In honor of the ‘Golden Girls’ remake, let’s recap its most golden episodes
Jane Lynch did not waste any time between winning a Creative Arts Emmy for her work in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and letting the common people know that a modern-day Golden Girls was in the works, courtesy of Lynch and Cyndi Lauper.
Lynch noted there was not much opportunity besides voice acting roles and her hosting duties for Hollywood Game Night when asked about future projects, but added she was in contact with Netflix for a new kind of program.
“I pitched a show to Netflix and they bought it,” Lynch said. “I don’t know if I can even tell you, but it’s with Cyndi Lauper . . . So it’s kind of a Golden Girls for today.”
Variety reported Netflix has not yet commented, so we’re still waiting for an official confirmation. One possible collaborator is comedian Carol Leifer, who posted on Facebook about a half-hour comedy starring Lynch & Lauper.
The news about who will play whom is also sparse, and there has not been any information on whether the characters would have new names or play new versions of our beloved Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia.
Whatever they choose, we just hope Betty White is involved.
In honor of a shiny new Golden Girls coming our way (potentially called Silver Girls?), here are five of our favorite episodes from NBC’s best show of the 80s.
“The Case of the Libertine Belle” (S7E2)
Those golden girls head out for a 1920s murder-mystery weekend and end up actually swept up in a real murder mystery. Even worse, Blanche (Rue McClanahan) is the prime suspect.
In addition to the flapper costumes and Roaring Twenties setting, this episode also has potentially the greatest exchange on television when Blanche explains that as a Southern belle, “Flirting is part of my heritage.”
“Isn’t It Romantic?” (S2E5)
One problem revisiting shows from the past are the often cringeworthy plots related to women, minorities, LGBTQ issues, etc. That’s what makes “Isn’t It Romantic” so refreshing. Dorothy (Bea Arthur) has a friend named Jean who comes to visit and reveals she’s a lesbian. More than that, Jean develops a crush on Rose (Betty White).
In what could have been one easy joke after another related to her friend’s sexual status, the main joke of the episode is our favorite dunce Blanche mixing up the wording for “lesbian” with “Lebanese”. (Which reminds us, is the stupid Southerner trope an insulting stereotype as well, or is just us mentioning it offensive in itself? Intersectionality is hard.)
In the B plot, Sophia (Estelle Getty) uses a new VCR to rent pornography. Everything about the episode is daring for a primetime 1980s sitcom, and amazing to watch.
“Ladies of the Evening” (S2E2)
“Ladies of the Evening” starts with the house being fumigated and ends with Burt Reynolds. In between, Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose are mistaken for prostitutes and jailed.
“Ladies of the Evening” is a perfect episode all around.
“Valentine’s Day” (S4E16)
We’re always suckers for a good flashback episode. This particular one involves the Valentine’s Day Massacre, so it naturally makes the list. The ep starts out on Valentine’s Day (naturally), and everyone’s dates cancel – with the exception of Sophia, who insists she has a date with the singer Julio Iglesias.
To get over the rejection, the girls recall previous Valentine’s Days gone wrong: conservatie Rose books a vacation stay at a nude hotel, Sophia almost gets Valentine’s Day Massacred, and Blanche ends up giving life advice to a man about to propose to his boyfriend.
This episode also has the classic “Condoms, Rose! Condoms, condoms, condoms!” line that Dorothy yells out at the drugstore.
“One Flew Out of the Cuckoo’s Nest” (S7E23)
Game of Thrones could have taken some freakin’ notes from the Golden Girls on how to wrap up a show. The two-part series finale is sweet and funny and perfect.
Blanche’s uncle Lucas (Leslie Nielsen) comes to visit, and Dorothy and Lucas plot a fake engagement to prank Blanche for writing negative letters to Lucas about her roommate.
In a soap-opera-level twist, they actually fall in love and the series ends with their real marriage. Dorothy ends up moving out – however, in a heartwarming but also heartbreaking moment, she lets her roommates know just how much they mean to her.
