20180114

THE GOLDEN GIRLS

All situation comedies had a bible - a synopsis of everything that had happened on the series so new writers did not have to watch past episodes to know the full story. However the 'Los Angeles Times' learnt, "There is no master plan of what will happen in the future." In 1984, CBS struck gold with the drama series, 'Murder, She Wrote' on Sunday night. As reported, "It's a simple demographic fact: The American population is getting older – and TV is learning to follow that trend." 

In 1985, Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas met with Brandon Tartikoff to discuss an idea for a new series about the adventures of a young female attorney. However Brandon Tartikoff suggested, "We (NBC) don't like your idea. But we'll give you one. Take some women around 60. Society has written them off, has said they're over the hill. We want them to be feisty as hell and having a great time." 

The result was the TV sitcom, 'The Golden Girls', about four over 50 women sharing a house in Miami Beach - 3 widowed (Rose Nylund, Blanche Devereaux, Sophia Petrillo) and one divorced (Dorothy Zbornak). 'Knight-Ridder News Service' reported, "Although there are millions of Americans over 50 alive today (in 1985), this age group is not fashionable in TV Land. The prime target audience for TV advertisers is the age bracket from 18 to 49." 

Then 62 and driving a Toyota Tercel, Estelle Getty observed, "Older people between 50 and 80 are big purchasers. They buy cars, groceries, toothpaste, aspirin – everything. It’s silly for sponsors to think that once you get past 50, you're no longer useful to them." Harvey Shephard of CBS made the point, "We've always felt that the target audience for our programs should be 30 to 60. That's the age group with the largest disposable income. All you have to do is study the census reports to verify that. How can anybody actually believe that people 18 to 24 have more purchasing power than people 50 to 54? It's a joke." 

'Knight-Ridder' continued, "NBC already draws more children, teenagers and young adults than any other network, so something for seniors might nicely diversify its audience mix. If you’re angling for seniors, Saturday night seems the right night to fish because so many Hollywood movies that wind up on television were originally targeted at the basic theater ticket-buying audience, predominately aged 25 and younger, it seems wise to offer TV viewers who are twice that age something different." 

Director Terry Hughes noted, "On Saturday night, we're doing it on our own – not by leapfrogging 'Cosby'." Paul Schulman bought $165 million worth of television advertising a year for clients told 'The New York Times', "… 'The Golden Girls' will do extremely well with younger people. It's a mistake to think that younger people won't watch just because the show deals with older women. Who's home on Saturday night? An awful lot of people who used to be big 'Love Boat' fans and who will eat 'Golden Girls' up." 

Associated Press reported, "In the 1980s, network TV on Saturday night has become a losing proposition, losing viewers to pay-cable movies, video cassette rentals and the networks’ own inept programming. Saturday hasn't been funny since Mary Tyler Moore left Minneapolis and Bob Newhart surrendered his couch." Brandon Tartikoff insisted, "'Golden Girls' defies all the demographic rules of television." 

Then 64 and driving a Cadillac Seville, Betty White pointed out, "We get half our mail from kids! Toddlers come up to me in the market, tug on my skirt and say, 'Woze! Woze!' They can't pronounce Rose, but they know who I am." Paul Junger Witt informed, "We have an audience from kids on up. All the research we see indicates a real across-the-board appeal among all ages. Also, let's keep in mind that 55 or 60 is no longer an age that's so distant to people my age. Fifty-five just isn't considered old anymore – and it makes economic sense for the networks to recognize that fact." 

Speaking to 'New York Daily News', Betty White added, "It shocks me how we cross over into all demographic groups. I don't think I really knew that we had a hit until I saw the first script. Still, I prayed a lot." Warren Littlefield of NBC maintained, "We knew the show would be breaking one of the basic television rules. But all of our best shows scared us a bit. We propelled 'Golden Girls' because we knew there would be nothing like it on the air. And in the last year or two (from 1984) what has worked on television is what's different." 

Speaking to 'The Honolulu Advertiser', Betty White believed, "I'm sure it started out, as NBC-TV conceived it, as a show aimed towards the older generation. But kids on the street yell to me, 'Golden Girls', 'Golden Girls' and we're sort of cult figures among the teenagers. I don't know why, but it's just plain wonderful." Then 60 and driving a silver Audi, Beatrice Arthur told 'News America Syndicate', "I feel the success of 'The Golden Girls' has nothing to do with our age group. I mean, if the show's good, everybody's gonna watch it. When I was approached to do this show, I didn't even think of the fact that all four of us are older ladies. All I knew is that it was a great script that really excited me." 

Speaking to the 'Chicago Tribune', Paul Junger Witt made known, "We approached the series, not with trepidation, but with thought and a great deal of study. We asked a number of mature people whom we knew about certain elements of their lives. We incorporated some of those philosophies into the show. The reaction from mature audiences (over 55), has been remarkably enthusiastic. 

"They felt at last they were represented on TV. We get a tremendous amount of mail from young people. We like doing a show that we know works 'across-the-board' - a show that kids can enjoy, as well as their parents and grandparents. Many families write us they watch together. It's a huge success in England. And it's done very well elsewhere." 

Then 51 and driving a yellow Mercedes, Rue McClanahan told 'The Index Journal' the series was a hit because "the team work is wonderful on every level. We have one of the most wonderful creative machines in town, from writing to directing ... and, yes, acting." Bea Arthur mentioned, "It's full of surprises. We have not been formularized. And the series doesn't revolve around one person as 'Maude' did. There are four stories to be told and we are four such distinct types." 

Betty White concurred, "The are no egos, there's no dissension. We're all given equal treatment. If someone gets the main story, the others are always involved in a subplot. Actually, it’s more fun when you're not driving the plot. You can be sillier." The premiere episode attracted 25% households ratings (of the 85.9 million TV homes at the time) and 43% audience share (over 21.5 million viewers). 

Betty White made the comment at the time, "In all the 100 years I've been in this business, I've never seen this kind of pre-hype. Well, at least they can't miss the fact we're on. We will not go down by default." Then 44, Susan Harris told the press, "I had to write 'Golden Girls'. I've never gotten excited about a network idea before, but this was compelling. I could write grown-ups. Television is always several steps behind life.

"It's kind of pathetic that this show is television's baby steps. I hadn't wanted to do any more television but that (Brandon Tartikoff's suggestion) appealed to me. I like writing about older people. They have more to say. They've led rich lives. That's really how it ('The Golden Girls') started. After that I came up with the concept and the characters. We got the stars we wanted. The contrast between the four women breeds the conflict. We had to make them quite different or you'd end up with 30 minutes of 'nice'. 

"Dorothy comes from Queens. She's the most outspoken, the sharpest, the strongest character. She's a survivor. Rose is not quite in the world. She's been protected all her life, so there’s a bit of the ingenue about her. She's an innocent ... Blanche is a throwback to the Old South. She's antebellum. She's Scarlett O’Hara. She thinks she's hot stuff, but she's growing older and is having a tough time. Sophia is an Italian mother who spent a lot of time in New York. She's a tough cookie. We gave her a small stroke that wiped out her brain censor so she could say what everyone else would like to say but doesn’t." 

In its 7th season (1991-92), NBC moved 'The Golden Girls' to a new, earlier time slot on Saturdays and scheduled its spin-off 'Empty Nest' in its previous time slot. The ratings for 'The Golden Girls' started to fall "immediately after the time switch". In the 1992-93 season, CBS renamed 'The Golden Girls', 'The Golden Palace'. Estelle Getty remarked, "I guess that in this business you learn to shift your allegiances very quickly – with agents, with networks, with the powers-that-be." 

Tony Thomas told the 'Los Angeles Times' roughly 25% of the budget of 'The Golden Girls' went to hiring writers, "A good comedy requires a lot of teamwork, a lot of people sitting in a room working together. A good team is rare, but it's not extremely rare. It's like winning the NBA title." The 5 key writers on 'The Golden Girls' were all in their 30s: Terry and Speer Grossman; Barry Fanaro; Mort Nathan and Winifred Hervey. 

Dean Valentine of NBC stated, "The secret of TV half-hour comedy shows is the revisions (rewriting). What they start out with is 75% (outline, first draft, second draft) away from what they end up with (complete script)." Terry Grossman elaborated, "One of the most important things that exists with this group (of writers) is that the bottom line is making the show as good as possible. It's still very difficult when your script is read for the first time and the material doesn't work. It hurts for a moment. But there's no time to take it personally. It didn’t work. And the clock is ticking. You better keep moving and get it right." 

Betty White shared, "With comedy, you really have to go slowly – syllable by syllable. If you put in an extra word, or you take one out, the rhythm is off. You've got to dot every 'I', and use every comma. It's that precise." Terry Grossman continued, "Early in the first season we were throwing out whole scenes. Now (by 1988) we know what works for each lady and what she does best. That's the advantage of being in the third year of the show (1987-88). The disadvantage is that stories are harder to come by."

Each episode comprised "the idea, the act break and the resolution. Usually there's an 'A' story and a 'B' story going. It's the natural structure. Good writers should be able to write for men, women, old or young. We all draw on other people in our lives – parents, grandparents. Part of the reason for the show's popularity is that these are very vital people. 

"The very same story you've seen 100 times on every sitcom takes on new light with characters in this age group. That makes life easier for us. Also, these four actresses are sensational. To have the entire cast be able to give such high-caliber performances means you don't have to adjust your material. You write the material, and they deliver. If they can't make it work, there's something wrong with the material." 

Estelle Getty acknowledged, "As actors, we do what's handed to us, but to be able to do something that's up your alley is icing on the cake." There were two tapings of 'The Golden Girls' before a live audience at Renmar Studios. Before the first taping, there would be two rehearsals (draft one rewrite then draft two) and one dress rehearsal. Rue McClanahan recalled, "Sometimes, I have 7 or 8 costume changes on a single show (each episode) ... I get so much mail from people wanting to know where they can buy the clothes I wear on 'The Golden Girls'." A completed script usually had 50 pages. 

It was understood "every fourth week during the season, the show shuts down, giving the actors and crew a rest and allowing the writers to catch up." Betty White enthused, "...Television has been my mainstay. I think television and I started out together. I love the fact that you’re able to work one-on-one with the audience. I mean, you’re invited into the living room of the viewers. You’re never talking to more than two or three people at a time. You’re really reaching out there, and communicating with selected individuals." 

In the episode ‘Letter to Gorbachev' (first went on air in October 1987) Barry Fanaro disclosed, "It was one of 20 or 30 story notions kicked around." Mort Nathan expressed, "Most of them didn't work. But this one sound amusing. Because Rose is a childlike character, we wondered what would happen if she wrote a letter to Gorbachev about world peace. We started fleshing it out, but we couldn't think of a second act. We went round and round, and finally six weeks later we came up with a way to make the story work."

Terry Grossman reiterated, "It's really a team effort." Of writing jokes, Terry Grossman revealed, "They're only hard to write when you've got one that isn't working. A joke in the middle of a scene can be weak, but the 'out joke' - a snappy one-liner that ends the scene on a laugh – has to be strong." Speer Grossman voiced, "To keep quality, you like as many writers as you can afford. This year (1987-88 season), we have six 'entities' (writing teams) - four sets of partners and two individuals. And we also use a few freelance scripts each season (outside scripts submitted through agents). We may decide a scene needs a new opening. There will be a long moment of silence. Then someone will ask if anybody’s eaten at some new restaurant. In the course of conversation, somebody will say, 'Wait a minute, I have an idea.'"

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