90s TV Babies Meet The Golden Girls: Uncovering Timeless Comedy | 80s TV Podcast

Weirding Way Media. Eighties Day and so Pretty Ladies Day to the City Ladies were the money Man World. Hello everyone, happy post Valentine's in Gallentine's Day, and welcome to Eighties TV Ladies, where we explore the fabulous female driven television shows of the nineteen eighties. I'm your co host Susan Lambert HadAM and I'm your other co host, Sharon Johnson. Today's episode is gonna be awesome.

I've been so looking forward to bringing back the nineties TV Babies and I can't wait to hear what they think of the Golden Girls. I know it has been so long since we last talked with the nineties TV Babies, and now these days we actually have five nineties TV Babies in rotation. Today we'll be talking with three of them because seven people is just too much for one podcast, so we'll be rotating our ninety TV babies in and out in different configurations. And I am so excited for today because we have tasked the nineties TV Babies to watch the following episodes of Golden Girls. Now, if you want to pause here and then go quickly watch those episodes well before coming back to listen.

To the episode. That's cool. Here's your assignment, should you choose to accept it. Season one episode one, Pilot, The Engagement, Season one episode nine, Blanche on the Younger Man, Season one episode thirteen, A Little Romance, Season one episode twenty five, The Way We Met, Season two episode two, Ladies of the Evening, Season two episode twenty four, To Catch a Neighbor, Season four episode fifteen, Valentine's Day, Season six episode nine, Miss George Devereaux, and season seven episodes twenty five and twenty six. The two final episodes of The Golden Girls one flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest, and we gave them some extra bonus episodes as well, and that list will be in our description because we could just list off episode after episode of The Golden Girls.

I mean, it's fun for us, but you. Know, so without further ado. They're happy, they're sassy, they're fabulous and funny. Yes, the incredible nineties TV babies fresh faced in twenty twenty six. They are Sergio Perez, Sailor Franklin, and Serta Fontanesi, and a very special guest star today, little baby Theo Theodore FONTANESSI Oh, I'm so excited.

It's his first appearance on the podcast, although you won't get to hear him this time, but who knows what will happen in the future. I know, Oh my god, special guest appearance. Welcome to Eighties TV Ladies, nineties TV Babies, Sera sailor In Sergio. Oh my gosh. All right, so we haven't seen you, all of you for a while.

Mm hmmm. I'm sure would love to know what everybody's been up to over the last six months. Over let's start with you. I'll start over the last six months. I had a baby.

He's almost six months there, he's great, he's perfect. I took five months off of work, which was amazing. So I also am just getting back to having to work for a living again. That's if anyone knows how to get rich, quick call in. Well, we'll still have the venmo in.

Yeah, you want to, you want. To, you know, buy theo a cookie bug Serita one and. Then again, Okay, he'll he'll see, mom's a good food. This is fun. But yeah, that's been the last six months for me.

Tell me something amazing, sure of. Like listen. His okay, so my brother in law his uh, partner lives in London and for Christmas from London got him a Paddington Bear. It's real cute, guys, and he's pretty obsessed with it. So that's been very wholesome and very precious.

Or else it's of Teddy and his and his Paddington all right, so is it? Is it Teddy or THEO? So we use both? Would they It's pretty interchangeable until he can tell us which one he likes. Uh, you know, like we're really just workshopping them all.

I love it? Okay, Who's next? Sailor? You know? I was thinking about the last time I was on ninety TV Babies.

I think Serena, you announced that you were pregnant. So the facts. Now the baby is here, which congratulations, thank you for me. A lot of exciting stuff has been happening for me. I've continued working with Susan with Productions for one thirty four West.

We did readings of the Flirt bar or workshops. And then Susan just took that to Atlanta. After we did the workshop, we did Uh Mary Queerness. I've already forgotten the title of our variety show, but it was really fun. I got to perform it was Merry Queerness, a wildly inappropriate holiday show and they get an amazing job.

What oh. Walk up from his nap and he said, I would like to be included. Look at that Look at those cheeks, my baby. Hi. Immediately yep, that shirt was clean.

It's fine. You can have it. Yeah, baby, Hi, You're so beautiful. I can't stand it. Oh my god, I'm gonna cry.

Listen, I didn't look at your beautiful things. Get eyes. Oh my god, Yes, you're so beautiful. Oh my god. I think she's like, yeah, see, I get anything you want out of them.

Right now. It looks like he's getting dimples. Like we've been noticing little dimples coming in and it's. Like, whoa, this is dangerous. Yeah, it's yeah, Oh my goodness.

So we'll have a little friend talking about golden girls. Kay, I'm gonna get so distracted. Well, I think this is it now, anybody, if you just play this, it's just staring. Yeah, the whole. Episode, Teddy, it's just here's a baby.

Here's a baby, and he's adorable, and he's wide eyed and big cheeked and just good. Exactly kids, And. This is why he loves space time He's like, this is fun. Every just goes goga over me. Yeah, okay, Taylor, back to you.

Does this sound better? Yeah? Yeah, it does seem like getting close to it helps. Let me like, let me get real podcast about it. I'll just like sink down in my shair.

Whoa, it's strange. Sorry about that. I don't know what's a closing it. I bet you THEO cansult it by getting that sock off of his foot. That that's the other big THEO update is And we can now get our foot in our mouth and that's pretty exciting.

Now he's like, watched this party tray. Oh my goodness, give him a headset and a mic. Get this baby on the mic. Yeah. He's like, I found a foot.

It's got to suck on it. And within a week, I'm gonna be able to pull that sock off anytime I want. I know. Bigger's gonna be really upset when she finds out this baby does not keep socks on? Did he pull the other one off himself?

Almost? And I said, you know what, we're just gonna before because the thing is the dogs also are like, yeah, well that sokka. Yeah, so that mom forgets about it. Oh my gosh, you are outnumbered, aren't you. I am.

I am truly oh my gosh. No, but they're also cute. They're gonna kill you to get you. Yeah, They're gonna win every time, every time I've got no leverage in my own home. No, oh boy, oh my god.

Okay, all right, no it, okay to that, yeah, micon and tell us what your what your song was? So I love Christmas music, but my favorite by far is Wham's Last Christmas. I listened to it on repeat every single Christmas. But usually when we do these productions, I serve as stage manager, and so I kind of combined it all into one weird role where I'm trying to both stage manage, you know, Eliza Minelli's party and make sure it all goes perfect while also having my heart broken because I'm in love with Liza Minelli and she frankly is not in love with me. And I get to be George Michael for two minutes.

It was great fulfill my heart and I can't wait to see the recording of it. It was it was so much fun. It was really great. You did a wonderful job and we and you had great backup singers, which I did. Yeah it was good Jimmy and a Katerina shout out to them.

But in personal life also, the funny thing is that you know Srida and now she was pregnant on the last ninety see babies I was on and I was just moving on the last ninety. Seven babies I was on. I guess what's happening again. I just signed a lease yesterday for my very own apartment where I was by myself for the first time in my entire life. It's a little apartment, but it will be mine and I'm so happy.

And for you. Ed South Pasadena, so just. Like it's like like ten minutes away from where I am right now, but it's yes, it's. Close to Mission Street. I'm very excited.

And the other thing is like I've worked for a nonprofit like a that does you know, after school programming at no cost. To parents for a while. But I just got a. Big promotion to the Visual and Performing Arts Associate, which is now facilitating me getting the apartment. So say so, I'm real excited.

Sergio. Hi, Oh my goodness. I feel like it's been so long since I've recorded one of these, and I just while we were working out audio. I checked the last episode of nineties TV Babies that I did was for a Different World, which was like four shows ago. Yeah, yeah, that was a while back, and so I was like, oh my gosh, I've not had to do hett nineties TV Babies in a while.

So hello, I'm back. For introducing myself to folks who might have started tuning in after a Different World. Yeah, I'm so excited to be here. I was really excited to talk about the Golden Girls, but I'll get into that later. The last six months, I mean, I had my first ever adult like summer to myself where I not had occidental children's theater, and it was very, in a word, liberating.

I got to experience a lot of things in like during the summer of just being able to do something without going oh but I have to be at rehearsal tomorrow at eight am. Oh no, I can't go out with my friends or else I'm gonna throw up during the show tomorrow or something. And so it was really just so crazy. To me, like everything, I was like, oh my gosh, there's a whole world out there, and Coach and I are Now we've spent one year in our new apartment as about August, but like it's been a long time since we've caught up. But yeah, since August it was one year.

And yeah, I mean I'm just I'm running around. I'm trying to figure out who I am right now and after like the like I've moved on from children's theater, I'm like, Okay, all these doors are open and I'm gonna try every single one of them. So, just been doing some crazy stuff. I been traveling a lot. I was up in I don't know, have y'all ever been to the dune's in San Miguel or like not San Miguel, but like in like Pismo.

Yes, you got me. Real excited because I'm like, my hometown in Indiana is like like ten minutes away from the Dune State Park. Oh, I got you went to the Midwest. No, oh my goodness, I'm going places where my car can take me and while my car can't take me to the Midwest. Yeah, it's just been a lot of traveling.

So Cozy and I we recently were visiting a friend up in San Miguel and then afterwards we came back down went to the dunes in Pismo beach and it's really really crazy out there, Like I could not believe that that was out there. And it's funny because one of my friends he brought a drone and just like took videos of us hiking these dunes. And then at the very end of the trip, we. Get a text and it's a video of all of us set to the music from Dune. So it's that person screaming I don't Yeah, I've never seen Dune actually, so sorry everybody who loves Dune.

But it was just just those kinds of things, Yeah, hanging out. Oh the sock is all I was gonna say, I'm distracting. Yeah, he was like in. My update, I got the sock off, I got the sock off reward my toe. Watching her baby stuck his own toe wild.

All right, Now, I know that he will upstage everybody. Yeah, everybody. I listen. I didn't think that it was possible to be like to be upstage. I listen.

I've got a pretty big personality. And then I had he's also a Leo, so I had a me and here we are for those for those who wonder, he is a Leo's sun scorpio moon scorpio Rising. Oh No, he's trouble. He is trouble. I said, yikes on a bike, all right?

And what does that mean for those who don't know, for those that don't know. So like Leo Sun, he's as we see, he's a personality, very gregarious. Scorpio Moon, he's got like a lot of deep feelings. He's got a pretty intense RBF already. And Scorpio Rising.

He like when he can speak, he's gonna be one of his kids who like walks up to you and just has like really blunt questions and like no concept of why you wouldn't want to talk about. That in public, you know. And he's gonna because that weird? What are you? What are you talking about?

Yes? And then you'll answer Beck Listen, a bunch of people saw you take a stock off. Yea six months old? The onesie. Thurles because it's cold, because it's cold.

He's checking out this standing up thing. Look at him. I know he's very into it, which is concerning. I'm gonna need you to slow down, Okay, I'm working on I'm talking to the sharks and asking them for money to get you stuff growing. Ohs, and we're teething and we're teething.

Yeah, he's not even content with his own foot in his mouth. Now he's putting your finger in his mouth. Oh yeah, I listen. I'm a notorio lit. I've been getting my nails done for decades at this point, and I usually have very long claws until I had a baby.

And now we're a short square grilly until someone stops putting my fingers in his mouth. By it, that's not stopping any time, really going at it? Ye, good stuff? Yeah? Yeah, oh god, okay, well, okay, we have to move on.

I'm sorry, Teddy Theo. You are going to have to stop distracting us quite so much, or I'll just do this like I do on the pit, like well, I can't watch except now I can't watch the cuteness. No, keep the cuts from me. Come on, all right, we got it, We got it. Back to Golden Girls, Back to Golden Girls.

All right, I talk about No, I'm kidding. Oh we could talk about the pit another well, chat all right, your assignment before we start talking about the show itself. We as always are curious who knew about the show before we started to talk about it or ask you to watch it, and. What did you know? And uh, And I think I think I know answers to Serena because we spent a lot of time together way back when.

All right, and so the first I have a feeling everybody has has a history with The Golden Girls, Am I correct? All right? Sailor's unmuted, go Sailor, Yeah, and Sergio's nodding, So. Yeah, I think I think we all have. Like I've I've seen The Golden Girls, Like it's such a cultural touchstone for even people of my generation.

Like I will admit, I don't think I started watching it until I was like in my twenties and now I am I'm just for twenty six, so, like, you know, not too long ago, but like it's such a comfort show for me. I just love. Watching these girls get up to whatever crazy stuff they are getting up to now. I think before I was tasked with our episodes, I had I. Haven't watched all of Golden Girls.

I watched. I think I watched up to the fourth season, and I was working through the fourth season, so like I'd see a good chunk of it and like I love it. I like show it to my friends. I I love you know what I'm going to save that because I have a personality test for everybody, because I feel like everybody has a favorite Golden Girl and it says a lot about you. So if we could do that.

Now, I want to know what who everyone's favorite Golden Girl is? Right, do you want to know? Now? Well? No, no, let's get to that.

Let's come back around. We'll save that for let's say that that's a big person up all right, Sergio, I would like to know what you knew of this show before we started. Hey, okay, So. Working for the podcast aside and having to pour over the photos of the Golden Girls to make all these different magazine things, like I know every crease and wrinkle on everyone's face at this point, I I'm gonna be one hundred percent honest. I had never seen the Golden Girls, like, never sat down and watched it before I had to record this episode.

So I went in like I knew who was in it. I was like, just like, you know, it was something that was always around, but never something that I tuned into. So I'm so sorry everybody. I'm the one person in this call right now. I love it.

I love it now. It's great. Yes, it's good this is very good. Like obviously, the like the the theme song is so iconic, and i'd heard that before. I did a play reading once where they sang it and I had to learn it and I was like, oh, I don't know this and it was like crazy.

But yeah, like I went in this time around completely blind, Like I knew who was in it and I knew the theme song, but I didn't know what they were doing, who they were, where they were going. So I'm excited to share what I thought. Mm hmm, okay, I love that and Serena and Teddy Yea. I obviously had known all kinds of things about the Golden Dolls, like it's one of those shows that is like a pretty consistent rewatch. Would you like this?

Oh you want me to think? That's on me? That's my bad. I should have not. Here, But yeah, I mean I'm obsessed with the Golden Girls and I feel like I was watching in like heistit like because it was like syndicated, like you know, it was a rerun.

Would you like this? There we go? That's what I want to be tall, But yeah, I mean, huge fan. I will save my my favorite Golden Girl time what. Okay, now, did Teddy watch any shows with you?

He did not. We are we are trying no screams other than FaceTime for the first two years. We're gonna see, We're gonna see. Yeah, see how far you can get. I think that's very smart.

It's very good. Thank you, very good. I'm very proud of you. A friend of mine did that. I think I think it may have been longer than that before she introduced screens to her daughter.

So it's not easy, obviously because they're so everywhere. But yeah, good on you. That's great. This is going to be the most distracted eighties TV Ladies. Nineties TV babies episode, because come on, all right, we may have to release this video just so people can can catch well.

I don't know if you want, if you may not want them out there, sailor, why don't you start tell us all about your thoughts on the Golden Girls? Oh boy, and come to saying all of my thoughts on the Golden Girls is such such a big ask. Well, it doesn't have to be all of them. What did you think of the show? From both an eighties perspective and from now?

I think the big thing about the Golden Girls is like of course it is a show of the eighties, but even as a person watching from the big gear of twenty twenty six, I am still so shocked by what topics they took on, especially like like we're talking like first and second season, we're doing like hard hitting episodes about being gay, about you know who your partner might be, about you know, age gaps, about the episode where Blanche is offered like a better grade if she sleeps with her teacher. The amount of these episodes like are so many that I can't even. Think of all of them. So just as a person in today's today's age, I'm still shocked by what they covered and how well they took it on. I won't say all of them are like, you know, hit it out the ballpark, fantastic, get handling some of these topics.

Like there's there's times when like Sophia will walk into the room and like like, for example, I think it's a little romance when there's a little person that Rose is saying, like he walks there, Sophia walks into the room and sees doctor what's his name? Oh God, Sophia, please don't say a. Bad thing, Like I know you're going to make light of the situation, but please don't say like, you know, a slur or like something horrible that's not going to go over well. But that episode, Like watching it again, I forgot how funny it is because like she walks into the. Room and she's like, forgive me for what I'm about to say.

I'm very tired. I'm gonna go lay down. He's like, oh, this is completely fine, and then she means, like, Dorothy, please come see me. That is that guy, and you know, she says not the most amazing word and she's and Dorothy converts like yeah, that's you know, he's a little person. She goes, thank god, I thought I had another stroke.

And it's like they take these topics and they somehow weave humor into it really well, I will I've totally forgot the ending of that episode, which is Rose like decides like, yeah, I'm gonna marry him and it's gonna be fine, and he lets her down easy because she's not Jewish and that's why they can't be together. Like how it's so funny. Like I feel like as. As a twenty six year old in the year twenty twenty six, like I've got a completely different sense of humor than what was, you know, back in the nineteen eighties, and I'm still laughing my ass off as some. Of these shokes.

It's so funny. Yeah, absolutely, I mean, I think that's one of the reasons I think that it has lasted, is that there's a universality to a lot of the humor that will work at work then that works now and probably will continue to work for years to come, because it's so grounded in their humanness. An episode with Blanche and George. Is one of my favorite episodes because it is such a perfect example of like how much the show is able to hold in like one container because while Lanche is having this full, like emotional, like deep experience, Dorothy's being courted by study bono. That was also one of my favorite episodes, just like magic in.

That like there is this like hilarious, like canpy like technically side story because like Blanch is supposed to be the focus of the episode and like that just like every moment about it, like I'm tackling, And then in the same episode, under the same roof, Blanche is having this like incredibly like deep moving like experience. That we sorry spoiler for anyone who hasn't seen it. At the end, we discover was all a dream, Sergio, we discover was all a dream, which also like I need short classic TV trope of like how do you like insert a plot that you don't want to like carry on? But still it was just like, oh my god, and she's still dreaming these big, vivid dreams of her like dead husband and maybe just something will happen that will bring him back.

And also Dorothy's being courted by these two famous men. Who are like obsessed with her and demand that she make a choice, all because she saw them at Equis and they over charged by her, which also wild play to pick as like. Of all the shows they could have picked to be the one that she met them at. And also Golden Girls is I was actually talking to a friend about this earlier as another great example of why we need to bring back twenty four episode seasons. I am sick of the short ten episode like Matt Lee, yuh, I want episodes that are all backstory and just you're just gonna give me all of the exposition in one episode, like when we uh see the episode of how the girls actually all came together, or the Valentine episodes, it's just all going to be flashbacks because.

They're still fun and like add to like the color of the characters. But sure they're not the most plant driven like whatever, but like they're fun and they're a good time and we get like random again, random side Sophia talking about bloody Valadine. Like like you know, like we get just. These little snippets in there, and then we also still get these really full, rich episodes about their. Lives and who they are, Like.

The last two episodes that we watched, the one fleo out of the Cluelan's nests, right, like that's like those two episodes are like very plot heavy and like are in the same universe that same person, Dorothy was being chased down by two silly famous men or they had backstage passes to see mister Burt Reynolds, And I love this. I love this. Would also do horrible things to me Bert Reynolds, like I relate. I like that episode reminds me of like there really are like these quintessential like figures of every generation of like the person and like Bert Reynolds, like there's so many jokes about him on shows of people being obsessed with them that like he like really is like top tier and that whole episode.

Is so funny. Another episode where they all end up in jail. Yes, that that trope still comes back, but. I digress. Yeah, Sergio, Yeah.

Yeah, I think because, like I said, I've never seen an episode before, but watching it, even the like abridged version of the Golden Girls, the homework that you gave us, it's like you really see us how foundational this show is. I think that, like, compared to shows that we've watched in the past, there were many moments in this one where I'm like, Okay, I see now, like how much The Golden Girls has inspired creators today, like people who've made different sitcoms ever since then, Like they're all very very inspired by this, and like the dynamics that are like that you see between all of the Golden Girls, and I just I had so much fun. It's it's crazy because I was so while I was watching. Koji was he he does volleyball on Sundays, so he was off in volleyball.

He comes back and he had seen The Golden Girls. Actually he grew up, he watched the Golden Girls. He's watched all of Riba, but that's like, whatever, we're gonna talk about Reriba right now. Okay, hold on, but it might have to circle back just personally about the ReBs. But he comes back and he's like, so, how did you like it?

And I was like, oh, my goodness, I could barely keep up. It was crazy because it's joke after joke after joke after joke, and it's never something that feels at least to me or well, I won't say never. There were moments where I'm like, Okay, this did come out in the eighties, but it always felt smart, and it always felt like it knew that the audience wasn't dumb and that. They didn't have to spell. Out the joke for you like they have to do now, where it's like, oh, you have to know that the musical sting is mysterious, so that you know that the this is mysterious, and like every character is going to come in and say exactly what they're thinking and feeling, and there's like more, there's a different kind of honesty in The Golden Girls that it's just like so exciting to me.

It's crazy. There's online that Dorothy says that is one of my favorite wines in TV, and it's they're dealing with teen pregnancy in the episode, and like one of the neighbor girls finds out she's pregnant. She does know what to do. She's like running away from home, and Dorothy is letting her know that she has options that you know, she can't have the baby. She cannot have the baby, which already is like pretty bold or for a TV show to be discussing.

Dorothy says, you know, just because the pipes are in the house doesn't mean they're ready for use. Have been watching too much This Old House, And. Like it's so like to your point, Ordio of like it's such like it could be such a throwaway line, but like so beautifully encapsulates this moment of like acknowledging that she is talking to ultimately a child who now finds herself pregnant doesn't feel safe like with that news at home and just needs to hear that like whatever her choice is is her choice, but she does have choices, which again in the eighties and on TV, it is like pretty bold, yeah, and which is probably why it's cushioned in a joke about this old House U, but it is true It's such a beautiful line and like cracks me up every time if we're sharing standout lines, I think for me.

The ones that pined my ear in a funny way was when during a Missus George Devereaux where Dorothy gets back in the bed and it's like, oh my gosh, Blanche just had her dream and everyone comes in and Sophia is like, I should have known. I sent her to tennis camp that one time. I was like, oh my gosh, is that a Billy Jean king himself. I'm gonna have to feed a little baby sit. So just yeah, just to make sure, I will.

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It's the ultimate in luxury sleep. Go to Eighties TV Ladies my deals link in our show notes and you'll see all our deals and remember use promo code eight zero s TV L A D E S. I definitely obviously love Golden Girls, and I would say even both for its time and still today ahead of the game. I mean, just shows and drown for older women, what women and an older woman, and it's not just about like being old and Sailor Blanche is like I love them all deeply and it's tough, but Blanche is really my girl because I just I love that she like gets to just be this little like slut, like empowered slut, you know, and we love that, and we love that that's coming from someone who is of an age that often people decide no longer to have any sense of sex or self or or anything like that.

And yeah, I am just obsessed with the show. And the reason why it's one of my kind of like go to comfort shows is other than just being funny, is that it still feels current and like still feels really relevant in a way that again bring back twenty four episode because like, I think that's hard to do in a short ten episode season to like. Feel timeless in some ways. And I think there's there's a beauty that Golden Girls, and there's a beauty to like really enjoying aging, especially as women that again, like we have grace, I always want to say, Gracie and frank Grace and Frankie. But like, right, like I can think of one show that centers older women and of current times and listen if I don't, I don't support reboots very often, but if we wanted to just update gold and Girls a little bit and get her back on the air, sign me up.

Dare I mention that the women in and Just like that, the reboot of Sex and the City, they're basically the same age as the ladies and the Golden Girls. And our and and the issue is is that and Just like that tries to be Sex and the City like just tries to continue Sex in the City instead of allowing the women to age any Golden Girls, let them age but still have a full life. And that is the difference. I will die on. Okay, so says Serena.

Yes I'm gonna go fad my invent. I can cure him. Yes you can do another zoom soon. I will bring him back. Love you all, love you, good to see you both, Sergeio.

What was surprising? I think surprising some things that were surprising. These are surprising things that I liked. What was cool? And Serena touched on it a little bit, but I think that it was really cool that these were older women who could talk about their sex lives.

But the joke about them talking about their sex lives was never they're old and having sex. It was always something else and something more subversive than that. Surprising to me. Maybe it's just because I'm like, again, like twenty twenty six were coming at it here, and like I grew up watching other shows, but it was like, oh, we're gonna have this little conversation now you speak something like grief and loss, And I honestly like, of all the episodes that you shared with us, I think that for me, my favorite one, my favorite two or the Pilot and Missus George Devereaux, because it really is like, okay, Rooue McLanahan in both gets to do a lot of dramatic acting that you don't expect from a sitcom.

The first one, like it it's not even like the shot is focused on her, but you can see her just reacting to being spurned in the pilot and it's like, oh my gosh, she is fantastic, And like, it reminds me too that sitcoms are kind of filmed like theater and like that just is always like so exciting to me just watching people who are in this industry and like acting doing their jobs. Like really really well. And then, like I said, like for missus George Devereux, I wasn't expecting it to end that way, because like maybe it's just because we're dropping in at a time in the season where I'm like, yeah, maybe Dorothy is being courted by those two guys at this point in the season, like they've been here before, and so I'm watching it again as someone who's never seen it, and I'm like, yeah, this makes so much sense to me that she would be like talking to these two guys.

Oh right, he's the mayor of Palm Springs right now. Like it's just like, yeah, I didn't have the context of maybe this was a joke until the very end, when like when Blanche wakes up and it just delivers perhaps one of the most heartbreaking moments I think of television. I don't know, I'm I've. Just seen it today, but I was like, oh my gosh, I was really affected by that because it's something that's played off a lot of the time as funny, like oh, she's got it dead them like oh, but now she's like, you know, she's going around sleeping around, but like when she says like, oh, like but this time, like I got to hug him, and this time like you chose some and then it's like it's it's the one two punch of like here's something dramatic but like the what do we call it?

You hit him and you hug him or something. It's one of those where I was just like really really really affected by that, and yeah, I don't know if it's a parent I really liked it. I really really liked it. I see why it has stood the test of time and it's like still to this day, getting adaptations, getting stage shows, everything, Like I loved it. Yeah, it's a lot of a lightning and a bottle magic of those characters and that tone then that was both really really funny, sharp witted and also incredibly warm sailor looking back at it sort of like you were familiar with it, but when you know, when you kind of rewatched, what was there something that surprised you on this rewatch or something that stood out for you.

I mean, I think the big thing that I took away from it was once again, these like kind of topical issues that came up within it, mostly because that's a lot of what was either on the assignment or the extra credit. Like I said, it really just it does such a great job at touching these I'm going to cheat a little bit and go outside of what the assignment was and reference some episodes that, like, personally I love, one of which was I think it's the first episode of season three where Sophia a friends a man who has al Alzheimer's And I haven't seen that episode forever, but I do remember it being like one of my favorites because of how beautiful this story was. Like it's still to this day, like I said, I've seen him forever, but I can still recall like how much I loved it.

And the other one was I think I watched it because I think you guys mentioned it, which was the episode where Sophia's son Phil dies, and like it's filled with a bunch of jokes, like you know, he's been cross dressing all his life, and oh the mourners here there are also men in dresses underneath the veils, and yet it ends with such like a heart wrenching moment of Dorothy's eulogy to him, which is like we should never let like us as family, we should never grow so far apart, and like I wish I could say all this stuff to him. And then the final moment of the episode, which is the only like Golden Girl episode I can think of that didn't end with a zinger, is Sophia just breaking down and being like like.

What did I do? What happened to have him turn out this way? And just ending it with like my baby is gone, Like that's God? Does that just hit something deep within you? And it's like I came here to laugh, and like there's lots of laughs in that episode, like the fact that they bury him in a teddy and everyone keeps commenting like it's a very nice teddy, like it's a very it's very tasteful one.

Like Serita said the Missus George Devereaux episode, I need to say it. My favorite part of that episode is when Dorothy asked, like, who did I end up this time? And she's like, oh, it was it was Sunny Bono and she goes, yes, that was my favorite part. It was so like it's that's a dramatic episode. My favorite part is watching those two men fight over Dorothy.

I'll say it now. Dorothy is my favorite Golden girl. I love her to death as a person who is not very effeminate and is a big fan of Wise Cracks and you know, having a heart and exterior. She's my girl. I love her to death.

She's my role model, truly. She's my favorite too, for what it's worth. But getting back to the I'm so glad you guys respond. I really love the George Dever episode as much as I do. I probably saw it when it aired originally, but I forgotten, so I felt like I was watching it the first time around this time and I did not see it coming.

And it's a It's such an example of how good the writing is on the show, the way that they're able to balance both of those storylines and both and both of those endings and make it fit together so perfectly somehow away with the magic of the whatever magic or pixie dust say, sprinkled on it. It just it worked, and it works so well. Sergio do what character? Oh? I think, just based off of the episodes that I watched, I'm I'm somebody who really likes I wouldn't say like throw away jokes.

I like I don't know, is this surprising at all? I think my favorite is Rose. I think I because she's just like one, Like the Saint Olaf stories are crazy. Losing butter Girl was devastating, but also it's just comedically played so well, like when we all met, Like when she's like, oh, I've got a room and it's got Blanche Devaux on the like called Blanche Devro and she's like, oh, that's cool. Yeah, let's sight the room.

Oh and what's your name again? It's just like it's so funny. I think it. It takes such a smart performer to play dumb and it's like literally just a masterclass in that. Yeah, I think I'm a I think I think I'm a Rose.

You think you're a Rose. I love that I'm a Rose. I think you're a Rose too. You have a lot of optimism in you, and I think Rose does too. But yeah, that's another thing.

She's really like the heart. Yeah, she's the heart. Yeah. So now I'm curious if you knew of these actresses, particularly Betty White, since Betty White kind of worked in until she died, Yeah, what you knew of them and how that affects how you think of their character in the show. Okay, actually I was this is something I was thinking of as I was watching where again just because like I've been like I have to listen.

I listened to every eighties TV Ladies episode and like, so I know, like stuff that was happening behind the scenes and other things, and like watching it, you can tell maybe like from episode one to literally the finale, Sophia's character is a little more diminished. Her performance is a little. Smaller, and as we know now, it was because a Stelle Getty was having memory issues on set, and that was something that I was thinking about as I was watching it. I was also thinking about, like the personal relationships between the cast. If I'm remembering correctly, it's it was Betty White and be Arthur who were not friends.

Yes, yeah, it would mostly be Arthur not appreciating Betty White's style. I think. Okay, yeah, and maybe it's just because that's something I was like thinking about. I don't know if it necessarily bled into the perform of things, like I think they were being very professional and yeah, I think the one that mostood out to me was Estelle Getty's just the change and like what her character like the function of her character in the finale versus in the pilot. That was something that made me feel a little emotional just because it's like, Wow, that's she did seven seasons.

I did know of Betty White. Of all of them, I knew Betty White the most. And yeah, I can't say that I had seen either or any of the other three and anything else until I watched The Golden Pearls. I know what you mean of like, oh, that's Betty White. Because I had never seen Betty White in anything.

I just am like, Oh, that's Betty White. That's you know, the really old lady who's been in everything and she's still spry and she's just like ready to take on life. I remember she had like a very brief show that was just like a prank show where old people would play pranks on people. It's called Betty White something that. Yeah, I remember that.

I'm remembering her now from The Proposal, the rom com with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bolo where she plays his grandmother. Yes, that's what I remember it like. That was probably my first ever like sit down and watch something that has Betty White in it. Because my older siblings loved the proposal, so they put it on all the time, and I just remember the scene where she and Sandra Bullock are in the forest doing the dance. And say what you will.

It is quite offensive, yes, but Betty White is just a comedic. Yeah. I would encourage you to go look at Mary Tyler the Mary Tyler Moore show from you know, and when Betty White, Betty White comes in, she's not in the comes in later into the show, but seeing her do the performance she does in Mary tyllymore and seeing her do Rose. If you've heard any of the episodes, you know that at one point they were hiring Rue McClanahan to play Rose, and they were thinking of and Betty White to play Blanche. And that will explain why both why they thought of that at first seeing her character in Mary Taylor Moore, but also why neither of them wanted to do that and why they why it was much better to have her go play Rose.

Here's something I want to touch on. I hate Stanley's yes he's a yes, I say it themselves. I hate it and I can't as Dorothy being my favorite golden girl. He kills me that. I'm like, why did you marry that?

Man. And it goes back to like me being so thankful that women have a lot more agency and were not forced to like settle down and do everything so quickly. Because if a beautiful, strong, gorgeous woman like Dorothy has to settle for a man like Stanley, I it makes. Me which I'll bring it back to this, I was. I had never seen the final two episodes, so I was really surprised when I saw the ending.

I am like, it was a very good episode, it was very touching. I I don't know, I didn't enjoy the ending as much as I thought I would. I think it's just because. Maybe it's because they got married so quickly, Like I didn't I wish this was I know it was a two parter episode, but still like it felt deep. It felt so quick and like the whole joke was like, oh, let's pretend to get married, but actually I'm crazy about you, And I'm like, when did this happen?

They went to a hardware convention and Dorothy had a horrible time, and now they're kissing. I don't know, Like I'm not saying I hate the concept. I'm just saying it could have used a little bit more. You know, I want to see fall in Love. I love a slow bird, it's so good.

I loved moon Biting. Of course I love a slipperd. All Right, so final thoughts uh for us, and I would say, weirdly have to talk about how much she disappeared at the show. Uh, I'm kind of a Sophia. But I think they artfully like how many Roses dumb jokes, Blanches, the slut jokes and Dorothy's mainly jokes.

How have they done over seven seasons and still season seven? I am laughing at these jokes. Like they're pretty The writers are pretty masterful at keeping these bits going. Mm hmmm, it's pretty great. It's so exciting.

It's really fun that you guys enjoyed it. And I'm so excited Sergio that despite working. On it for months, I knew nothing. You did not know anything about it. I knew nothing.

I knew nothing, and it was like, okay. It was funny because I'd hear quotes and I'd be like, oh my god, wait, I know that quote because I've used it in something that's weird, and then I hear the delivery of it, I'm like, oh my gosh, that's not how I was reading it at all, and now it's even better. To me, the ending felt very stilted, like I know, like there was a joke of Dorothy coming back, and like I loved it, and I actually wanted her to come back one more time. And then I also loved just just going back to Rose really quickly. I love the way Betty White played it where everyone's looking around and she does like this very slight lance and like another door and then like audience laughs.

But then after like the realization hits that she's not coming back that time, the girls just turn in and their faces drop and then it's credits, and I was like, what that feels wrong for this show. I felt like there should have been just like one more thing. And like obviously I'm not like saying anything about the writing or like how the writers chose to end their show, but it was really surprising to me. It felt very like, oh wow, yeah, it's over, and it just ended in such a way where I'm like really surprised by it. It felt a little deflated.

Yeah, I was waiting for the button. Absolutely, where's the last little joke that leaves us happy at the end? Yeah, Yeah, everyone had a great time at the Golden Palace. Yeah. I think what's troublesome is that when The Golden Girls is airing it, it's like everyone was kind of watching the same stuff.

You knew that we were all going to sit down at this time to watch this show and take away a certain lesson from it. And obviously, ever since The Golden Girls came out, there's been a lot that's happened in the world that you can do updated storylines with and like create scripts with different lessons to learn at the very end. But I think the value of The Golden Girls was that everyone was watching it and you could trust that that was happening. And these days now it's like, well, if it's on to be and fou boo and boo boo, and you got to find it on PBE, Like yeah, you got to go to plorb and when you're on FLOORB, just make sure you get the poopoo track, Like you got to get on this. Like it's so inaccessible now and no one's watching the same things.

There's no monoculture around media that I feel like it would be just such a disservice to what the show could be. That said, I am already like fan casting it in my mind of like who could do it? And I want Amy Pohlar there. But anyway, yeah. That's a good well anybody else.

It's kind of in the back of your mind that you see on the Yeah, on the reboot, if you're in a. Castle would be hilarious. As which character Dorothy Amy Polar Polar? Rose Amy Polar would definitely be. That's why I was thinking about it.

A pol would be Rose. Okay, Oh my god, I was not. I did not prepare for this. But now I gotta do some frantic Google searches. Yeah, like this is this is the Patreon Like, okay, all the nineties TV babies are back to talk about their fan cast to the Golden Girls because it will I'm thinking about it now.

I think that's that sounds like a great Blanche Angela Bassett. Yeah, I'm there. I just love Angela Bassett. I'd like but let's let's get her out of. She's she's cashing a very big paycheck, that's true.

Leave her alone. Okay, sorry, what about Sandra oh as Blanche? Oh? I love I love her and killing Eve. I mean, I'm not sure she is, but I'm thinking she might be Kevin likes that.

Yeah, all right, Sandra, Oh all right, well, listeners, let us know who you think should be recast in the Golden. Girls, or if it should happen at all. It should happen at all, rebooted, but if even if it shouldn't happen, you can still cast the idea of a Golden Girl's root foot. A girl you can dream. Yeah, oh my gosh, thank you guys so much.

We are so happy to have you. I love seeing and hearing your seeing your faces and hearing your voices, and hearing all about what you're up to. Hearing your thoughts about whatever show we're talking about is always one of the highlights for me. It's always one of the best parts of what we're doing in terms of covering a show. And again, you guys did not disappoint, So thank you, Thank you RuPaul Is, Sophia.

Anyway I was thinking about I just could not Okay, yes, I'm in place. I was like, thank you, nine babies. It's so gad to see you. It has been so fun. And we will have you back to talk about when we look at Kateinelly and we'll be looking at.

One day at a time. Yeah, very interesting shows. Thank you, going to see you guys as always. Bye. In today's audioography.

Learn more about the Golden Girls on Facebook at Facebook dot com slash Golden Girls. Now, if you have Hulu and you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you watched the fortieth anniversary special that aired in twenty twenty five, and it is at Hulu dot com. The link will be in our description. It was such a fun look back at the show, and I was thrilled to see that several of our former guests were part of it. I know, it was like an EIGHTIESTV Ladies reunion up there on ABC exactly.

And meanwhile, if you're so inclined, you can send Serita diaper money for little Adorable Baby Theo at Venmo. It's Venmo dot com, slash you slash Serta Fonta and again the link will be in our show notes. And you know what, you can learn more about my new arts organization that I'm the co artistic director of. It's called Arts a la Carte and you can find out there what we've been up to in the past year and a half and how you can support new works of theater going forward. You can check it out at artsala carte dot org and on Instagram.

You can find us at arts a la carte la because there's lots of arts ala Kart. Because it's Instagram, you gotta have a little underscore or an extra. Absolutely, so, thank you all for listening, Thank you for your feedback and comments. Did any of you guys out there recently watch or rewatch The Golden Girls? And if so, what did you think?

We love hearing from you. You can send us messages at our website eightiestv Ladies dot com. That's eight zero s TV l a d ees dot com, and you can also tell us what you think if there was an episode we should have given the nineties TV babies. We're also so very grateful to our Patreon supporters. You guys have helped us.

Some of you have been with us from the very beginning. You've helped make it possible to do this show. Let us know what you want from Patreon and we'll try to do it this year. Message us through Patreon or send an email to eightiestv Ladies at gmail dot com and mention your Patreon supporter. Our next episode is so exciting.

We have a very special guest coming on next Time, missus Georgia Jeffries Georgia is a writer, producer, and professor who worked on some of the most iconic Eighties TV Ladies shows ever, including Cagney and Lacy, China Beach, and Sisters. She wrote and produced some of our favorite episodes of Cagney and Lacy. And it's such a wonderful conversation and Susan guess what else? What else? Well, that episode with Georgia will be our ninety ninth episode, which means the next one after that is going to be our one hundredth episode of Eighties TV Ladies.

Can you believe that? I cannot believe that. I can't believe it's going to be. That makes this one ninety eight well, happy ninety eighth, ninety nine and one hundredth episode to us and to you guys, our listeners. Wow.

I don't know what quite to do for the hundredth episode, but I think we decided to do something very special and Brion, a very very special guest, A fantastic gift for all of us, Miss Morgan Fairchild will be coming on our one hundredth episode of Eighties TV Ladies. I really cannot wait. We hope. Eighties TV Ladies brings you joy and laughter and lots of fabulous new and old shows to watch, all of which will lead us forward toward being amazing ladies of the twenty first century. Babies, Dad, I'm like hand so pretty basta beating living out into the city and the stabling and dream and getting were God put the money in the band.

Eighty Rats.