While I am sure you all know the designing women of TFF so let me introduce you to a few other......
Designing Women
This hit show lasted 6 years but I'm only interested in the first 5, with the cast changes for the last year it just wasn't the same but Lord knows they tried.
Designing Women debuts on September 29, 1986 -- introducing the four ladies who will be the focus of the first five years;
Suzanne Sugarbaker -- the spoiled ex-beauty queen with a slew of ex-husbands
Julia Sugarbaker -- her widowed elder sister with a sharp wit and flair for the dramatic
Mary Jo Shively -- divorced mother of two with great decorating skills but little self-confidence
Charlene Frazier -- the sassy office manager who always attracts the wrong men.
Together, they run a newly formed interior design business, Sugarbakers and Associates, in Atlanta, Georgia, where -- aside from the occasional working -- the ladies debate the everyday dramas of being women in the South.
Created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, the series is one of the few sitcoms of its day that actually brings the viewers up to its level rather than talking down to its audience. Much of this first season is spent developing the unique personalities of each of the ladies and their constant internal debate over feminist issues. The dialogue is sharp, and interaction between the ladies seems natural with amazing chemistry between them.
A token male -- black ex-con delivery man Anthony is also added to the mix by mid-season, giving the ladies an alternate sounding board for many of their conversations. Originally only intended for one episode, Meshach Taylor makes such an impression on the producers that he is immediately asked to become a regular, and Anthony quickly becomes one the 'girls.' You have to find the episode when Anthony and Suzanne are forced to share a hotel room for the night, it is one of the funniest yet most touching episodes. Suzanne let's her guard down and has to admit that Anthony is a true friend to her.
Determined to use her series to educate as well as entertain, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason immediately begins using the series to tackle some serious issues, such as breast cancer and sexual harassment, which gives credibility to the more sophisticated humor and deepens the bond between the characters. This first season's episodes focus strongly on the ensemble, giving the audience a taste of the comical blending of strong Southern personalities, and there is some fun character development as Linda and the actresses each attempt to find their niche.
Suzanne's expertise with men takes her one step too far when she gets herself involved with Mary Jo's ex-husband, and her own ex, Jack Dent the baseball pitcher, shows up after writing a racy book about his extramarital sexual encounters. Turning thirty forces Suzanne to deal with some of her own fears of being a washed up beauty queen, and a design house project burns to the ground when she tries her hand at decorating to prove she's more than just a bimbo front person for Sugarbaker's. She also agrees to be temporary foster mother to a Vietnamese boat child -- then has trouble giving the little girl up to her adoptive parents.
Julia is very dramatic and theatrical . She has 'the' correct opinion on every topic and isn't afraid to say so. Things like her 19 year old son bringing home a 41 year old woman, or her beau taking on a beautiful young business partner give her great excuses to go into a fun tirade. Another fun episode pits Julia and Reese against each other after he is too quick to annul their hasty drunken nuptials. Julia doesn't even want to be married, but Reese had better damn sure want to be married to her!
Recently divorced Mary Jo is thrust back into the world of dating where she has to face her own sexual insecurities. Suzanne fixes her up with baseball recruiter, J.D. Shackleford, and she slowly steps into a new relationship, which includes dealing with his ex-wife, her own exhusband and all of their children. Mary Jo's father also makes an appearance this season with an interest in Charlene, and Mary Jo must fend off the unwelcome sexual advances of a client.
Meanwhile naive Charlene is suckered by a con man promising to make her a recording star. She is also stunned to find out that her best friend from high school is now a madam when Sugarbaker's is hired to decorate her brothel. Always the trusting one, Charlene suffers through a string of bad relationships, and then struggles with her own mortality when she discovers a lump in her breast.
Other episodes that were tons of fun: Suzanne's maid curses her dead by midnight, a New Year's episode where everyone is in fear of Charlene's absent date -- an escaped convict, a show where one of Charlene's boyfriends gets them arrested when he sells them stolen furniture, and the only appearance ever of Julia and Suzanne's much-mentioned mother, Perky Sugarbaker, in an episode where the ladies suspect Anthony of murdering one of their clients.
All of this happened in just the first season! But it sure laid the ground work for the years to come. I just have to mention Bernice, brilliantly played by Alice Ghostly, some of you may remember her from "Bewitched". Alice's recurring character of wacky Bernice on Designing Women became so popular that she appeared as a semi-regular during the series final two seasons --- a performance for which she received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Everyone had their favorite character on the show and everyone knew someone just like the other ones, especially if you were from the South. I knew someone like Mary Jo and I think I found a Julia later on (it's Betty but don't tell her lol)
Mary Jo had to get up at a PTA meeting and talk about handing out condoms in schools, what she said here helped me to talk to my own son when the time came...you can learn quite a bit from these ladies.
I loved that Chalene got to have Dolly Parton for her guardian angel when her daughter was born. I loved that she was proud to come from a big but poor family and was as loyal to her friends as she was to them.
You had to love Suzanne just for her pure honesty in saying whatever popped in her head, right or wrong. There were some really great moments for her character as well. When she attended a high school reunion after having gained quite of bit of weight he speech was flawless. She speaks after everyone has treated her badly and she was voted most changed, she gets up and makes the speech that talks about "girlfriends and sweet-faced boys who sang to me on the front porch.....and you can remember me any way you like..."
Ladies I will remember all of you with smiles and a secret wink from me to you because we shared so many good times.
