Designing Women

[Ella]

OMG thank God someone started this thread. I love DW. LOVE. So many great episodes. I remember the one when Charlene had her baby and then the older lady died and Dolly Parton took her away. I bawled like a baby for days after. And I wish I had the balls that Julia had. Damn that woman could cut you with her words. And of course Crazy Berniece(sp?) I remember when she wore the Christmas tree skirt as a real skirt . I wish I could afford the DVD's. Killing all the right people was wonderful...oh and the rowdy girls! Kim Zimmer was awesome! I love Charlene the best. More later i'm sure as I think of more fav moments.

[jennipoo]

Gerald McRainey and the man who played Reese (I should KNOW his name,dammit) were my crushes. Keep in mind I'm 29 years old now. DW just showed their best assets to perfection.

[Deleted]

jennipoo said:

Gerald McRainey and the man who played Reese (I should KNOW his name,dammit) were my crushes.

Hal Holbrook.

[atpeacewithme]

Thank you, borokat! Yes, I think you're right.

Oh goodness, the episodes with the men were *so good* because the chemistry between the men and the women was just so, so, so hot. It makes me so happy to know that *all* the men were really married to the women on the show. Of course, JD is married to Charlene (instead of his onscreen love interest - Mary Jo) but I thought JD and MJ were just adorable.

The chemistry that the original four women had was magic. I feel bad that Delta Burke was pushed out because of her weight. She and Dixie Carter had a falling out for the same reason. If you read Dixie's book,you learn that she *obsessed* with her weight, which makes me think she was constantly preaching to Delta about hers.

Anyway, I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only DW fan under 30 out there!

[celebrityfly]

One of my favorites is when Bernice's relative is trying to prove she's crazy so she can get her money. Otherwise known as trying to build a case around 2 Dicks and a Hat. Phyllis tells the judge that Bernice has an autographed picture of a pig on her wall & puts sheep placenta on her face at night and Suzanne stands up and says "Excuse me but I personally know that Pig "and says she got her the sheep placenta.

Then Bernice says that Phyllis isn't all there because when they go to McDonald's she always asks "How is the fish?" and Bernice has to tell her "It's square fish Phyllis".

Ahhh genius.

[kathy1977]

Count me in as another young (29) Designing Women fan. I started watching in syndication a couple years ago. It really is just the most brilliant comedy ever. In my opinion of course. When the heck are they ever going to release the tv boxsets? Even Golden Girls has been out on DVD forever. It's funny how this show premiered when I was just in grade school and looking at it now it's still fresh and funny. It's not outdated at all.

I adored the original cast and cannot tolerate the later cast. It wasn't just that they brought in new people, but the old cast members changed. Julia, Anthony and Mary Jo became almost completely different characters after Charlene and Suzanne left. And Berniece became a larger presence on the show. Now I loved me some Berniece, but she's only good in small doses. In the final season she was around way too much and it got annoying.

I miss Julia's hell fire and brimstone rants. I loved how she could tell you off like nobodies business without uttering a single foul word. I really can't figure out which character is my favorite. I loved them all equally. That's rare for me because no matter how much I like a show there is usually a character I can't stand.

[atpeacewithme]

I had no idea that the characters changed in the later cast. How so? Did Julia stop having her tirades? How did Mary Jo change? Letting Delta go was a big mistake. She was the funniest one and she and Julia had genuine chemistry.

[CAgirl]

What was the reason for Charlene leaving? I don't recall the reason.

[twodollars]

My favorite episode of DW, was the one where the four women go to the spa and it ends up being the two skinny women (Julia/MJ) vs. the overweight women (Suzanne/Charlene). Hysterically funny and still managed to make a point.

[celebrityfly]

atpeacewithme said:

I had no idea that the characters changed in the later cast. How so? Did Julia stop having her tirades? How did Mary Jo change? Letting Delta go was a big mistake. She was the funniest one and she and Julia had genuine chemistry.

Julia had always been a little liberal but it seemed like she just became this super shrill and everything had to be made political. It got to be boring and they really dragged Mary Jo down into it to. It was like on the episode with Clarence Thomas. She and Julia were pro-Anita Hill and Allison was pro-Clarence and it was preachy and political and that's not necessarily the sorts of things that make a sitcome enjoyable.

What was the reason for Charlene leaving? I don't recall the reason.

I think Bill got transferred to a new military base and that's where she "went". Then we got the horrendous Carlene in her place.