All Episodes Talk: Picture It. PTer. Today.

[Hiyo]

While some old episodes that have blackface in them should be removed or edited, this episode is definitely not one of them.

[Snow Apple]

I'm watching "And then there was one" and although I like the episode, the details are so stupid. Why did the parents leave Emily overnight with strangers, especially without supplies? Emily does not look old enough to have baby siblings. Why did Child Services let the girls decide what happens to the baby? Why did Rose cook pork chops for Emily? She raised children of her own. Even childless people knows how boneheaded that is.

[BigBingerBro]

16 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

Why did Rose cook pork chops for Emily? She raised children of her own. Even childless people knows how boneheaded that is.

It was more of a "dumb Rose" comment.  Dorothy said that they better get some food and Rose replies "I'm dethawing some pork chops" as if she didn't make the connection that Dorothy meant food for the baby.  They then went to the all night market for baby food and diapers.

I don't understand how the police didn't figure out where the parents were. I would think one of the first places they might check would be the local hospitals.   In the end it was Sophia that forgot about the phone call from the father.

[Ria]

On 7/26/2020 at 8:39 AM, BigBingerBro said:

It was more of a "dumb Rose" comment.  Dorothy said that they better get some food and Rose replies "I'm dethawing some pork chops" as if she didn't make the connection that Dorothy meant food for the baby.  They then went to the all night market for baby food and diapers.

I don't understand how the police didn't figure out where the parents were. I would think one of the first places they might check would be the local hospitals.   In the end it was Sophia that forgot about the phone call from the father.

The father may have called but there’s no way I’d leave my child overnight just by talking to an elderly woman who claimed to be a decathlon champ. I’d insist on talking to whoever was caring for the baby, give details on what she ate, offer to pay and make sure they had my number and her doctor’s number. And of course ask if it was alright for my baby to stay until I could get a friend or relative there. None of it made sense including how an infant could be getting more siblings unless the man had two wives. 

[Snow Apple]

And then the girls let him take the baby without asking for id. Don't they have a list to check against? What if he was some creep who harmed the parents and now kidnapped Emily?

I can't decided if it's fun or sad to watch old sitcoms through 21st century lens.

[Ria]

Another episode that makes no sense is the one where they go to the 40th reunion of a school they never went to and pretended to be other people.  Even if we ignore that these aren’t free or cheap and you must RSVP weeks in advance, why are they wearing false name tags? How did Blanche or Dorothy expect to meet men to date with a false identity? And Rose as Korean? It didn’t occur to them friends would be there who would know they weren’t who they claimed? If anyone said they didn’t remember them in their school a simple lie that they only attended briefly would have been easier and smarter. I hate it when the girls (other than Rose) are dumbed down this much.  

Edited July 31, 2020 by Ria

[Hiyo]

I dunno, I imagine crashing a 40th high school reunion in the late 80s/early 90s would be that hard to pull off or fake. Hell not remembering someone you went to high school with 40 years ago is a pretty valid excuse, and pretty believable.

Rose posing as Korean and not being caught says more about the people who attended the school more than anything else.

[BigBingerBro]

I always think hard about the reunion-crashing episode too, whenever I see it.  The only plausible way I could see it being successful is if it was a huge class size like 500+.  The odds someone might call you out is fairly slim as long as the name badge you're wearing isn't someone super popular.  Didn't they somehow get a hold of a yearbook and study it?   That would help.  The Rose being Kim Fung Toy and Sophia being the Spanish teacher was a bit OTT.  The bigger thing that irritates me about this episode is that Rose has supposedly been feeling sick for a while, but she looks fabulous.  This show really sucked at making the girls look sick when they claimed they were so sick they were practically dying.

[Snow Apple]

The only part I like about the class reunion episode is Cindy (Dorothy) and that one classmate so excited to see each other. And Cindy was class homecoming queen.

[Blakeston]

We've talked in the past about whether Blanche being southern was Rue's idea - what with Blanche not having much of an accent in the pilot.

This clip from a Rue interview gives an explanation. The pilot script said that Blanche was "more southern than Blanche Dubois," but the director of the pilot inexplicably didn't want Rue to use a southern accent.

Fortunately, the director for the second episode had the good sense to realize that Blanche should speak like a southern belle, and the producers made it clear that they'd intended for her to have a southern accent all along, and the rest was history.

[SweetSin]

I'm surprised neither Rose or Sophia paid an early termination fee for breaking their lease when they both moved out of the house in their respective episodes. Rose after she had that esophageal spasm and Sophia when Dorothy didn't like Sophia's new friends. Even though Sophia gave Blanche notice I don't think it was a 30 day notice. Unless the new homes they moved into were month to month. Was it established that while living with Blanche they were month to month or signed a lease?

They quickly moved out and in the snap of a finger they moved back in. Same thing for Debbie Reynolds' character she signed a lease and had to move out within a day and she took it well. That would piss me off. I think I answered my question that if Debbie's character signed a lease then Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia were under a lease as well.

[BigBingerBro]

Considering Blanche "forgot" to claim Dorothy and Sophia on her tax returns, it's quite likely she played it fast and loose when it came to written leases.  She most likely gave them some sort of initial lease which reverted to a month to month by default after that.  

[BookThief]

I don't know the order of every episode (I mean, know an early season episode from a late season episode but overall, it's all a jumble) but at one point the girls do become co-owners of Blanche's house (well, their house), though I can't remember if this is before or after one of the ladies or the other moves out. (Also, as we all know, this show's continuity was crap and they were probably never expecting it to be rerun daily 30 years later).

[BigBingerBro]

Well we do know Blanche charged a security (or cleaning) deposit.  She says there is no way she would be able to return it when Sophia became a nun and moved to the convent.  I always found that odd as whenever they showed her room, it was immaculate.  Anything for a laugh I guess.

[Eri]

Rose pre-emptively moving out after her health scare was in Season 2 and given the circumstances I don't think Blanche was in a hurry to find a replacement since it was implied they missed her and hoped that she'd return.  I believe Sophia moving out was in Season 5 and again in Season 6 when she wanted to become a nun. By Season 7, Blanche would've had to kick one of them out because of the property laws so she allows them all to be co-owners of the house in order to stay because they established themselves as family. Even though the show reminds us that the Girls are roommates, I don't think the writers ever used the tenant-landlord spiel unless it served as a plot device for some episodes.

[SweetSin]

What did Dorothy see in Glen the second time around? First time around she knew that Glen was too afraid to be alone so didn't want to leave his wife. Second time he's getting a divorce and one of the first things out of his mouth is along the lines of needing to find "broad with job" or a woman to do his laundry or something. Then asks Dorothy to marry him so she can take him out of the current lifestyle he's in.  Kicker is that "I'm alone" phone call with his ex-wife. Afraid to let his ex know he's seeing someone else. He wants Dorothy to be in the same position she was when they first met, discreet and nobody to know they're together except for the Blanche, Rose, and Sophia. 

[scarynikki12]

2 minutes ago, SweetSin said:

What did Dorothy see in Glen the second time around?

She was remembering the man she fell for in season 1. When she ended the affair she still loved him and I would guess that a part of her still hadn't gotten over him when he called again. She thinks they'll fall back into their old relationship but this time without sneaking around. And it seems that way at first, as Glen was still charming, the sexual attraction was still in place, and he was making an effort to impress Sophia. Then the phone call with Bernice happened and she realized that the situation hadn't really changed after all. So she decided to end it now and fully move on from Glen.

[Snow Apple]

Besides Uncle Lucas. I think the only man I liked Dorothy with was the cop. He was able to match Dorothy, and he humored Sophia when she was entertaining herself by insulting him. Too bad his job was too dangerous.

If he stuck around, Blanche could also fuss and mother George Clooney. She claims she wasn’t a good mother when her own children were little, but she seems maternal when it comes to grownup issues. She’s probably just not a kid person.

[Blakeston]

If the writers didn't know people would be watching the shows in syndication for years to come, I think they were being very naive. Plenty of shows from the '50s and '60s were airing regularly in syndication when TGG aired. And the show was a huge success, so syndication was a given.

Re: Blanche and children, I think it was easier for her to be maternal to someone outside of her family. She kept screwing up her relationships with her relatives because of her obsession with maintaining the family's good name. (She didn't want Big Daddy marrying a younger woman, or Clayton coming out, or Rebecca becoming a single mother, because of What People Would Think - which is pretty hypocritical given her public sexual escapades.)

[Mabinogia]

5 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Re: Blanche and children, I think it was easier for her to be maternal to someone outside of her family. She kept screwing up her relationships with her relatives because of her obsession with maintaining the family's good name.

Hmmm, good point. There was probably way less pressure for her when it wasn't someone she was related to. If she screwed them up it didn't matter as much. Haha. 

[One Tough Cookie]

I'v been wearing my caftans lately due to hot weather and my husband calls them Blanche.  And my son's girlfriend had no idea what we were talking bout. {I had a nervous collapse and watched a lot of GG so he knew a lot more than a 30 year old should!}

[Hiyo]

Sounds like your son needs to ditch the girlfriend? 

[Eri]

Oh my, she needs an initiation ritual post stat if that relationship's ever going to survive 😉

Speaking of which, I've recently initiated a friend to Golden Girls 101 on weekly scheduled Sunday afternoons via Skype. We're on Season 2 now and it's so interesting watching the show from the beginning to newbies because 1) you get to drop some fun facts and 2) you notice things that you never paid attention to before despite watching the show dozens of times (i.e. the change of dress style, etc.)

[Ria]

The girls managed to get themselves arrested an awful lot.

Dorothy, Blanche and Rose-arrested for the fracas at the dock

Dorothy, Blanche and Rose-arrested for prostitution

Dorothy, Rose and Sophia-arrested for scalping tickets

Dorothy-arrested for being a slumlord

Sophia-arrested for the Shady Pines fire

Blanche and Rose-arrested for shoplifting 

And we don’t even know if Dorothy got arrested for driving a stolen Mercedes.

But the one time one of the commits a serious crime, nothing happens. I’m referring to Rose shooting at, and nearly hitting, Lester. He should have pressed charges. Especially after Blanche says she wishes he had been shot instead of her vase. He was entering the house at the invite of the homeowner and someone shoots at him. I certainly would have filed a complaint. 

 

 

[Bastet]

I can fanwank Lester just wanting to go home and not calling the cops (at his age in that time, it's entirely possible he, upon learning she thought she was shooting a burglar, found that reasonable, despite all logic to the contrary), but I find it hard to believe the neighbors didn't upon hearing the alarm go off and a gunshot, having no idea what had happened.  The houses are fairly close together and it's late at night; that would have woken up even old people, at least one of whom would have called the cops to report what they heard. 

[BigBingerBro]

Well, their neighborhood was fairly dangerous, they had a burglery, the couple who were stolen gem sellers, etc Plus they often involved themselves with dangerous people, Miles (Nick) and the Cheeseman, Merril the ex-confict, Rocko (who was harmless in the end).  

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

Well, their neighborhood was fairly dangerous, they had a burglery, the couple who were stolen gem sellers, etc Plus they often involved themselves with dangerous people, Miles (Nick) and the Cheeseman, Merril the ex-confict, Rocko (who was harmless in the end).  

--kind of like Jessica Fletcher and even Adrian Monk stumbling onto murders at every turn. 😉

[SweetSin]

On 9/6/2020 at 2:37 PM, BigBingerBro said:

Well, their neighborhood was fairly dangerous, they had a burglery, the couple who were stolen gem sellers, etc Plus they often involved themselves with dangerous people, Miles (Nick) and the Cheeseman, Merril the ex-confict, Rocko (who was harmless in the end).  

 

Blanche's boyfriend Rex was dangerous as he was verbally and physically abusive to Blanche and Dorothy respectively. 

[Snow Apple]

4 hours ago, SweetSin said:

 

Blanche's boyfriend Rex was dangerous as he was verbally and physically abusive to Blanche and Dorothy respectively. 

That’s the only episode I can’t watch. Even the bad spin off episodes or bad episodes like Mister Terrific or the jacket/homeless shelter can be tolerated. Not this one.

[schnauzergirl]

This has probably been mentioned before, but every time I watch the Libertine Belle episode it gets to me.  How did the hotel staff know Sophia had a mirror in her purse?  How did they know Dorothy put it under Sophia's nose every morning? How did Rose get it out of the purse and then back in again?  I know it was the way they knew Kendall was "dead," but so far fetched.

[BigBingerBro]

57 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

This has probably been mentioned before, but every time I watch the Libertine Belle episode it gets to me.  How did the hotel staff know Sophia had a mirror in her purse?  How did they know Dorothy put it under Sophia's nose every morning? How did Rose get it out of the purse and then back in again?  I know it was the way they knew Kendall was "dead," but so far fetched.

That always drives me crazy too.  The only way to rationalize it is this:  Rose says that the people at the hotel told her to spray the mirror with defogger.  Perhaps each group had a sort of induction and they appointed Rose with the task of defogging the mirrors.   

The other thing is if you watch how the final scene with the cops plays out, it's all just works out perfectly, plus Posie McGlynn had a much more involved part along with Nesbitt.

[scarynikki12]

I tell myself that Rose was asked to spray all the mirrors with defogger which would include the ones in purses. I want to know how they knew the ladies wouldn't check for a pulse.

[Snow Apple]

In that episode, someone on this board mentioned the “killers” names were Phillip and Gloria and now I always listen for it.

 I wonder is a writer have siblings with those names and sneak them in whenever possible. LOL 

[Ria]

I always marvel at how Kendall, and for that matter Trudy McMahon, can apparently stay perfectly motionless, not even breathing, not even a twitch, to convince people they are dead.  

[DXD526]

My favorite moment is when Dorothy grabs Sophia from behind to demonstrate cutting a throat, and Sophia says, "Not part of the show, people, not part of the show!"

[BigBingerBro]

5 hours ago, DXD526 said:

"Not part of the show, people, not part of the show!"

It's hilarious but many stations decide to cut that part out.  It's infuriating.

[fleurfairy]

Miles was truly the worst. Nothing endearing about him at all. 

[Madding crowd]

I liked Miles but he was always inconsistent. Besides the witness protection thing he also went from a guy who held parties where people discussed literature and poetry to a man who thought a thimble museum was great entertainment.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Madding crowd

[mmecorday]

Quote

Miles was truly the worst. Nothing endearing about him at all. 

I hate the episode where he's worried about running out of money and suddenly becomes very frugal to the point where he could have been profiled on "Extreme Cheapskates." Why did he think he had to take Rose to expensive restaurants when her idea of a nice place for dinner was Dairy Queen?

[Eri]

It always bothered me how much Sophia pushed men and dating on Dorothy in the earlier seasons. If I was recently divorced from a man I had been with since I was 17 and he was a philanderer for most of that marriage, I wouldn't have been in a rush to get into a new relationship either😒

[BigBingerBro]

Dorothy and Sophia had a very contentious relationship but they never really explained why she continued to live with them after the fire at Shady Pines.  I know she hated being in "a home", but why didn't Dorothy just find an alternative for her?  Was she at Shady Pines to begin with due to the stroke?  Where did she live before that?  NYC by herself?  How long did Dorothy and Stan live in Florida?  It seemed like their kids lived in NY.  

[Eri]

The timeline is rather shaky, but I was always under the impression that after Sal died she lived with Dorothy and Stan when they moved to Florida (Gloria implied that Sophia always turned to Dorothy whenever she was in trouble). Then after she had her stroke and recovered Dorothy decided to put her in the home (Sophia implies in Season 1 that it was probably with Stan's persuasion) where she visited occasionally.  Then Dorothy's marriage fell apart some time during Sophia's tenor at Shady Pines and she needed to find a room to stay until she got back on her feet. By the time Shady Pines burned down, she probably welcomed Sophia back into her life out of guilt and also loneliness.

Edited September 19, 2020 by Eri

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, Eri said:

It always bothered me how much Sophia pushed men and dating on Dorothy in the earlier seasons. If I was recently divorced from a man I had been with since I was 17 and he was a philanderer for most of that marriage, I wouldn't have been in a rush to get into a new relationship either😒

Give Dorothy’s story a few detours to make it mine, and exchange Sophia with my father, and this is an old familiar tale. A couple of generations ago, most parents assumed their female offspring needed a man to financially provide for them. And given the lack of equal pay for equal work, they weren’t so wrong. But Dorothy (and I) preferred to live frugally rather than be unhappily remarried. 
I wasn’t too thrilled with Dorothy’s end-of-series “happily ever after.”

 

Edited September 19, 2020 by shapeshifter

[schnauzergirl]

Chalk this up to over-thinking, but in The Monkey Show why didn't Stan get dressed after he and Gloria slept together for the first time?  Instead, he comes out in Dorothy's robe.  It allowed for the "nice robe" comment from his psychiatrist, but that's about it.  

[BigBingerBro]

1 hour ago, schnauzergirl said:

why didn't Stan get dressed after he and Gloria slept together

Probably just to make it clear what he did - make love to her sister in her bed.  I always find it stupid that they ended up in Dorothy's bed twice.  Why not change it up and go into another bedroom to fool around?

[shapeshifter]

47 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

Probably just to make it clear what he did - make love to her sister in her bed.  I always find it stupid that they ended up in Dorothy's bed twice.  Why not change it up and go into another bedroom to fool around?

Repetitions are the building blocks of comedy. 
Usually it's done in 3s, but I can't recall the episode details. 

[mmecorday]

I'm just glad Dorothy got over the habit of saying "Hello, hello, hello" whens she walked into a room.

[schnauzergirl]

"Sisters" is one of my favorite episodes, but are we supposed to believe Dorothy didn't know that for 30 years her mother and Aunt Angela had never spoken or communicated in any way?  

[mmecorday]

Maybe Dorothy was too caught up in the throes of her gambling addiction to notice the rift.

[Ria]

It’s another episode that makes Sophia out as the biggest hypocrite. She’s always lecturing the others on being there for the family while she is having petty decades long feuds with her sister and daughter in law.