Worst of Golden Girls: Your Least Favorite Moments

[OhSarah69]

The episode where Rose's sister, Holly (played by Inga Swenson) comes to visit.  She has Blanche and Dorothy fooled with her innocent act, and I hate the way the girls keep telling Rose that it's all in her head when Holly purposely leaves Rose out of movie outings, lunch etc.  I especially hate the lecture that Dorothy gives Rose about it - it was so mean and over the top.  I'm thinking, they just met Holly and they've known and lived with Rose for years, and they can't give their own friend the benefit of the doubt?  Who knows her own sister better, Rose or the girls?  Grrr.  I hate it when the girls are needlessly mean to Rose.  And their fake-ass apology to her at the end of the episode, after Holly sleeps with Blanche's boyfriend and is found out, that drives me nuts.  I would have been all, "later, haters".

[OhSarah69]

I forgot one (I must have blocked it from my memory).  Mr. Terrific...my vote for the most craptastic, horrible episode (if you don't count some of the Season 7 stinkers).  I did not like the actor who played Mr. Terrific, I did not like the character of Mr. Terrific, and mostly I did not like the fact of having an entire episode centered around him, with the girls given measly supporting roles.  I somehow missed this episode back in the 80s when the series originally ran, and I saw it for the first time a few years ago when I treated myself to the entire series on DVD (yes I am a geek).  I watched the episode unfold with horror, and kept waiting for the "good part" to start.  It never did!  Watching it, it almost seems like a failed pilot for another show featuring the actor who played Mr. Terrific.  If I'm doing a GG marathon viewing, once in a very blue moon I will allow the episode to air on my TV, but I hold my nose each time I do it.  Nine times out of 10, I refuse to watch it.  It's that bad. 

I used to post on TWOP and this is my first time posting on Previously TV, after lurking for a couple of years.  So cathartic to share my humble views among the like-minded :).

[Mabinogia]

On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 1:33 PM, Kiki620 said:

Another example would be when Blanche thought Dorothy was trying to steal her job when in reality she was planning a surprise party for her. 

Oh I HATED that one soooooo much. The fact that they never seemed to give each other the benefit of the doubt drove me crazy. Like the ep with Rose's sister. In both cases they are choosing to believe the worst of the person they know well and claim to care deeply about. In both the Rose's sister and the surprise party, they just jumped to the worst conclusion about their "best friend". For such a close, deep friendship there didn't seem to be a lot of trust there.

[msani19]

Completely agree with everyone on how quickly they would turn on each other. That happened a few times in each season. Honestly, if my "best friends" believed the worst thing about me, shut me out, wouldn't listen to me or be there for me, we would not be "best friends", let alone friends. They would routinely say let's never fight like that again, and then they totally would. Ugh. I don't see why the writers would go this route so regularly over the 7 seasons. I know when I had roommates (hey, college!), we would fight but that was mostly because of someone didn't do the dishes and it was her turn, or she was hogging the bathroom or the phone (before everyone had cell phones, wow, can you even imagine!). But we never attacked each other viciously! 

[HoboClayton]

When they didn't believe Blanche about sleeping with the politician. When Blanche was going to sell Rose her car knowing there was stuff wrong with it. When Sophia pretended to be haunted by Charlie's spirit. When Blanche gets all pissy at Dorothy for getting popular at the Rusty Anchor. Rose calling the city inspector and ratting out Blanche. Sophia being up Dorothy and her boyfriend's ass, which causes Dorothy to cancel a trip, just in time for Sophia to get some life back, drop Dorothy and go on vacation herself. How easily they turned on each other was my biggest peeve with this show. 

[Ria]

4 hours ago, HoboClayton said:

When they didn't believe Blanche about sleeping with the politician. When Blanche was going to sell Rose her car knowing there was stuff wrong with it. When Sophia pretended to be haunted by Charlie's spirit. When Blanche gets all pissy at Dorothy for getting popular at the Rusty Anchor. Rose calling the city inspector and ratting out Blanche. Sophia being up Dorothy and her boyfriend's ass, which causes Dorothy to cancel a trip, just in time for Sophia to get some life back, drop Dorothy and go on vacation herself. How easily they turned on each other was my biggest peeve with this show. 

Maybe because they all had such dysfunctional relationships with their families, that’s just what was normal to them. They all had difficult relationships with their sisters. And in many cases their children as well. As quickly as they turned on each other, they still seemed closer to each other than they were with most of their families. 

[andromeda331]

On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 12:34 PM, OhSarah69 said:

The episode where Rose's sister, Holly (played by Inga Swenson) comes to visit.  She has Blanche and Dorothy fooled with her innocent act, and I hate the way the girls keep telling Rose that it's all in her head when Holly purposely leaves Rose out of movie outings, lunch etc.  I especially hate the lecture that Dorothy gives Rose about it - it was so mean and over the top.  I'm thinking, they just met Holly and they've known and lived with Rose for years, and they can't give their own friend the benefit of the doubt?  Who knows her own sister better, Rose or the girls?  Grrr.  I hate it when the girls are needlessly mean to Rose.  And their fake-ass apology to her at the end of the episode, after Holly sleeps with Blanche's boyfriend and is found out, that drives me nuts.  I would have been all, "later, haters".

That one drives me crazy. Refusing to believe their friend who knew what her sister was like. Even if I might buy them giving Holly the benefit of the doubt after the first time but why didn't they find it strange at each of the other things they did together and Rose was never there? And the only person who was telling them Rose wasn't coming was Holly. Dorothy and Blanche never bothered to call Rose or check in with her when they were home? It would be very unlike Rose to skip out on everything.  Why didn't they find that weird.

[Madding crowd]

That one drives me crazy because why would they be doing things with Rose’s sister without her being there? I can’t imagine my out of town sister coming in for a visit and going out with my friends without me. 

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

That one drives me crazy because why would they be doing things with Rose’s sister without her being there? I can’t imagine my out of town sister coming in for a visit and going out with my friends without me. 

Good point. Why didn't they find that weird? Why didn't they wait until Rose was supposedly free and then go out? Or stay in?      

[msani19]

Sofia is horrible if you watch enough episodes in a row. She is downright cruel and abusive towards Dorothy. It makes my blood boil! I don't think it had anything to do with the stroke, convenient excuse, she's an awful mother. Plus, she's a total jackass to Rose and Blanche all the time as well. They were all saints to not put her in the worst home they could find and leave her there. 
Granted, she does have some excellent moments but overall, Sophia in small doses is the best amount of Sofia. 

Edited May 12, 2018 by msani19

[HoboClayton]

Yeah Sophia could be a lot to handle. When she smashed Dorothy's watch attempting to do her magic trick, the way she pours out the contents, and says. "this watch is broken" never fails to crack me up though. 

[Gothish520]

18 hours ago, HoboClayton said:

Yeah Sophia could be a lot to handle. When she smashed Dorothy's watch attempting to do her magic trick, the way she pours out the contents, and says. "this watch is broken" never fails to crack me up though. 

We should all hate her, but holy crap was she hilarious! She is one of my top sitcom characters of all time. But yes, she said some really awful things, especially to Dorothy.

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, Gothish520 said:

We should all hate her, but holy crap was she hilarious! She is one of my top sitcom characters of all time. But yes, she said some really awful things, especially to Dorothy.

I would hate her if she were a real person but she was really hilarious as a character. I do agree that when watching several episodes in a row she becomes unbearable. 

[Ria]

On 5/11/2018 at 7:05 PM, msani19 said:

wards Dorothy. It makes my blood boil! I don't think it had anything to do with the stroke, convenient excuse, she's an awful mother

I never liked Sophia much. I thought she was just plain mean and heartless. I know in the pilot it was said that her stroke destroyed the part of her brain that censored what she said. But everything she said was so insensitive and mean and she seemed so cold and uncaring much of the time, it was obvious that was just the way she was. If she had been a warm, caring person who usually said nice things and occasionally blurred out something out of character, then you could say it was the stroke. But Sophia seldom said anything nice. 

[msani19]

16 minutes ago, Ria said:

If she had been a warm, caring person who usually said nice things and occasionally blurred out something out of character, then you could say it was the stroke. But Sophia seldom said anything nice. 

Exactly this.

Even in the flashbacks, Sophia is being a jerk to someone. So I don't think that her saying nasty things was a new occurrence, it might have become worse with her stroke but I think she was always mean. She would really go out of her way to be nasty, even when it wasn't necessary. Maybe it was the way Estelle Getty played the character. From articles that I've read, she was considered the "weak link" in the cast. I think after all these viewings, I would agree. While she had many funny lines, sometimes her delivery left something to be desired. Maybe that impacted how her lines landed? Or I could be overthinking this whole Sophia thing and I can just go back to she was awful, plain and simple. 

[BlancheDevoreaux]

Two words: Mamie Watkins.  That episode was on today and it irritates me every time. Mamie Watkins walks out of Blanche's life, strolls back in, tells her that she was having an affair with Blanche's father, and wants some music box that she gave Big Daddy.  Then, when Blanche gets upset, Mamie acts like she has no right. When Blanche tells her that she forgives her, Mamie gets indignant about not coming for Blanche's forgiveness because she doesn't feel badly about any of her actions.  And what really gets me is, I'm pretty sure the writers wanted us to feel sorry for Mamie and side against Blanche.

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, BlancheDevoreaux said:

And what really gets me is, I'm pretty sure the writers wanted us to feel sorry for Mamie and side against Blanche.

I wanted Blanche to kick Mamie to the curb! The nerve!

It was like she showed up all"hi Blanche, guess what, your father betrayed your mother for years. Oh, and I really only came to take the music box the man who I just told you was a liar and a cheat promised me. So can I get that now?"

She lived with them, she had to know Blanche worshiped her Big Daddy. There was no need to drag his name through the mud and sully Blanche's memory of her beloved father. That was a terrible episode. Just say he promised her the music box as a memento of her time working for the family.

I think they did slightly better with the ep where her husband's illegitimate son came by because unlike Mamie, he was innocent of any betrayal or wrong doing, not his fault he was born of adultery, and he really just wanted to know where he came from which is bittersweet. I also think he did feel bad about bringing it up to her, but he had to know. He was a lot more sympathetic for me than Mamie was.

[Ria]

Another horrible character is Stan’s brother, the successful neurosurgeon who owns a few mini-malls. Does anyone believe this dim bulb was a brilliant surgeon and businessman? Since Blanche’s lawyer boyfriend turned out to really be a fruit waxer at the super market, I expected Dorothy to reveal Stan’s brother actually sold hats out of a kiosk in the mall. 

Edited May 21, 2018 by Ria

[Blakeston]

On 5/13/2018 at 8:21 PM, msani19 said:

She would really go out of her way to be nasty, even when it wasn't necessary. Maybe it was the way Estelle Getty played the character. From articles that I've read, she was considered the "weak link" in the cast. I think after all these viewings, I would agree. While she had many funny lines, sometimes her delivery left something to be desired. Maybe that impacted how her lines landed? Or I could be overthinking this whole Sophia thing and I can just go back to she was awful, plain and simple. 

Estelle was definitely the least polished of the bunch. It makes sense, with her being far less experienced (particularly re: TV acting.)

I don't necessarily see the lack of polish as a problem, because the character herself was rough around the edges. But it definitely led to a few moments when her timing was a bit off - and the other actresses were like Swiss watches with their timing.

I don't think anyone could have played Sophia without coming across as a beast a lot of the time. The writers chose to make her over-the-top nasty on a fairly regular basis.

[WendyCR72]

Was Sophia nasty a lot of the time? Yes. But, I'll be honest, me and my family always get a good laugh out of her and her snide remarks. I get it went overboard, but she was sometimes like a nastier Greek chorus.

Also remember seeing Estelle Getty in Mannequin, of all things. I think she played the department store owner or whatever. She played nicer there, but even that character had her moments.

[Mabinogia]

21 hours ago, Blakeston said:

I don't think anyone could have played Sophia without coming across as a beast a lot of the time. The writers chose to make her over-the-top nasty on a fairly regular basis.

Yeah, I think Estelle gave them what they wanted, Sophia was supposed to be the "nasty" one, she was the one who said whatever popped into her head. She was funny most of the time because she said what a lot of us might think but never say out loud. Watching it the way it was meant to be seen, one episode a week, she's fine. But with some channels showing 3-4 eps in a row back to back you really see just how relentless she was. 

My theory on Sophia is that she was always a bit mean, but she used the stroke as an excuse to get away with it because she really did seem to enjoy saying hurtful things at times. 

I do agree with Blakeston. The other three women had absolutely perfect timing and delivery. They were like a master class in comedic acting. I especially loved how Betty White would deliver her biting comments with that innocent "Rose" look with just a little twinkle in her eye that made you know she knew exactly what she was saying. 

[mythoughtis]

I always felt that Estelle did her best at trying to portray an 80 year old, when she herself wasn’t anywhere near 80. She had to be especially made up and deal with pretending to have mobility issues.  I also think it got tougher for  her in later seasons when she had early stages if dementia.  I’m not for sure - but didn’t she have the same disease as Robin Williams? Plus I think she always knew she was considered more of a supportive role and wasn’t written for as well as the others.  

[MoistestCake]

Least liked bits are Sophia's nastiness to Dorothy, really unnecessary. The jacket episode. That episode where Blanche feels "like a lady" - cringe worthy. Kirsten. Obviously the Empty Nest episode. Blanche's dream episode. And when Sophia pretends to be the "spirit" of Charlie. 

I do love anything to do with St Olaf, the people, the language, the amazingly ridiculousness of it. 

Edited May 28, 2018 by MoistestCake

[MoistestCake]

And I have noticed that the episodes where Dorothy is addicted to gambling, Rose to pills, Sophia and Blanche fall for the pigeon drop at the mall are very unpopular... But I like them because they make the very valid point that anyone can find themselves in these circumstances. Intelligent, educated, strong women (and men) are likely to be victims of these unfortunate circumstances. 

Edited May 28, 2018 by MoistestCake

[Mabinogia]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 1:41 PM, MoistestCake said:

I do love anything to do with St Olaf, the people, the language, the amazingly ridiculousness of it. 

I now the other "girls" hated them but I always loved Rose's St. Olaf stories. Much better than Sophie's "Picture it..." stories. St. Olaf seems like a magical place where woodland creatures help clean the house and people tend to walk into poles a lot, and no one can spell the word "word" but can all spell 20 letter long food names with ease.

[Gothish520]

On 5/28/2018 at 1:41 PM, MoistestCake said:

Least liked bits are Sophia's nastiness to Dorothy, really unnecessary. The jacket episode. That episode where Blanche feels "like a lady" - cringe worthy. Kirsten. Obviously the Empty Nest episode. Blanche's dream episode. And when Sophia pretends to be the "spirit" of Charlie. 

I do love anything to do with St Olaf, the people, the language, the amazingly ridiculousness of it. 

 

I love Blanche's dream episode! 

I also don't understand why people seem to hate the "like a lady" line from Blanche - I can understand why she would feel that way.

Edited May 30, 2018 by Gothish520

[Bastet]

21 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

I also don't understand why people seem to hate the "like a lady" line from Blanche

Because it's offensive, and undermines the character.  Blanche is perfectly happy with her active and varied sex life, which is refreshing in any female character, let alone one Blanche's age, and then this piece of shit episode comes along and revives the notion that women don't actually enjoy casual sex, they feel bad about it deep down, and it takes some man wanting to wait to make them realize that's the respectable thing to do.

[Madding crowd]

The line never bothered me. You can enjoy casual sex and still enjoy being wined and dined and being in a relationship. Blanche often struggled with not being valued as a person and here she was. 

[Gothish520]

20 hours ago, Bastet said:

Because it's offensive, and undermines the character.  Blanche is perfectly happy with her active and varied sex life, which is refreshing in any female character, let alone one Blanche's age, and then this piece of shit episode comes along and revives the notion that women don't actually enjoy casual sex, they feel bad about it deep down, and it takes some man wanting to wait to make them realize that's the respectable thing to do.

I don't see how that line means that Blanche (or any woman) actually doesn't enjoy casual sex. And I don't think it made Blanche feel bad either, it just made her feel a way that she probably hadn't felt in a while. Personally, if some guy's actions (or inactions) were old-fashioned and gentlemanly, I'd probably feel a bit special too, as well as uncomfortable, because I'm not all that ladylike, lol. I never thought that Blanche ever felt bad about herself, regardless of how a man treated her. Blanche is a free spirit and a wonderful character, but that doesn't mean she's perfect or that she can't feel a different way depending on how someone treats her.

[Madding crowd]

I also don’t think the guy was a creep in any way for wanting to take things slow-if a woman has the right to slow things down, a man has the same right. 

[MoistestCake]

There is another episode where she says she feels like a lady, and frankly she's fed up with it (or something like that). That fits with Blanche we know. Also in the "I feel like a lady" episode she refers to herself as a tawdry cheap slut. That actually bothers me more. It's almost as bad as that stupid stupid line of Dorothy's in the Moonlight Madness episode, "I do believe in sluts.". Cringe. 

[MoistestCake]

On 29/05/2018 at 8:05 PM, Mabinogia said:

I now the other "girls" hated them but I always loved Rose's St. Olaf stories. Much better than Sophie's "Picture it..." stories.

Their reactions were priceless, agreed. 

The "Picture it" stories are less entertaining, but there are a 2 I love: when Sophia meets Picasso (Dorothy: OK, I'm positive you're lying), and when she meets Charles de Gaulle/Charles the Mole. 

Since I'm here letting out years of pent up GG feeling and emotions, I'll just say I don't like uncle Angelo at all. 

[Madding crowd]

I can’t stand Angelo either! He just overacts and I hate the stupid line where he says he was married for 72 years. He is not in his nineties. Also the whole pretending to be a priest thing with religious Sophia not knowing anything about it.

[MoistestCake]

Getting Dorothy into trouble as a slumlord is his worst offence. 

And as has been said many times before, the whole business of their families (members, ages, names etc.) is totally inconsistent and cobbled together as needed for an episode's plot. 

[Maherjunkie]

I put that on Rose.

[Gothish520]

19 hours ago, MoistestCake said:

Their reactions were priceless, agreed. 

The "Picture it" stories are less entertaining, but there are a 2 I love: when Sophia meets Picasso (Dorothy: OK, I'm positive you're lying), and when she meets Charles de Gaulle/Charles the Mole. 

I always loved the line Sophia said about Sal during one of her Sicily stories that took place during the San Gennaro festival: "So he took me, right there, behind the sausage and pepper stand!" 

[Ria]

I find Blanche’s family the least annoying of all the girls’s families. I don’t like Angelo, or Sophia’s constant bickering with Angela or Rose’s two annoying sisters or her bitchy daughters or version 2 of Dorothy’s sister or her immature son. But Blanche’s family wasn’t all that bad in person. They came across worse in her stories. While Rose’s stories gave an impression of an idyllic small town family life, her family, except for her mother, were rather cold in person. 

[Gothish520]

12 hours ago, Ria said:

I find Blanche’s family the least annoying of all the girls’s families. I don’t like Angelo, or Sophia’s constant bickering with Angela or Rose’s two annoying sisters or her bitchy daughters or version 2 of Dorothy’s sister or her immature son. But Blanche’s family wasn’t all that bad in person. They came across worse in her stories. While Rose’s stories gave an impression of an idyllic small town family life, her family, except for her mother, were rather cold in person. 

I liked Rose's cousin Sven - he was the only one of Rose's family that really seemed like he was from the St. Olaf that Rose talked about. 

[MoistestCake]

I think they missed a trick by not making Rose's family typical St. Olafians. 

As for Blanche's family. Her sister Virginia to whom Blanche was willing to give a kidney, was really nasty at Big Daddy's funeral.

I think the family visit episodes are some of the weakest. Though I liked Rebecca and her baby. 

Edited June 8, 2018 by MoistestCake

[Maherjunkie]

I liked Rebecca number 1.

[MoistestCake]

The episode where Rose is abstaining until it rains in St Olaf, but doesn't explain it to Miles and instead tweaks his nose and says "my my sir, I do believe you're jealous". It's Rose's choice not to tell Miles, and even though Blanche gives her advice it really isn't Blanche's fault. It's illogical and irritating. 

It does have a good line, when Dorothy says, to avoid Rose's story, "Did I ever tell you that I cry every Tuesday at 8:05" and leaves the kitchen "in tears". 

[MoistestCake]

On 26/03/2018 at 9:43 PM, mmecorday said:

... couple eating chateaubriand and he remarks that it looks good. Rose says, "Well, have it, Miles." To which he replies, "No, it looks like they're going to finish it." 

That's my favourite line of the episode. We sometimes jokingly use it in a restaurant when a dish we see looks good. 

[Snow Apple]

On 6/7/2018 at 8:02 PM, Maherjunkie said:

I liked Rebecca number 1.

I hated that episode and how everyone behaved in it. I can't stomach to watch this episode.

Another one is when Blanche was emotionally abused by her boyfriend. Very unsatisfing ending. I don't want realism. I want revenge!

[Maherjunkie]

That's true.  But I just want to scream at Rebecca no 2, do you even have a good job??

[scarynikki12]

2 hours ago, Maherjunkie said:

That's true.  But I just want to scream at Rebecca no 2, do you even have a good job??

I go back and forth.  On the one hand, she could afford to get artificially inseminated and move to Miami after Aurora was born.  On the other, she said she really needed to land the job she was interviewing for which implies her funds were running out.  Maybe George set up trust funds for the 4-6 kids he had with Blanche?  Or arranged a decent inheritance?

[Maherjunkie]

Maybe, but that kid is without a father either way.

[Eri]

Ugh, the Holly episode, I absolutely agree that Blanche and Dorothy should have taken what Rose had to say into consideration - not one of my favourite episodes either.

I can understand why everyone hated when the girls turned on each other in some episodes - I thought it was realistic for the time though.

When Season 1 began, they were strangers having only lived together for just a year or two: Dorothy recently divorced and Rose, a recent and transplant from St. Olaf. By the time Sophia was in the picture, I never got a "we're close friends" vibe from them - heck they weren't even sure they wanted to live together after the grocery store trip but they made the most of it in the end. The reason I liked the first few seasons was because they were all still just "roommates" and getting to know each other - most of them didn't know each others' flaws and personalities that well and they came out in those arguments (Elliot, Gil Kessler, etc.). 

In addition, the girls all came with emotional baggage (Dorothy trying to heal from her divorce, Rose not knowing how to be an independent woman after becoming a widow, Blanche relying only on looks to find love in all the wrong places, Sophia embracing and learning to trust new family in her old age) and they learned a lot more about themselves through each other than they ever did before they met. I don't think they truly began to start trusting each other and opening up until after Season 3 - the group therapy episode highlighted exactly why they wanted to stay together despite knowing how incompatible they are. I mean Blanche, didn't even feel comfortable selling portions of the house to the girls until Season 6 or 7 and you'd have thought by then she'd have done anything for them in a heartbeat but I'll chalk that up to a continuity error ;)

However, for all the crap they tolerated from each other -the evolution of their friendship over the course of what would be nearly a decade from "strangers who are just roommates" to "family" is truly rare and beautiful.

And for the sake of staying on topic, I can't watch the two-part finale, their final goodbyes are a tearjerker every time.

[leFay]

16 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

I go back and forth.  On the one hand, she could afford to get artificially inseminated and move to Miami after Aurora was born.  On the other, she said she really needed to land the job she was interviewing for which implies her funds were running out.  Maybe George set up trust funds for the 4-6 kids he had with Blanche?  Or arranged a decent inheritance?

Leftover savings from her "modeling career" that Rebecca #1 had? 

[Ria]

18 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

I go back and forth.  On the one hand, she could afford to get artificially inseminated and move to Miami after Aurora was born.  On the other, she said she really needed to land the job she was interviewing for which implies her funds were running out.  Maybe George set up trust funds for the 4-6 kids he had with Blanche?  Or arranged a decent inheritance?

I figured she had a good job in Atlanta (?) but moved to Miami before finding a new job there and was just actively job hunting before her savings ran out. 

I hate that they switched actresses. They had the overweight frumpy Rebecca when they needed a woman with low self esteem. But the self confident independent woman choosing to have a child on her own is thin and stylish. I would have preferred Rebecca #1 to have been shown that growth. 

[MoistestCake]

I love reading all these least loved / most hated moments from the show. I think the writers never predicted or thought some of us would become so fond and protective of the girls, that we get angry, sad (and happy) almost on their behalf. It's truly amazing how seriously some of us feel about those occasions when the girls were wronged (like when they fall out over a man, sister, sculptor or addicted to pills or gambling etc). As crazy as it sounds, I do feel that I care about the girls.