Continuity Errors: Starts With the House Layout and Just Gets Worse

[FormerMod-a1]

Ha!  I've always noticed the exclamation point, too, but never brought it up for some reason.

[AKA...CJ86]

I read something somewhere taht said Bea Authur did the exclaimation point for good luck and that there were others on the set.  I'm not sure how true this is.

This is what I've always read to over the years, but not sure of the validity of the sources. 

[scarynikki12]

 

Blanche's magical granddaughter who she entered into a pageant.  She said she had trouble with her mother when she was a little girl.  The girl couldn't have been Rebecca's or Janet's though.

She's Janet's.  In the episode Blanche is struggling to find fun things for them to do (her idea of entertaining a seven year old was taking her to the docks to meet young sailors and convincing her to call her 'Sis' instead of 'Grandma') and she tells Rose and Dorothy that "[she] promised Janet her little girl would have fun this week".  Since this happened in the final season I just tell myself that this granddaughter was born after Janet and Michael had their second honeymoon in season 1. 

 

 

 

So why did Blanche immediately assume she was pregnant when she was late?

Over 50 and she had her tubes tied? No wonder Rose fainted at the supposed pregnancy.

The stranded island episode aired after Blanche started menopause, so her tubes could have been tied between the two quite easily.  I do agree on the absurdity of menopausal Blanche getting her tubes tied, but maybe this was another way for her to demonstrate her denial that she wasn't young anymore?

 

I think Blanche had a small radio/tape player on the empty bed next to Dorothy's, but I'm not positive.

 

She did, you can see it just behind them when they start dancing.  It blends with their outfits and is easy to miss.

 

 

Buddy said that Charlie always looked at a photo of Rose and he looked at it to, yet when he first arrived at the house he thought Sophia was Rose.

That was the first clue that he was there to scam Rose.

 

 

Blanche and Virginia were able to somewhat mend their relationship but when Big Daddy died and Blanche comes to visit Virginia is just very cold with her and says that Blanche is just a selfish person, but Blanche wasn't too selfish when Blanche was gonna give Virginia one of her kidneys.

Blanche was always telling stories about her bad relationships with her sisters so I just chalk it up to them having a falling out after Virginia healed from the surgery.  They even admit during the episode they'd never had a normal conversation their entire lives and only knew how to demean each other and fight.  Falling back into old habits, especially since they don't live in the same place and can't practice new ones, makes sense.

 

 

Also in that same episode Blanche says she's gonna soak in the tub and Rose says she is too and Blanche says they only have one tub. Doesn't Blanche have her own bathroom in her room?

Blanche might only have a shower, but this does lead to Rose claiming the deep end of the tub as hers and them racing to the bathroom, so I'm ok with this one due to the funny.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

 

Blanche and Virginia were able to somewhat mend their relationship but when Big Daddy died and Blanche comes to visit Virginia is just very cold with her and says that Blanche is just a selfish person, but Blanche wasn't too selfish when Blanche was gonna give Virginia one of her kidneys.

To be fair to Virginia, Big Daddy *did* call Blanche a few days before he died saying he wanted to see her, but she was caught up in that banquet thing where they award her with that plate with the fruit on it, the one that gets broken while she and Dorothy are out of town attending the funeral. So she wasn't being cold out of the blue, she was annoyed because their father had asked for Blanche, and she hadn't come.

[ShadowSixx]

To be fair Blanche didn't know he was sick or was about to die. I think if Big Daddy had told her that he's really sick and that he really needs to see her she would have been there in a flash. All Blanche got out of it was that he was feeling a little under the weather like a headache or something that wasn't serious. I think if they had kept in contact and called each other regularly with updates and whatnot then it might be a little different. I wonder where Margaret, Big Daddy's wife was when Big Daddy died and funeral. She was only mentioned in one episode.

[sgittinger]

I chalked up the absence of Margaret, Clayton and Charmaine at Big Daddy's funeral to the fact that they weren't central to the main plot, which was Blanche's tiff with Virginia. I think we can assume they were there but not written into the story.

[Melgaypet]

Yeah, they didn't actually show the funeral itself. All those people might have been there, for all we know.

[ShadowSixx]

Another error is in the "Goodbye Mr. Gordon" episode when Dorothy and Blanche were thought to be lesbians. During the credits one of the women who sat across from Blanche and Dorothy at the show came to their house and said she heard about the break up between Dorothy and Blanche. How could that be, when it merely just happened. Was she stalking right outside their home.

 

During Phil's funeral, Dorothy asked Rose if she's ever given a eulogy and Dorothy knows that she has since Rose was suppose to give a eulogy at her Aunt's funeral and Rose even admitted to given a eulogy at Lenny's funeral even though she spoke about the back of his head.

 

Also during Phil's funeral Blanche says she wears red to funerals because she doesn't believe in wearing black. Yet she wore black to Frida Claxton, Fidel Santiago, & Rose's Aunt Gretchen's funeral.

 

When Blanche was slimming down to get into her wedding dress, why is Rose shocked that Blanche's dress is red. Since Blanche said that every year she slips into it and apparently a picture is always taken.

 

Speaking of eulogies if Rose had a fear of speaking in front of people then she wouldn't have given a eulogy before for the back of Lenny's head and she also said she was valedictorian at her high school and valedictorians always give speeches in front of everyone.

 

In the episode where Rose moves out of the house because Dorothy and Blanche didn't like how Rose was acting after suffering an esophageal spasm. When she gets a house on the beach, she's all of a sudden lonely. What happened to the crowd that she was hanging with all the time? Did they stop calling her and wanted to stop hanging out with her?

 

When that guy came by claiming to be George's son, Blanche just believed it because of earrings George brought her after. Shouldn't she want more proof than that? When George 'came back to life' in her dream, she didn't bring it up.

 

The Christmas episode when they were at the diner, the guy working there just leaves his diner in their care and not knowing a thing about them. Don't think any worker would leave their restaurants in the care of strangers.

The rules to "Grab that Dough" made no sense. First round they answer questions and in the lightning round Blanche and Dorothy's team get to spin the wheel. Why? Is it because they didn't have any points? Why didn't Rose and Sophia's team get a chance to spin the wheel and add on to their lead?

 

Also in "Grab that Dough" Dorothy who is so smart didn't answer any questions at all. Even when their teammate kept buzzing in, there was still time for Dorothy to buzz in before him since she knew the answers to the questions he got wrong or didn't know.

 

I found it hard to believe that Mr. Terrific's show has been on for 16 years, when it just looks so damn boring. I don't think a child would be all engaged in seeing a 50+ year old man dressed in a superhero costume.

 

Why was Blanche shocked that Rose was better at dirty dancing than her? Blanche knew that Rose had excellent dance skills at that charity ball dance marathon they went to and Rose was doing cartwheels and splits.

 

Whenever someone moves out of the house, Blanche isn't all that concerned with filling the vacant room. When Rose moved out she didn't immediately go look for a roommate, when Sophia moved out she wasn't concerned, when Sophia and Max got married she wasn't too concerned. Only time she did was when Dorothy was gonna get married to Stan. 

 

I'm still confused over Sophia's timeline in Sicily. Guido was her first marriage which was arranged and then she met Salvador depending on which story you believe, but what about that guy she put a curse on who left her at the altar, in that episode where Rose gets hot. Was this after Salvador or before meeting Salvador?

[ATWTer76]

Blanche never had her tubes tied. If I remember correctly, when they were having their we're-stuck-on-a-deserted-island truth session, Blanche asks Dorothy why she told Anita Rubaker on the phone that Blanche had her tubes tied. Dorothy says, "I told her you bought a tube top. When did you have your tubes tied?" To which Blanche says she didn't and that if she had done it, it would've been at the same time Dorothy had a nose job. And then Dorothy blurts out Rose was the one who had a nose job.

[Stinger97]

I found it hard to believe that Mr. Terrific's show has been on for 16 years, when it just looks so damn boring. I don't think a child would be all engaged in seeing a 50+ year old man dressed in a superhero costume.

 

Ever heard of Mr. Rogers?

[sgittinger]

Or Carroll Spinney/Big Bird? He's got to be close to 80 and still going strong...

[ShadowSixx]

Another money thing going on is how Dorothy was able to pay $5K for Sophia's bail when Sophia was arrested. Now that's shelling out a lot of money. Dorothy didn't even go to a bail bondsman.

 

Another is when they hired Margurite to be their housekeeper. If they're tight with money, why are they hiring a housekeeper? That's throwing away money and their house was never dirty to begin with, except for the Empty Nest episode with the pile of dishes they had in the sink. You seen after that episode they never hired another housekeeper.

 

How much y'all wanna bet that Dorothy had one huge medical bill in those chronic fatigue episodes. Seeing Dr. Harry Weston, the Rude one she cussed out at the end, the Asian doctor, and the other doctor with the bald head plus traveling to New York and staying in a hotel where a small glass of orange juice is $6, plus going to that expensive restaurant at the end. If Sophia didn't pull that con with the champagne, they would've been in hot water.

 

Also when the girls start their catering business Priscilla the bride has a fight her with fiance Ramon and instead of going to her parents, siblings, or friends she goes to the caterers. If there wasn't going to be a wedding, she should have called them. Funny how Ramon calls the girls house to find Priscilla, I guess he knows that she goes to strangers besides family members and friends when she's upset.

 

In the episode where Rose's daughter Kirsten and Charlie Jr. visit, Charlie Jr. said that while they're there she's going to astronaut camp. How, if they're gonna visit there for just a few days. Was Kirsten gonna leave Charlie Jr. in Rose's care? 

 

Since Sophia found Al dead in Rose's bed, why didn't she immediately call 911 or run in the kitchen and tell the rest of the girls what she discovered. Sophia just went in and poured herself a drink like it was nothing. When they learned he was dead, they were all calm and didn't immediately call 911, they were busy looking for a relative and Blanche telling a story about George's death and that show Dallas.

Edited June 23, 2014 by ShadowSixx

[Stinger97]

I wouldn't consider those continuity errors, though. Perhaps plot points that required us to suspend disbelief, but that's about it. 

[WhitneyWhit]

How about Blanche's wealth? She was born into money and then married into money, yet she wasn't rich and couldn't even afford a new roof for her own home.

[ShadowSixx]

Another one I just can't get passed is when Dorothy and Lucas were gonna get married and Sophia is just snapping photos. She snaps a photo of Blanche and Rose hugging but yet when the picture clears up they have shocked looks on their faces. They looked shocked after the photo was already out of the camera. That one still bugs me unless that camera has a 5 second delay thing going on.

 

There was an error when Blanche's teacher wanted her to sleep with him to get an A on her exam. On the board it said the exam is in four weeks and on that same day Dorothy mentioned that the Sinatra concert was in two weeks. So how was it that Blanche would be unable to go?

 

When Rose is making a batch of "Sperhuven Krispies" or whatever the hell they're called, you can clearly see that they are not putting anything in their mouths.

 

In the episode where they are robbed, Rose admits to being scared of large dogs, but Dorothy and Blanche get Rose a dog named Jake who was a large dog and the dog she found when she went grocery shopping.

 

When Virginia visited because she needed a kidney, Blanche told Rose that she and Virginia don't get along and Rose says how can anyone hate their sister. Rose was shown to not be very fond of Holly.

 

Blanche at times mentioned that she was a beautiful child. She said her father called her peacock and said her sister's refused to play with her because she was so beautiful and how she had all these male friends say from the balcony, "I see London, I see France, I see Blanche's underpants" and how she didn't have to disappoint so many men since her Dad tore down the treehouse. Then other occasions she said she was sent to "Beauty Camp" because she was pencil thin, flat chested nerd and Dorothy said that Blanche was quite the little porker back then and was ugly and fat.

 

This is a little shallow, but found it odd that all of them were attracted to Lazlo the sculptor and none of them picked up that he's gay. Reason why is because they all have different taste in men except that they were all attracted to Jake the caterer who was a handsome man.

 

I'm trying to understand why Blanche stuffed those balloons in her shirt. Patrick seen her the day previously, so he knew that those things were falsies. 

 

I'm also a little stunned that Patrick Vaughn picked Phyllis Hammerow for the part cause she's an awful actress, "It sho was Biff." Dorothy's audition was horrible too. I think Blanche would have gotten the part if it wasn't for those fake tits. She has the southern accent and did better than Dorothy. I can only imagine how Rose auditioned for the role. 

 

You do notice how Blanche doesn't get the roles she auditioned for, MacBeth but casted as a witch, Patrick Vaughn's leading lady but casted as a non speaking towns person, and for a role in Taming of the Shrew but doesn't get the part. Blanche has a lot of theater background with MacBeth, Patrick Vaughn, Tip Tap Trio later turned into "Two Merry Widows", and got a part playing a Nun with Rose for The Sound of Music. Quite surprising that Blanche's character wasn't a struggling actress who's husband died and she needed to rent out her home. I really think they shouldn't have made Blanche come from a family of money.

[GrapeEarth]

I recently found episodes of Empty Nest to watch onlne and while they're not always the best quality, it's nice to get to see it in order. I have only seen a handful of episodes when Hallmark ran the series late at night a few years back and they were later in the series run. I have always been curious about the show since it's a GG spin off and takes place on the same street and I really cannot wait to get to the Sophia episodes, but it's always intrigued me how the girls would show up at random in some episodes, it's like finding an episode of GG that you never watched before or something which is a rarity as I've probably been through the entire series at least ten times over the years.

 

Anyways, I watched the forth episode of the first season this morning and Blanche was in the episode, she snuck over to try and seduce Harry and eventually becomes obsessed with him. I wonder if this particular episode aired around the time of the GG episode where the girls are discussing who was the first lover after their husbands died and Blanche refers to the minister she slept with who would talk about sin and then look straight at her. Harry makes the comment that it's been months since his wife died and that he hadn't been with another woman. Blanche is of course shocked and declares that she couldn't wait eight months after George died, or for that part even eight weeks, though she is pretty sure it was more than eight days. Harry says something and then with a far off look, Blanche says something about how it was a minister but after that line she drops it. I was stunned, stunned I tell you. Continuity between two shows!

[Chicken Wing]

I know, right? And on an episode of The Golden Palace they remembered that Blanche's son Matthew was a CPA. It's amazing that they can maintain continuity between shows but not within the show itself.

[scarynikki12]

The episode when Blanche tells the minister story was in season 1 (I think it was when Rose took the trip with Arnie and he was her first after Charlie).  We didn't meet Harry until season 3, and his wife had been dead for 18 months.  So, while it could have coincided with Blanche telling Dorothy that the appropriate amount of time had passed and, therefore, Harry was "in play" (as she put it), it wouldn't have coincided with the original telling of the story.  That said, it's super awesome that they managed to pull off continuity between the two shows.  Maybe the EN writers were as obsessed with GG as the rest of us?

[OSM Mom]

Nobody is as obsessed with GG as we are. ;)

[ShadowSixx]

Was it ever made clear on how Sophia was paying for her room? Sophia was always needing or finding ways to earn money besides Dorothy paying her an allowance. We know Sophia isn't living there for free as when Dorothy spilled a drink on Blanche's new dress that she planned on returning to the store, and instead took to the dry cleaners, to pay for the bill she said the rent increase kicks into effect the next day except for Sophia. Also when Sophia wouldn't support Blanche's fantasy that she's young Blanche retaliated that either she does or there will be a rent race, plus Blanche had to lose a renter when she had to bring her house up to code.

 

Sophia was living in Shady Pines before then so was Dorothy paying the bill there until it burned down on a substitute teacher's salary? When Sophia moved into Blanche's house was Dorothy paying her and Sophia's portion so that they both could continue living there? I wondered how Sophia would have paid her rent when Blanche kicked Dorothy out of the house during their argument over Elliott. 

[OSM Mom]

I figured she was lived on maybe Sals retirement? SS death benefits? I got nothing.

[Bastet]

I got the sense Sophia and Sal's personal savings didn't amount to much, so she was living on her benefits, supplemented by Dorothy.  Neither of which amount to much, thus renting rooms in someone else's house.  It does make one wonder if Shady Pines really was as bad as Sophia made it out to be; I don't think she was there terribly long, and I don't know how long she needed skilled nursing and then assisted living after her stroke before being moved into general population, but those places eat up assets fast.  Once the assets are essentially gone, benefits kick in, but not enough to cover the good places. 

[Blakeston]

Dorothy was absolutely horrified to learn that Sophia had money to leave her heirs in a will. She'd been assuming that Sophia had no savings the entire time.

 

At the same time, Sophia clearly got some money from the government - like when she started getting far more than usual from some government agency (Social Security, I think?)

 

My guess is that Sophia got some benefit money, which went toward paying for her care, and all the rest was made up by Dorothy. Dorothy paid Shady Pines while Sophia was there, and then paid her rent when Sophia lived with Blanche.

[MrMattyMatt]

Also, in addition to Dorothy's "Shady Pines" threats, there was the episode where Dorothy put Sophia in the adult daycare, when Sophia thought it was her job to be the entertainment director.  This makes the viewer assume that Sophia can no control over her finances.

 

It makes me wonder how much Blanches was charging them all...  She was either just asking for what she needed or makng a killing.  It was a nice house, but not a mansion.  I can't think that the mortgage payments were astronomical. 

[ShadowSixx]

Dorothy was absolutely horrified to learn that Sophia had money to leave her heirs in a will. She'd been assuming that Sophia had no savings the entire time.

 

At the same time, Sophia clearly got some money from the government - like when she started getting far more than usual from some government agency (Social Security, I think?)

 

My guess is that Sophia got some benefit money, which went toward paying for her care, and all the rest was made up by Dorothy. Dorothy paid Shady Pines while Sophia was there, and then paid her rent when Sophia lived with Blanche.

 

I know in that one episode she was receiving social security checks and the government overpaid her. Sophia was also shown having jobs like working at Captain Jack's Seafood Shanty, that Chuck Wagon spot, was gonna work at McDonald's as their new fry girl and don't know how much her social security checks was but I would always believe she would have a little money left over as I doubt that she paid any of the other bills in the house.

[Blakeston]

Don't forget her loofah sponge and bus pass!

[truthaboutluv]

One glaring continuity error was in the episode when Phil dies and Dorothy is nervous about giving the eulogy and asks Rose if she's ever given a eulogy at a funeral. This is particularly glaring because there was an entire episode in the first or second season that revolved around Rose having to give the eulogy at her aunt's funeral, where the girls all used it to face their fears. 

[ShadowSixx]

Another about Sophia's weight. In one episode when Dorothy went away and Blanche found Sophia's list, the first thing that was on there was "Lose 200lbs" which Sophia said she did. However, in the episode where Blanche is on a diet to lose weight and Sophia was taunting Blanche, she told Blanche that how she stayed thin was because she was born that way. She could eat whatever she wanted and not get fat. Even in flashbacks to when Dorothy was a child Sophia was never shown to be plus size.

[legaleagle53]

One glaring continuity error was in the episode when Phil dies and Dorothy is nervous about giving the eulogy and asks Rose if she's ever given a eulogy at a funeral. This is particularly glaring because there was an entire episode in the first or second season that revolved around Rose having to give the eulogy at her aunt's funeral, where the girls all used it to face their fears.

There's a workaround for that. If memory serves, Rose never actually gave the eulogy at the funeral. She gave it after everyone got home because the plane never actually arrived at its original destination in time for the funeral.

[truthaboutluv]

Dorothy's question to Rose was "were you ever asked to give a eulogy". And so the point stands because yes, she was, for her aunt that she couldn't stand. 

[legaleagle53]

Being asked to give a eulogy and actually giving it are two different things, though.

[truthaboutluv]

Yes, but once again, the point as I remember the episode is that Dorothy was clearly nervous about giving the eulogy, wasn't sure what she wanted to say and was therefore asking Rose for some advice and guidance by asking if she'd ever had to give a eulogy at a funeral. And that's where the discontinuity lies because she would have known that yes, Rose was asked to give the eulogy at her aunt's funeral since she had been even more nervous about it than Dorothy was about Phil and Dorothy and Blanche had to go with her to the funeral. Yes, they never made it there because of the hurricane but the point is, it made no sense for Dorothy to ask Rose that question. 

[legaleagle53]

Yes, but once again, the point as I remember the episode is that Dorothy was clearly nervous about giving the eulogy, wasn't sure what she wanted to say and was therefore asking Rose for some advice and guidance by asking if she'd ever had to give a eulogy at a funeral. And that's where the discontinuity lies because she would have known that yes, Rose was asked to give the eulogy at her aunt's funeral since she had been even more nervous about it than Dorothy was about Phil and Dorothy and Blanche had to go with her to the funeral. Yes, they never made it there because of the hurricane but the point is, it made no sense for Dorothy to ask Rose that question. 

 

But that's not what the question implies.  The question "Have you ever had to give a eulogy at a funeral?" implies that the expected affirmative answer is "Yes, I once gave a eulogy at my aunt's funeral."  The answer "Yes, remember that time that I was asked to give the eulogy at my aunt's funeral?" would have brought a response from Dorothy along the lines of "Sure I remember, but I also remember that you never actually had to give the eulogy there because the hurricane kept the plane from landing, so you still don't know what it's like to have to give one!"

[Blakeston]

I don't know - if I was in Rose's position, and someone asked me, "Have you ever had to give a eulogy before?", I wouldn't just say no. I'd say something like, "Yes, but in the end I didn't have to go through with it."

 

But I think the bigger issue is that Dorothy should have remembered Rose's ordeal.

 

(Also, would Rose's story about giving the eulogy for the kid from school - where she talked about the back of his head being attractive - make sense with what we saw in the episode with her aunt's eulogy?)

[ShadowSixx]

What really struck me odd was in the episode where Rose thought that Bob Hope was her father and she said that Gunter and Alma Nylund are her adoptive parents. Nylund is her husband Charlie's last name and according to Rose in St. Olaf you can trace everyone back to the same family tree. Wouldn't that make Charlie and Rose a little related. Ewww. Writers really fumbled the ball on that episode, cause Rose has mentioned Alma as Mrs. Lindstrom and Gunter as Uncle Gunter before.

Edited July 25, 2014 by ShadowSixx

[Blakeston]

What really struck me odd was in the episode where Rose thought that Bob Hope was her father and she said that Gunter and Alma Nylund are her adoptive parents. Nylund is her husband Charlie's last name and according to Rose in St. Olaf you can trace everyone back to the same family tree. Wouldn't that make Charlie and Rose a little related. Ewww. Writers really fumbled the ball on that episode, cause Rose has mentioned Alma as Mrs. Lindstrom and Gunter as Uncle Gunter before.

 

That error was really careless.

 

A lot of times, I've heard Golden Girls fans say, "The lack of continuity on the show is completely understandable, because the only reason we notice the mistakes is because we've watched the episodes over and over again - and back then, the writers had no way of knowing people would do that."

 

But I don't buy that. You wouldn't have to re-watch the episodes over and over again to know that Nylund was Charlie's last name, not Rose's maiden name.

 

Or to realize that it makes no sense for Sophia's mother to have been 94 when Dorothy was 6, considering that Sophia was only 25 years older than Dorothy at the very most.

 

Or to watch the episode where Rose tries to finally get her high school diploma, and remember that she was the valedictorian of her high school class, which we'd learned less than a season earlier.

 

(Also, people watched reruns of syndicated TV shows all the time back then - it wasn't as rewatching only became possible when DVDs became popular.)

[legaleagle53]

What really struck me odd was in the episode where Rose thought that Bob Hope was her father and she said that Gunter and Alma Nylund are her adoptive parents. Nylund is her husband Charlie's last name and according to Rose in St. Olaf you can trace everyone back to the same family tree. Wouldn't that make Charlie and Rose a little related. Ewww. Writers really fumbled the ball on that episode, cause Rose has mentioned Alma as Mrs. Lindstrom and Gunter as Uncle Gunter before.

 

Well, as Dorothy said, it was the final piece of the puzzle.

[LucyEth]

in the Mother's Day episode which I watched today, Blanche thinks back when she visited her mother in a "home".  She tells her she is 89 years old.  Really, then how the heck old was Big Daddy supposed to be when he pursued a signing career and married the younger woman?   That was well after  "Big Mommy" passed.  He looks like he is only in his 70's.  Also, in the episode where Rose finds her father the monk, he looks the same age or younger than Rose.  Sometimes the show was way off with ages IMO.

[truthaboutluv]

I don't know if this necessarily clarifies as a continuity error but can't think of a better thread to mention it. One thing I noticed the show loved doing, was re-using the same actors for bit parts. I just noticed this morning that the guy who played the doctor who finally told Dorothy something was wrong with her, also played one of the employees in the episode where Dorothy got a high paying job to teach some executives of a firm. There was also the actor who played a homeless guy in the episode where the girls spend the night in a shelter and also played the diner owner in the Christmas episode. 

[Sun-Bun]

I don't know if this necessarily clarifies as a continuity error but can't think of a better thread to mention it. One thing I noticed the show loved doing, was re-using the same actors for bit parts. I just noticed this morning that the guy who played the doctor who finally told Dorothy something was wrong with her, also played one of the employees in the episode where Dorothy got a high paying job to teach some executives of a firm. There was also the actor who played a homeless guy in the episode where the girls spend the night in a shelter and also played the diner owner in the Christmas episode.

Yes!!! That used to irk the Hell out of me.

I remember Rose's needy blind sister playing another character in another episode---I only remember because I found that actress so damned annoying. Who plays a blind character simply by closing her eyes the whole time? That's some lazy, half-assed acting right there.

I think several of the gals' dates/boyfriends had been recycled on various other episodes.

The biggest glaring recasting error was the fact that the same actor who played Myles, Rose's longtime boyfriend, had already played another random guy Rose dated on an episode several seasons prior. It'd be one thing if the guy looked somewhat different when he later was cast as Myles, but nope, same dude with same looks and everything.

That's just so weird to me. Maybe it was tougher to cast older actors back then??

[Bastet]

It was common practice to "recycle" actors in the '70s and '80s, so I don't think it was anything specific to older actors with respect to this show.

[OSM Mom]

The actress who played Roses blind sister was Polly Holliday who was Flo on "Alice". I don't remember her being in another GG episode though.

[Bastet]

I don't remember her in another role, either, and IMDb only lists the one appearance.    (But by looking that up I did learn there had been a TV version of The Client and Holliday played Mama Love, with JoBeth Williams as Reggie and John Heard as Reverend Roy -- that was the only film based on a John Grisham movie I liked, and the TV series has a great cast, so I wonder a) how I missed it and b) if it was any good.)

[Blakeston]

Yes!!! That used to irk the Hell out of me.

I remember Rose's needy blind sister playing another character in another episode---I only remember because I found that actress so damned annoying.

 

Is it possible the other role you're thinking of is the woman who shared a hospital room with Dorothy, who explained that she was being treated for breast cancer for a second time?

 

That wasn't the same actress who played Rose's blind sister, but for whatever reason I've always found them weirdly similar.

[Boots]

Yeah, Polly only played Rose's sister one time and no other roles. (She also annoyed the hell out of me on that episode)

Anne Haney was in 'The Operation' as the patient with breast cancer. She also only appeared once. 

Maybe you are thinking of Geraldine Fitzgerald?? She appeared in 2 episodes. The Mothers Day episode where she meets Rose at the bus station, and she played Sophia's friend Martha who wanted to commit suicide. "You still wanna live kid!" ugh.. 

[jonesingjay]

A few things about Rose, that might've already been mentioned. Regarding her education or lack thereof. She takes a history class which Dorothy is the teacher of to earn her G.E.D because she didn't graduate high school. Yet, Rose was the valedictorian of her graduating class. She was also an Alpha Yam in college.

 

The other thing is Rose and cats. Its either referenced or shown that she's allergic to them. In the episode where we learn how they all become roommates, Rose owns a cat. She got kicked out of her apartment because she refused to get rid of it.   

[Bastet]

Or Blanche and cats -- in that "how they met" flashback at the market, Blanche offers to rent the room to Rose, with the cat, because "I like you, and I like cats,"  but in another episode, she doesn't like them.

 

I think pretty much every time Rose brought an animal home, Blanche was initially resistant, so her not liking cats - or at least not wanting to live with one - is probably the accurate characterization. 

 

And now, of course, I have Sophia in my head:  "Frankly, I'd rather live with a lesbian than a cat.  Unless the lesbian sheds, then I don't know."

[yourpointis]

Virtual tour of the Golden Girls house. Not sure why the bathroom wasn't included. : )

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBNIwQdKUBU

[ShadowSixx]

What about when the girls were arrested for prostitution. IDK how things were in the 80s but wouldn't they have all had their jewelry removed and Blanche not be allowed to have those tickets in jail with her and have their shoes removed?

[Blakeston]

There's no way they'd be able to keep that stuff in the cell. They'd go through a whole process before they were placed in there, and they certainly wouldn't have tickets with them.

 

I've always wondered if it was at all realistic that they'd be arrested just for being in the lobby of a hotel. It seems outrageous, but not too much earlier, police were known to raid gay bars and arrest everyone there, without having any actual evidence that they were doing anything specifically illegal.