Designing Women - General Discussion

[Bastet]

5 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

In one episode, Julia talked about how southerners don't hide their crazy relatives; they put them right out on the front porch.

I love that exchange, with Bernice's snooty niece Phyllis:

[qtpye]

On 7/19/2022 at 11:25 AM, Hiyo said:

I mean, was it that uncommon for quite a few people back in the mid to late 80s in the south to feel that way?

I can tell you as a woman of color that grew up in Atlanta that is was not uncommon.

Also, many people I knew that had this sentiment were white people who grew up poor and whose families would never get to associate with high and mighty plantation owners.

This tracks with Charlene who also grew poor.

There were some people who thought all southern whites were rich in the days of slavery.

Edited December 3, 2022 by qtpye

[ButterQueen]

50 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Mary Jo's wardrobe went from 80's frumpy to 80's fabulous. 

One of my favorite dresses of hers was what she wore to Payne’s wedding, with the matching necklace.  It was a stunning color.

[JAYJAY1979]

On 12/3/2022 at 6:10 PM, qtpye said:

Mary Jo's wardrobe went from 80's frumpy to 80's fabulous. 

In the pilot...she had brown hair and wore trendier 80s clothes...before having the frumpy clothes and hair for the rest of season 1.

By season 3, her hair was long and curly..her personality was more sarcastic (she was the Greek chorus character), and her fashion was more youthful.

[Cetacean]

SuperBelle Sunday - running episodes all day long today on Antenna TV,

[Egg McMuffin]

I caught a season 6 episode a few weeks ago where Carlene was comparing Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone. She described Betty and cute and bubbly, but Wilma as “kind of a nag. And that bun she wears is just way too severe for her bone structure.” I generally found Carlene annoyingly dumb, but her delivery of these lines and her gestures were hilarious. I miss Jan Hooks.

[sugarbaker design]

CBS Sunday Morning ran a story about the upcoming musical Shucked.  The musical's book was written by Robert Horn, who also happened to write a couple episodes of DW.  In the report there's a clip of DW, as well as Shucked castmates acting out the The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia scene.  It was fun.

[babyhouseman]

On 7/14/2022 at 4:26 PM, Bastet said:

And "the old South".

I'm in the South, and I know a woman in her eighties who loves Gone with the Wind. 

Actually, a lot of women here are like Charlene. Sweet, more traditional. For being a Yankee(loi), Jean Smart did a great job with the role. 

[annzeepark914]

On 12/3/2022 at 6:16 PM, Bastet said:

I love that exchange, with Bernice's snooty niece Phyllis:

Thanks! How did I miss seeing this post? I was living in NC when this show started. It was so realistic as these women reminded me of some of the southern women I knew. And the Ray Don episode truly hit home because it happened to some friends & me one night (several years before DW). I did what Julia did--told some guy who tried to join our table to move along and leave us alone. Fortunately, I had a couple sips of wine in me so I was brave.

[Taryn74]

Just realized tonight that Designing Women is on amazon prime! Been laughing my head off re-watching the first few episodes. 

[Not4Me]

On 7/16/2023 at 11:23 PM, Taryn74 said:

Just realized tonight that Designing Women is on amazon prime! Been laughing my head off re-watching the first few episodes. 

I discovered that too. However, it seems all the episodes are heavily edited, missing some potentially key funny dialogue. 

[chessiegal]

21 minutes ago, Not4Me said:

I discovered that too. However, it seems all the episodes are heavily edited, missing some potentially key funny dialogue. 

That's weird. Why would Prime air edited versions? I thought if you paid for a streaming service, you'd get the original. They aren't having to do syndication edits for adding in more commercials.

[Taryn74]

Watched 'Monette' tonight. It remains one of the most hilarious episodes of the entire series. 😂

[annzeepark914]

9 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

Watched 'Monette' tonight. It remains one of the most hilarious episodes of the entire series. 😂

Wasn't Monette (interesting name 😉) a member of the world's oldest profession? & when they told Charlene, what was her response? Or do I have the wrong episode?

Edited July 21, 2023 by annzeepark914

[chessiegal]

Monette owned a brothel. That reminds me of the episode "Mr. Monk Joins a Cult" where Stottlemeyer tells Monk that the woman murdered had become a member of the world's oldest profession. Monk's response - oh, a stonemason. 🤣

[Not4Me]

On 7/19/2023 at 11:33 AM, chessiegal said:

That's weird. Why would Prime air edited versions? I thought if you paid for a streaming service, you'd get the original. They aren't having to do syndication edits for adding in more commercials.

It it strange, but I noticed these unusual fade-out transitions to another scene or dialogue when it felt like they hadn’t finished a previous dialogue. 

[sugarbaker design]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Wasn't Monette (interesting name 😉) a member of the world's oldest profession? & when they told Charlene, what was her response? 

"Monette's a carpenter?!"

[mmecorday]

Quote

"Monette's a carpenter?!"

And she smokes! 

[annzeepark914]

13 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

"Monette's a carpenter?!"

😂. Whatever happened to great TV show writers?

[Taryn74]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

😂. Whatever happened to great TV show writers?

Right? Julia and Suzanne bickering over the taste of the men who tried to pick Julia up, and Suzanne's "Finally! A man with some taste!" as she sashayed past the one who wanted her for the night. Gah! I laughed until it hurt.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

"Monette's a carpenter?!"

The fantastic line delivery starts even before that, when Charlene gets increasingly worked up wondering what they want to tell her about Monette.  "Oh no, I don't like the sound of that -- every time you say 'Charlene, sit down' it's bad news.  Now, just tell me standing up, what is it, what?  Monette's a man!" 

[qtpye]

4 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

"Monette's a carpenter?!"

Ya'll, I am dying at this.

 

4 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

😂. Whatever happened to great TV show writers?

Edited July 21, 2023 by qtpye

[LGraves65]

On 7/21/2023 at 9:49 AM, annzeepark914 said:

Wasn't Monette (interesting name 😉) a member of the world's oldest profession? & when they told Charlene, what was her response? Or do I have the wrong episode?

Monette is a town in Arkansas, right on the Missouri line not too far from Poplar Bluff.  

[annzeepark914]

My favorite episode still is the trip to the mountains or country, with "Daddy" wailing, "And when she gets behiiiiiiiiiind closed doors..." as he dainced with Julia. I can still see the look on her poor, miserable face 😄.  & daince is the way he pronounced the word.  Was it a pregnant Charlene who danced with the family "gynecologist"?

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Was it a pregnant Charlene who danced with the family "gynecologist"?

Yes, Nub.  Who thinks the hospital named his latest daughter for him -- "Female" (pronounced Feh-mall-ay).

[annzeepark914]

25 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Yes, Nub.  Who thinks the hospital named his latest daughter for him -- "Female" (pronounced Feh-mall-ay).

People think this is just TV writers making it up. Trust me...it isn't. My sister worked for the state of NC, the dept. in charge of daycare centers. She said she saw the most incredibly bizarre names (e.g , I-95south..I guess the kid was born on that interstate). I need to ask her for other examples. If she weren't my sister, who really cared about the little children at these daycares, I wouldn't have believed her.

[Taryn74]

Binge watching the episodes a few each night, it amuses me to see how they just don't seem to have any real concern about continuity on these older shows. One episode the business is in such financial straits that Julia can't make payroll and her savings is completely wiped, two or three episodes later and she's tossing money around like it's water on a hot summer day. Heh.

Finished up S1 last night and it's truly mind boggling how casually they treated sexual harassment most of the time. Julia especially should have been MUCH harsher toward the jerkwad men they came across sometimes. I mean, she told off Ray Don in one of the early episodes just for sitting down uninvited to chat with them at a restaurant (which was rude of him but he wasn't sexually harassing them) and then a couple of episodes later their colleague repeatedly refers to them as "the eight finest breasts in Atlanta" and nobody says anything about it. And worst of all, in the episode where the guy literally tries to rape Mary Jo, not only did the guy pat both Mary Jo and Julia herself on the rear end, he also ripped Mary Jo's skirt open "trying to find the stick shift" and Julia STILL allowed Mary Jo to go over alone to work on his house. And then when he locked Mary Jo in the room and threw her on the bed, they acted like telling him off was the worst they were going to do. Unbelievable.

[shapeshifter]

11 minutes ago, Taryn74 said:

Binge watching the episodes a few each night, it amuses me to see how they just don't seem to have any real concern about continuity on these older shows. One episode the business is in such financial straits that Julia can't make payroll and her savings is completely wiped, two or three episodes later and she's tossing money around like it's water on a hot summer day. Heh.

Finished up S1 last night and it's truly mind boggling how casually they treated sexual harassment most of the time. Julia especially should have been MUCH harsher toward the jerkwad men they came across sometimes. I mean, she told off Ray Don in one of the early episodes just for sitting down uninvited to chat with them at a restaurant (which was rude of him but he wasn't sexually harassing them) and then a couple of episodes later their colleague repeatedly refers to them as "the eight finest breasts in Atlanta" and nobody says anything about it. And worst of all, in the episode where the guy literally tries to rape Mary Jo, not only did the guy pat both Mary Jo and Julia herself on the rear end, he also ripped Mary Jo's skirt open "trying to find the stick shift" and Julia STILL allowed Mary Jo to go over alone to work on his house. And then when he locked Mary Jo in the room and threw her on the bed, they acted like telling him off was the worst they were going to do. Unbelievable.

I find it difficult to know what the intent of the writers, directors, and producers were behind shows like Designing Women (some Barney Miller episodes too) when the plots include sexual harassment in the workplace and other social issues. Mostly I tend to take it as exposing injustice for what it is, but sometimes that's ambiguous. 

This Google search limits articles (news, reviews, and scholarly) to prior to the Les Moonves case: google.com/search?q="designing+women"+cbs+sexual+harassment&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A%2Ccd_max%3A7%2F23%2F2016

[sugarbaker design]

I entered the workforce in 1979.  No matter how much TV tried to portrary sexual harassment in the workplace during the eighties, trust me it was ten times worse.  I know it's hard to watch with a 2023 sensibility, but it was worse to live through.

[annzeepark914]

In 2001 we were on a tour of a fjord in Norway and enjoyed the company of friendly, fun Australians. One of them was a 30 year old woman who told me that sexual harassment/male chauvinism still existed, blatantly, in her country. She said she'd applied to be a flight attendant (right out of college) and had to show off her legs in front of a row of male execs. She ended up going to work for her family's company. 

[Bastet]

"The Candidate" is fun to watch on one level, but also frightening for how the Wilson Brickettes of this country have only gotten worse - and been granted more power - in the years since it originally aired.

I love Julia's take-down of him:

Quote

But the one thing I did forget was just how divisive and dishonest and distasteful someone like you can be.  I've sat here today and listened to you pander to these people, but you don't actually care about them, or you wouldn't be sitting here reinforcing their ignorance and prejudices.
...
I do not think everyone in America is ignorant.  Far from it.  But we are today probably the most uneducated, under-read, and illiterate nation in the Western Hemisphere.  Which makes it all the more puzzling to me why the biggest question on your small mind is whether or not little Johnny is going to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning.

I'll tell you something else, Mr. Brickette.  I have had it up to here with you and your phony issues and your Yankee-Doodle yakking.  If you like reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every day, then I think you should do it. In the car, in the shower, wherever the mood strikes you.  But don't try to tell me when or where I have to say or do or salute anything because I'm an American, too.  And that is what being an American is all about.

And another thing.  I am sick and tired of being made to feel that if I am not a member of a little family with 2.4 children who goes just to Jerry Falwell's church and puts their hands over their hearts every morning that I am unreligious, unpatriotic, and un-American.  Because I have news for you, Mr. Brickette.  All liberals are not kooks any more than all conservatives are fascists.

And the last time I checked, God was neither a Democrat nor a Republican.  And just for your information, yes, I am a liberal.  But I am also a Christian, and I get down on my knees and pray every day.  On my own turf on my own time.  And one of things that I pray for, Mr. Brickette, is that people with power will get good sense and people with good sense will get power, and that the rest of us will be blessed with the patience and the strength to survive the people like you in the meantime.

It is so powerful hearing "Daylight come and we want go home" over the newspaper headline about that fear-mongering asshhole winning in a landslide.

And I just love imagining how much Dixie must have hated delivering those lines.  (She does such a great job on this show, I thoroughly enjoy her as Julia, but I just cannot get over how batshit crazy she revealed herself to be in her book.)

Edited July 30, 2023 by Bastet

[Snow Apple]

AntennaTV just showed the episodes with Charlene giving birth. The ending still makes me cry. I think I used up about 3 tissues.

I never read Dixie's book and now I don't think I want to.

[annzeepark914]

I knew Dixie wasn't thrilled to be delivering Julia's lines. She did it because Linda, the writer/producer, sweetened the deal by letting her warble several times each season (I quickly learned to hit the mute button!!)

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I never read Dixie's book and now I don't think I want to.

Even though I remembered a friend ranting about it at the time it was published, I was still shocked when, in pandemic-induced boredom, I downloaded and read a free electronic copy in 2020.  She was batshit crazy!  As I said at the time I posted about it, if someone wrote a fictional character as spouting off on all the things she did, people would have pitchforks out saying the author had written an offensive caricature of Christian, southern women.  But when fame handed Dixie a book deal, that's what she chose to spew.

Edited July 31, 2023 by Bastet

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

I love Julia's take-down of [“The Candidate,” Wilson Brickettes]:

Quote

But the one thing I did forget was just how divisive and dishonest and distasteful someone like you can be.  I've sat here today and listened to you pander to these people, but you don't actually care about them, or you wouldn't be sitting here reinforcing their ignorance and prejudices.
...
I do not think everyone in America is ignorant.  Far from it.  But we are today probably the most uneducated, under-read, and illiterate nation in the Western Hemisphere.  Which makes it all the more puzzling to me why the biggest question on your small mind is whether or not little Johnny is going to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning.

I'll tell you something else, Mr. Brickette.  I have had it up to here with you and your phony issues and your Yankee-Doodle yakking.  If you like reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every day, then I think you should do it. In the car, in the shower, wherever the mood strikes you.  But don't try to tell me when or where I have to say or do or salute anything because I'm an American, too.  And that is what being an American is all about.

And another thing.  I am sick and tired of being made to feel that if I am not a member of a little family with 2.4 children who goes just to Jerry Falwell's church and puts their hands over their hearts every morning that I am unreligious, unpatriotic, and un-American.  Because I have news for you, Mr. Brickette.  All liberals are not kooks any more than all conservatives are fascists.

And the last time I checked, God was neither a Democrat nor a Republican.  And just for your information, yes, I am a liberal.  But I am also a Christian, and I get down on my knees and pray every day.  On my own turf on my own time.  And one of things that I pray for, Mr. Brickette, is that people with power will get good sense and people with good sense will get power, and that the rest of us will be blessed with the patience and the strength to survive the people like you in the meantime.

I love this rant and other rants on the show too, even if they are too perfect and too long to not interrupt my suspension of disbelief in the scene.

But now I’m curious. 
Wikipedia mentions:

Quote

…However, Carter's Designing Women character, Julia Sugarbaker, was known for her liberal political views and related speeches, for which she was nicknamed "The Terminator." Carter disagreed with many of her character's beliefs, and made a deal with the show's producers that if Julia delivered a "Terminator" monologue, she would get to sing a song in a future episode.[6]…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Carter#Political_views

I can check out Dixie Carter’s memoir for 1-hour increments from the Internet Archive “subject to availability” (archive.org/details/tryingtogettohea00cart), but I don’t really want to even skim it for an hour.  
Is there a chapter of the book that specifically demonstrates that Dixie Carter was not like her liberal-minded character on the show?
Better yet, if you can recall an exact phrase that was used in that section, I can do a search for it.

[Bastet]

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Is there a chapter of the book that specifically demonstrates that Dixie Carter was not like her liberal-minded character on the show?

Most of it, as I recall.  I wound up skimming at some point, just looking for tidbits about the show, but not finding many.  Basically, the book is a lecture insisting on a very narrow set of rules for all aspects of life.  I do remember there was something like 20 pages of detail on how people should groom and dress themselves.  It was preposterous.  She even had rules for babies!  And, of course, babies/kids got a couple of pages, men maybe a few, and then the rest was all about how women should present themselves.

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Carter disagreed with many of her character's beliefs, and made a deal with the show's producers that if Julia delivered a "Terminator" monologue, she would get to sing a song in a future episode.[6]…

Yep, I don't remember if the deal was talked about publicly at the time the show was airing, but definitely after -- they all laughed about it on that reunion special they did for Lifetime twenty years ago, and Linda laughed about it again in the 30th anniversary interview.  They all adored Dixie, despite disagreeing with her views.  By all accounts, Dixie was a loving friend. 

[Laura Holt]

Her husband, Hal Holbrook, was somewhat left leaning and I always imagined he and Dixie must have had some spirited discussions around the dinner table!

Edited July 31, 2023 by Laura Holt

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, Laura Holt said:

Her husband, Hal Holbrook, was somewhat left leaning and I always imagined he and Dixie must have had some spirited discussions around the dinner table!

I was wondering about that. Maybe he kept her from being too controlling over their children. Their two daughters were in an episode, playing Julia's & Suzanne's nieces (children of their unusual brother, played by a columnist from the Atlanta newspaper who wrote about hilarious southernisms). Southern humorist Lewis Gizzard...just looked this up. I loved his column.

Edited July 31, 2023 by annzeepark914

[Rabbit Hutch]

I recall reading her book at the time.  Dixie came off to me, a fellow southerner, as quite old fashioned but harmless.  Granted, it was over twenty years ?ago? since I read her book, so I don't remember most of it. 

I could, however, see her POV on dressing very young children in simple white clothing. I find bright clothes on babies and very young children garish and loud.  However, to each their own.

I also recall Dixie stating that she didn't use soap on her skin, and that she toweled off briskly to remove dead skin cells. 

She also had a amusing tale of her inadvertently showing off her private parts to some folks or at a function, I can't remember, and how she told Mr. Holbrook (what she called Hal in private) about it, later.  I felt so bad for her, bless her heart.

All in all, Dixie came across to me as one who tried to be a good wife, friend, and person.  A little crazy is not a bad character trait to have in this cray-cray world.  Hope she and Hal are having a ball in heaven.  😉

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

I was wondering about that. Maybe he kept her from being too controlling over their children. Their two daughters were in an episode, playing Julia's & Suzanne's nieces

They're his stepdaughters.  He was her third husband; the kids were from her first.  (He had three kids from his two previous marriages.)

The girls adored her, too.  I'd be miserable having someone try to control everything down to how I did my hair and what I wore, based on her antiquated notions of what women are "supposed" to do, but they apparently rolled with it.

57 minutes ago, Rabbit Hutch said:

She also had a amusing tale of her inadvertently showing off her private parts to some folks or at a function, I can't remember, and how she told Mr. Holbrook (what she called Hal in private) about it, later.  I felt so bad for her, bless her heart.

I thought she did that on set, thus the storyline about Julia going down the runway with the back of her dress tucked into her pantyhose?  Because they talked about it one of the reunions (either for Lifetime or at Paley) and the others were teasing her about not wearing underwear, just like on the show.

I just remembered Linda wrote a nice bit about Hal when he died; here's what she said about the marriage:
 

Quote

Undoubtedly, for him, his marriage to Dixie Carter eclipsed all other enterprises. You could see the fire between them, onscreen and off.  It was the real deal and it burned until the day she died. On show nights, especially if Dixie had a long Julia Sugarbaker rant, we had to make sure Hal was positioned far from audience mics, which would have picked up all his “atta-girl!” whooping and clapping.

She treated him like a national treasure, always calling him, “Mr. Holbrook.” He looked at her like a kid who asked a girl to the prom and still can’t believe she said yes.

Dixie loved to throw fancy dinner parties, often appearing late, at the top of the stairs — bejeweled and wearing a silk caftan. Inevitably, she would lean over the railing and, in that famous, flirty staccato, exclaim, “Oh, my goodness! What’s going on down there? Is there a party?” Then later in the evening she would drape herself across the grand piano (as she often did while performing at the Carlyle) and sing a bundle of Cole Porter lyrics while shooting her besotted husband just the right amount of finely honed, naughty looks. To most people, this all might seem a bit much. But Hal and Dixie pulled it off without a hitch. In fact, you got the feeling they did this even when we were not around.

Seems like the third time was the charm for both of them when it came to spouses.

Edited August 1, 2023 by Bastet

[Bastet]

Since I haven't seen the final seasons since they aired (I only bought 1-5 on DVD), now that the show is streaming on Prime I figured I'd watch them, but of course watch the first five seasons yet again first.  Even though I'd read it here, I'd forgotten they are airing a syndicated version rather than uncut originals.  It's ridiculous!  One of the things missing is Charlene's perfectly delivered "Our bees must be scared to death".  Unconscionable.  And they don't even have the two-part episode where Charlene gives birth.

[chessiegal]

Syndication cuts can be frustrating. 

[Bastet]

3 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Syndication cuts can be frustrating. 

I expect it in syndication.  I do not expect a paid streaming service to use a cut version, or skip episodes.  Amazon has plenty of money to buy the full rights to the original series.

[Taryn74]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

And they don't even have the two-part episode where Charlene gives birth.

Oh now that really pisses me off! I hadn't made it there yet (Charlene just started going out with Bill) but I was already looking forward to it. Just today I thought about the scene where Dolly Parton leads Minnie down the hall to heaven. Such a great couple of episodes!

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

the scene where Dolly Parton leads Minnie down the hall to heaven. Such a great couple of episodes!

I caught the Dolly Parton heaven scene the other day. I hadn’t seen it before, but I did see the similar scene in the last season of Grace and Frankie. Has Dolly done that bit on more shows? Or just twice?

[Bastet]

12 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Has Dolly done that bit on more shows? Or just twice?

She's played an angel in two TV movies.  

I like her response when Charlene asks if she's an angel:  "No, I'm just a movie star.  I don't think I'd make angel if I died."

And I love "As far as I'm concerned, Miss Parton, you're the greatest hick who ever lived."

I just watched "It's a Wonderful Life" while trying to get my sick kitty settled in for a nap, and it's the only time I enjoy Bill and Charlene, since they're fighting instead of being so schmoopy.  I love when she responds to his complaint he has no underwear to pack by saying "Well, that'll save you some time once you're airborne."

And, OMG, Jean Smart just slays it (as usual) when Charlene recounts her disastrous meeting.  "There I was, on my hands and knees, wet, sobbing, mascara running down my face, my pantyhose twisted, trying to gather up all these little white fire crackers, you know?  Two of the secretaries had to lift me off the floor and help to my car.  Or maybe they were throwing me out, I don't know; I never looked back."

My favorite thing about it, though, is Suzanne's rant about women breast-feeding in public.  As is typical, even though I disagree with her, she cracks me up.  "It's like some kind of epidemic.  Everywhere I go, any time of the day or night, I see these women whipping themselves out and acting like public filling stations.  I mean, they act like just because there's a baby attached, it's not a breast anymore.  Could you see me unleashing one of these outdoors?  All hell would break loose."

[Taryn74]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

My favorite thing about it, though, is Suzanne's rant about women breast-feeding in public.

Is that the same episode where Suzanne accidentally puts Charlene's pumped breast milk into her coffee? I laugh until I cry every time I watch that scene. 🤣

[Bastet]

12 minutes ago, Taryn74 said:

Is that the same episode where Suzanne accidentally puts Charlene's pumped breast milk into her coffee? I laugh until I cry every time I watch that scene. 🤣

No, that happened several episodes before.  But I love that, too.  "I certainly didn't drink it!  What do you think I am, some kind of pervert?"

I like that they call back to it in "Tornado Watch" when Mr. Peace is about to do the same thing and she stops him.

[sugarbaker design]

14 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

Is that the same episode where Suzanne accidentally puts Charlene's pumped breast milk into her coffee? I laugh until I cry every time I watch that scene. 🤣

"What do you mean, expressed?"

[ljenkins782]

22 hours ago, Bastet said:

Since I haven't seen the final seasons since they aired (I only bought 1-5 on DVD), now that the show is streaming on Prime I figured I'd watch them, but of course watch the first five seasons yet again first.  Even though I'd read it here, I'd forgotten they are airing a syndicated version rather than uncut originals.  It's ridiculous!  One of the things missing is Charlene's perfectly delivered "Our bees must be scared to death".  Unconscionable.  And they don't even have the two-part episode where Charlene gives birth.

Pluto TV is a free streaming service and they have Designing Women on every night for a 2-hour block, plus I think you can watch it On Demand, also for free. I'm pretty sure I just saw that episode recently and the line about bees was in there.

Quote

I thought she did that on set, thus the storyline about Julia going down the runway with the back of her dress tucked into her pantyhose?  Because they talked about it one of the reunions (either for Lifetime or at Paley) and the others were teasing her about not wearing underwear, just like on the show.

Yeah, I remember Meshach Taylor talking about it on one of the retrospective shows, saying she was distraught that everyone saw her "fancy."