“Winifred, did you hear I mentioned your name, you little twat?”
March 7, 2016 8:54 AM Subscribe
TV Guide had done a piece on the show: “The Golden Girls—Is it still as good as it was the first year?” And they asked random people what they thought of the show, and this one housewife said she didn’t think the show was as good and that Bea Arthur’s character wasn’t as interesting. They mentioned her by name—Mrs. Betty Johnson, Sioux Falls, Iowa. So Bea reads this at lunch and then gets on the phone and asks information for this Betty Johnson’s number. And she calls her. And she picks up, this TV Guide woman, and Bea says, “This is Bea Arthur, and I want to talk to you about what you said in TV Guide.” The woman was horrified. She said she was misquoted. “I didn’t mean it. Is it really you? I love the show. I take it back.” And Bea goes, “That’s what I thought. OK, that’s better.”It's like, how much more Bea Arthur could this be? and the answer is none. None more Bea Arthur.
posted by Etrigan at 9:05 AM on March 7, 2016 [65 favorites]
I used to watch a lot of Golden Girls with my first boyfriend, and I found myself oddly tearing up while reading this. Lots of good memories from years that I don't often reflect upon. Thanks for posting this.
posted by hippybear at 9:06 AM on March 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 9:06 AM on March 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
I have memories of watching this show, along with All in the Family, mostly because it was watched with my parents way past my bed time. I didn't understand a lot of the show or what was happening on screen but there was a sense of comedy and it was just something I was allowed to do. I have since gone back and rewatched the entire series as an adult and its pure comedy gold. Will be reading this later tonight. Great find.
posted by Fizz at 9:39 AM on March 7, 2016
posted by Fizz at 9:39 AM on March 7, 2016
Here is the episode filmed after Bea Arthur's mother died. The scene mentioned starts just after the 15 minute mark.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:49 AM on March 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:49 AM on March 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
Miami is nice, so I'll say it thrice.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:50 AM on March 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:50 AM on March 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
So why isn't The Golden Girls on any streaming media service? What's Disney holding out for? They're not going to get Seinfeld money, but they'd certainly get viewers.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:53 AM on March 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:53 AM on March 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
So why isn't The Golden Girls on any streaming media service?
If Netflix somehow managed to get The Golden Girls and E.R. I'm fairly certain I'd never leave my home.
posted by Fizz at 10:03 AM on March 7, 2016 [15 favorites]
If Netflix somehow managed to get The Golden Girls and E.R. I'm fairly certain I'd never leave my home.
posted by Fizz at 10:03 AM on March 7, 2016 [15 favorites]
So why isn't The Golden Girls on any streaming media service? What's Disney holding out for? They're not going to get Seinfeld money, but they'd certainly get viewers.
It's on endless repeat on about 15 stations at any given time during the day, I'm guessing.
posted by xingcat at 10:19 AM on March 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's on endless repeat on about 15 stations at any given time during the day, I'm guessing.
posted by xingcat at 10:19 AM on March 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Golden Girls and Designing Women were two of my very favorite shows, I learned a lot about how to be a good feminist and a good person from those shows.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:25 AM on March 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:25 AM on March 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
I hated how I looked until I hit 45, for reasons I have never been able to explain. I can look back now on photos of me from 20-25 years ago and say "oh wow, I was a hawt young man". I never felt it back then. I'm pretty okay with how I look now, and look forward to what the coming years will bring.
I watch enough television that originates in the UK that I find what I see happen to US-based actresses as far as surgery goes pretty shocking. It becomes a distraction to me. "But she used to look like this, and now she suddenly looks like that!" Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, many others.. They are all women becoming older, and I appreciate all of them.
posted by hippybear at 10:25 AM on March 7, 2016
I watch enough television that originates in the UK that I find what I see happen to US-based actresses as far as surgery goes pretty shocking. It becomes a distraction to me. "But she used to look like this, and now she suddenly looks like that!" Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, many others.. They are all women becoming older, and I appreciate all of them.
posted by hippybear at 10:25 AM on March 7, 2016
It's on endless repeat on about 15 stations at any given time during the day, I'm guessing
It's on Hallmark and TVLand, in small amounts. TVLand runs 1-2 a night and Hallmark runs a half-dozen on weekends.
That said, Seinfeld is syndicated all over the freaking planet (including local stations) and Hulu still paid $160,000,000 to stream episodes on-demand.
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:36 AM on March 7, 2016
It's on Hallmark and TVLand, in small amounts. TVLand runs 1-2 a night and Hallmark runs a half-dozen on weekends.
That said, Seinfeld is syndicated all over the freaking planet (including local stations) and Hulu still paid $160,000,000 to stream episodes on-demand.
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:36 AM on March 7, 2016
Golden Girls was Crone Island v. 1.0.
The place we all long to live, full of comfortable flowing clothes, cheery furniture, sexytimes if we wanted them and cheesecake every damn night.
The one thing I hated about that show was people (especially Sophia) ragging on Dorothy's looks. She was a good-looking lady, who was also tall enough to curb-stomp you. What's not to like? I didn't mind her being the straight man during all the wacky hijinks the rest of them got up to, so much as I minded the pointless insults.
posted by emjaybee at 10:37 AM on March 7, 2016 [15 favorites]
The place we all long to live, full of comfortable flowing clothes, cheery furniture, sexytimes if we wanted them and cheesecake every damn night.
The one thing I hated about that show was people (especially Sophia) ragging on Dorothy's looks. She was a good-looking lady, who was also tall enough to curb-stomp you. What's not to like? I didn't mind her being the straight man during all the wacky hijinks the rest of them got up to, so much as I minded the pointless insults.
posted by emjaybee at 10:37 AM on March 7, 2016 [15 favorites]
I actually think a lot of that stuff was about Blanche and Sofia's ideas of femininity, and Dorothy refusing to bend to their ideals.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:42 AM on March 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:42 AM on March 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
It's on Hallmark every week night at 11:00 PM, but I definitely don't know that because I watch it every night or anything. On channel 365. With the sleep timer set to 30 minutes.
posted by lock sock and barrel at 11:00 AM on March 7, 2016 [17 favorites]
posted by lock sock and barrel at 11:00 AM on March 7, 2016 [17 favorites]
I think it's neat that the new Animal Collective single 'Golden Gal' starts with a Bea Arthur sample and seems to use the show as a tool to explain how cool and awesome girls can be.
Dorothy was the first woman I ever saw on TV who remind me of me, and I was like 10 when I first saw the show. I later learned more about Bea Arthur (MAUDE!) and basically consider her a secular saint.
posted by palindromic at 11:27 AM on March 7, 2016 [5 favorites]
Dorothy was the first woman I ever saw on TV who remind me of me, and I was like 10 when I first saw the show. I later learned more about Bea Arthur (MAUDE!) and basically consider her a secular saint.
posted by palindromic at 11:27 AM on March 7, 2016 [5 favorites]
The St. Olaf stories may be one of the show's greatest contributions to the science of writing comedy. Also a bonus: About Minnesota.
posted by maxsparber at 12:18 PM on March 7, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 12:18 PM on March 7, 2016 [5 favorites]
"So is intrauterine, it doesn't belong in a song!"
I still remember how hard this made me laugh at the time!
posted by MoxieProxy at 12:24 PM on March 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
I still remember how hard this made me laugh at the time!
posted by MoxieProxy at 12:24 PM on March 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Whenever my wife gets her fill of Investigation Discovery (aka Death Murder Awful Wasteful Things Channel), we can usually reliable find an episode or two of the golden girls to enjoy.
And hey, Jenny Lewis!
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:10 PM on March 7, 2016
And hey, Jenny Lewis!
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:10 PM on March 7, 2016
The best thing about the intrauterine joke was the callback later in the episode.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:25 PM on March 7, 2016
posted by Chrysostom at 1:25 PM on March 7, 2016
It's like, how much more Bea Arthur could this be? and the answer is none. None more Bea Arthur.
This cracked me up:
Estelle Getty lived in Bayside, Queens when I was growing up in the area. (Late 80's, very early 90's.) When I was in high school we spotted her often at some local places: at a movie theater. A local bookstore. Some restaurants. A petite lady with red curly hair.
posted by zarq at 1:35 PM on March 7, 2016
This cracked me up:
"And then Bea said “That person’s going to go tell everyone that I called her, and no one’s going to believe her.”"--
Estelle Getty lived in Bayside, Queens when I was growing up in the area. (Late 80's, very early 90's.) When I was in high school we spotted her often at some local places: at a movie theater. A local bookstore. Some restaurants. A petite lady with red curly hair.
posted by zarq at 1:35 PM on March 7, 2016
"How much money are we talking about, Ma?"
"Enough to rub you out if you rat on me!"
posted by ob1quixote at 1:36 PM on March 7, 2016
"Enough to rub you out if you rat on me!"
posted by ob1quixote at 1:36 PM on March 7, 2016
And to think, the whole time she was filming the show, she was secretly married to Santa Claus.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 2:14 PM on March 7, 2016
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 2:14 PM on March 7, 2016
My favorite line, which I've remembered all these years, comes after the girls are gossiping about another woman with loose morals and call her a disparaging name. One of them asks "Well, what do YOU call a woman who goes to bed on the first date?" to which Blanche replies, "A damn good sport??"
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 3:16 PM on March 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 3:16 PM on March 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
On the West Coast it's on between 8 and 10 p.m. on the Hallmark Channel on weekdays. The episodes run in chronological order; not that that matters much, except at the end where Dorothy marries Leslie Nielsen. Hope that's not a spoiler ...
posted by vickyverky at 4:50 PM on March 7, 2016
posted by vickyverky at 4:50 PM on March 7, 2016
"Not Lebanese, Blanche. Lesbian."
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:50 PM on March 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:50 PM on March 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
I love the Bea Arthur story mentioned above. Also, Betty White swinging from a wire, Rue being the only one who loves being catcalled, and Estelle Getty, honorary gay woman apparently.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:29 PM on March 7, 2016
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:29 PM on March 7, 2016
My favorite line, which I've remembered all these years, comes after the girls are gossiping about another woman with loose morals and call her a disparaging name. One of them asks "Well, what do YOU call a woman who goes to bed on the first date?" to which Blanche replies, "A damn good sport??"
Clearly the inspiration for the yin gag to that yang: on Mad About You, Jamie is trying to convince her sister to not go right to bed with a new man. "Paul, tell my sister what men say about women who have sex on the first date." "Yippie?" (which is "hooray" if it's not obvious in the way I type Paul Reiser's lines)
posted by phearlez at 5:55 AM on March 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
Clearly the inspiration for the yin gag to that yang: on Mad About You, Jamie is trying to convince her sister to not go right to bed with a new man. "Paul, tell my sister what men say about women who have sex on the first date." "Yippie?" (which is "hooray" if it's not obvious in the way I type Paul Reiser's lines)
posted by phearlez at 5:55 AM on March 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
The St. Olaf stories may be one of the show's greatest contributions to the science of writing comedy.
My first serious boyfriend and I had a long running joke theory that as the show went on, Golden Girls was written by a software program that was a series of IF/THEN statements
(example: IF [double entendre], THEN [Blanche makes sexual comment]. If [Sophia=present], THEN [Sophia makes joke about Blanche's promiscuity], ELSE [Dorothy makes joke about Blanch's promiscuity])
Twenty years later, I realized this wasn't a computer but just exactly how a traditional situation comedy should work. (Of course, it helps if you've got 4 leads with amazing comic chops who could sell even the hackiest of jokes.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:46 AM on March 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
My first serious boyfriend and I had a long running joke theory that as the show went on, Golden Girls was written by a software program that was a series of IF/THEN statements
(example: IF [double entendre], THEN [Blanche makes sexual comment]. If [Sophia=present], THEN [Sophia makes joke about Blanche's promiscuity], ELSE [Dorothy makes joke about Blanch's promiscuity])
Twenty years later, I realized this wasn't a computer but just exactly how a traditional situation comedy should work. (Of course, it helps if you've got 4 leads with amazing comic chops who could sell even the hackiest of jokes.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:46 AM on March 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
« Older Fan made beats Phantom | ↑↑↓↓←→←→BA Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:02 AM on March 7, 2016