Product Description

An Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Comedy Series in its very first year, THE GOLDEN GIRLS has become a landmark in television history and an all-time fan favorite. Beatrice Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White, and Estelle Getty star as four South Florida seniors sharing a house, their dreams, and a whole lot of cheesecake. Bright, promiscuous, clueless, and hilarious, these lovely mismatched ladies form the perfect circle of friends. Experience all 25 laugh-packed episodes of Season One in this spectacular 3-disc set, including the series pilot and an exclusive bonus feature that offers a whole new look at the show. It's all the provocative fun and entertainment you remember ... and so much more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1094 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-11-23
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 617 minutes

Amazon.com
Launched during the neon-lit 1980s, The Golden Girls shed light on a side of Miami ignored by Miami Vice. In other words, no drugs, no murder--just four women of "a certain age," spending their golden years in the sun. Like the theme, "Thank You for Being a Friend," the long-running sitcom was about friendship (not crime). As for the "girls," they were tart-tongued Dorothy (Beatrice Arthur), former farm girl Rose (Betty White), Southern belle Blanche (Rue McClanahan), and Dorothy's salty Sicilian mother Sophia (Estelle Getty). All were widows, with the exception of the divorced Dorothy. Created by Emmy-winning producer Susan Harris (Soap), The Golden Girls re-ignited the careers of 1970s TV veterans Arthur (All in the Family, Maude) and White (The Mary Tyler Moore Show). At the same time, it made stars of McClanahan (who co-starred on Maude), by playing a comic version of A Streetcar Named Desire's Blanche Dubois, and the scene-stealing Getty, made to look older than her actual age (she and Arthur were born the same year).

Notable guests to lend their talents to the first season include Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Picardo ("The Operation"), Alice's Polly Holliday ("Blind Ambitions"), and WKRP in Cincinnati's Gordon Jump ("Big Daddy"). In addition, Harold Gould (Rhoda), who appears in "Rose the Prude," would return as a (different) recurring character five years later.

The Golden Girls ran for seven seasons and spawned spin-off The Golden Palace (without Arthur) and a British version called The Brighton Belles. By the end of its run in 1992, it had garnered numerous awards, including two Emmys for best comedy series. In addition, each of the four actresses received a well-deserved Emmy for her efforts. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Four friends, and lots of laughs
Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanaghan star as four older women, sharing a house -- and all sorts of adventures -- in 1980's Miami.

Naive Rose (White) and sarcastic Dorothy first came together with Blanche (McClanaghan) upon answering her ad for roommates. Soon after, tiny octogenarian Sophia (Getty) -- Dorothy's mother -- joins them after a fire breaks out at her nursing home.

Together, the quartet deal with trouble from visiting relatives -- most notably, Blanche's promiscuous niece Lucy and Rose's daughter Kiersten -- more men than they know how to handle, and any number of domestic mishaps.

Amidst the ever-present laughs, there are also a few poignant moments, such as the aftermath of a break-in at the girls' house; medical crises for Dorothy and Sophia respectively; and Dorothy's heartache over the sudden return of the ex-husband who abandoned her after 38 years of marriage.

If you haven't ever watched this show, give it a try -- it's guaranteed to become a favorite!

Golden Girls
This show was a Nielsen ratings hit, yet I never watch the show until I caught it on 'Lifetime' TV, and now I watch it over and over! It's Great.

The 'Golden Girls' popularity may be as high as it was while the show was on. Recently, one of the presumptive Presidential candidates featured them in one of their political ads - Interestingly, Senator Hillary Clinton earned more votes than any Presidential Primary candidate in history (Interesting reading is Peniel Cronin, Primary v Caucus)

Rest In Peace Estelle Getty (you were also wonderful as Cher's mother in the 1985 movie 'Mask')

R.I.P. Ms. Estelle Getty
"The Golden Girls" was one of the funniest television sitcoms of all-time. Who knew four middle-aged grandmothers were so funny, witty, and thought provoking? Sure this sitcom had great writing and production, but the majority of its success is owed to the talented, legendary actresses who portrayed these iconic characters. Beatrice Arthur took being sarcastic to another level with her portrayal of divorced school teacher Dorothy Z'Bornak. Betty White was brilliant in her portrayal of naive farm girl Rose Nylund. Rue McClanahan was hilarious in her portrayal of man-hungry Southern Belle Blanche Devereaux. But Estelle Getty, whom at the beginning of the series was a relative unknown in show business, stole the show as the outspoken Sicilian immigrant grandmother Sophia Spirelli-Potrillo. Getty was just genius in her role. She said and did things as Sophia that was just outrageous and brilliant. I was saddened to hear about her passing today at age 84 from natural causes and complications from Lewy's Body Dementia, which she suffered from for years. I was watching Rue, Betty, and Bea on the Red Carpet of this year's TV Land Awards where they spoke about their "Golden" friend. They said it was difficult to watch their friend suffer through her disease, but spoke nothing but beautiful things about her. Estelle's Emmy-winning role is now an iconic television treasure. Future generations will now laugh with the short old lady who told it like it was because all 7 seasons are avaliable on DVD. If you've never had the pleasure of watching "The Golden Girls," please do. It's comedy television at it's finest. I wanna thank Ms. Getty for always bringing her finest each Saturday night as Sophia. Now she can finally rest and enjoy the show!