The Golden Girls: Season 1

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Universal acclaim based on 6 Critic Reviews

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Universal acclaim based on 15 Ratings

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8.7

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8.7	User Score Universal acclaim based on 15 Ratings

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Season Details & Credits

NBC | Season Premiere Date: September 14, 1985

Starring: Betty White, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan

Summary: The Golden Girls, which ran on NBC from 1985 until 1992, centers around four women all near or above the age of 50. Created by Susan Harris (Soap, Empty Nest), the series was an immediate hit in it's Saturday night timeslot. The show mainly involved four women. The stories involve dating and solving various problems. The story of theThe Golden Girls, which ran on NBC from 1985 until 1992, centers around four women all near or above the age of 50. Created by Susan Harris (Soap, Empty Nest), the series was an immediate hit in it's Saturday night timeslot. The show mainly involved four women. The stories involve dating and solving various problems. The story of the week sometimes included issues such as harassment, homosexuality, impotence, AIDS, death, and adultery.Just Who Are the Golden Girls?Dorothy Petrillo Zbornak (Beatrice Arthur) is the tall, headstrong, witty and sometimes mean Golden Girl. Not known for her looks but she is definately intelligent. Despite being unlikely pairs, she still manages to get along with...Rose Lindstrom Nylund (Betty White) is the innocent Minnesota dumb (bleached) blonde of the girls. She is very sweet and kind to animals but can be persistant and annoying. She can be mean and insulting on some occasions, though, especially to...Blanche Elizabeth Hollingsworth Devereaux (Rue McClanahan)is the sex-starved, conceited, arrogant, self-absorbed Golden Girl. She has a heart deep down inside and her mind is only in one place...sex. She gives the word Grandma a new meaning! Blanche is the owner of the house...a house whom every man in Miami's seen at least once. They usually get along with her but she is often at odds with...Sophia Spirelli Petrillo Weinstock (Estelle Getty) is the elderly, Sicilian, overly sarcastic, always-scheming mother of Dorothy. She has a good heart but will always speak her mind and tends to do things that gets on the nerves of others, especially her own daughter.That's the set-up...the 4 Miami Golden Girls under one roof...comedy ensured!First Telecast: September 14, 1985 Last Episode: May 09, 1992 Last Telecast: September 14, 1992
Episodes: 180 Color Episodes + 1 Reunion SpecialTheme Song: "Thank You for Being a Friend"Written by: Andrew Gold
Sung by: Cynthia FeeNBC Broadcast HistorySeptember 1985-July 1991----Saturdays----9:00 p.m.
August-September 1991----Saturdays----8:30 p.m.
September 1991-September 1992----Saturdays----8:00 p.m.Nielsen Ratings:
(Top 30 or Better)#7 (tied with Dynasty) in the 1985-1986 Season
#5 in the 1986-1987 Season
#4 in the 1987-1988 Season
#6 in the 1988-1989 Season
#6 in the 1989-1990 Season
#10 in the 1990-1991 Season #30 (tied with In the Heat of the Night) in the 1991-1992 Season*Now Airs On Lifetime Television Network. Check your local listings.Theme Song Lyrics (full version)Thank you for being a friend,
Travel down the road and back again,
Your heart is true, You're a pal and a confidant!And if you threw a party,
Invited everyone you knew!
You would see,
The biggest gift would be from me,
And the card attached would say,
Thank you for being a friend!Please note, the theme song in sydnication is shortened due to time constraints.Check out the Sheet Music for the theme song at Andrew Gold's Web-Site.SPINOFFS
Empty Nest-In May of 1996, Golden Girls second season spawned an episode titled 'Empty Nests' about George and Renee Corliss, a Miami couple that needs to spend a little bit more time with each other. The pilot was not picked up until 1988 but all the actors were replaced and the series was retooled after Dr. Harry Weston, a pediatrician widower, living with his daughters Barbara and Carol with constant drop ins by the annoying Charley Dietz.Nurses-Nurses debuted in 1991 and could be considered more of a spinoff to Empty Nest. It was about the Miami General Hopsital nurses at the hospital where Harry worked.The Golden Palace-A continuation of The Golden Girls involving Rose, Blanche and Sophia moving into and owning a hotel.Brighton Belles-A short-lived British remake.… Expand

Creator: Susan Harris

Genre(s): Comedy

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Season 1 Episodes

tbd
S1:E25. The Way We Met
Air Date: May 10, 1986
tbd
S1:E24. Big Daddy
Air Date: May 3, 1986
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S1:E23. Blind Ambitions
Air Date: March 29, 1986

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Steve Sonsky

Feb 27, 2013

This wonderful half-hour pilot has distinguished this show as the very best of the crop of new series this fall. The writing, by the bawdy, brilliant Susan Harris, who was lured back to television by the promise of doing a show with the kind of characters seldom seen on the tube, is on a par with her wittiest days as the creator of "Soap". [14 Sept 1985, p.D5]

Arthur Unger

Feb 27, 2013

If anybody ever doubted the funny-lady talents of Bea Arthur, even after ''Maude,'' then her many golden moments in Golden Girls should win her a permanent place in everybody's hierarchy of comic genius, ranking with Sid Caesar and Lucille Ball...The Golden Girls is adult, literate, witty, poignant, funny. And, oh yes, honest. [12 Sept 1985, p.26]

Howard Rosenberg

Feb 27, 2013

Not only does The Golden Girls offer meaningful portrayals of women in their post-middle-age years, but, as a bonus, it's one of those TV rarities, a comedy that's funny. Very funny. [13 Sept 1985, p.C1]

Tom Shales

Feb 27, 2013

The reason it works so well is that performers and script are ideally matched; they join forces to obliterate resistance. [14 Sept 1985, p.C1]

Steve Daley

Feb 27, 2013

Watching Golden Girls, you get the feeling that Harris had the good sense to fit the brand of humor with the actresses. There is a kind of Borsch Belt, take-my-wife-please approach to chasing the laughs, with everything in place but the nightclub rim shot, the obligatory ba-bump from the drummer on top of the punch line. [13 Sept 1995, p.5]

John J. O'Connor

Feb 27, 2013

Everyone is clearly having a good time, and the fun is catching. One should be grateful for that much, perhaps, but the sheer professionalism cannot entirely hide some potential weaknesses. A little too much of the humor is directed at ridiculing certain signs of aging, from having hair in one's ears to incontinence. Bathroom jokes have their limitations. And Miss Getty's character threatens to demolish the ensemble work with the need to get a laugh every time she opens her outrageous mouth. [14 Sept 1985]

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User Reviews

Airwick

Aug 26, 2010

Without a doubt the best television comedy of all time. How can you go wrong with superb writing, a brilliant cast, and the courage to go places no other show has ever dared to go. The eternal Betty White turns in one of the best comedic performances of all time. Bea Arthur and Estelle GettyWithout a doubt the best television comedy of all time. How can you go wrong with superb writing, a brilliant cast, and the courage to go places no other show has ever dared to go. The eternal Betty White turns in one of the best comedic performances of all time. Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty combine to form one of comedy's most formidable duos. Rue McLanahan brings forth one of the best drawn characters in television history. But this gem was more than just a comedy, it was a genuinely wonderful program. The Golden Girls will love on as the most influential show ever made.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

Seasons & Episodes

82

Series Overview
Season 7

tbd
- Season 7 Overview
  Air Date: September 21, 1991
Season 6

tbd
- Season 6 Overview
  Air Date: September 22, 1990
Season 5

tbd
- Season 5 Overview
  Air Date: September 23, 1989
Season 4

tbd
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: October 8, 1988
Season 3

tbd
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: September 19, 1987
Season 2

tbd
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: September 27, 1986
Season 1

82
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: September 14, 1985
- tbd
  S1:E25. The Way We Met
  Air Date: May 10, 1986
- tbd
  S1:E24. Big Daddy
  Air Date: May 3, 1986
- tbd
  S1:E23. Blind Ambitions
  Air Date: March 29, 1986
- tbd
  S1:E22. Job Hunting
  Air Date: March 8, 1986
- tbd
  S1:E21. Flu Attack (a.k.a.) The Flu
  Air Date: March 1, 1986
- tbd
  S1:E20. Adult Education
  Air Date: February 22, 1986
- tbd
  S1:E19. Second Motherhood
  Air Date: February 15, 1986
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  S1:E18. The Operation
  Air Date: February 8, 1986
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  S1:E17. Nice and Easy
  Air Date: February 1, 1986
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  S1:E16. The Truth Will Out (a.k.a.) The Will
  Air Date: January 18, 1986
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  S1:E15. In a Bed of Rose's
  Air Date: January 11, 1986
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  S1:E14. That Was No Lady
  Air Date: December 21, 1985
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  S1:E13. A Little Romance
  Air Date: December 14, 1985
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  S1:E12. The Custody Battle
  Air Date: December 7, 1985
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  S1:E11. The Return of Dorothy's Ex (a.k.a.) Stan's Return
  Air Date: November 30, 1985
- tbd
  S1:E10. The Heart Attack
  Air Date: November 23, 1985
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  S1:E9. Blanche and the Younger Man
  Air Date: November 16, 1985
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  S1:E8. Break-In
  Air Date: November 9, 1985
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  S1:E7. The Competition
  Air Date: November 2, 1985
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  S1:E6. On Golden Girls
  Air Date: October 26, 1985
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  S1:E5. The Triangle
  Air Date: October 19, 1985
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  S1:E4. Transplant
  Air Date: October 5, 1985
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  S1:E3. Rose the Prude
  Air Date: September 28, 1985
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  S1:E2. Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding?
  Air Date: September 21, 1985
- tbd
  S1:E1. The Engagement (a.k.a.) The Pilot
  Air Date: September 14, 1985