Post by jasong on Feb 2, 2018 6:07:23 GMT
"Grandma doesn't just fade from existence when she passes a certain age. She's still living and having fun!"- Betty White on the Golden Girls in her Intimate Portrait.
There comes a point when we see and even say to ourselves. "what can a show really teach me.", a show can teach you a lot. like love, compassion, kindness and dealing with loss. But what did a show in 1985-1992 teach me? I can say it taught me a lot. and I am going to explain why and I hope to hit a nail on the head. I may have written about this before, but I think I need to write it again.
Loss-
During its 7 year run, the show dealt with loss in the way only the Golden Girls could, with humour and love, even though it was a comedy series, there is not doubt that a comedy series can gut punch you, and hard and the fact that it did this showed how much a show can do with a great writing staff. It showed a flashback of Rose sitting at a table in St Olaf mourning the loss of her husband and talking to thin air like he was still there, that for anyone is heartbreaking, but for me the most heartbreaking thing is the episode in season 1 known as "The Heart Attack" where in depth she discusses how she dressed her husband in the middle of having a heart attack (after having some hanky panky), and that he passed away before the ambulance got there. You can feel the heart break in that scene. A source on set said that Betty White's voice broke during the filming of that scene, I'm assuming because it reminded her of late husband Alan Ludden.
Another episode that dealt with the emotion of losing someone was the episode where Sophia went back to New York to try and remember her late husband Sal, after suffering memory lapses. That episode dealt with Sophia not wanting to forget her husband, but as the episode continues, she sees his ghost and says she doesn't want to forget him she cant "lose" his memory, he says that he will always be with her in her heart and that she will remember him no matter what.
Another episode which dealt with this was the episode known as "Mrs George Devereaux" and I have discussed this before, what Blanche is trying to find is not another person to replace George, but someone else to love, and this episode shows that even in his "death" George still loved Blanche, and that Blanche missed George everyday since his death, she remembered him and always had him on her mind and that she would never forget him.
Love-
The show dealt with love like mostly any other show, like Blanche finding guys and Dorothy failing at love, and Rose dating after many years of her husband Charlie passing away, Sophia being Sophia and still dating even at EIGHTY. remember that old folks still have that drive to fall in love! The showed the dates (even the bad ones) could be seen as amusing and funny, and the more serious side to dating (in one episode one of Blanches dates was a person who used verbal abuse to get his way), that episode shows how if someone is in love that the other people can see how much of a dick that date really was.
What was even better is after 7 seasons and many tirades at ex-husband Stan, Dorothy finally found love in the finale, she found love an got married to Lucas. And the one thing that made me smile was Stan taking Dorothy to her wedding "in style" and if you watch carefully he sits down at the wedding and watches his ex-wife finally be happy and you can see he made a mistake of letting Dorothy go.
Compassion-
The show I think was known for its compassion in some episodes, as they wanted to help people, even if those people didn't want help. Nothing can get past Sophia and how she took a walk to the store to get a nectarine and go to the hospital to volunteer, this is why I love the character so much, its not what you expect but its what you get. She may be brash but she has a heart of gold. Blanche of course showed compassion to Sophia's friend after wanting a breast job, she decided not to get it and she decided that Lillian's health and well being was more important. Rose and Dorothy were know for their compassion as well, and the thing is that the show was so well-written that they all had an episode where their compassion was truly shown.
Death-
Quick fact Estelle Getty was afraid of death (must've made it hard to go to the onset funerals), and the show dealt with loss so many times. The loss of a loved one can feel like the end of the world. The show dealt with the loss of Sophia's son Phil, and how heart broken Dorothy, Sophia and Angela were. Sophia claims she failed as a mother, and Angela saying she did no such thing, the episode ends with Sophia saying "My baby is gone" and breaking down with Angela hugging her in the end. I just got tears writing this down.
Another one was Rose remembering her dead husband Charlie, those 7 years the stories she told made us feel like we were there. The heartbreaking stories and moments, (e.g the episode she was cutting up her birthday cake, and discussing with thin air on why she wants to move to Miami). But how much she truly loved him was amazing. Even though we never met him, it felt like we were apart of that relationship.
Humour-
The show had some GREAT comedic moments. Even the "NOT NOW MA!" is a funny scene. Now the show what built on humour and sarcasm, and then of course Bea Arthur was brilliant at her deadpan comedic style and delivery it made some scenes so good, Estelle Getty was brilliant in her delivery of picture it stories, and Rue's reactions I think made the show, and of course Betty, some people think she's just "another comedy actor, who cant be serious", but the fact is she can be very serious when need be, and that she was always on top of her game.
In the end, the Golden Girls was a show built on humour, comedy, love, loss and things that make a good comedy show great. A show with a long lasting legacy and a show with 4 main actresses who could gel together from the start and to the finish. In a decade of shows that were popular in the US, the Golden Girls went all over the world and inspired many shows to do a type of "Golden Girls" episode (the Goldenburgs in 2018 for example), the actresses from the show haven't been forgotten nor should they be allowed to. Golden Girls Forever.
There comes a point when we see and even say to ourselves. "what can a show really teach me.", a show can teach you a lot. like love, compassion, kindness and dealing with loss. But what did a show in 1985-1992 teach me? I can say it taught me a lot. and I am going to explain why and I hope to hit a nail on the head. I may have written about this before, but I think I need to write it again.
Loss-
During its 7 year run, the show dealt with loss in the way only the Golden Girls could, with humour and love, even though it was a comedy series, there is not doubt that a comedy series can gut punch you, and hard and the fact that it did this showed how much a show can do with a great writing staff. It showed a flashback of Rose sitting at a table in St Olaf mourning the loss of her husband and talking to thin air like he was still there, that for anyone is heartbreaking, but for me the most heartbreaking thing is the episode in season 1 known as "The Heart Attack" where in depth she discusses how she dressed her husband in the middle of having a heart attack (after having some hanky panky), and that he passed away before the ambulance got there. You can feel the heart break in that scene. A source on set said that Betty White's voice broke during the filming of that scene, I'm assuming because it reminded her of late husband Alan Ludden.
Another episode that dealt with the emotion of losing someone was the episode where Sophia went back to New York to try and remember her late husband Sal, after suffering memory lapses. That episode dealt with Sophia not wanting to forget her husband, but as the episode continues, she sees his ghost and says she doesn't want to forget him she cant "lose" his memory, he says that he will always be with her in her heart and that she will remember him no matter what.
Another episode which dealt with this was the episode known as "Mrs George Devereaux" and I have discussed this before, what Blanche is trying to find is not another person to replace George, but someone else to love, and this episode shows that even in his "death" George still loved Blanche, and that Blanche missed George everyday since his death, she remembered him and always had him on her mind and that she would never forget him.
Love-
The show dealt with love like mostly any other show, like Blanche finding guys and Dorothy failing at love, and Rose dating after many years of her husband Charlie passing away, Sophia being Sophia and still dating even at EIGHTY. remember that old folks still have that drive to fall in love! The showed the dates (even the bad ones) could be seen as amusing and funny, and the more serious side to dating (in one episode one of Blanches dates was a person who used verbal abuse to get his way), that episode shows how if someone is in love that the other people can see how much of a dick that date really was.
What was even better is after 7 seasons and many tirades at ex-husband Stan, Dorothy finally found love in the finale, she found love an got married to Lucas. And the one thing that made me smile was Stan taking Dorothy to her wedding "in style" and if you watch carefully he sits down at the wedding and watches his ex-wife finally be happy and you can see he made a mistake of letting Dorothy go.
Compassion-
The show I think was known for its compassion in some episodes, as they wanted to help people, even if those people didn't want help. Nothing can get past Sophia and how she took a walk to the store to get a nectarine and go to the hospital to volunteer, this is why I love the character so much, its not what you expect but its what you get. She may be brash but she has a heart of gold. Blanche of course showed compassion to Sophia's friend after wanting a breast job, she decided not to get it and she decided that Lillian's health and well being was more important. Rose and Dorothy were know for their compassion as well, and the thing is that the show was so well-written that they all had an episode where their compassion was truly shown.
Death-
Quick fact Estelle Getty was afraid of death (must've made it hard to go to the onset funerals), and the show dealt with loss so many times. The loss of a loved one can feel like the end of the world. The show dealt with the loss of Sophia's son Phil, and how heart broken Dorothy, Sophia and Angela were. Sophia claims she failed as a mother, and Angela saying she did no such thing, the episode ends with Sophia saying "My baby is gone" and breaking down with Angela hugging her in the end. I just got tears writing this down.
Another one was Rose remembering her dead husband Charlie, those 7 years the stories she told made us feel like we were there. The heartbreaking stories and moments, (e.g the episode she was cutting up her birthday cake, and discussing with thin air on why she wants to move to Miami). But how much she truly loved him was amazing. Even though we never met him, it felt like we were apart of that relationship.
Humour-
The show had some GREAT comedic moments. Even the "NOT NOW MA!" is a funny scene. Now the show what built on humour and sarcasm, and then of course Bea Arthur was brilliant at her deadpan comedic style and delivery it made some scenes so good, Estelle Getty was brilliant in her delivery of picture it stories, and Rue's reactions I think made the show, and of course Betty, some people think she's just "another comedy actor, who cant be serious", but the fact is she can be very serious when need be, and that she was always on top of her game.
In the end, the Golden Girls was a show built on humour, comedy, love, loss and things that make a good comedy show great. A show with a long lasting legacy and a show with 4 main actresses who could gel together from the start and to the finish. In a decade of shows that were popular in the US, the Golden Girls went all over the world and inspired many shows to do a type of "Golden Girls" episode (the Goldenburgs in 2018 for example), the actresses from the show haven't been forgotten nor should they be allowed to. Golden Girls Forever.