The Golden Girls is perhaps one of the best sitcoms to ever hit television. It was based on four women who lived together during their golden years that went through plenty of ups and downs and plenty of laughs in between. There is nothing that I don’t like about this show, and to this day, I still watch it faithfully. The characters on the show were very colorful, funny, witty, and so much more. Here are some of the things I love the most about them.
Sophia Petrillo:
Sophia was played by Estelle Getty and from the moment this character first hit the screen, it was plain to see how funny and clever she was going to be throughout the series. She was mostly known for her sarcastic humor, never being afraid to insult you even though she cared about you, and for always carrying her purse no matter where she went, even throughout the house and into the bathroom. The oldest woman and in some ways the wisest woman. Sophia was great at telling stories from her days back in Sicily, usually starting with the phrase “Picture it.” It gets you every time.
She began living with the rest of the girls when the nursing home, “Shady Pines” burned down. This is a place that Sophia despised and never wanted to go back there. She suffered from a stroke, which is why her daughter, Dorothy, ended up putting her in a home to begin with. But she came back with a vengeance; her stroke always being to blame for the many sarcastic and insulting remarks that Sophia would make. I always thought that was part of her charm. She dated a few men throughout the series but never got too serious with them for too long. Her true love was always her late husband, Sal (Salvatore).
Dorothy Zbornak:
Played by Bea Arthur, Dorothy is the first child of Sophia. It was clear from the start how close their relationship which each other was. They loved each other deeply and yet always insulted one another, with love, but still. Dorothy is known for putting Sophia in a home called “Shady Pines” which Sophia hated, which is why it was easy for Dorothy to threaten Sophia with it when she wanted her to do something and refused.
Dorothy got pregnant as a teenager and married Stanley Zbornak. After 38 years of marriage, it ended when Stanley left her for a younger woman. This is what led to Dorothy moving in with the other roommates, after seeing an ad for a roommate at a supermarket. Despite her insecurities, Dorothy demonstrated nothing but strength during all of her trials and tribulations.
Like Sophia, she was good a producing sarcasm and being witty with her comebacks, especially when her roommate, Rose, asked a dumb question. I’ve always got a kick out of that. Her tall figure and deep voice landed her plenty of men, and she ultimately married Blanche’s uncle and moved to the south at the end of the series. Personally, I wish it didn’t end that way, but alas, it had to end sometime.
Blanche Devereux:
This is one woman who is always man hungry. Blanche was played by Rue McClanahan, and she made sure she got all of her men, even if it meant competing for a man’s affections with her other roommates, even Sophia! How man hungry can you get? Blanche was known for being the southern belle, and always made a note of throwing that in everyone’s face, as well as the fact that she was the youngest of them all.
Blanche has a lot of good qualities about her despite all of faults, such as being vain. She made sure she put everyone’s needs in front of hers in tough situations, like the time a friend of Sophia’s needed help with moving to a more sufficient nursing home. Blanche didn’t hesitate to use the extra money that she had to make that possible. Despite being man hungry, it was always clear how much she loved her late husband George. No matter how many men she dated and fell in love with, there would never be a man like George in her eyes. I always considered that vulnerability about Blanche to be very significant to the way she was in her many relationships.
Rose Nylund:
Rose was always my favorite golden girl, played by one of my favorites actresses, Betty White. She represented the dumb blonde of the group and I could never help but laugh at all of her stories, her antics, and her dimwittedness. Despite something being obvious, she was completely naive and was always childlike, as if she didn’t know any better. Rose had the most mysterious husband. She would always talk about Charlie, but there was so much we never knew about him. Unlike all the other husbands, Charlie was never even seen or heard which always made me wonder about him the most, naturally.
I loved it when Rose would get into her stories about St. Olaf. This is something she kind of had in common with Sophia. Both told stories about their home, and both seem to tell stories that would either defy reason or would just be plain stupid. That was part of the charm. Sometimes it would be a moral to the story, or in Rose’s case, the story would make no sense to the dilemma the girls were going through at that particular time. Still, you couldn’t help but love Rose. She had her serious moments, but my favorite moments will always be crazy, simple-minded Rose. Who doesn’t love her?
http://www.tvland.com/shows/the-golden-girls
http://www.tv.com/shows/the-golden-girls/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088526/combined
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Girls
