Pepper Anne
The Golden Girls, NBC's great sitcom of four senior women sharing a house together in Miami may have paved the way for the success of Designing Women, which debuted the following year in 1986.Like the Golden Girls, this was a show primarily about single (and eventually married) women who worked at Sugarbakers, an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. Dixie Carter, my favorite, played sharp-tongued Julia Sugarbaker, a product of proper Southern upbringing but with a progressive and bold outlook. As the Golden Girls always took their opportunity for political commentary (often more liberal) on all sorts of issues (probably because it was easier to address these in a cast of all women versus one of all men), Julia Sugarbaker was often the primary character for political expression. Julia was a character never afraid to speak her mind, though sometimes, she did tend to come off as somewhat irritable than wise when the point was made too often. Though, they were important issues nonetheless. Like the Golden Girls, it was an opportune moment, hailing from the days of Regan and eventually Bush, Sr. With a cast of middle-aged Southern women and one black ex-convict (Anthony Bouvier played by Mesach Taylor, who became a cast regular shortly into the first season), these issues were obviously abundant: feminism, race, AIDs, religion, poverty, and so forth. This was the age of television, afterall, when show's creators were still allowed to openly speak their mind (for the most part anyway). Annie Potts, my favorite comedienne, was Mary Jo Shively, equally cynical. Although, earlier versions of her character, before they worked out the kinks in the first season, came off as quite arrogant at times. Shively was the single woman, mother of two who often scoffed at their strange clientelle and also pursued political positions with Julia, though not as often. Jean Smart was the flamboyant Charlene Frazier, a real goofy character with a pleasant personality who seemed to always have all the knowledge of trivial and tabloid information. But, perhaps the biggest draw to the show was Delta Burke who plays snippy former-Miss Atlanta sister to Julia, Suzanne Sugarbaker. Once Mesach Taylor became a regular in the cast, his character Anthony was often forced into hilarious situations with Suzanne. Suzanne, who owned a pot bellied pig named Noel and was known for wielding a handgun and had a Phillipino maid named Conseulla who was rumored to have put curses on Suzanne. At the time, Delta Burke was married to Gerald MacReiny, former Major Dad star, who later plays her ex-husband, Graham on Designing Women. Dixie Carter, too, played alongside her husband, Hal Holbrook, who played her boyfriend, Reece.Despite a great assortment of characters which appear slightly modeled by the Golden Girls cast, this show, unlike the Golden Girls, was not as successful from beginning to end. At the start of the first season, they had problems really finding a niche for each of their characters. At first, it was only the four women, but soon Anthony became a cast regular as the Sugarbaker handyman. And soon, even he developed a more dominant role, often in episodes dealing with his hilarious misadventures with Suzanne. Alice Ghostly, one of my favorites, was the next to join the show as the incredibly zany, but lovable Bernice Clifton. (I love the show where she hosts the public access show and tells everyone that the Sugarbaker interior design firm is just a front for a prostitution house, mortifying Julia and the rest who thought they were on the air to discuss designing).And, despite an all-star cast by this point, each providing many great qualities and plenty of laughs, the show underwent a cast change, probably due to Delta Burke's on-going battle with depression. She was the first to leave and soon, so did Jean Smart who was written off the show when her character, Charlene, gets married and has a baby and soon, becomes a stay-at-home mom. These were two powerful players on the show, and Delta Burke certainly had the biggest draw, which was a powerful act to follow for Jan Hooks, Judith Ivey, and the arrogant Julia Duffy, none of whom (except maybe Hooks who is always good as the moron character like she played in 3rd Rock From the Son) could pull it off. They joined the show in 1991 and the show eventually ended in 1993. But perhaps this is not soley attributed to a cast change. Four years on the air (as of of 1991) is still a good run. Even The Golden Girls took it's final bow in 1992. The show, when it was in it's prime (when it had Julia, Suzanne, Mary-Jo, Charlene, Anthony, and Bernice), it proved to be one of the best sitcoms of the 1980s. The friends, through their trials and tribulations, shared in many hilarious situations that to this day, can still make you laugh till you cry (especially with a lot of the stuff out of Suzanne's mouth). And since it looks like a rarity to catch the reruns anymore on Lifetime TV, where it ran consecutive episodes following the Golden Girls, you're in luck, because they've released some seasons on DVD!
