tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post169282715429971128..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Here's to THE GOLDEN GIRLS - the Rodney Dangerfield of sitcomsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20132891681694120062019-07-13T21:31:50.698-07:002019-07-13T21:31:50.698-07:00I had the privilege of attending a GG taping as th...I had the privilege of attending a GG taping as the guest of Jamie Wooten and Marc Cherry, two writers, and it was thrilling. It was really a pro operation and smoothly done with solid laughs throughout. Bryan Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03942472363470824138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58727963751112046262016-04-07T11:08:18.873-07:002016-04-07T11:08:18.873-07:00I never saw a single episode of GG when it was in ...I never saw a single episode of GG when it was in prime time (I'm a guy, why would I watch THAT?). But after being married and surfing the waves after the news, I couldn't argue with my wife about "leave that on". Long story short, I've seen every episode (that is in syndication) without regret. There are only a few shows I can watch the same episode again and again, Seinfeld, MASH, Frazier (another favorite after news show, but is no longer on), BBT (although it is wearing thin since they syndication only has a limited number at this point. TBS, get on that). Modern Family is on the list too since I don't see it in prime time either. Funny to see a new episode and see how big the kids have gotten. Makes me wonder if any of the kids will have a future in tv/movies after the show.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16880646894752760905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71950911444185069012016-04-06T17:50:04.507-07:002016-04-06T17:50:04.507-07:00Thanks for this appreciation of The Golden Girls, ...Thanks for this appreciation of The Golden Girls, which I love to the extent of owning the entire series on DVD - a good thing too, since the syndicated episodes are now missing whole scenes with some of the best lines of the show. Bea Arthur was a good sport because much of the (exaggerated of course) humor was directed at her appearance. Example:<br /><br />Dorothy: How do I look?<br />Blanche: Okay I guess. But aren't you afraid those shoulder pads might make you seem too aggressive?<br />Dorothy: I'm not wearing shoulder pads.<br /><br />Plus nicknames like Stretch, Bigfoot, Moose and Sap on Stilts. All the characters could stand on their own, yet the show would suffer if it had to do without any one of them (see The Golden Palace). I could be wrong, but seem to remember that it was thought 'daring' at the time to portray older women who not only thought about sex but enjoyed it.RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81764258457200242422016-04-06T11:44:59.956-07:002016-04-06T11:44:59.956-07:00I loved - and still love - The Golden Girls and ag...I loved - and still love - The Golden Girls and agree with everything you said Ken about why it worked and why it's not truly given its due. It's actually probably one of my top ten sitcoms, and one of the few shows where every regular and many recurring characters were vital and necessary and attended to (even the ones we never met, like Dorothy's cross-dressing brother Phil). <br /><br />My GG-loving friends and I still start stories on occasion with "Picture it: [location/year]", quote the show incessantly, and were thrilled when Tim Gunn made a Blanche Devereaux reference on "Project Runway", though we were less thrilled that the contestant didn't get the reference.<br /><br />A sadly ironic note: when the girls pledge to always look after each other, Rose asks, "What happens when only one of us is left" and, in fact, Betty White is the last surviving Golden Girl.<br /><br />And I can only conclude with the immortal words of Blanche: "Sonny Bono, get off my lanai!"Tudor Queenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03544142728842449527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1344226597224655152016-04-06T09:36:45.101-07:002016-04-06T09:36:45.101-07:00Blanche Devereaux had the sexiest nightgowns/robes...Blanche Devereaux had the sexiest nightgowns/robes ever!CarolMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357698369178272616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27357839564908148572016-04-06T07:05:51.924-07:002016-04-06T07:05:51.924-07:00I disagree with Ken that the Golden Girls weren...I disagree with Ken that the Golden Girls weren't sexy, innocent Rose and the vixen Blanche especially.Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33825152532272921692016-04-06T02:48:13.488-07:002016-04-06T02:48:13.488-07:00My wife and I both like this show (but perhaps we ...My wife and I both like this show (but perhaps we do not count as we were born in the middle of the last century) but dang it is a funny show. Great chemistry between all the cast. I do not think I am a prude but this is a show I could watch with my grandkids and although I enjoy The Big Bang Theory I do not want to watch it with my young granddaughters.Barry Traylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14134880916215990198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72494463017663907732016-04-06T01:51:04.900-07:002016-04-06T01:51:04.900-07:00Diane D, I took it to mean those moments have to b...Diane D, I took it to mean those moments have to be earned, as in you can't just pepper your script with them and expect them to resonate as much. There needs to be struggles before the rewards. <br /><br />As to "how", I guess that's the fun (difficult) part :)Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22552329321599991072016-04-05T23:51:22.349-07:002016-04-05T23:51:22.349-07:00Ken, what do you mean Golden Girls isn't sexy?...Ken, what do you mean Golden Girls isn't sexy? Johnny M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65256956593788952222016-04-05T22:53:45.820-07:002016-04-05T22:53:45.820-07:00Johnny W,
Wow, very interesting. However, since w...Johnny W,<br />Wow, very interesting. However, since what you shared is a transcription of the spoken word at an informal workshop, the syntax makes it hard to follow. When he says, "..the more those are earned.." I'm not sure if 'those' refers to the audience reactions to 'moments', and if it does, how is that earned? Anyway, I went to the website to read more and it was great. Thanks for sharing. Diane D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36252525920418179022016-04-05T20:50:17.887-07:002016-04-05T20:50:17.887-07:00Continuing my analogy of scriptwriting & engin...Continuing my analogy of scriptwriting & engineering, @JohnnyWalker's structure of moments & moves is a <i>state machine</i>.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06248182899977033579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37098125474834943932016-04-05T17:19:00.988-07:002016-04-05T17:19:00.988-07:00Love GOLDEN GIRLS. When I'm looking for a show...Love GOLDEN GIRLS. When I'm looking for a show that just plain old makes me laugh, I can always count on it. It's still one of the funniest things on television. My twenty-year-old niece is a huge fan of it. She's told me that she watches GOLDEN GIRLS reruns almost every night.Chris D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50064567881030167482016-04-05T16:45:28.021-07:002016-04-05T16:45:28.021-07:00I saw an interview with Norman Lear many moons ago...I saw an interview with Norman Lear many moons ago. Someone asked him what sitcom he wished he'd done that wasn't his. He said he couldn't believe he had worked with all of the women in THE GOLDEN GIRLS, and it had never occurred to him to put them together in a sitcom.Steve Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07460010481523481647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70474952653001734462016-04-05T16:10:54.575-07:002016-04-05T16:10:54.575-07:00Funny you posted this. I was just thinking of GG t...Funny you posted this. I was just thinking of GG the other day, and whether it would even been considered today. My daughter watched the reruns in college and loved it. Good writing never gets old. I don't watch it much, but whenever I catch a couple minutes of it, I think Kat Dennings is hilarious on TWO BROKE GIRLS. I know I'm in the minority on this blog. Maybe I'm a little biased because she's local.<br /><br />Speaking of which, a shout-out to NCAA BB champs Villanova. Hard to do since I went to another Big Five school, but this city is starved for winners. One of my first jobs was with Jay Wright. Class act and he hasn't changed since he got out of college. Philly guy through and through, as was his team this year. Last night has to be one of the greatest NCAA championship games ever played.MikeK.Pa.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5909212677158716892016-04-05T13:57:00.536-07:002016-04-05T13:57:00.536-07:00Looking up that Joss Whedon quote (for my comment,...Looking up that Joss Whedon quote (for my comment, above) I came across the transcript of an impromptu writer's workshop here in London (he Tweeted about it in the evening, and it happened the following morning). I cursed myself for missing it at the time, but stumbling across a transcript of the event was just wonderful. I found it inspiring beyond belief. I've never seen him talk about his take on writing so candidly before, and it kind of blew my mind.<br /><br />There was one bit in particular that was like a megaton explosion between my ears. It's about something I'd subconsciously noticed while I was watching (and falling in love with) BUFFY, but I couldn't put it into words at the time. Finally hearing him explain his thinking behind it was SO illuminating. Anyways, enough of my waffling, here's the bit:<br /><br /><i>This is something that I didn't mention, but when I have a writing staff, the first thing we ever talk about is the difference between moments and moves. And because ultimately we're only creating moments, we're creating a series of moments, and then we are stringing them together in what then becomes a narrative... <br /><br />[W]hen you're building [a] story it's very easy to go, "Y'know what would be cool is if then... he has an evil twin!" Which is a move. And obviously you need a certain number of moves if you are writing something, just for there to be action. <br /><br />But a move is, "Oh I thought of a plot twist." A move is "Oh and then there's this thing they have to get."<br /><br />A moment is... "[The character is] gonna knock at the door wearing an Eskimo suit." But it was also, "I am going to put [the character] in a situation where she feels the least cool and attractive that she's ever felt, and then that guy is gonna look at her from across the room and fall in love with her, at that exact moment." That was what I was actually writing.<br /><br />Because the moments that we are getting to, are the moments the audience can take away with<br />them. The thing that they take away from whatever you are writing, that makes it yours, that makes it worth their time and the enormous amount that you're gonna give it, are these<br />moments. Are the moments if you're trying to make them cry, if you're trying to make them<br />laugh, if you're trying to make them do both, if you're trying to frighten them, whatever it is... The more those are earned and the more you understand that you need that more than you need this part, 'where they go in the safe house bit'... you need this emotional experience, you need this human moment, you need this surprise, this delight, this thing that makes us bother to see any story, when every story has been told. Those are the things that you build on and the mistake I get from highly paid professional writers, who've been doing it for decades, over and over and over, is them creating moves and mistaking them for moments.</i><br /><br />I'm sure Ken would agree.<br /><br />For anyone who's interested, you can find the whole thing here: <a href="http://news.impossible.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Joss-screenwriting-talk.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://news.impossible.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Joss-screenwriting-talk.pdf</a>Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54500983843336597732016-04-05T13:48:48.056-07:002016-04-05T13:48:48.056-07:00I agree with Diane D up to a point-the plot lines ...I agree with Diane D up to a point-the plot lines were feeble, and at some point they take over almost every episode. But the timing, the one-liners, and the repartee are fantastic! For me, the top five are Seinfeld, Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Frasier, and Cheers. But Golden Girls is definitely number 6. Stuartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80392824783866008062016-04-05T13:21:27.215-07:002016-04-05T13:21:27.215-07:00With a post and 25 comments all conferring lavish ...With a post and 25 comments all conferring lavish praise, I should probably say nothing, but I feel compelled to give my opinion of why perhaps it "doesn't get it's due." Although many of the jokes are hilarious, the stories are frequently weak (IMHO), and that will just ruin it for me. The actresses (except for Estelle Getty) were superb, their timing flawless, but guest actors (especially men) just did not measure up most of the time. And the last thing that I would mention is the constant stream of sexual innuendo. Some of it was hilarious, but the nonstop nature of it got really tiresome, especially when it crossed the line and became repulsive. Diane D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66602210612461654702016-04-05T11:39:47.242-07:002016-04-05T11:39:47.242-07:00The Golden Girls was funny.
The Golden Palace.......The Golden Girls was funny.<br /><br />The Golden Palace.... not so.Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51689750305694997642016-04-05T11:30:58.460-07:002016-04-05T11:30:58.460-07:00Thank you for honoring one of the greatest televis...Thank you for honoring one of the greatest television shows PERIOD. It was ahead of its time simply for realizing that women of any age are hysterical. I have watched this show almost daily (along with Cheers) since I was a kid and it has only become better. <br /><br />The show has also become hugely iconic within the gay community: t-shirts, marathons, drag shows. Seemingly the humor caught wind and has luckily been reveled for years. There is always the conversation of "which GIRL are you?", even before Sex and the City! (I am very much a Sophia, thankfully, just like my grandmother).<br /><br />On another note, one amusing take away I learned via a therapist is that each girl represents a part of a whole person and depending on your mood, one girl is screaming louder than the other (good luck to the world during a Blanche breakout!). It's when the four women are sitting together having cheesecake that a whole is present.<br /><br />Overall, this show will continue to grow in popularity, thirty years later. It is as sharp as they come!Justin Russohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12277379716974798413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67579248946596820922016-04-05T11:21:14.155-07:002016-04-05T11:21:14.155-07:00I used to be one of those people who kind of "...I used to be one of those people who kind of "poo-pooed" the Golden Girls. It seemed so dated and cheesy to me. And then one afternoon, I was working on some project with the tv in the background, no remote available, and a Golden Girls marathon came on. I was laughing constantly even though only about half paying attention, but enough that eventually, I put my project aside and just sat and watched a couple hours of the show. I've been hooked ever since. I am just in awe of the intelligence, the humor, and the ballsiness of that show. I love, too, that each character is so richly drawn and full of depth while still being absolutely hilarious. MellaBluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13760044599524760013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39616751540155241852016-04-05T11:05:51.621-07:002016-04-05T11:05:51.621-07:00Four superlative comediennes delivering lines like...Four superlative comediennes delivering lines like nobody's business.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26916477600246992072016-04-05T11:04:36.596-07:002016-04-05T11:04:36.596-07:00Four superlative comediennes delivering lines like...Four superlative comediennes delivering lines like nobody's business.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54444920323792549272016-04-05T09:02:01.091-07:002016-04-05T09:02:01.091-07:00Like a few others have posted, I watched Golden Gi...Like a few others have posted, I watched Golden Girls with my mom when I was a kid. I really enjoyed it then and whenever I happen to flip pass it now I usually end up watching the whole episode. Great acting and writing. You can't go wrong.Josephnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32580798313660536692016-04-05T08:36:18.604-07:002016-04-05T08:36:18.604-07:00I never saw "The Golden Girls" until rec...I never saw "The Golden Girls" until recently, but I've been catching up on it because I usually have TV Land or the Hallmark Channel on in the background when I'm working nights, and one or both of them usually shows it for a couple of hours a night. "The GG's" appeal isn't nostalgia; I have no youthful attachment to it, but I find it to be hilarious even by current standards. I'm not surprised that younger audiences like it. Besides being funny and occasionally moving, it has Betty White, who is still far cooler than Justin Bieber. Pat Reederhttp://www.hollywoodhifi.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73444946001131723272016-04-05T08:35:50.448-07:002016-04-05T08:35:50.448-07:00"Hot in Cleveland" was nowhere as iconic..."Hot in Cleveland" was nowhere as iconic as "The Golden Girls," but it shared the wonderful Betty White, a new set of old sitcom pros for her to work with, and plenty of laughs. VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.com