TV Review: The Golden Girls

Four old women, Dorothy (Beatrice Arthur), her 80yo mother Sophia (Estelle Getty), Rose (Betty White), and Blanche (Rue McClanahan) live together in Miami and become fast friends for years. During this time, these girls come across many incidents, relationships, women issues, and funny events. It is an unbreakable bond that keeps you entertain.

The Golden Girls was one of the earliest sitcoms that was majorly or fully based on women. A show that was run by an all-female lead cast back in the 1980s was a bold move for any producer in those times. We as the audience hardly remember such sitcoms where the female lead ran the business in the right direction. A few ‘female’ sitcoms that I remember to be released before The Golden Girls were Maude, The Facts of Life, The Mary Tyle Moore Show, and Laverne & Shirley. But the distinction The Golden Girls had was that the show was genuinely run by the four leading women. None of the male cast of the show had any capacity of a potential supporting character. Besides a few, mostly showed up in special appearances in one or a couple of episodes.

THE GOLDEN GIRLS — “One Flew Out of the Cuckoo’s Nest: Part 1 & 2” Episode 05/09/1992 — Pictured: (l-r) Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo; Bea Arthur as Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak; Betty White as Rose Nylund; Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux– Photo by: Joseph Del Valle/NBCU Photo Bank

And the four golden girls were all talented artists. Rue had Maude and Mama’s Family in her credits and Estelle made her name in the theaters and got recognition from this show. Betty White was already a tv legend and Beatrice Arthur was an immensely popular feminist actress in theater and television. It was magic when they appeared together. The formula of their presence and collective comic timing worked thanks to solid writing throughout seven seasons and 180 episodes. It was not only a sitcom as a source of guffaws but also an opportunity to raise any concerns that women felt an obstacle in their walks of life like the elders facing the upstart generation, the status of a homosexual in the society, being overweight, choosing a career at an old age and facing the challenges, and many more.

The writing and performances in The Golden Girls are the heart and soul. The writers had so much to talk about and would construct a well-timed comic line. Each of the four leading characters carried weight and were tough on each other. You cannot say that Sophia was the show stealer for her being a tough Sicilian mother and getting the best jokes from the others. The others played prominent roles as well. Sophia’s daughter Dorothy, a school teacher, had the command in the house. Horny Blanche was obsessed with men and slept with many dozens of them. Swedish immigrant Rose was the group’s dumbest individual who just couldn’t get the point in the conversation and believe anything she is told.

I must mention how strange the chemistry of the Petrillo mother and daughter was. Estelle Getty who played mother Sophia was actually a year younger than Dorothy actress Beatrice Arthur. It was such an impressive make-up that used to take three hours to shape her into the character. But what an enjoyable character that turned out to be.

The Golden Girls has a loyal following within the LGBTQ community. That is because of the story arcs that brought gay characters to highlight their distinction. The sitcom was one of the first to tackle the issue of HIV/AIDS. All four leading actresses were gay supporters.

Legendary celebrities like Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, Julio Iglesias, Sonny Bono, and Burt Reynolds appeared as guests in the sitcom that guaranteed the audience sticking to their television.

Here is one shocking FUN FACT! The-then unknown extra Quentin Tarantino impersonated Elvis Presley in one of the episodes, Sophia’s Wedding. That episode was so popular that the residual checks that Tarantino earned by its repeated airing helped him in the making of his debut film, Reservoir Dogs.

Not to forget, George Clooney showed up in one episode for a small role. He wanted a part in the show so he can qualify for his union medical insurance.

It has been almost three decades to this sitcom and as much as the voice of feminism has met its global recognition now, The Golden Girls represents the true nature of liberty and advocates the rights of women and their rank in society. This sitcom with four old ladies met huge success in the decade that was dominated by The Cosby Show, Married With Children, and Cheers. The popularity of the sitcom can be judged this way that the final episode of the show in 1992 was watched by 27.2 million people. The show is recommended to those who are willing to watch a comedy with a different plot and content.

My favorite episodes of The Golden Girls:
S01 – E02 – Guess Who’s Coming to the Wedding?
S01 – E03 – Rose The Prude
S01 – E04 – Transplant
S01 – E20 – Adult Education
S01 – E23 – Blind Ambitions
S02 – E01 – End of the Curse
S02 – E02 – Ladies of the Evening
S02 – E06 – Big Daddy’s Little Lady
S02 – E09 – Joust Between Friends
S02 – E23 – Son-In-law Dearest
S03 – E01 – Old Friends
S03 – E10 – The Audit
S03 – E14 – Blanche’s Little Girl
S03 – E23 – Mixed Belonging
S04 – E06 – Sophia’s Wedding (1)
S04 – E07 – Sophia’s Wedding (2)
S04 – E10 – Stan Takes a Wife
S04 – E17 – You Gotta Have Hope
S04 – E19 – Till Death Do We Volley
S04 – E21 – Little Sister
S05 – E03 – The Accurate Conception
S05 – E04 – Rose Fights Back
S05 – E11 – Edd Tide
S05 – E16 – Clinton Avenue Memoirs
S05 – E18 – An Illegitimate Concern
S06 – E06 – Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mammy
S06 – E09 – Mrs. George Devereaux
S06 – E12 – Ebbtide’s Revenge
S06 – E14 – Sisters of the Bride
S06 – E19 – Melodrama
S06 – E23 – Love for Sale
S07 – E03 – Beauty and the Beast
S07 – E04 – That’s For Me to Know
S07 – E11 – Room 7
S07 – E15 – Goodbye Mr. Gordon
S07 – E16 – The Commitments
S07 – E19 – Journey to the Center of Attention
S07 – E22 – Rose: Portrait of a Woman
S07 – E23 – Home Again, Rose (1)
S07 – E24 – Home Again, Rose (2)
S07 – E25 – One Flew Out of the Cuckoo’s Nest (1)
S07 – E26 – One Flew Out of the Cuckoo’s Nest (2)

TV Review: Maude

Maude was the first spin-off in the fictional comedy universe of All In The Family. The sitcom was centered around the character Maude Findlay who was Edith Bunker‘s cousin. Edith was the main character and wife of Archie Bunker in All In The Family.

The need of the character came in demand to oppose Archie Bunker in the second season because Maude was a feminist and liberal woman, totally contrary to conservative and racist Archie. After Maude received popularity on her debut appearance in All In The Family, her character got her own sitcom which successfully ran for six seasons.

I do not have much knowledge about the significance of feminism in American television history but if this sitcom wasn’t the first then at least this was the first which substantially advocated women’s liberty and freedom of choice.

Just like All In The Family, Maude had many important topics to raise like a satire on high socialites who hesitate to raise funds, daughter Carol Traynor not getting a job because it was not fit for women, child behavioral issue when grandson Phillip gets angry with mother for being more moved towards her new boyfriend, or himself inviting his female friend when the family goes to the party, and many more.

And there was one topic that raised the eyebrows, the episodes “Maude’s Dilemma Part 1 & 2” which spoke highly in favor of abortion when 47-year-old Maude gets pregnant. It was shocking and because personally, I am strictly against abortion, I felt it was very irresponsible of the writers and producers to motivate instead of discouraging. But my opinion aside, I also believe that talking about the pros and cons of abortion in the year 1972 in a comedy show was way ahead of its time.

Maude will also be remembered for the introduction of the character Florida Evans, the Afro-American maid in the Findlays. The writing of Florida’s character-depth was astonishing and got a lot of weight in her supporting role. Her side of the story was so appealing that Florida got her own sitcom, Good Times which also was extremely successful.

Another significance of this show which immensely won my heart was on two occasions centering around the couples Maude and Walter, both occurring at the beginning of the fourth and fifth season. The first was when their relationship is at the edge of breaking when Walter decides to leave if Maude intends to run the election.

The second one was more serious and heart-boiling when Walter goes bankrupt. The writers brought attention from the humor in the rich family that people can suffer and can feel the pain of continuously going helpless. This dark element was badly missing in All In The Family and later in The Jeffersons (second spin-off).

Maude also was pretty careful in the pairing and relationship between Maude and Walter. There had been dozens of moments when things looked bad but somehow any of the two managed to hold and maintain their bond. Walter’s drinking issue got the tone of attention especially when he slaps her, something which is rare to be watched in sitcoms. And a few I wrote above and many more to enjoy.

I miss an element that is quite common now, crossovers. Not a single appearance of cousin Edith Bunker in Maude was bizarre. Not a single time the Bunkers came to meet the Findlays in six seasons which is quite strange. Same network, same producer, same universe, how come All In The Family and Maude were not connected. The same discrepancy in The Jeffersons, not once the Bunkers showed up in 11 seasons as Edith was Louise Jefferson‘s dear friend and favorite neighbor.

Anyway, Maude is one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1970s and a significant step in feminism and liberalism. Beatrice Arthur, who played Maude, was an outstanding actress. So are the other actors in the main characters. Maude was the platform for most of them. Rue McClanahan (Maude’s friend, Vivian Harmon) got The Golden Girls, Conrad Bain (Walter’s friend, Arthur Harmon) got Different Strokes, Adrienne Barbeau (Maude’s daughter) became the voice of Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Batman cartoons.

Recommended to the audience who are willing to watch quality humor and exceptional comic writing.