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The first season of The Golden Girls premiered on NBC-TV on September 14th, 1985, and concluded on May 10th, 1986.

Cast

Main Cast

Episodes

Picture Title Original Airdate Episode # No. in Series Prod. code Directed by Written by
Ep1-1 The Engagement September 14th, 1985 1 1 1.1 Susan Harris Jay Sandrich
Widows Blanche Hollingsworth – an art museum administrator - Rose Nylund – a grief counselor, and divorcee Dorothy Zbornak – a substitute teacher - share a house in Miami with gay housekeeper Coco. Blanche gets engaged to Harry, the man she has been dating, surprising Dorothy and raising Rose's suspicions. The ceremony is however called off at the last minute after Harry is caught by the police for bigamy. Dorothy's mother, widow Sophia Petrillo, a native of Sicily, comes to live in the house when the nursing home where she has been living burned down in a fire.
Guest Stars: Charles Levin as Coco; Frank Aletter as Harry; Meshach Taylor as the cop; F. William Parker as the Minister.
Notes: This is the only appearance of Coco, the gay cook/housekeeper. This episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Series. The episode ranked as the highest-rated program of the week, bringing in a 25.0/43 rating/share, and was watched by an estimated 44 million viewers. This is the only episode in which Blanche's surname was given as "Hollingsworth." Although that is established as the character's maiden name, the Blanche character was known by her married surname Devereaux in all subsequent episodes.
Ep1-2 Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding? September 21st, 1985 1 2 1.2 Paul Bogart Winifred Hervey
Dorothy's daughter, Kate, visits and announces she is marrying her boyfriend, Dennis Griffiths, a podiatrist. Dorothy insists to hold the wedding in Miami instead of the Bahamas, but Kate agrees only on the condition that her father, Dorothy's ex-husband Stan, a novelty salesman who cheated on Dorothy after 38 years of marriage, also comes. Still devastated by the divorce, Dorothy either avoids or takes offense at Stan on every encounter. After the reception, she ultimately vents out and bids him the last goodbye, although she admits she cannot completely get rid of him.
Guest Stars: Herb Edelman as Stan Zbornak; Lisa Jane Persky as Kate; Dennis Drake as Dennis.
Notes: Kate and Dennis reappeared in the second season played by Deena Freeman and Jonathan Perpich, respectively. This is Herb Edelman's first appearance as Stanley Zbornak.
Ep1-3 Rose the Prude September 28th, 1985 1 3 1.3 Jim Drake Barry Fanaro & Mort Nathan
Blanche invites Rose to go out with her date's brother. Rose meets Arnie, the first man she is romantically interested in since her husband died, and is torn about what to do when he invites her on a cruise. At the advice of the girls, she goes with him and ends up sleeping with him despite initial hesitations. Meanwhile, Dorothy and Sophia have a gin rummy marathon, with Dorothy unsuccessfully attempting to end her 30-year losing streak.
Guest Stars: Harold Gould as Arnie Peterson.
Note: Harold Gould reappeared in later seasons in the recurring role of Rose's boyfriend Miles Webber.
Ep1-4 Transplant October 5th, 1985 1 4 1.4 Paul Bogart Susan Harris
Blanche's sister, Virginia, with whom she has a feud, comes to visit. She reveals that she is dying from renal failure, and a kidney transplant is her best hope for survival. After initially rejecting her, Blanche agrees to bury the hatchet and ultimately decides to give her one of her kidneys. In the end however, Virginia finds another donor, as Blanche is not qualified.
Guest Stars: Sheree North as Virginia Hollingsworth.
Note: North reprised her role as Virginia in Season 5.
Ep1-5 The Triangle October 19th, 1985 1 5 1.5 Paul Bogart Susan Harris
Dorothy dates Sophia's attractive doctor, Elliot Clayton. He makes a pass at Blanche, offending her. When she follows Rose's advice to tell Dorothy what happened, Dorothy accuses her of being jealous and refuses to talk to her. The next morning, as Dr. Clayton invites Dorothy to play golf, Rose exposes the truth by ensuring Dorothy overhears him hitting on her as well.
Guest Stars: Peter Hansen as Dr. Elliot Clayton.
Ep1-6 On Golden Girls October 26th, 1985 1 6 1.6 Jim Drake Winifred Hervey
Blanche's grandson David visits while his parents try to repair their marriage on a second honeymoon and upsets the entire household with his obnoxious, rebellious attitude.
Guest Stars: Billy Jacoby as David.
Note: Billy Jacoby is the half-brother of Scott Jacoby, who played the recurring role of Dorothy's son Michael Zbornak.
Ep1-7 The Competition November 2nd, 1985 1 7 1.7 Jim Drake Barry Fanaro & Mort Nathan
An old love interest of Sophia's, Augustine Bagatelli, visits from Sicily and the two enjoy each other's company to the point where he invites her back to Italy to visit her old friends, but Dorothy refuses to let her go. The girls all participate in a bowling tournament where Rose's competitiveness annoys the other girls and Dorothy and Sophia make a deal: if Sophia's team wins, she can go to Italy and if Dorothy's wins, she gets a piece of her mother's jewelry.
Guest Stars: Ralph Manza as Augustine Bagatelli.
Ep1-8 Break-In November 9th, 1985 1 8 1.8 Paul Bogart Susan Harris
The girls return home after a Madonna concert and find their home has been burglarized. Rose is traumatized by the experience and eventually buys a gun to defend herself. However, after accidentally kneeing a parking attendant she mistook for a mugger, Rose discovers she can take care of herself without the use of weapons. Blanche obsesses over her "stolen" jewels, which turn out to have just been misplaced.
Guest Stars: Christian Clemenson as The Salesman; Robert Rothwell as Lester.
Ep1-9 Blanche and the Younger Man November 16th, 1985 1 9 1.9 Jim Drake James Berg & Stan Zimmerman
Rose's mother, Alma, visits and friction results when Rose coddles her too much. Blanche goes on an exercise frenzy when a young man in her Jazzercise class asks her out and is embarrassed when it turns out he is interested in her in a different way than she thinks.
Guest Stars: Jeanette Nolan as Alma Lindstrom; Charles Hill as Dirk.
Ep1-10 The Heart Attack November 23rd, 1985 1 10 1.10 Jim Drake Susan Harris
After a successful dinner party, Sophia, convinced she is having a heart attack, tries to put her affairs in order. The girls become very worried when the paramedics cannot get to them because of a major rainstorm.
Guest Stars: Ronald Hunter as Dr. Harris.
Ep1-11 The Return of Dorothy's Ex November 30th, 1985 1 11 1.11 Jim Drake Kathy Speer & Terry Grossman
Dorothy and Stan spend the night together, after he tells her that Chrissy, the young woman he left Dorothy for, left him. Dorothy sees it as an isolated incident, but Stan thinks of it as the two of them starting their relationship over.
Guest Stars: Herb Edelman as Stan Zbornak, Simone Griffeth as Chrissy.
Ep1-12 The Custody Battle December 7th, 1985 1 12 1.12 Terry Hughes Winifred Hervey
Dorothy becomes frustrated with Sophia's meddling in her love life, so when Dorothy's wealthy sister, Gloria visits and asks Sophia to move in with her, Sophia agrees. Blanche is furious with Rose when Rose wins the part of Lady Macbeth in a local production of Macbeth and Blanche is cast as a witch.
Guest Stars: Doris Belack as Gloria.
Note:
Gloria returns in Season 7, played by Dena Dietrich.
Ep1-13 A Little Romance December 14th, 1985 1 13 1.13 Terry Hughes Barry Fanaro & Mort Nathan
Rose dates Jonathan, a psychiatrist at the grief counseling center, but is reluctant to introduce him to the other girls. Blanche invites him over for dinner against Rose's wishes, and they find out he is a dwarf. When he tells Rose he has something important to discuss, she thinks he is planning to propose to her and is conflicted about whether to accept. After dreaming about marrying Jonathan and various figures giving her advice, she decides to continue the relationship, only to learn that he is breaking up with her because she isn't Jewish.
Guest Stars: Brent Collins as Dr. Jonathan Newman; Billy Barty as Gunter Lindstrom; Jeane Dixon as herself.
Notes: Barry Fanaro annd Mort Nathan won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for this episode. Tony Carreiro appears in another Season 1 episode as Tommy Cochrane and in a Season 5 episode as a doctor.
Ep1-14 That Was No Lady December 21st, 1985 1 14 1.14 Jim Drake Liz Sage
Blanche, in need of the money for a new car, loans Rose her old car, promising to sell it to her if she likes it. Once Rose buys it, it begins breaking down and is eventually stolen. Dorothy falls head-over-heels in love with a gym teacher at the school where she is teaching and is devastated when he reveals he is married.
Guest Stars: Alex Rocco as Glen O'Brien.Notes: Glen O'Brien returns in Season 5, played by Jerry Orbach.
Ep1-15 In a Bed of Rose's January 11th, 1986 1 15 1.15 Terry Hughes Susan Harris
Rose's date dies while they are having sex, and since her late husband, Charlie, also died during sex, she vows never to sleep with another man again. The man turns out to have been married, upsetting Rose further, but is reassured when the autopsy reveals he was actually terminally ill, despite not knowing it. It's an even greater relief for Rose when she discovers the man was in an open marriage and his wife therefore condoned his philandering.
Guest Stars: Priscilla Morrill as Lucille Beatty; Richard Roat as Al Beatty.
Note: Betty White won the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the 1986 Emmy Awards for this episode. Richard Roat would reappear as Kendall in the Season 57 episode "The Case of the Libertine Belle".
Ep1-16 The Truth Will Out January 18th, 1986 1 16 1.16 Terry Hughes Susan Beavers
Rose's daughter, Kirsten, visits with her granddaughter to review estate papers and is furious with her mother when she finds Rose's late husband wasn't as much of a financial success as Rose led her to believe.
Guest Stars: Christine Belford as Kirsten Adams; Bridgette Andersen as Charley Adams.
Notes: Kirsten was played by Lee Garlington in Season 7.
Ep1-17 Nice and Easy February 1st, 1986 1 17 1.17 Terry Hughes Stuart Silverman
Blanche's niece, Lucy, visits and reveals herself to be even more promiscuous than Blanche. A mouse in the kitchen scares Dorothy, but she eventually gets over her fear and the mouse leaves after Dorothy asks it politely, thrilling Rose at her ability to communicate with animals.
Guest Stars: Hallie Todd as Lucy Warren; Ken Stovitz as Ed Collins.
Ep1-18 The Operation February 8th, 1986 1 18 1.18 Terry Hughes Winifred Hervey
Dorothy aggravates an old foot injury (Morton's neuroma) while practicing a tap dancing routine with Rose and Blanche and refuses to get an operation that will heal the problem because of a fear of hospitals. Eventually, a breast cancer patient helps her realize how foolish she has been.
Guest Stars: Robert Picardo as Dr. Revell; Anne Haney as Bonnie; Bill Quinn as the priest.
Ep1-19 Second Motherhood February 15th, 1986 1 19 1.19 Gary Shimokawa Christopher Lloyd
Blanche accepts a marriage proposal from her wealthy businessman boyfriend, but is conflicted when she learns he has two young children who come second to his work. Dorothy and Rose renovate the bathroom, despite Sophia's insistence that they hire a sexist plumber for help.
Guest Stars: Kevin McCarthy as Richard; Alan Blumenfeld as Lou.
Ep1-20 Adult Education February 22nd, 1986 1 20 1.20 Jack Shea James Berg & Stan Zimmerman
Dorothy is determined to get tickets to an upcoming Frank Sinatra concert, but keeps getting thwarted. Blanche takes a psychology course to get a promotion at the museum where she works. When she fails the midterm exam, she asks the professor for help and he offers to give her an A if she will sleep with him.

Guest Stars: Jerry Hardin as Professor Cooper; James Staley as Dean Tucker.
Notes: Jerry Hardin reappears in Season 4 as Gary Tucker. James Staley appears in a Season 5 as Dr. Manning.

Ep1-21 Flu Attack March 1st, 1986 1 21 1.21 Terry Hughes James Berg & Stan Zimmerman
Blanche, Dorothy and Rose all come down with the flu and infuriate each other. When they each suspect that one of them has won a major award for their charity work, their competitiveness causes them all to attend despite their illness.
Guest Stars: Sharon Spelman as Dr. Richmond; William Cort as Dave; Ray Reinhardt as Harold; Marcelo Tubert as Raoul; Tony Carreiro as Tommy Cochrane; Dom Irrera as The Waiter; Silvana Gallardo as The Emcee.
Notes: Dom Irrera reappears in "The Way We Met" as the produce clerk. Tony Carreiro previously appeared in "A Little Romance" as a waiter and would later appear in Season 5 as a doctor.
Ep1-22 Job Hunting March 8th, 1986 1 22 1.22 Paul Bogart Kathy Speer & Terry Grossman
The counseling center where Rose works closes and the girls become frustrated when people call the house at all hours for Rose's help. When they confront Rose about finding a new job, she says she has been a victim of age discrimination. Blanche gets a date with one of Rose's clients, but is dismayed to find out he only likes fat women. Dorothy goes out with an old flame who turns out to be gay.
Note: This episode was the second one to be produced, but was held over for later in the season.
Ep1-23 Blind Ambitions March 29th, 1986 1 1 23 1.23 Bob Colleary
Rose's blind sister Lily comes to visit from Chicago and begs Rose to move in with her and take care of her. The girls hold a garage sale to raise money for a new television, but find they cannot part with what they are selling.
Guest Stars: Polly Holliday as Lily Lindstrom; Stuart Fratkin as Man #2.
Ep1-24 Big Daddy May 3rd, 1986 1 24 1.24 Terry Hughes Barry Fanaro & Mort Nathan
Blanche's father, Big Daddy Hollingsworth, visits and shocks Blanche when he says he has sold their house to start a career as a country music singer. Dorothy feuds with the girls' next-door neighbor over storm damage.
Guest Stars: Murray Hamilton as Big Daddy Hollingsworth; Gordon Jump as Leonard Barton; Peggy Pope as Gladys Barton.
Note: Curtis Hollingsworth is played by David Wayne in Season 2, after the death of Murray Hamilton.
Ep1-25 The Way We Met May 10th, 1986 1 25 1.25 Terry Hughes Kathy Speer & Terry Grossman

Winifred Hervey, Mort Nathan & Barry Fanaro

After watching the movie Psycho, the girls reminisce about how they came to live together. Rose met Blanche in the supermarket as she put up an advertisement about her rooms for rent. Initially turned off by Rose's tame personality, she ultimately gave in after seeing Rose giving away a stray cat she had kept to a little boy who happened to lose his pet cat the week before. Responding to the ad, Dorothy visited the house with Sophia, with the former agreeing to move in. The day after Dorothy's move, they had a dispute at the supermarket, but reconciled at the dining table with the help of Rose's St. Olaf story.
Guest Stars: Edan Gross as Little Boy; Shirley Prestia as Madame Zelda; Dom Irrera as Produce Clerk.

Development

Pilot Episode

NBC senior vice president Warren Littlefield conceived the idea of the series during the taping of a television special aimed at promoting the new 1984–85 season lineup. The special featured a skit by Night Court's Selma Diamond and Remington Steele's Doris Roberts promoting the upcoming show Miami Vice as Miami Nice, a parody about old people living in Miami, Florida. Amused by the performance, he visualized a series based on the geriatric humor of the female performers.

Littlefield met with producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas, who were pitching a series about a female lawyer, to ask about developing Miami Nice. Witt asked his wife, Susan Harris, to write the series after the duo's original writer had declined. Harris, who was planning on retiring after Thomas and her ABC series Soap, was interested, noting that "it was a demographic that had never been addressed." Though her vision of a sitcom about women in their 60s differed with NBC's request to write a comedy about women at the age of around 40, Littlefield was impressed when he received Harris' pilot script and subsequently approved production of the pilot. The Cosby Show director Jay Sandrich, who had previously worked with Harris, Witt, and Thomas on Soap, agreed to direct.

The pilot also includes the girls' gay houseboy, Coco (Charles Levin), who lived with them. Levin had been suggested by then-NBC president Brandon Tartikoff based on his groundbreaking recurring gay role, Eddie Gregg, on NBC's Emmy-winning drama, Hill Street Blues. After the pilot, the character of Coco was eliminated from the series.

Reception

Ratings

The Golden Girls debuted on September 14th, 1985, in its 9:00 pm Saturday-night timeslot, following a broadcast of the Miss America contest and preceding another new comedy series, 227. The debut episode garnered a 25.0 household rating and a 43 share, which translates to a reach of 21.5 million homes. It was the highest-rated program of the week, and the highest-rated premiere of a program in two years. The show also elevated the ratings for Saturday nights, which were on a steep decline in the years preceding its debut. After five episodes, the series was averaging a 21.5 household rating, landing among the top-20 highest-rated programs.

Critical reception

When the first episode aired, New York Times writer Aljean Harmetz claimed that surprisingly, "nearly everybody is sure the show will be a hit." On Metacritic, a site which uses a weighted mean score, the season scored a 82/100 from six critics, translating to "universal acclaim".

Accolades

At the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards, The Golden Girls won the award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Betty White received nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, with White winning for her performance in the episode "In a Bed of Rose's".Estelle Getty received a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan won the Emmy award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the episode "A Little Romance". Susan Harris also received nomination for the award for the pilot episode. Directors Jim Drake and Terry Hughes each received a nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for their work in "The Heart Attack" and "A Little Romance", respectively. At the 43rd Golden Globe Awards, the series won the award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. The four lead actress were each nominated for the award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, with Getty tying with Cybill Shepherd for the award. Jay Sandrich won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series for the episode "The Engagement" at the 38th Directors Guild of America Awards. The series was also nominated at the 2nd TCA Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.

Releases

Broadcast

The season originally aired Saturdays at 9:00-9:30 pm (EST) on NBC from September 14, 1985 to May 10, 1986.[1][2] The season premiered to strong ratings for NBC, ranking number one in its first week on air and number seven among all primetime programs airing during the 1985–86 primetime network season. Upon its initial airing, the show was met with critical acclaim and was the recipient of various industry awards, including three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe awards.

DVD release

Buena Vista Home Entertainment (now Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) released the first season on DVD in the United States on November 24, 2004, and in Canada on April 10, 2007.

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References

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