Let Them Eat Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Podcast

Sophia goes to the beach to watch men adjust themselves and finds a kind friend while Rose's teddy bear is held hostage. 

On this episode of the podcast, we review the most infamous episode of The Golden Girls, Empty Nests.  

It's a flashback episode.  As the girls prepare for a friend's(?) surprise birthday party, they flashback to previous notable birthdays.  

There are some new men in the neighborhood...the police!  And they're hoping to use the girls' house in their undercover sting operation.  There's some romance, some shootings, some farts.  This episode has it all.  

This episode has it all.  We get Stan. We get Dorothy trying to control other people's lives.  We get amazing lines from Sophia.  We get some tremendous Rose storylines.  We get a stunned and flustered Blanche. Kate and Dennis may have given us too much, though.  

Blanche swipes an eligible bachelor right from under Dorothy's and Rose's nose, but then decides he's not proper enough.  Then she changes her mind, but it's too late.  

Listen as we dig into this strange episode.  Dorothy inadvertently has her dimpled student, Mario Lopez deported while Rose becomes Blanche's servant.  We discuss several plot-holes, strange acting, and cringey "jokes".  Yet, there are some gems in this one and somehow we talk about it for nearly two hours.  It's the Let Them Eat Cheesecake way.  

This is the recording of our very first live show ever.  We fired up the live stream, poured some drinks, ate some cheesecake, and chatted about the episode of the Golden Girls, Whose Face is This, Anyway.   Blanche has another crisis over her aging and considers cosmetic surgery and Rose is putting together her "Day in the life of..." video project for community college.  If you would like to spend an evening chatting over cheesecake with the hosts of this podcast, join the Facebook group - Cheesecake Chat.  

Sophia's sister, Angela, is back...and she's moving in.  That is, until she moves in with Sophia's boyfriend!  Meanwhile, Rose chicken-sits a piano player.  

Dorothy has a new love interest, but there's one hangup...he's a priest!

It's an episode of flashbacks.  Sh*t on a shingle, Sophia farts, and grumpy clowns...oh my!

Sophia is participating in a walkathon, and the other ladies have been volunteered by Rose to watch the children of other race participants in their house.  I don't know...it was the 80's.   Well, all of the kids are picked up, except one.  What are they going to do with this baby?  Which Golden Girl will this baby have the biggest impact on?  What were Danny's dad's last words on his deathbed?  Listen to find out!

Rose has a near-death experience that prompts her to change her lifestyle.  This prompts her to "eat life" and move out and find new roommates.   We have something special for you on this episode.  Recently, a listener shared in our Facebook group that she recently acquired some Golden Girls tarot cards.  So, we welcome Louisa onto the podcast and she reads our cards.  You do not want to miss this.  

The girls (minus Sophia the Pirate) are involved with a local community theatre, and the theatre knocked it out of the park by bringing in tv actor, Patrick Vaughn.  Blanche, Rose, and Dorothy (as well as every other woman who is part of the theatre) fall under his spell.  But they don't put it all together until they are on stage during the performance.  

Stan shows up and needs Dorothy (and the other girls) to take care of him before and after his bypass surgery.  Meanwhile, Blanche is juggling a pair of twins who happen to be the worst actors in Hollywood.

It's Sophia's birthday, and Dorothy has quite the surprise planned for her.  Arriving from Italy, it's Sophia's sister, Angela.  But the reunion doesn't really go as planned.  

This bonus episode was recorded before we discussed the Golden Girls....kinda.  Listen for an explanation.

We get our first holiday episode!  Listen as we discuss and (over)analyze the Golden Girls Christmas episode for 1986.   We learn that Blanche really as a weakness for Santas.  The ladies are held up...kinda.  And then it snows in Miami.  

Everyone has a date...except Rose.  And it's been a while since she was on a date.  Blanche and Dorothy convince Rose to put out a personal ad.  What do you know, but someone answers.  His name? Isaac Newton.  Well, Blanche has created this fictional character, and of course, things get out of hand.  

Not only does this episode have Rose speaking in a dog voice throughout, but we've got some great tension between Blanche and Dorothy...and we find out Sophia's underwear rinsing routine! This episode has it all, and tons of quips.

Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche take a vacation to a (generic) Caribbean island.  The resort was not "as advertised," and they are not on a vacation from hell, which is only made worse by three nitwits they need to share a bathroom with.  Meanwhile, Sophia puts the moves on the gardener.    

Blanche hurt her at an exercise class, so she can't engage in any of her usual physical activity, but that doesn't mean her bed isn't seeing any action.  Michael (Dorothy's son) and Bridget (Rose's daughter) happen to both be visiting the ladies at the same time, and love (or something like that) is in the air.  How will the girls handle this development?  Not well.  

Big Daddy (well, a different "Big Daddy") is back, and he's got a new love interest.  Well, Big Daddy is robbing the cradle, and as you can expect, Blanche doesn't handle that well.  Plus, Dorothy and Rose work on a new song for Miami. 

We were quite impressed with this Golden Girls episode.  Dorothy's friend (Jean) comes to visit after her partner passes away.  We find out that Jean is gay, and eventually, all of the girls learn this, and they react in our own ways.   This episode is especially impressive when viewing it through a 1986-lens.  Listen in as we share our thoughts on this episode.  

The ladies want to save a neighborhood tree, but one person stands in their way, Freida Claxton.  At a meeting at city hall, Rose finally tells Mrs. Claxton how she feels, and that causes her to drop dead!  Well, now the ladies feel various degrees of guilt and feel it's their responsibility to send her off.

Stan is back, but Dorothy is too distracted by another man to meet his emotional needs.  Blanche is pulled into the situation with the promise of some military men.  Blanche and Stan end up hitting it off, and when Dorothy's romance fizzles out, she's not too happy about the situation. Meanwhile, Rose and Sophia get into the sandwich-making business, although they have to substitute some main ingredients.  They butt heads with the mob.  Who is your money on, the mob or Sophia?

The girls get to meet Burt Reynolds!  The problem is, Blanche is just so obsessed with men, she books them a night in a hotel that appealed to her because of the number of men in the hotel lobby.  Of course, the reason there are so many men congregated there is because it's a Miami Beach hot-spot for prostitution! Blanche, Dorothy, and Rose are caught up in a sting operation and end up "downtown."  Sophia comes to bail them out but snags the Burt Reynolds meet-and-greet tickets instead.

Wow, Season 2 starts out STRONG with "End of the Curse."  The episode gets tremendous grades from the host of this podcast.  Blanche enters menopause, and as you can expect, being someone who is in constant denial that the aging process exists for her, this is not an easy thing to deal with.  

The Season 1 finale is a flashback episode and takes us back to when the ladies met and became roommates.  

"Big Daddy" comes to town, as he's taken his musical "talents" out on the road.  Meanwhile, Mr. Barton refuses to remove the palm tree that's fallen from his property onto the lanai.  

Rose's sister, who happens to be blind, is in this episode.  She hasn't quite gained the level of independence she needs and asks Rose to move in with her in Chicago.  

"The Center" closes and Rose faces the tough task at finding a job at the age of 55 with some large gaps in work history.  Dorothy provides her usual TOUGH LOVE to try to make Rose understand how important it is for her to find a job.  Rose does understand how important it is, but she's facing some ageism in the search for employment.   This is one strange episode. We dig into what we find so odd, off-putting, and delightful about it.  

The ladies have an important dinner coming up and face lots of decisions on dresses and dates, but then the flu strikes! 

To help her get a promotion at the museum, Blanche is trying to get her degree, and she's struggling in her psychology course.  Her slimy professor offers her an A for the semester if she'll sleep with him.  Well, Blanche just can't stand for this and tries to get the dean on her side before she realizes she's just going to have to tackle the situation herself and earn that A by studying.   Meanwhile, the other ladies are obsessed with seeing Frank Sinatra in concert, but acquiring (and then selling) tickets is a little tougher than they expected.  

The ladies have a plumbing issue, and after a highly-priced quote, Rose suddenly remembers she's a plumber.  Who needs those sexist plumbers anyway?!  Well, while Rose and Dorothy work on the plumbing (and Sophia doubts their abilities), Blanche is off being wined and dined by Richie Rich.  The problem there is that Blanche isn't ready to return to motherhood for his young children.   You'll hear us discuss this episode, but we want to know what you think of soft toilet seats.  

Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose are taking part in a dance routine, but Dorothy pulls up lame.  As it turns out, she needs an operation!  Well, Dorothy is a bit of a scaredy-cat.  Enjoy, as we discuss this episode.

Lucy, Blanche's niece, comes to town to interview with a college, and she decides to take this opportunity to let her inner-Blanche shine.  The problem is, she goes a little overboard, and Blanche realizes she needs to step in and give her a little reality check.  

Rose's daughter and granddaughter are in town, apparently, so her daughter can get her grubby hands on Rose's loot.  Well, it's pretty clear that Rose is hiding something, and common sense tells us, there's not as much money in the "estate" as some people think.  

Rose sneaks a man into her bedroom one night, and he dies!  What do you do when someone dies in your bed? You don't call the authorities.  You drive to his house and tell his wife that her husband was cheating on her AND he died.  

Dorothy falls in love, and everything is great until we find out that Glenn is married!  He doesn't see any problem because the marriage has been over for years, but Dorothy is disgusted by his lack of honesty.  However, their connection was so strong, she ends up going back to him.  Rose is appalled but Blanche sees no problem with it.  Sophia is disappointed and knows Dorothy hates herself.  How will the situation end? Watch the episode and then listen to our discussion. 

Rose is nervous about introducing her new love interest to the ladies.  So Blanche decides to take it upon herself to invite him over.  Well, his appearance catches the Blanche and Dorothy off-guard.  At the end of the evening, he shares that he has something important to talk about with Rose.  Will he propose?  Can she see herself with him?  Listen as we discuss the episode!

Dorothy's sister, Gloria comes to visit.  Gloria, with her bags, and her driver, and her big fancy house with servants, and her grocery store frequented by Burt Convy.  Well, she's coming to take Sophia away!  Unfortunately, Dorothy and Sophia have been getting under each other's skin, so this is perfect timing for Gloria.  Will Sophia leave?!  Why paint the peacock?

Oh Stan, you Bachalagoop.  Stan comes back to get Dorothy's signature to sell off some land they purchased on their honeymoon.  The next thing you know, they're in bed together. Now, Dorothy has to sort through her feelings.  Enjoy the episode.  It's primo, babe!

Poor Sophia has eaten so much of her rich Italian food, she and the girls think she is having a heart attack.  Poor Coco disappeared early in the series, might this be Sophia's exit?  Of course not.  But will Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche handle this near-death experience in an appropriate manner? Of course not.  

Blanche believes she has discovered the fountain of youth in a younger man named Dirk.  Meanwhile, Rose forces her visiting mother (Mrs. Lindstrom) to want to flee to Texas to escape Rose's overbearing protection. 

While the Golden Girls are off at a Madonna concert, someone breaks into the house!  Dorothy's mink stole and Blanche's mother's jewels appear to be the only items missing (besides Sophia's entire wardrobe).  Blanche wants to see the culprits swinging and it seems Rose will never feel safe again.  

On this episode of Let Them Eat Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Podcast, we discuss Season 1 Episode 7, which is entitled "The Competition."  We finally get an episode of character development without a major side character.  Rose is competitive! Blanche lacks confidence! Sophia is happy and smiling! Dorothy does something nice and relinquishes control!  These are all new looks for the characters here early in the series.  

This is our discussion on the oddly named Golden Girls episode entitled, "On Golden Girls."  

Oh boy, do we have some drama in this episode.  Dorothy has something going with Sophia's doctor, but he's a scuzzbucket like every other man we've met on the show so far (except Coco).   Blanche likes the men, but not when they're dating her friend.  Dorothy doesn't trust her and doesn't believe he made a pass at her.  Enter Rose to put on her acting shoes and save the day, and the household.  

Blanche's sister visits, which means she must want something.  Well, Blanche didn't expect that request to involve a body part!  In this episode, you'll hear our discussion on "Transplant".  

On this episode of Let Them Eat Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Podcast, we discuss the third episode of Season 1, "Rose the Prude."