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Summary
The Golden Girls is based on the lives
and interactions of four older women whom have all been divorced/widowed,
and are now roommates. Bea Arthur's (Dorothy) main goal during the series
is to find a companion she can relate to while her mother Estelle Getty
(Sophia) adds her comical outlook and frequent "Picture This" stories.
Betty White's St. Olaf-ness makes her a little corny but lovable. One thing
that changes nearly every episode is whom Rue McClanahan (Blanche) is courting.
She's a little too promiscuous for her own good.
Cast
Beatrice Arthur .... Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak
Hollingsworth
Betty White .... Rose Martin Lindstrom
Nylund
Rue McClanahan .... Blanche Elizabeth Hollingsworth
Devereaux
Estelle Getty .... Sophia Spirelli Petrillo
Weinstock
Herb Edelman .... Stanley 'Stan' Zbornak
Harold Gould .... Nicholas Carbone, alias
Professor Miles Webber (1990-1992)
DVD Summaries
Season 1
Amazon.com Review
Launched during the neon-lit 1980s, The Golden Girls shed light on a
side of Miami ignored by Miami Vice. In other words, no drugs, no murder--just
four women of "a certain age," spending their golden years in the sun.
Like the theme, "Thank You for Being a Friend," the long-running sitcom
was about friendship (not crime). As for the "girls," they were tart-tongued
Dorothy (Beatrice Arthur), former farm girl Rose (Betty White), Southern
belle Blanche (Rue McClanahan), and Dorothy's salty Sicilian mother Sophia
(Estelle Getty). All were widows, with the exception of the divorced Dorothy.
Created by Emmy-winning producer Susan Harris (Soap), The Golden Girls
re-ignited the careers of 1970s TV veterans Arthur (All in the Family,
Maude) and White (The Mary Tyler Moore Show). At the same time, it made
stars of McClanahan (who co-starred on Maude), by playing a comic version
of A Streetcar Named Desire's Blanche Dubois, and the scene-stealing Getty,
made to look older than her actual age (she and Arthur were born the same
year).
Notable guests to lend their talents to the first season include Star
Trek: Voyager's Robert Picardo ("The Operation"), Alice's Polly Holliday
("Blind Ambitions"), and WKRP in Cincinnati's Gordon Jump ("Big Daddy").
In addition, Harold Gould (Rhoda), who appears in "Rose the Prude," would
return as a (different) recurring character five years later.
The Golden Girls ran for seven seasons and spawned spin-off The Golden
Palace (without Arthur) and a British version called The Brighton Belles.
By the end of its run in 1992, it had garnered numerous awards, including
two Emmys for best comedy series. In addition, each of the four actresses
received a well-deserved Emmy for her efforts. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
* Source of Information imdb.com |
