Know Your Show: The Golden Girls #AtoZChallenge

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan
24
This post is part of my #A2ZChallenge for April 2016 where my theme is TV Sitcoms.
For the letter G, I choose the Golden Girls.

Premise:

In this iconic comedy, four elderly women enjoy the golden years of their lives, together in a house in Miami. 


10 reasons you will love it:

1) If anyone asks you who the sassiest quartet of women on television were, The Golden Girls are the undisputed winners. Just remember that. (Sex in the City, my red baboon b**t! )

2) This show (1985-92) broke all the comedy stereotypes you could imagine - instead of hot babes or young couples, you had three widows and a divorcee staying together, leading fully active social lives and enjoying it to the hilt.

3) It features in the Writer's Guild of America's '101 Best Written Series of All Time' for a very good reason. The show was hilarious and yet poignant.

4) Star cast was magnificent here. 
  • Bea Arthur as Dorothy. The ring leader, I guess, she delivered sarcastic jibes with such a straight, often annoyed face that you couldn't help laughing out loud literally.
  • Rue McClanahan as Blanche. Famous for bragging about her admirers and conquests, she was often also at the receiving end from the others for her open attitude.
  • The ageless Betty White as Rose. Heaven forbid you get stuck beside her when she starts telling a story about her childhood in the farming town of St. Olaf. She was the sweet one but also the hilariously slow-witted one which would often drive the others crazy.
  • Estelle Getty as Sophia, Dorothy's mother. Dorothy definitely got those sarcastic genes from this hilarious old woman. 

5) One of only 3 shows in history (the other two being "Will & Grace" and "All in the Family") wherein all the stars of the shows won an individual Emmy for their performance. The show itself won 2 Emmys and 3 Golden Globes.



6) A complete show with negligible continuity issues. You can jump in at any point of time and enjoy an episode. 

7) You need to realize how huge these 4 are as pop culture icons even today. In various shows and sitcoms, people just have to say "She's a Dorothy" or "She's acting like Rose" and instantly, it is understood that we are referencing the Golden Girls.

Show: Happy Endings


8) Being sassy was not the show's only way of breaking stereotypes. The show did not hesitate to deal with serious topics like being alone in one's old age, having a heart attack, death, changing attitudes towards race and sexual identity et al.

9) Even 30 years after it debuted, it is still better than 90% of the comedy sitcoms that have come and gone.

10) Personal opinion: This was the first show I remember sitting down and watching with my parents on Channel 33 in Dubai as a kid in the 80's. Two decades later, revisiting it, I am still amazed at how funny this series is and how much it means to me. That theme song "Thank you For Being a Friend" always makes me happy. 

If aliens were to judge us based solely upon this show:

They would not fear growing old as long as they had a few good friends by their side.
They would also know that the starting point of their invasion of planet Earth should be Rose's hometown, St. Olaf. There couldn't be a dumber set of human beings around, surely!

Trivia:



  • The image above is something no other set of television stars can boast of. In 1988, the Golden Girls performed live for a very special fan on her request - the Queen of England. Queen Elizabeth. The Queen absolutely loved them.  
  • Here's a doozy. Estelle Getty, who played Dorothy's mom on the show, was actually a year younger than her in real life!


To see all the shows  I have talked about till date, please CLICK HERE.

Post a Comment

24Comments

Let me know what you think.

  1. Thanks for another sitcom I could identify with . Strangely it was aired when I was a young woman and wonder if I would laugh now at their situation as I did then. BTW I thought you'd write about FRIENDS for F . How did you forget that?

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    1. There was never an issue of forgetting it. I purposely chose not to write of it because I felt it would be too easy and a show everyone would know. Fringe is a good show which needed more awareness, I felt

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  2. Interesting post. I like your theme.

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  3. Another one of my favourites loved reading abt it

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    1. Glad to hear that. Surprised not many have heard of this show, considering its cult status.

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  4. I am feeling really sad now....how could I have missed a show this good. I am absolutely sure I would have loved it going by your reviews. Plus if its the mother of Sex in the city....then stupendous. Heading for YT videos once this April saga gets over. Cheers...H me kya hoga I wonder? No Hindi shows?

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    1. No Hindi shows, I fear... too many in English as it is :)

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  5. I had been curious about this one for a while. Will definitely check this one out. I have liked Sex and the city for a long time so I think I will love this.

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    1. If you love Sex & the City, you will enjoy this one... brilliant show and way ahead of its time

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  6. I watched Hot in Cleveland and loved Betty White in the series. She is the caretaker of the house the three women from LA decide to live in Cleveland after realizing that the men in Cleveland find them hot :)You are bringing back so many happy memories with your posts, did you watch The Wonder Years and Doogie Howser,M.D., my other favorites :)

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    1. Atleast one of the 3 you mentioned will find its way to this challenge before it ends :)

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  7. Haven't watched this one either. I seriously need to watch more TV ;-).

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    1. haha.. yes, some time to relax should be added to the itinerary

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  8. Okay, how do you get time to watch these? Wow! And this series sounds like absolute fun! Thanks for sharing :)
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    Tale Of Two Tomatoes
    Also, to take a look at 26 lip-smacking Chicken Recipes at Something's Cooking

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  9. I remember watching this one, it is a really good one and Betty, oh! I loved her spunk!

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    1. Its amazing to think that 30 years later, she is still so active and naughty!

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  10. Oh! WoW! Queen ELizabeth was their fan. Glad to find you doing this theme for I don't know much about Western sit com.Lemme check if F is for FRIENDS:)

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  11. Same pinch - I also used to watch this with my dad , on Channel 33 :D , he introduced me to lots of good shows

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    1. That channel was awesome for us back in the late 80s :)\
      So many quality shows...

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  12. They look so adorable these ladies. It sounds very interesting too.

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