknowledgment of how horrible they looked even then.

I have been wearing a lot of oversized sweater and scarves lately and feel like I've been having a Dorothy moment. In her defense, that stuff is very comfortable.

Holy shit I have watched SO MUCH GG in the past month now that it's on TV Land.

even her nightgowns have like three scoop necks and two extra sets of sleeves

― four Marxes plus four Obamas plus four Bin Ladens (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, April 9, 2013 3:42 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Totally want one of these.

This and Roseanne are pretty much all I've watched for a month straight. It's been awesome.

where i live it seems like GG is syndicated on like 5 different channels and it's amazing

yeah it's on 24/7

Am I wrong in thinking that the show really got its groove going in Season Three (1987-88)? Several episodes I watched this weekend suggest so.

par for the course for sitcoms afaict. first couple seasons are always a little rough, characters finding their notes, then you get a few seasons of A material, and then the decline due to cast turnover/exhaustion of ideas etc

(says the guy who doesn't like sitcoms)

the first two seasons are golden. show definitely got KOOKIER in s. 3 -> onward. maybe some higher highs, but also some lower lows.

A good poll option. "The Cosby Show" didn't peak imo until Season Three.

that i don't own the complete series on dvd is a mystery even to me

S3 and S4 had, I think, easily the highest number of nominees for my top 10.

Lloyd Bochner as Patrick Vaughn is a favorite, mostly because the one woman's excessively drawled "It sho' is Biff" has become something of a catchphrase for me, to the point that my bf looks about ready to strangle me whenever I answer any of his questions with it these days (ie - "do you have my car keys?" "i sho' do Biff," and so forth).

"Sorry ... It must be the heat!"

I'm watching the episode in which Dorothy dates Dick Van Dyke, the attorney turned clown.

there's an episode of 'the nanny' with an almost similar plot line

I spent waaaaay too much time thinking about this show last year

http://www.splicetoday.com/moving-pictures/the-golden-girls-increasing-decrepitude-part-seven

Alfred we JUST watched the clown episode here, for real

It wasn't particularly memorable, alas.

Heh. When you first mentioned that you were watching that episode, I struggled to come up with a memorable quote from it to post here, but couldn't think of one!

The courtroom scene was painful.

and Dick got no good lines!

Lloyd Bochner as Patrick Vaughn is a favorite, mostly because the one woman's excessively drawled "It sho' is Biff" has become something of a catchphrase for me, to the point that my bf looks about ready to strangle me whenever I answer any of his questions with it these days (ie - "do you have my car keys?" "i sho' do Biff," and so forth).

― Public Brooding Closet (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:41 (6 days ago) Permalink

amaaaaaaaaazing there need to be more people in the world like you

They slowly but surely ratcheted up Rose's assertiveness over the years, didn't they?

anyone who remembers Rose's first joke gets instant brownie points

It was something to do with Coco the gay cook, right?

LOL, I love that two of the episodes in your top 10 were in my bottom 5.

Lloyd Bochner as Patrick Vaughn is a favorite, mostly because the one woman's excessively drawled "It sho' is Biff" has become something of a catchphrase for me, to the point that my bf looks about ready to strangle me whenever I answer any of his questions with it these days (ie - "do you have my car keys?" "i sho' do Biff," and so forth).

― Public Brooding Closet (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:41 (6 days ago) Permalink

amaaaaaaaaazing there need to be more people in the world like you

― surm, Sunday, April 14, 2013 8:07 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It sho would Biff.

lol

xp well coco was around but it was when dorothy was talking about getting older, and she says something like " well, i looked in the mirror and i didn't even recognize the woman staring back at me "

and rose goes " who was it? "

Rose's first punch line!

A+ joke

Coco had a couple good lines iirc.

Dorothy: "Rose, Charlie's dead."
Coco: "Why tell her?"