On Golden Pondering

The four of them sat round the dinner table in robes each more garish than the next contemplating men as if there sat four high school teens eating cheesecake. The notion of following four women in their golden years seemed normal at the time, but completely implausible by today’s standards. There was nonetheless something to be said for the gravitas of network wigs to even air such a show. The Golden Girls came at a time when America was all about anti-establishment and decadence, at the height of crime rates and when it was cool to go against the system. There was essentially very little room for wholesomeness and looking back since technologies hurried us towards the twenty-first century.

The past 5 years has seen a resurgence for all things ‘golden’. Partly due to incessant re-runs and DVD release of all the seasons, The Golden Girls have gained a new pool of fans in an unlikely demographic. There still remain those twentysomething and up individuals who remember the original air dates, but growing too is the younger generation whom have learned about Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sofia indirectly. Even more surprising, is the relevance of the story line. It holds true through the years and manages to faithfully pull a string of chuckles. Be it the hilarious Saint Olaf stories, Sophia’s “Picture it!” rants, or Dorothy’s dry sense of humor, the scenarios the series presented always held true to the characters’ personalities and made the viewer empathetic to their plight. In fact, the characters were so well crafted that invariably seemed to follow—as most things of such nature do, the quiz that helped you determine which golden girl you were. Admit it! You know you’ve done it.

Unfortunately, very little is left of The Golden Girls legacy. Surviving the three, Betty White remains the only cast member alive. Glancing at her on late night cannot help but stir sweet memories of a bygone era.  Her appeal remains so strong today, that there was even a successful Facebook^â campaign to have her host Saturday Night Live to which she did to great acclaim.  Furthermore, she launches a new show this week on TV Land. And the girls have collectively earned a place in gay culture, but Bea Arthur especially has won iconic status with her particular sense of style. Shoulder pads will never look the same on anyone else.

It is safe to say that another generation will continue to enjoy The Golden Girls wagon for years to come and immortalize the show to something way more special than producers thought it would ever become. Perhaps a remake of it will follow years down the line, but the truth is that there will never be another show that peeps into the lives of women of a certain age in the same way. In the end, maybe the show’s greatest triumph was not the countless jokes through the years, but that for once, viewers become enamored with characters no matter what age they were in, and that thought is golden.