Designing Women - General Discussion

[qtpye]

4 minutes ago, Taryn74 said:

And on the flip side, it's just as difficult for a decent young man to find someone to be in a real relationship with in today's world. If a guy asks a girl out, is she going to say yes, is she going to let him down gently if she's not interested, or is she going to make a Tik Tok video screeching about how she was "sexually harassed" by the poor guy and try to ruin his life? A man's natural inclination to shield and protect is now "toxic masculinity" and is being verbally and emotionally beaten out of him at every turn. And God help the poor sucker who sees a woman struggling with something and offers to help her. As a mother of two sons, it absolutely breaks my heart to see how men are treated nowadays.

I totally agree.

It is ridiculous to think all men are predators.

I know I am grateful for the wonderful men in my life.

I always enjoyed that JD, Reece, Anthony, and others balanced out this show.

Even, Ray Dawn was shown to be a decent guy.

[Taryn74]

On 8/22/2023 at 5:50 PM, qtpye said:

I always enjoyed that JD, Reece, Anthony, and others balanced out this show.

Some of my favorite moments are when you see Anthony quietly reacting in the background to something one of the ladies has said. He can be utterly hilarious without ever saying a word. 😂

[mmecorday]

Quote

I love Julia getting everyone's names so they can be punished, and my favorite is when Suzanne is grumbling about them being stuck in coach because first class is sold out and wonders where their seats are; Julia says, "If history is any indication, mine will be next to a baby who smokes."

I also love this exchange after Julia says she regrets watching a movie the night before about an airline disaster: 

Suzanne: Why? You afraid we're gonna crash?

Julia: No, Suzanne. I'm afraid there's going to be a nun on board who sings and plays the guitar. 

Edited August 24, 2023 by mmecorday

[Bastet]

“Now, the truth is we women haven't had enough power or money or confidence to start much of anything, but we sure as heck get the blame for everything. And I'll tell you something else: I love men; in particular, I love this one. But you cannot ignore history. And history has shown that, in general, it has been the men who have done the raping and the robbing and the killing and the war-mongering for the last two thousand years. It has been the men who have done the pillaging and the beheading and the subjugating of whole races into slavery. It has been the men who have done the law making, and the money making, and most of the mischief making. So if the world isn't quite what you had in mind, you have only yourselves to thank.”

Gods, I love "Reservations for Eight", but never more than when Julia shuts down the guys' bullshit about how hard men have it with that.

Also, I submit that the syndicated version of "Reservations for Twelve, Plus Ursula" cutting the entire exchange about Mary Jo putting Suzanne and Ursula's bras on her head should be punishable as a criminal offense.  Thank goodness for my DVDs.

[annzeepark914]

I just enjoyed Suzanne telling Ursula to take her big breasts and hit the road. And then--adjusting her crown-like headband 😁

[Taryn74]

Well I finished S5. Watched Part One of The Big Desk, and I just think I'm gonna call it quits. Amusingly enough, it wasn't Allison that annoyed me as much as I was expecting, it was Carlene. The dumb southern hick routine is just too overdone at this point. Charlene was always charming enough to balance it out (up until about the middle of S5, anyway) but they've just gone all in with Carlene and I don't feel like putting up with it. Goodbye, Sugarbakers. It was nice while it lasted.

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I just enjoyed Suzanne telling Ursula to take her big breasts and hit the road.

I appreciate the characterization in that one, that the other women realize they don't dislike Ursula, they dislike the way the guys act around her and how that makes them feel, so they confront the men, but Suzanne confronts Ursula over her role in the dynamic because of their similarities.

I know we've discussed this here before, but the whole au pair thing is just so ridiculous to begin with; seven adults can't handle five kids without live-in help for a long weekend?  At one point it's described like a babysitter, someone to hang out with the kids while the adults go to a movie or otherwise out for a night, and that makes sense.  But someone staying there full time doesn't.

[JAYJAY1979]

On 8/25/2023 at 7:43 PM, Taryn74 said:

Well I finished S5. Watched Part One of The Big Desk, and I just think I'm gonna call it quits. Amusingly enough, it wasn't Allison that annoyed me as much as I was expecting, it was Carlene. The dumb southern hick routine is just too overdone at this point. Charlene was always charming enough to balance it out (up until about the middle of S5, anyway) but they've just gone all in with Carlene and I don't feel like putting up with it. Goodbye, Sugarbakers. It was nice while it lasted.

 

Carlene does come on strong, but the show does eventually soften her character a bit as the season goes on.

Season 1, 6, and 7 are the seasons where I only watch a few select episodes because all 3 of those seasons were hit or miss for me.

Season 1 must see episodes for me: Julia's Son, Monette, and O' Sussanah (where Suzanne shows her maternal/softer side.. and the first time I felt Julia showed genuine affection for Suzanne instead of always being too harsh in her putdowns).

Season 6 must see episodes for me: Julia and mary jo stuck under a bed, Driving my mama back home (where we meet Mary Jo's mom and kind of understand why Mary Jo is the way she is), Carlene's Apartment, and I enjoy being a girl

Season 7 must see episodes for me: On the road again, The Odyssey, and the Lying Game

[annzeepark914]

They didn't need an au pair, but what they did need was a buxom, free spirit European au pair to create another DW "scene".  It was very credible to me as my parents' best friends hosted their Swedish cousins' 20 year old daughter one year. She was quite an education for them and their two young teenage boys!

[Taryn74]

3 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Season 6 must see episodes for me: Julia and mary jo stuck under a bed, Driving my mama back home (where we meet Mary Jo's mom and kind of understand why Mary Jo is the way she is), Carlene's Apartment, and I enjoy being a girl

Season 7 must see episodes for me: On the road again, The Odyssey, and the Lying Game

Thanks! I might give those a try. Against my better judgement, I went ahead and watched Part 2 of the season opener and honestly wish I hadn't. LOL. I really don't know why we had to watch the stripper's dance like fifty-seven times. Also why make poor Rusty the butt of their joke (pun intended, I guess) TWICE within the same episode? He's not deaf, he knows you're making fun of him. Leave the man alone.

[Giuseppe]

20 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

I went ahead and watched Part 2 of the season opener and honestly wish I hadn't.

To me, that whole episode is worth it just for the 'bird on your head' payoff joke at the end. The way Julia says "giant WHOOPING crane" just kills me.

[ljenkins782]

On 8/23/2023 at 10:32 PM, Taryn74 said:

Some of my favorite moments are when you see Anthony quietly reacting in the background to something one of the ladies has said. He can be utterly hilarious without ever saying a word. 😂

Agreed, he has some of the best reactions. My hands down favorite is when crazy Mr Tyson is their client and does weird things like make Anthony get his picture taken with employees at the car wash or gives him the pieces from his game of Clue as a gift for doing something nice. Charlene keeps asking why and Anthony just shrugs with this hilarious expression. He was so tolerant of all the nutty people who came in and out of Sugarbakers (and the ones who worked there, too). 

Quote

I know we've discussed this here before, but the whole au pair thing is just so ridiculous to begin with; seven adults can't handle five kids without live-in help for a long weekend?  At one point it's described like a babysitter, someone to hang out with the kids while the adults go to a movie or otherwise out for a night, and that makes sense.  But someone staying there full time doesn't.

Also, we don't see Ursula with the kids even once after she initially encounters them on the way in. 

The storyline is definitely relatable, but annoying. I hate it when men act like asses and then blame the women for insecurity. I'm glad they pointed that out, but I still didn't really feel like the men fully got it.

[qtpye]

On 8/26/2023 at 1:00 AM, Bastet said:

I appreciate the characterization in that one, that the other women realize they don't dislike Ursula, they dislike the way the guys act around her and how that makes them feel, so they confront the men, but Suzanne confronts Ursula over her role in the dynamic because of their similarities.

I know we've discussed this here before, but the whole au pair thing is just so ridiculous to begin with; seven adults can't handle five kids without live-in help for a long weekend?  At one point it's described like a babysitter, someone to hang out with the kids while the adults go to a movie or otherwise out for a night, and that makes sense.  But someone staying there full time doesn't.

As a kid, I just chalked it up to something rich people must do.

I know Charlene came from a poor family and Mary Jo was middle class but the sisters came from money.

[shapeshifter]

On 8/23/2023 at 10:32 PM, Taryn74 said:

Some of my favorite moments are when you see Anthony quietly reacting in the background to something one of the ladies has said. He can be utterly hilarious without ever saying a word. 😂

Meshach Taylor as Anthony Bouvier was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 (after season 3?) for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, but he lost to Woody Harrelson from Cheers (wikipedia.org/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Supporting_Actor_in_a_Comedy_Series).
Meschach Taylor should have garnered at least one Emmy for that role, IMO. 

 

[Taryn74]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Meschach Taylor should have garnered at least one Emmy for that role, IMO. 

He really should have. Every time I think about the look on his face in Big Haas and Little Falsie when he comes in the door just as Charlene is feeling Mary Jo's fake breasts, I die laughing. 😂 And I recently rewatched the episode where he joins the Beaumont country club and Julia breaks it to him that he was only accepted as a token black member -- I LOVE that not only did he already realize that (because he's not stupid) but that he leaned into it because he was making history, even if it was "just" on a local level, by being the first black member there.

Edited August 29, 2023 by Taryn74
Took out a repeated word

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Meshach Taylor as Anthony Bouvier was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 (after season 3?) for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, but he lost to Woody Harrelson from Cheers (wikipedia.org/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Supporting_Actor_in_a_Comedy_Series).
Meschach Taylor should have garnered at least one Emmy for that role, IMO. 

 

He lost to Woody Harrelson? Give me a colossal break. Mesach Taylor was a superb actor who could "speak" volumes with just a look, a reaction, a physical movement. 

[Bastet]

22 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

The storyline is definitely relatable, but annoying. I hate it when men act like asses and then blame the women for insecurity. I'm glad they pointed that out, but I still didn't really feel like the men fully got it.

Yeah, Reese pulls his explanation out of his ass (the part about feeling younger is credible, but that stuff about male camaraderie is nonsense, thus his look to the other men when he says it), and Bill says Charlene is so spectacular he forgets she could ever feel insecure around anyone.  It's.not.about.Charlene.  It's not even about Ursula.  It's how the men stare, drool, pant, and squeal at the sight of her.  (And not just when they first get a look at her.)

Up until then, that scene is great.  I like them clarifying they do like Ursula, it's the men they don't like.  And I love Julia swatting Reese on the butt when he says fine and tries to roll over and go back to sleep.  Julia and Mary Jo have great lines:

Julia: Mary Jo and Suzanne and I have come down here to have an enjoyable, pleasant, peaceful vacation, and so far our only reward has been to sit around and watch you men drool in your socks over some Scandinavian import we have never seen before and will never see again -- unless, of course, one or more of you has recently become engaged.

Mary Jo: I mean, just what if the tables were turned?  What if we had hired some incredible-looking man who just happened to have some incredible physical endowment, and we just sat around all day staring and squealing with delight?

And then I love when Reese objects, saying nobody squealed, and J.D. says, "I might have, once."

22 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

Also, we don't see Ursula with the kids even once after she initially encounters them on the way in. 

I know!  The kids might be down with her and the guys playing volleyball, because they're not in the condo (which they keep calling a hotel, even though Charlene's exposition phone call to her parents says it's Reese's daughter's condo, but she's taking care of her sick father-in-law [and isn't that typical?], so Reese is the one taking the kids down there), but they're definitely not going along on the morning jogs, that is just Ursula and the men. 

For a vacation that happened because of the kids, they're invisible other than that arrival scene.  They don't even have the actors who'd previously plaid Quint, Hannah, and Burt, just a bunch of cheaper child actors who barely have any lines.  (And it always annoys me that they don't toss in a line mentioning Rex's absence like they do Claudia's.)

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Meschach Taylor should have garnered at least one Emmy for that role, IMO. 

There should have been several acting and writing Emmys over the course of the show, not just one win for hairstyling.  I love Linda's quote about that: "I think they were saying, ‘We like your hair. You need to shut your mouth.'”

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Mesach Taylor was a superb actor who could "speak" volumes with just a look, a reaction, a physical movement. 

I love whenever Anthony has reason to launch into his white peoples accent. So funny because it’s just slightly over the top.😆
And I don’t think I’ve heard anything like it, which seems to warrant an Emmy when combined with Mesach Taylor’s flawless comic timing and delivery of mini monologues.

[sugarbaker design]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I love whenever Anthony has reason to launch into his white peoples accent. So funny because it’s just slightly over the top.

I just can't forget "Bitty, Cissy, Muffy, Tuffy"

Edited August 30, 2023 by sugarbaker design

[annzeepark914]

My favorite Anthony-ism was his "innocent" response to a nosey questioner, "Some white girl" (in addition to saying his name was Cindy Birdsong 😁). 

[mmecorday]

I love it when Anthony tells the story of Bomanicious (sp?). 

[qtpye]

On 8/30/2023 at 11:39 AM, annzeepark914 said:

My favorite Anthony-ism was his "innocent" response to a nosey questioner, "Some white girl" (in addition to saying his name was Cindy Birdsong 😁). 

Cindy Birdsong would definitely be my go-to name for a fictional country music artist.

[sugarbaker design]

10 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Cindy Birdsong would definitely be my go-to name for a fictional country music artist.

She was a Supreme!

[annzeepark914]

8 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

She was a Supreme!

But not one of the originals.

[sugarbaker design]

2 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

But not one of the originals.

Still a Supreme.

[Not4Me]

On 8/26/2023 at 1:00 AM, Bastet said:

I appreciate the characterization in that one, that the other women realize they don't dislike Ursula, they dislike the way the guys act around her and how that makes them feel, so they confront the men, but Suzanne confronts Ursula over her role in the dynamic because of their similarities.

Yes it’s partly because of their similarities (which I get, there can only be one scene-stealing Queen Bee in this show) but also because Suzanne genuinely loved her family and girlfriends and their respective partners, so I think she was also looking out for them as well to ensure they had a conflict-free weekend even if hers wasn’t going well.
Ultimately I think the fight between the men and the women was a dumb plot contrivance. The men acted like drooling idiots while the ladies could have been more forthright why she wasn’t a good fit, or perhaps set some serious ground rules with the men and with Ursula to mitigate their unease with her (like give her a dress code). 

[Taryn74]

25 minutes ago, Not4Me said:

or perhaps set some serious ground rules with the men and with Ursula to mitigate their unease with her (like give her a dress code). 

Yeah, like who shows up dressed like that to nanny young children anyway? The whole thing was just ludicrous. If they had gone with having hired a fitness coach for the grownups for the weekend or something, it at least then it would have made sense. But no, we have to be as ridiculous as possible to make the men look like pigs. Ugh.

[Bastet]

I would never have given her a dress code, but I might have reminded her she's there as the kids' au pair, not the men's fitness instructor.  But I more likely would have done what the characters did, which was confront the men, since they were the bigger part of the problem.  I just would have done it sooner.  I'd have said something right after saying she is indeed the better candidate so we're going to hire her, like "I assume you've all got this out of your system now, and will be the grown men you are for the rest of the weekend, capable of being around an attractive young woman with big breasts without staring and drooling."  And then made fun of them every time they acted like adolescents afterward, as I think embarrassing them might have worked better at getting them to take an actual look at how they were behaving.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Bastet

[JAYJAY1979]

Suzanne could handle Ursula because she was the only one there without a boyfriend so she observed all the going ons objectively.

Suzanne might not have been book smart but she knew how to read people.  And when Julia had stress due to reese's health issues and later death..she rose to the occasion and handled business with ease and confidence.

[Bastet]

1 minute ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

And when Julia had stress due to reese's health issues and later death..she rose to the occasion and handled business with ease and confidence.

"It's amazing, isn't it?  I mean, most of the time she goes around without the sense God gave a goose.  But look at her -- one crisis and she's Scarlett O'Hara."

[annzeepark914]

39 minutes ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Suzanne could handle Ursula because she was the only one there without a boyfriend so she observed all the going ons objectively.

Suzanne might not have been book smart but she knew how to read people.  And when Julia had stress due to reese's health issues and later death..she rose to the occasion and handled business with ease and confidence.

But wasn't she a graduate of U Miss? Suzanne & Anthony were my favorites, especially when they were on that trip, and when he had to stay at her house (I think he was recuperating from surgery??) 

[Bastet]

31 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

But wasn't she a graduate of U Miss?

Yes -- but their dad had to hire tutors to get her through, and it took her years to finish.

32 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

when he had to stay at her house (I think he was recuperating from surgery??) 

He threw his back out carrying a heavy table.

[Taryn74]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

when he had to stay at her house (I think he was recuperating from surgery??) 

"If you don't do something, they're gonna exfoliate me!" 🤣

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

"If you don't do something, they're gonna exfoliate me!" 🤣

It's all in the delivery. Meshach Taylor has such clear diction that even I (with ringing in my ears that rivals Some Very Loud Noise) do not need to read the captions when he speaks. And the writers of DW apparently appreciated his mastery of delivery of speech in a variety of voices, giving him a wealth of terrific lines that would have been wasted on so many mumbly actors.

Edited September 1, 2023 by shapeshifter

[ML89]

"I'll let Jackie know you were asking about her. She appreciates that the regular people still remember her" - I am mangling the line but that was so so great.

[sugarbaker design]

8 minutes ago, ML89 said:

"I'll let Jackie know you were asking about her. She appreciates that the regular people still remember her" - I am mangling the line but that was so so great.

and Julia's wry grin was priceless.  I agree, great scene.

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, ML89 said:

"I'll let Jackie know you were asking about her. She appreciates that the regular people still remember her" - I am mangling the line but that was so so great.

You got very close!  "Well, I'll tell Jackie that you asked about her.  She will be so pleased to know that common people still care."

Anthony's entire response to that snooty guy's joke about being related to her is perfect:

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I am -- she's my sister.  But we had this huge falling out over some land that Dad left us.  Now, that was not long after Jack got into the White House and I was still in grade school.  But then, after she married Onassis, he and I became very close.  Ari was such a great guy.  We played a lot of golf together on Skorpios.  Since he died, I haven't seen much of her, though, except for those odd social occasions like Caroline and Edwin Schlossberg's wedding.  Oh, he's a wonderful fella, very high intensity.  And he has this fabulous barn in the Berkshires."

But, oh yes, that last line about the common people is killer!

I just love the names in that episode, especially Muffy Fahrenholt.  "I know that that's a clichéd rich person's name, but in my case it's valid -- my grandmother was a Muffin, my mother was a Muffin, and I'm a Muffin, too."

Edited September 1, 2023 by Bastet

[ButterQueen]

I don’t like many of the episodes post Suzanne and Charlene, but I love Carlene’s Apartment.

Carlene, “Ya’ll it’s the Queen, I’m talking to the Queen.

Allison, “Yeah, the police probably have your parent’s home in Hooterville surrounded by now”

😂😂😂

 

 

[ButterQueen]

All of the seasons are on Hulu.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, ButterQueen said:

All of the seasons are on Hulu.

They have been for several years now.  They're on Prime, too.  But both are showing the syndicated versions, so things have been cut.  (Unless something has changed; I've never watched on Hulu as I didn't have it until recently, and I watched on Prime last year [because I only have the first five seasons on DVD and wanted to see the final seasons again].)

[ButterQueen]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

They have been for several years now.  They're on Prime, too.  But both are showing the syndicated versions, so things have been cut.  (Unless something has changed; I've never watched on Hulu as I didn't have it until recently, and I watched on Prime last year [because I only have the first five seasons on DVD and wanted to see the final seasons again].)

Someone mentioned they wondered why the show was unavailable to watch, so I was answering that.  Syndicated is better than nothing.  I also own the DVD’s.

[qtpye]

 

[Lois Sandborne]

Delta did an interview with the Glamorous Trash podcast. It's a show about celebrity memoirs. She talks about her time on the show, her challenges with weight, and public image, and public opinion. I never read her book, so I don't know if she's ever talked about using meth to try and control her weight but she goes into it here. It's a really good conversation (with bonus Gerald McRaney)!

[Bastet]

2 minutes ago, Lois Sandborne said:

(with bonus Gerald McRaney)!

If McRaney and Thomason had kept their goddamned lips zipped instead of blathering to the press, things could have played out differently; their public support/defense of their wives was pathetic and made a bad situation terrible.  So I'm not keen to hear from "Mac" again, yet will inevitably listen to Delta's interview; thanks for posting about it, as we generally only hear about new look-backs on anniversaries.