Golden Palace: The Spinoff Everyone Loves to Hate

[Eri]

Over the course of the pandemic, I pursued a project of converting a friend over to the Golden Girls fandom from start to finish. After we finished the final seventh season, I brought up the illustrious Golden Palace spinoff. I only vaguely remembered it back in the 90s during the heavily edited Lifetime days but it just didn't feel the same without Bea Arthur. So in the name of boredom and nostalgia, I decided to give the show another shot - seriously, the unedited, full version is available on Youtube folks!

I appreciate the show soooo much more now and I'm so sad that it got cancelled after one season. I think if it had been released after fans recovered from Bea Arthur's departure, it could've gone at least a couple seasons long. It also proved that Rue, Betty and Estelle really could hold their own with the material they were given for some worthwhile laughs. Plus, Cheech Marin and Don Cheadle somehow made it work and I liked their chemistry with the Girls...except for the Oliver kid, he did *not* belong on this show lol.

Have you seen the show? What did you love or hate about it? Do you have any favorite episodes or unforgettable scenes?

Anyway, I highly encourage folks to check it out if they haven't or to give it another chance if you hated it before 🙂

Edited July 25, 2021 by Eri

[BigBingerBro]

I binge-watched Golden Palace at the beginning of the covid-lockdown and agree totally with you.  It held it's own and it's a shame it ended after such a short run.  There were a few "clinker" episodes, but a lot of really good one.  One of my favorites was when the lady with dementia was staying at the hotel.  So many LOL one-liners.   I am kind of glad they phased out the child actor that was originally cast in the series.  That storyline was a bit too much IMO.  I guess they were putting all the cards on the table befire deciding what worked and what did not.

[Eri]

Absolutely! The child actor definitely didn't belong in this show and I think the producers realised midway through that audiences didn't really care for him so he just stopped making appearances LOL 

I think outside of his character, the rest of the show worked well together since they did continue some things from The Golden Girls universe. My only peeve was that they should've re-arranged the episodes. I finished episode 24 feeling cheated because it was a filler episode unbefitting for a "finale." In hindsight, they should've had the two-parter with Dorothy last and if it got cancelled after that - I'd have been satisfied.

This show also made me hate Miles and his character assassination - I can't even look at him in Golden Girls without seething now 😾

[Ria]

I hated that the spin-off took place in a hotel instead of in their cozy house. Plus it had all these people I didn’t care about, ie hotel staff, hotel guests, intruding. I would have continued watching the original show without Dorothy but the spin-off didn’t work for me. Even Two and a Half Men found a way to keep the show at the beach house after Charlie died. Maybe they learned from The Golden Palace. When the house is important to the feeling of the show, don’t ditch it. 

Edited July 28, 2021 by Ria

[Snow Apple]

That would be interesting if they kept the house. Maybe they could have eased Gloria in as a recurring character. 

[BigBingerBro]

I wonder if the idea for them running a hotel would allow better for weekly guest stars to be intorduced into the storyline?  Not that that actually happened if I remember correctly.

[rubaco]

This show is streaming on Hulu now. I just noticed it.

[Eri]

Yay I'm glad! I'd love to know what others think.

It's fitting given how Betty White was given more of an opportunity to shine and develop Rose's character more.

 

[Prairie Rose]

I haven't seen the entire series yet, but it's a fun show in its own right. I do admit to skipping around to Bea Arthur's two-part special guest spot, which I watched right after the pilot. 

It was also great seeing recurring characters come back. I know Harold Gould reprised Miles, but didn't Herb Edelman come back as Stan, too?

The male regulars were well cast: Don Cheadle in his first big role, and Cheech Marin in his first regular series role. Speaking of the latter, I think he really shone with his character's former best friend/rival chef (played by the late, great Gregory Sierra). 

I think it's a shame that CBS didn't give them another season. The only real gripe I had was the uninspired arrangement of the beloved theme song. 

[One Tough Cookie]

I really HATED Mils jilted Rose and then had the balls to have his reception at the hotel.

[jah1986]

Just started watching on Hulu. I am really enjoying this. I’m only at episode 4 but I’ve been laughing out loud. Sorry to hear it’s only one season. I think the main cast has great chemistry. 

[jsm1125]

I used to not like the Golden Palace, but have come to appreciate it much more, even without Bea Arthur. Having said that, Rose and Sophia should have bought out the hotel from Blanche, who was an absolute mess here as a businessperson.

Don Cheadle was impressive in general, but particularly with the physical comedy.

I thought Miles was terrible even in the Golden Girls, so his personality in the Golden Palace didn’t surprise me one bit.

Was Estelle Getty already suffering from her memory issues? I didn’t think she was used nearly enough in this series.

[babyhouseman]

5 hours ago, jsm1125 said:

Was Estelle Getty already suffering from her memory issues? I didn’t think she was used nearly enough in this series.

She was on the last couple years of Empty Nest after GP. 

[Egg McMuffin]

IIRC, the producers planned to do the spinoff regardless of whether Bea Arthur left. Ratings for TGG really fell during the seventh season, and they were planning a reformat to boost interest (I remember at one point it was tentatively called “Golden Towers”). And Bea had no interest in a hotel-based show because she had already done one that failed (the short-lived “Fawlty Towers” adaptation, “Amanda’s”). So she left and the spinoff happened anyway.

[Blakeston]

On 7/31/2022 at 12:12 PM, jsm1125 said:

Was Estelle Getty already suffering from her memory issues? I didn’t think she was used nearly enough in this series.

Estelle had memory issues when filming The Golden Girls, particularly towards the end. She would have her lines written on objects on stage.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Estelle had memory issues when filming The Golden Girls, particularly towards the end. She would have her lines written on objects on stage.

Yeah, I can't remember which episode it is, but if you come across the one (in the original series, not this spin-off) where she's eating out of a box of raisins as she tells a story, watch closely -- that's the one where her looking down at a prop to see reminders of her lines is at its most obvious.  The writers/producers talked about it in a documentary, and now that's all I see in that scene.

[mythoughtis]

On 9/26/2022 at 9:01 AM, Blakeston said:

Estelle had memory issues when filming The Golden Girls, particularly towards the end. She would have her lines written on objects on stage.

If I remember correctly, she did many scenes on the Golden Palace where she popped up from underneath a counter. I think her lines  were posted  in the back side of the counter.  
I think it was good of the cast and crew to work with her like that.  She achieved success with the Golden Girls and then suffered with that horrible illness of dementia. 

[WendyCR72]

And the form of dementia Estelle had, Lewy-Body dementia, is one of the worst. I believe it was the form that Robin Williams was posthumously diagnosed with. Just awful.

There is an old article where both Betty White and Rue McClanahan touched upon Estelle's memory issues. (Click the link!)

[ButterQueen]

I took your advice and decided to do a re-watch.  The opening scene with the For Sale/Sold sign at the girl’s house made me sad.  I hated seeing the inside so bare.  Anyway, I will report back when done.

I love Don Cheadle.

At first glance, Sophia looks a bit younger.  Her makeup is lighter.

[Eri]

It's no wonder - I read once that it took 3 hrs for the makeup department to turn Estelle into Sophia during the earlier seasons to make her look a lot older than Dorothy (Bea Arthur was actually a year or two older than her irl). With Dorothy no longer in the show, there probably wasn't a need.

Enjoy the show!

[WendyCR72]

On 4/24/2023 at 12:10 AM, Eri said:

It's no wonder - I read once that it took 3 hrs for the makeup department to turn Estelle into Sophia during the earlier seasons to make her look a lot older than Dorothy (Bea Arthur was actually a year or two older than her irl). With Dorothy no longer in the show, there probably wasn't a need.

Enjoy the show!

Bea Arthur was born May 1922; Estelle Getty was born July 1923, so Estelle was indeed a little over a year younger than her TV daughter.

I once saw Estelle with her natural red hair in Mannequin and was shocked at how much younger she looked without all that makeup work for Sophia.

[ButterQueen]

On 4/22/2023 at 11:04 PM, ButterQueen said:

I took your advice and decided to do a re-watch.  The opening scene with the For Sale/Sold sign at the girl’s house made me sad.  I hated seeing the inside so bare.  Anyway, I will report back when done.

I love Don Cheadle.

At first glance, Sophia looks a bit younger.  Her makeup is lighter.

I am sad to report that I never made it past episode 1.  I just couldn’t watch anymore.  I may try again.  

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

I have only ever watched the two-parter where Bea Arthur guest starred, and the most redeeming thing was her hairstyle and outfit were MUCH better than the horrible costuming they did to that poor woman in the final seasons of GG. 

[Not4Me]

On 6/3/2023 at 7:15 PM, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

I have only ever watched the two-parter where Bea Arthur guest starred, and the most redeeming thing was her hairstyle and outfit were MUCH better than the horrible costuming they did to that poor woman in the final seasons of GG. 

I liked her hair from seasons 2-3 the best. At times she did look like a Q-tip swab but it didn’t overpower her face. 

[Keywestclubkid]

God I hate what they did to Miles .. just rewatched that episode and the episode where blanche wants to get pregnant .. its like the writers completely blocked out the season two menopause GG episode from their mind