Post by jasong on May 9, 2018 15:46:11 GMT
*Takes in a deep breath* Wow. Has it been 26 years already? It certainly doesn't feel like that.
The first night the show aired, where were you? At home? at a friends house? out of the town? in 1985 when the show debuted were you thinking "What's this show? Will it work out with 4 older women on TV?" because then in 85 only a handful of shows had a female cast, Designing Women, Facts of Life, Living Simple just to name a few.
Now how many people do you hear say "I'm going home, gonna go onto Netflix/youtube/vimeo/hulu etc. and watch Maude?" not many would say it, but how many tweets do you see about someone watching Golden Girls? a lot. I do recognise some people have different tastes when it comes to TV sitcoms and whether or not they have the same tastes in shows is entirely up to them.
No matter what, 26 years on and it seems like only yesterday the show aired its pilot.
Finding Humour-
The show was based on humour and we see it during the series. Dorothy and Sophia with the barbs and Rose, Blanche taking them in stride and making fun of it in her own way as well, you could never get Blanche down. The show dealt with serious issues with the trademark humour, and for a show to run for 7 years and have fresh humour every week for 180 episodes.
The show found humour in all sorts of places, even during several episodes with death as the main storyline. If you don't have humour in an episode like that, then what do you have?
The 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.
The compassion showed in many episodes, even one where Dorothy asks Sophia about her thoughts on having a gay son. She replies "I wouldn't love him any less." meaning she'd love him no matter what his preference.
Loss Is Hard To Fathom-
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. The show made sure it dealt with loss in a respectful way and we see all 4 character mourning the loss of someone and sometimes seeing that on screen is very hurtful you feel it with them, you feel Blanche hug George in her dream and you're sitting in that kitchen when Rose cuts her birthday cake, we're in Brooklyn when Sophia sees Sal's ghost, and we're wondering what Dorothy ever saw in Stan.. (The potato head..). Rose mourns for her husband Charlie, Blanche mourns for George, Sophia for Sal, and Dorothy for her failed marriage.
Those Women Behind The Characters-
The moment the show aired its pilot the legacy of the Golden Girls started, the smashing of records the emmy wins, the reaction from the gay community as well, nothing stopped the Golden Girls juggernaut.
Bea Arthur's comedic legacy began in 1972 with #Maude (or if you want to it started on All in the Family twice.), and she continued that throughout the Golden Girls run.
Estelle Getty came off broadway musical "Torch song Trilogy." and the producers fell in love, and she wasn't supposed to be a full time member of the girls (according to IMDb test audiences loved her so much that they had to write out the gay housekeeper Coco.) Getty was afraid every day she filmed the show because she wasn't a TV name until her debut on Golden Girls, and that she would be seen as a "fraud" because the others were TV legends.
Rue had her own legacy at marrying umpteenth times and being the saucy Blanche, most people thought that's where she got her start, but no it wasn't, Rue was on Maude for its run and worked with Bea and Betty before the Golden Girls.
Betty had been around TV for many years and joined the cast of Mama's Family and before that was on the Mary Tyler Moore show.
26 Years On-
After the show debuted and ended the show's legacy has stayed with the show til this very day 26 years on. Reruns, merch and twitter accounts (Ah you know the quote pages, fans finding the show), the legacy of the show is much better than many other shows, and with Betty White making the girls proud in 2018, I bet you they are watching over her, proud at how she is carrying on at the age of 96.
The reason why it matters is because the show is a great show and it makes me proud at what people have done with the show and how far they have taken the show into the 21st century.
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 Goldburgs in 2018 for example), the actresses from the show haven't been forgotten nor should they be allowed to because they mean so much to us, they are like family even if Rue, Bea and Estelle are gone, we remember them and we watch their work with open eyes.. Golden Girls Forever.
The first night the show aired, where were you? At home? at a friends house? out of the town? in 1985 when the show debuted were you thinking "What's this show? Will it work out with 4 older women on TV?" because then in 85 only a handful of shows had a female cast, Designing Women, Facts of Life, Living Simple just to name a few.
Now how many people do you hear say "I'm going home, gonna go onto Netflix/youtube/vimeo/hulu etc. and watch Maude?" not many would say it, but how many tweets do you see about someone watching Golden Girls? a lot. I do recognise some people have different tastes when it comes to TV sitcoms and whether or not they have the same tastes in shows is entirely up to them.
No matter what, 26 years on and it seems like only yesterday the show aired its pilot.
Finding Humour-
The show was based on humour and we see it during the series. Dorothy and Sophia with the barbs and Rose, Blanche taking them in stride and making fun of it in her own way as well, you could never get Blanche down. The show dealt with serious issues with the trademark humour, and for a show to run for 7 years and have fresh humour every week for 180 episodes.
The show found humour in all sorts of places, even during several episodes with death as the main storyline. If you don't have humour in an episode like that, then what do you have?
The 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.
The compassion showed in many episodes, even one where Dorothy asks Sophia about her thoughts on having a gay son. She replies "I wouldn't love him any less." meaning she'd love him no matter what his preference.
Loss Is Hard To Fathom-
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. The show made sure it dealt with loss in a respectful way and we see all 4 character mourning the loss of someone and sometimes seeing that on screen is very hurtful you feel it with them, you feel Blanche hug George in her dream and you're sitting in that kitchen when Rose cuts her birthday cake, we're in Brooklyn when Sophia sees Sal's ghost, and we're wondering what Dorothy ever saw in Stan.. (The potato head..). Rose mourns for her husband Charlie, Blanche mourns for George, Sophia for Sal, and Dorothy for her failed marriage.
Those Women Behind The Characters-
The moment the show aired its pilot the legacy of the Golden Girls started, the smashing of records the emmy wins, the reaction from the gay community as well, nothing stopped the Golden Girls juggernaut.
Bea Arthur's comedic legacy began in 1972 with #Maude (or if you want to it started on All in the Family twice.), and she continued that throughout the Golden Girls run.
Estelle Getty came off broadway musical "Torch song Trilogy." and the producers fell in love, and she wasn't supposed to be a full time member of the girls (according to IMDb test audiences loved her so much that they had to write out the gay housekeeper Coco.) Getty was afraid every day she filmed the show because she wasn't a TV name until her debut on Golden Girls, and that she would be seen as a "fraud" because the others were TV legends.
Rue had her own legacy at marrying umpteenth times and being the saucy Blanche, most people thought that's where she got her start, but no it wasn't, Rue was on Maude for its run and worked with Bea and Betty before the Golden Girls.
Betty had been around TV for many years and joined the cast of Mama's Family and before that was on the Mary Tyler Moore show.
26 Years On-
After the show debuted and ended the show's legacy has stayed with the show til this very day 26 years on. Reruns, merch and twitter accounts (Ah you know the quote pages, fans finding the show), the legacy of the show is much better than many other shows, and with Betty White making the girls proud in 2018, I bet you they are watching over her, proud at how she is carrying on at the age of 96.
The reason why it matters is because the show is a great show and it makes me proud at what people have done with the show and how far they have taken the show into the 21st century.
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 Goldburgs in 2018 for example), the actresses from the show haven't been forgotten nor should they be allowed to because they mean so much to us, they are like family even if Rue, Bea and Estelle are gone, we remember them and we watch their work with open eyes.. Golden Girls Forever.