by Vivian Madison

Created on: August 17, 2009

The Golden Girls is my absolute favorite television show. I was a child during the show's original run and did not watch it much then, but fell in love with it when the Lifetime channel played the reruns in syndication. Long before Lifetime dropped the show, I had seen every episode multiple times. Once the show moved from Lifetime to Hallmark channel and WE, I purchased all seven DVD's, which I have watched at least three times so far. No matter how many times I watch this show, I never get tired of it. This is the only TV show that I would ever own on DVD, as all other shows become quite boring after multiple viewings.

Although The Golden Girls premiered on television nearly 25 years ago, it is just as funny today as it was then. While the girls' costumes are certainly outdated, their characters are timeless. The show is set in Miami. The four "girls" are Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), a substitute teacher from Brooklyn; her mother Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty); Rose Nylund (Betty White), a very naive midwesterner; and Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan), a sexy southern belle who owns the house where they all live. As Rose states in one episode, Dorothy is the smart one, Blanche is the pretty one, Sophia is the old one, and Rose describes herself as the nice one. The girls do have a few more dimensions than this, though. Dorothy is divorced; the others are widowed. Dorothy tends to be the practical one, but can get rather overbearing at times. Sophia is a sassy spit-fire; in the pilot episode, this is attributed to a stroke which destroyed the part of her brain which censors what she says. Rose is generous and kind, and she takes naive to the extreme, being something of an airhead, but watch out for her competitive streak! Blanche would happily describe herself as a slut and certainly does her best to live up to that description. Dorothy's ex-husband, Stanley (Herb Edelman), makes several appearances. According to Sophia, Stan is a yutz, but Dorothy continues to get involved with him again on several episodes. As he continues to appear on episodes(always arriving at the front door, saying, "It's me, Stan") , he becomes a rather lovable jerk and is essential to the show's hilarity. Various family members, friends, and neighbors make appearances throughout the show, and you will find many memorable and famous (or now famous) guest stars, such as Dick Van Dyke, Burt Reynolds, and George Clooney. Watch for the same guest stars making appearances

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