Talk:The Golden Girls/Archive 1

This is an archive of past discussions about The Golden Girls. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

Archive 1

Character Section Length

If each of the four girls has their own article, why are the character sections so incredibly long on this page? I think we should cut the sections down to at most two or three sentences for each and move the rest of the information to the individual characters' pages. The sheer size of the character section is just ridiculous.129.59.156.2 (talk) 21:47, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

Continuity section

Am I the only one that thinks these few sentences are extraneous: The Golden Girls was one of the last sitcoms to have its complete initial run before the widespread advent of the Internet. With fans of a TV show now able to watch and discuss each episode, offer suggestions and even point out continuity mistakes, writers and producers have the option of keeping much better tabs on their potential viewers. As The Golden Girls took place before such avenues of communication were as widely available, the characters were written more as "concepts first, people second." --Jeff Greco 22:30, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

I think that the sentences are rather important as this show did face many continuity errors and the like. -Ryan

As did, and do, many programs. I think the entire "Continuity" section is unnecessary. This is supposed to be an encyclopedia. The aim should not be to go into deep analysis of the subject, and this is going into excessive detail that only a die-hard fan would be particularly interested in. This information more correctly belongs on a fan or tribute site where it would be great. Here it's just a bit too much. Rossrs 14:04, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

I've removed the section. It's not important to the show, and it was missing referenced as well.--Nonpareility 15:14, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Characters section

There have been some additions and general chat about White and Arthur not getting along. It seems to feature interpretation of (what sound like vague and gossipy) press snippets. Is it really true? Also the general tone does not seem like wikipedia ro me. I want to tidy it up but I'm not sure where to start. Asa01 04:00, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

"Throughout the series, she held a few part-time jobs mostly involving food, including fast-food worker and entrepreneur of spaghetti sauce and homemade 'chuck wagon' sandwiches." This section has confused Sophia's job at Pecos Pete's Chuck Wagon, a fast-food restaurant where she goes on strike in season 3's "Blanche's Little Girl," with her attempt to sell sandwiches with Rose in season 2's "Take Him, He's Mine." The sandwiches they sell are BLT's until they run out of tomatoes -- then they sell bacon, lettuce, and potato sandwiches (not "chuck wagon" sandwiches). In season 2's episode called "The Actor," she also works at Captain Jack's Seafood Shanty.

Nuovo34 (talk) 05:22, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Deletion of goof/error

I have deleted the following:

"ERROR FOUND: An interesting note here is that in the episode where Rose runs into her real father (the monk), she mentions that it was the Nylund family who took her in. This is an impossibility, though, because Nylund was her married name, and it was previously mentioned that Lindstrom was her maiden name. (SOMEBODY IN CONTINUITY SCREWED UP)."

Shows are full of continuity errors but it doesn't mean we list them all in this manner through wikipedia. But is it really an error? Maybe the family did take her in, and then she married one of the sons. (Knowing Rose and her tales of the bizarre culture of St. Olaf with odd customs and offbeat characters this seems like an entirely feasible situation.) Or maybe she meant that she married, and was "taken in", or sort-of unofficially adopted into the family of her husband. Without seeing the episode and hearing word-for-word the dialogue it is hard to judge if this is really a goof. Asa01 04:09, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

Old comments prior to 10 November 2005

I'm startiing a page talking about the golden girls . Rose is my favorite because she is so sweet and dumb

I've added new pictures to replace the ones that were lost from the server. Mike H 19:09, Jul 19, 2004 (UTC)

Greatest sitcom EVER. Stay true to the Golden Girls TILL DEATH Violenciafriki 23:49, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

Dorothy's Grandchild

It's mentioned in the article that Dorothy had a grandchild that was never mentioned on the show... if this comes from materials established off-camera, maybe a reference or a citation would be appropriate?--MythicFox 09:52, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

I think the clause "and was never so much as mentioned" should be removed. Clearly the child must have been mentioned on the programme, or we wouldn't know about it.--Dub8lad1 23:27, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

The grandchild was mentioned in one of the Christmas episodes; Dorothy was shopping for him. I'm trying to dig up his name.--Nelliebellie 06:00, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Dorothy's grandchild was named Robbie/Robby.--Geek Grrrl

Blanche's Age

I am rephrasing the section on Blanche about the show never stating her age and it probably being in her 40's. Having recently aquired the first season DVD boxed set, there is an episode where Blanche dates a much younger man and after being told by him he thinks of her like a mother she states it made her feel like she was in her 50's. Dorothy responds "You ARE in your 50's, Blanche," to which she replies, "Yes, but normally I don't feel like it." Pacian 00:13, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Taken from the flashback episode "Mother's Day," Blanche was 17 in 1949, making her turn 53 in 1985.--Nelliebellie 06:02, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

That would make her 60 when the series ended in 1992. Interesting. :-D

ahahaha

deleted for immaturity and irrelevance.*--Nelliebellie 06:03, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Another continuity goof

Although I don't know the episode names to back it up. In one episode they make reference to their swimming pool, however in several episodes they reference going to use a neighbor's pool or their lack of one. I'll try and dig up episode names... Rainman420 06:28, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

One more problem

i dont know if this is a continuity goof or not, but it is a goof, you always see the girls enter the garage from the left side of the kitchen in the back of the house, but when you see the house from the outside, the garage is in the front right.

Home improvements

As far as with the house I always just made it out to be some serious improvements that Blanche did to her house, like moving her room to the other side of the house. I would love a blueprint of that house, thats if it's architecturally possible.

I'm surprised there was no mention, not to my knowledge, about the EXCLAMATION POINT on the door. If you look closely you can see what appears to be some sort of imprint on the door that resembles an exclamation point. I always wondered was that a mistake? How did it get there?

[RESPONSE] In real life, Bea Arthur (Dorothy) carved the exclamation point into the door for good luck

Is there a source for this? I'm more likely to believe that it is a characteristic of the pickling or distressing of the wood. If you look at the trim throughout the house, you can see similar effects. —Preceding unsigned comment added by C3pjo (talk • contribs) 13:16, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Spoofs

Are there any other spoofs besides the one from robot chicken???

a spoof of the golden girls from the show robot chicken

watch the spoof

GLtell 03:44, 30 June 2006 (UTC)GLtell

Quotes

The quotes section is too long and completely unnecessary, it belongs on a fan page, not an encyclopedia. I think in general this is an excellent article, but a lot of it resembles a fan site and really needs a good overhaul Paul75 22:28, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Personally I like the quote section as an idea, but I think you're right in that a lot of it could be pared down, as many don't make much sense without context.--Nelliebellie 18:11, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

The SPOOF was not set up by GLtell! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.22.23.233 (talk • contribs) .

Incorrect Spelling

Dorothy's father was named Salvatore, not Salvadore - I guess some people can't spell Italian names or something. --Leon Lombardi July 24 2006

Some people may not be able to spell Italian names, but they were the show's writers. Per the closing credits of "Mother's Day" in season 3, the character's name is in fact spelled Salvadore. Micah1814 02:17, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

The Golden Girls

Hi there Does anyone know if the series of The Golden Girls is translated into French plus Region 2 for playing on a French DVD??? ThanksShazzash 14:42, 19 August 2006 (UTC)Shaz

The Great US TV on UK DVD Retreat!

"Buena Vista will not release DVDs in Region 2 or 4 anymore due to poor sales. This move also affected Home Improvement. This is considered to be part of the The Great US TV on UK DVD Retreat."

I want this article made and I want it made yesterday! 138.69.160.1 15:49, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Fact Versus Punchline

I like the article for the most part, but I want to know if anyone else feels that fleeting punchlines were referenced too much as character backgrounds. I think that in the sitcom world, especially at that time, you have facts and then you have punchlines, which are made up on a by-episode basis and never thought of again. In particular, I have a very hard time with the assertion that Blanche had six children. Three of those children (the three boys) were the product of one joke on a single episode. Even with a nanny, I think it is totally inconsistent with Blanche's character that she would allow herself to have six kids. Of course, we are speaking of fictional characters, but I think it is misleading to hold the characters to every stray fact that came out of their mouths. Above all, much of the dialogue is in jest and full of hyperbole, so who's to say that Blanche didn't just invent her three sons on the spot to make a point? I think it's more important to describe the gist of the characters. It's a fine line, though, which is why I'm only making a comment instead of undertaking to edit it. Micah1814 02:32, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

Golden Girls Live

Is there anyone who can flesh out the details of the Golden Girls Live show, ie, which episodes were performed, where/when, and by whom? Moreover I'd heard that Harris/Witt did more than serve a cease/desist- the writers/creators of the show were pretty much bankrupted. 4.236.0.151 04:49, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Goldenseason2.jpg

Image:Goldenseason2.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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Fair use rationale for Image:Seasonsevendvd-1-.jpg

Image:Seasonsevendvd-1-.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 04:22, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Legacy section

This section strays off-topic quite a bit and adds nothing to the article. The same could be said for just about any show, where their crew members move on and up in their careers. Thoughts? SchuminWeb (Talk) 18:46, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Decline in popularity

The reason given for the show's decline in popularity is that it was moved from the 9:00 time slot to the 8:00 time slot. While both the change in time slot as well as the drop in ratings may be documented, causality cannot be determined as the change was not made in a controlled setting. In other words, there may have been other factors which contributed to or caused the decline in ratings, and thus it is not safe to assume that the ratings drop was caused by the change in time slot. 76.184.126.174 03:03, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Fixed. SchuminWeb (Talk) 03:22, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Dorothy and Michael's ages

Dorothy had two children, Kate and Michael, and a grandchild named Robbie via Michael and his wife Lorraine, who was in her 40s and was African-American. (In an early episode featuring a visit from Michael, Dorothy referred to him as being 29, which would make her 47, likely a miscalculation on the part of the writers.)

If Dorothy got married to Stan because she was pregnant with Michael, and she and Stan were married for 38 years, then she would have had to have been at least 58 (probably closer to 59) when the series started, and her son would have had to be in his late 30s (possibly close to 40) when he got married. Yet Lorraine, whose age was given as 44, was "twice" as old as Michael.71.142.75.20 19:09, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Sophia~02.jpg

Image:Sophia~02.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 23:33, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Blnache Cap.jpg

Image:Blnache Cap.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 22:39, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

Major POV and original research problems

The entire "decline" paragraph is entirely based on unsourced speculation. Unless the writers can come up with outside sources that say the show lost popularity based on the writing staff changes, it needs to go. 216.194.21.245 (talk) 04:11, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

Removed unsourced "best masters" claim

I have removed:

In a press statement, Buena Vista revealed that the best masters they had for several episodes of Season 5 were the syndicated versions, and that the original masters were no longer in good condition.

which has been begging for citation since June 2007. I have today again searched for this "press statement", but there is nothing (and wasn't really expecting there to be one anyway; they've released Season Seven with framing problems without a press statement, and doubt they would go to the effort to make one because a number of episodes in Season Five are syndicated versions). SEO⁷⁵ ^[talk] 00:50, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Blanche's children

It reads like this-Blanche and George had 4 children: two daughters (Rebecca and Janet, both of whom made appearances on the show), and four sons (including Matthew, a CPA who appeared in the spin-off series The Golden Palace. I changed it to 6 children because two daughters + four sons is 6 children,not four.--BeckiGreen (talk) 18:08, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

It is never mentioned that Blanche had 6 children. Unlike Rose, Dorothy and Sophia, Blanche has rarely if ever mentioned all of her children's names in one sentence. In fact, I think the only time she listed off the names of her children, she mentioned only 4 children (Janet, Rebecca, Chip and Matthew I think, but maybe someone can check). We need to remember that the Golden Girls is very well-known for its huge continuity errors, and over the course of 7 years, it's possible and probably likely, that the writers threw out 4 different male names over the course of the show. For all we know, they may have meant Blanche only to have 2 sons. She's not a very motherly type, so I think it's odd that she would have had 6 children. I agree that it's possible, I just think it should be made clear that Blanche may have had 6 children, but she never actually said so. Just because once in 1985 she mentioned having a son named Skippy and then in 1993 on the Golden Palace mentions a son named Matthew, doesn't mean that they are different people. I just don't think that we should make this article sound as if she definately, without a doubt, had 6 children. Just my opinion. --Mezaco (talk) 22:49, 20 October 2008 (UTC)

Well what don't you understand? The article stated "Blanche and George had 4 children: two daughters (Rebecca and Janet, both of whom made appearances on the show), and four sons (including Matthew, a CPA who appeared in the spin-off series The Golden Palace." This is SIMPLE math,2 daughters + 4 sons= 6 Children,not 4,as the article stated. All someone did was correct the number of children she had. Should the article remain wrong? Stating "Blanche and George had 4 children: two daughters (Rebecca and Janet, both of whom made appearances on the show), and four sons (including Matthew, a CPA who appeared in the spin-off series The Golden Palace." Why you left a paragraph long pointless essay about this simple,needed change is beyond me.--65.1.220.130 (talk) 00:32, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Wow, it's an article about the Golden Girls for God's sake, not nuclear war. There's need to fly into a rage and get so angry about it. You have major temper problems. So let me rephrase this as if I were speaking to a 2 year old: The article says that Blanche has 6 children. There is no proof for this. You may as well say that she had 47 children. It's not really a big deal. The reason I brought it up is because this show is notorious for its horrible continuity errors, but I'm sure you have no idea what "continuity" means, so I won't bring that up. Maybe you should go take a deep breath and focus on something else? I really don't care enough about this subject to take your abuse --Mezaco (talk) 01:04, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

I suggest you watch your tone with me. I did not say anything rude in the above post. What was rude about me asking what don't you understand? I did not "fly into a rage and get so angry about it" And yes I know what continuity means. Why would you think I don't? And what "abuse are you talking about? I was not rude,I did not call you any names in my previous post so maybe YOU should "go take a deep breath and focus on something else". --68.19.253.42 (talk) 05:24, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

trivia section

Is there no trivia section or did I miss it in the article? I only ask because I read online that one of the stage managers on the Golden Girls is a man named Kent Zbornak. His name is also on the credits of several G.G episodes. He lent his unique last name to Golden Girls' character Dorothy. There are plenty of sources for this,just Google the name Kent Zbornak.--72.154.223.249 (talk) 22:41, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

per this policy, trivia sections are to be avoided if the information can be integrated into the article. In this case, I'd suggest this could be a referenced footnote to Dorothy when she is first mentioned. As long as the source is reliable, of course. --Rodhull andemu 22:51, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

Why can’t we mention the age of Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty?

Estele Getty, who played Bea Arthur’s mother, is actually two years younger than Bea. I find this fascinating, and I believe it is well worthy of inclusion in the article. But someone undid my entry of it. Why?

They said that it was “unverified”, but I have only taken the actresses’ ages from Wikipedia. So why are those ages on Wikipedia in the first place if they’re unverified.

Could someone please just give me a straight answer as to why this fact is not interesting enough to be in Wikipedia, otherwise I’m going to re-add it in a few days’ time. I consider it one of the most interesting facts… well, ever. How many other TV shows had a parent played by a younger actor than the child? I can’t think of any. Grand Dizzy (talk) 21:47, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

You certainly can mention this, but note that the difference is about a year. See http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001268/ and http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0037735/. --Nricardo (talk) 02:13, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! I will re-add the fact… Grand Dizzy (talk) 18:49, 16 October 2008 (UTC)

Character descriptions way too long

I really think the character descriptions are way too long, for three reasons:

1. It makes this article unnecessarily bloated. There is too much text without any headings near the start of the article which makes it difficult to read.

2. This article is supposed to only give an overview about the characters. This level of information is the sort of thing you would only really want to read if you were particularly interested in one of the characters, in which case you would go to the characters’ own articles.

3. It’s badly organised to have a large amount of information about the same character spread over two different articles. Readers don’t know where to look, and writers don’t know where to add information.

I would suggest, therefore, that someone merges all the information in this article into the relevant character articles, then deletes all but the most basic information about the characters from this article. I will do it myself after a while if no one disagrees. Grand Dizzy (talk) 19:30, 16 October 2008 (UTC)

Yes. Articles about major television programmes tend to concentrate on basics; details about character and episodes tend to devolve to sub-articles. Redundant information should be moved/merged to those relevant sub-articles. What should be covered here is concept, commissioning history, reception, awards, thumbnail character and plot sections and arguably little else. --Rodhull andemu 00:34, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

St. Olaf, norwegian or swedish?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Girls#Rose_Nylund Rose Nylund (née Lindstrom) was from the small farming town of St. Olaf, Minnesota, a community of Swedish-Americans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Nylund St. Olaf is a Norwegian farming settlement--WikiWikinger (talk) 01:31, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Character section → Dreyfus

I don't know why Dreyfus was given his own bio in the characters section in the first place, but it was there for a long time. Recently, anonymous user 194.83.96.12 deleted the bio from the page. Even though this IP address has a history of vandalism, I completely agree with the deletion, and I see no reason for Dreyfus to have his own bio alongside those of the 4 girls themselves. --Ericdn (talk) 10:02, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. He belongs in Empty Nest. --Nricardo (talk) 12:01, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

True. Dreyfus made fewer appearances on the show than, say, Miles Webber, but I don't see anyone putting his bio with that of the girls. That said, the bio section should be only of the four girls - it's their show, after all. --Ericdn (talk) 12:11, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Laugh track or live audience?

Does anyone know if the show uses a laugh track, or is filmed with a live audience? I skimmed the article a few times and noticed that it was not included. --5ahupt (talk) 21:56, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Ratings

Most discussions of TV shows include the Nielsen ratings for the years the shows ran. For the sake of consistency I suggest a ratings section be added. Freeman2001 (talk) 05:22, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Edited episodes in syndication?

I have quite literally been watching this show (whenever it was airing on US television) for nearly 24 years now and have noticed that since the switch from Lifetime to Hallmark & We, as well as in contrast with the DVDs, the episodes are significantly different. Lifetime seems to have made many deletions of brief content, such as a punchline here, shortening a monologue there; but Hallmark & We have restored these and compensated by cutting whole scenes in half. Is there a particular reason for this being done in the case of GG, or does it happen to many television shows as they go on to rerun syndication? I feel like this could be relevant to note, very briefly, in the section about post-cancellation. 173.26.226.151 (talk) 07:20, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

The answer is money. Cut the show down and you can fit in more commercials. The cuts flowed better on Lifetime. -- Nricardo (talk) 17:19, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

Sadly Nricardo is correct, by cutting just 2 punchlines and the laugh track per episode Lifetime is able to add 1 more commerical per episode. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Peacekeeper 1234 (talk • contribs) 16:31, 4 June 2010 (UTC)