While watching the 11 o'clock episode of GG tonight I notice that Mammie Watkins refers to Blanche as Blance Marie Hollingsworth. When we all know from the episode where Rose believes Blanche to have slept with Charlie that Blanches initials are BED. Blanche Elizabeth Devereaux. Any other inconsistencies you have noticed lately? I would love to know.

There are MULTIPLE inconsistencies with the show:

-- Dorothy's age
-- Her children's ages
-- Grandchildren

That's just a few.

You might also look at the "Two characters, One actor" post. There are lots of actors who played two different roles on the show. One main person was Harold Gould -- he originally played "Arnie," a date of Rose's, in an early episode. He then came back a few seasons later to play Miles Webber/Nicholas Carbone, Rose's main squeeze.

That's brings up another inconsistency. Miles was in the Witness Protection Program. When he announced his real name when he thought the Cheeseman died, it totally threw Rose.

However, Miles invited his daughter to visit for his birthday. So, how was this allowed??

There are just a few things...

Good call on Mammy. I knew the BED part, but never put the two together.

Ok, here are some more insonsistencies. On the pilot episode Charles Levin played a gay cook named Coco, but after that episode Coco was never mentioned again. Also in the pilot episode, Estelle Getty's "Sophia"wig is different from the other episodes. Finally 2 different actresses play Dorothy's sister Gloria. In the episode "The Custody Battle" Gloria is played by a red-headed actress named Doris Belack. But in the episodes Monkey Business 1 and 2, Dena Dietrich a blond haired lady plays Gloria.

Originally posted by Adam the Great
Ok, here are some more insonsistencies. On the pilot episode Charles Levin played a gay cook named Coco, but after that episode Coco was never mentioned again. Also in the pilot episode, Estelle Getty's "Sophia"wig is different from the other episodes. Finally 2 different actresses play Dorothy's sister Gloria. In the episode "The Custody Battle" Gloria is played by a red-headed actress named Doris Belack. But in the episodes Monkey Business 1 and 2, Dena Dietrich a blond haired lady plays Gloria.

About Estelle/Sophia's wig, I believe in the pilot episode, and maybe others? can't remember, you are seeing her actual hair, it's just powdered to look white. Later on, and through the rest of the series, she wears various wigs, covering up her actual hair.

I know the reason Coco/Charles Levin was dropped, but can't explain it, LOL, it had something to do with the kitchen table/cheesecake scenes and Sophia. Sorry, I just really can't remember the reasoning behind writing out Coco except that the writers wanted to just focus on the four women.

Also, the number of children that Rose and Blanche have always change.

Originally posted by TVJunkie101

About Estelle/Sophia's wig, I believe in the pilot episode, and maybe others? can't remember, you are seeing her actual hair, it's just powdered to look white. Later on, and through the rest of the series, she wears various wigs, covering up her actual hair.

I know the reason Coco/Charles Levin was dropped, but can't explain it, LOL, it had something to do with the kitchen table/cheesecake scenes and Sophia. Sorry, I just really can't remember the reasoning behind writing out Coco except that the writers wanted to just focus on the four women.

The part about Sophia's hair is correct...

For Coco -- originally, Sophia was supposed to be a "supporting" character. This is why, during the original first couple seasons, she wasn't featured as much during the credits (at the end of Lifetime's is usually the scene where Dorothy tells the others that "no matter what happens, let's stick together!")

She wasn't supposed to be seen as much as she was, but her opinions attracted audiences, producers and others that they realized her part needed to be capitalized on. So, she was brought in as a man character, and Coco went Gogo.

"Michael, you're 29 years old!" says Dorothy. Um, Dorothy, weren't you 18 or 19 when you had Michael? That would make you about 48-49. And before that, he was 23. This would make her about 42. I ... don't.....think....so!!! (even "Maude" was 47 years old and into her 50's when the show ended many many years beforehand!)

Angela comes to Miami and hasn't spoken to Sophia for 30 years. Why didn't she mention this to Dorothy? And wouldn't Dorothy notice that her mother and her aunt have not exchanged one lousy phone call or written a letter in 30 years?

And the "Gloria" thing has always bothered me. Gloria was shorter, and as mentioned above, had red hair before. Later she comes back as tall as Dorothy and blonde. OH WELL, I still love the show anyway.

I was seven when the series began and 14 when it ended. I don't remember when I started watching with my parents on Saturday nights, but even as a kid I remember the inconsistencies. They became that much more glaring when the show went into syndication and was on five days a week.
I think I read once where the writing team changed about halfway through the series. That's one excuse, but still it always bugged me!

In the first episode, Dorothy tells Rose that she grew up in Queens. After that, it's always Brooklyn that Dorothy grew up in.

I'm kind of glad this subject was brought up in this thread. The show was very good when it came to inconsistencies.

Early on in the series, Sophia went to visit her son, Phil. According to Sophia, Angela was a welder and never cooked. "She would only get up to go to the kitchen to get a cold beer!"
Later on in the series after Phil died, we meet Angela and Sophia called her "Big Sally". But now she's a cosmatologist. Speaking of Phil's funeral, why wasn't any of the rest of the family there? Gloria, Kate, Michael, Angelo, Angela? That never did make much sense to me.

So did Sophia only have Angela and Angelo for siblings? The reason I ask is because I have heard Sophia talk of other relatives. She would tell Dorothy about her Aunt Regina and Aunt Renata.

Also, Dorothy never had any grandkids but according to her in one episode, she was telling the girls that they were grandmothers. Since when did Dorothy become a grandmother? I mean Michael had a baby with Lorraine but after the episode where she and Michael announce the pregnancy and get married we never hear about the baby again.

Also Rose's daughter Kirsten was played by two different actresses. In Season one her daughter Kirsten has one daughter, Charley. In the later Season Home Again, Rose Kirsten is believed to have several daughters and apparently they are too young to come to the hospital. Um Charley wouldn't be too young by that time.
The same with Blanche. Her daughter Janet had David and then later, Melissa and then in Home Again, Rose, she has Sarah.

Also Rose said she graduated high school and was valedictorian because she drew the longest straw, but then later on she says she never graduated high school.

In the episode Grab That Dough, the announcer says that Sophia was a grandmother of six. How is that possible if there was Michael and Kate? Unless he meant great grandma? Nevermind, I guess he could have been referring to Phil and Gloria's kids. Although, Sophia did say that Phil and Angela had 10 kids once and I don't know how many kids Gloria had.

So how many kids did Rose have? There was Kirsten, Bridget, Adam, Janella and Charlie, Jr.
Blanche had Rebecca, Matthew, Skippy, Janet, Doug? Hers were always changing episode to episode.

Rose wasn't allergic to cats as Dorothy said in one episode. She had a cat Lindstrom, and then Mr. Peepers later on.

I could go on forever. This show had soooo many inconsistencies! I loved it anyway! :D

Good post! I hadn't even thought about all of those. The characters being played by different actors/actresses never really bothered me, but the other stuff ... yeah. I chalk almost all of it up to laziness or ignorance by the second crew of writers (which sounds mean but I don't intend it to be ... none of them knew to look back at old episodes, nor did they probably have the time). I understand continuity being sacrificed on occasion for the sake of humor, but they took it to a new level! It never affected my enjoyment of the show, but it was enough to notice 20 years ago for an OCD teen like myself. :)

The inconsistency with Dorothy's children was always confusing considering it was brought up throughout the series how she got pregnant out of high school and married Stan. I always assumed Kate was the first child because she seemed older than Michael who's age was mentioned and there's no way he could be the child Dorothy had at 18 or 19 based on her age of 55 during the first season.

Blanche has daughters Janet and Rebecca, but she also mentioned sons Biff, Doug, and Skippy. She also mentioned a son Matthew who was a CPA. He was seen on Golden Palace.

With Rose we saw daughters Kierston and Bridget. However, she also mentions Janella, Adam, and Charlie Jr.

One inconsistency in a line I can't believe no one on the show caught was when Rose told Blanche and Dorothy she was adopted. She said Gunter and Alma NYLUND were her adoptive parents--Nylund was her married name. Her maiden name was Lindstom.

Another inconsistency was all the girls raising money for house repairs. They buy the DiKimmel painting for a new roof. The house was Blanche's and the others paid rent. Any expenses to the house would have been up to Blanche.

The one with Rose's birth name supposedly being Nylund was, IMO, the worst inconsistency of the entire series. I don't know how no one, including Betty White herself, caught that. Even she had to know Rose's maiden name was Lindstrom.

Sophia said she and Angela were the only ones left of the original family. I really do believe that Angela simply became Angelo, as her sister was never mentioned again after her second appearance.

The show definitely had its share of inconsistencies; but, some of the best shows have (even I Love Lucy).

Another one I didn't see mentioned was Blanche's daughter Rebecca. The first time we see her, Blanche describes her as a former model, but she's gained a lot of weight since then and brings her BF (who later proposes and she says yes because she thinks she can't do better) who proceeds to bash her and make sarcastic remarks about her at every turn. The girls are all ready to kill him but Rebecca tolerates it because she thinks being fat she can't get anyone else. Luckily she realizes Blanche is right and dumps the loser. The next time we see her she's a lot thinner with different colored hair (the first Rebecca I think had dirty blonde hair that was mostly straight, the second Rebecca had dark hair that was curly) and wanting to have a baby via in vitro fertilization. That actress played Rebecca the rest of the times she appeared on the show.

All the other ones I would've mentioned (particularly Kirstin) have already been mentioned.

One inconsistency in a line I can't believe no one on the show caught was when Rose told Blanche and Dorothy she was adopted. She said Gunter and Alma NYLUND were her adoptive parents--Nylund was her married name. Her maiden name was Lindstom.

Another inconsistency was all the girls raising money for house repairs. They buy the DiKimmel painting for a new roof. The house was Blanche's and the others paid rent. Any expenses to the house would have been up to Blanche.

I can't believe no one caught Nylund vs Lindstrom either. As for house repairs, I know at some point Blanche added them to the mortgage...it was the episode where she wants to put in a hot tub and writes a check for the permit, but when Rose lets it slip that they're "practically sleeping on top of each other" the city person tells her she has to make expensive repairs because she's now considered a boarding house. The girls agonize over who moves out, when Dorothy suggests that Blanche adds them to the mortgage so they all own the house and aren't tenants. She finally agrees to do it. I don't remember if the house repair episode was before or after that though, and I know Blanche mentions its "her house" several times during the series so maybe that was forgotten too. LOL

Much like the TV shows from that era, continuity and inconsistencies are a major problem. Of course, when the episodes originally aired, syndication was just really starting to take off and the internet wasn't even in its infancy, so, most writers probably never anticipated fans picking over all these errors.

Some other issues:

George's death is inconsistent on two separate occasions. Initially, Blanche said he had been in a coma and she was getting a pedicure when he died. Another time, she said he was killed in a car accident and received word over the phone that he had died (at 2:00 a.m. to boot).

Miles originally appears as a friend to Blanche's date and he's named Arnie.

Dorothy claims her grandmother died when she was six years old. However, in a flashback episode, Dorothy is seen married to Stan while her grandmother (who is actually played by Bea Arthur) visits.

When they discuss how the Girls came to live with one another, it's stated Rose was thrown out of her apartment because she had cats - except it's established in another episode that Rose is allergic to cats.

Dorothy was supposed to have gotten pregnant by Stan at her prom. However, one episode focuses on a prom date who 'never showed up' and, instead, we find out he had but Sophia turned him away because she didn't like his attitude. Dorothy then explains she felt rejected and later went out with Stan, having sex and getting pregnant - initially blaming her mother for her lot in life.

In an early episode, Rose's mother, Alma comes to visit. Later in the series Rose says something about swearing on her parents' graves. I suppose Alma could have died, but you'd think they would made mention of it.

Also I never understood why Phil's funeral and burial were held in Miami. Phil lived in Brooklyn. Wouldn't it make more sense for Dorothy and Sophia to go up there for the funeral, instead of his wife, Angela bringing the body to Florida? And where were Phil's kids???

Also I never understood why Phil's funeral and burial were held in Miami. Phil lived in Brooklyn. Wouldn't it make more sense for Dorothy and Sophia to go up there for the funeral, instead of his wife, Angela bringing the body to Florida? And where were Phil's kids???

The episode tries to explain it away early when Sophia mentions she talked Angela 'Big Sally' into having Phil buried in the family plot ... which, I guess, was in Miami.

It works somewhat because they never specifically state when Dorothy (and I'm assuming Sophia) moved from Brooklyn to Miami. The only definitive thing we know is that Sophia was in Brooklyn when she was 50 (flashback episode), but that doesn't mean much considering she was near 80 when the series started. So, somewhere between 1959 and 1985, she moved to Miami.

Wiki says Sal died in 1983*, so, two years before the series started. It's entirely possible all three moved to Florida in the 60s or 70s, (four when you include Stan) and the family plot being there would make sense. It's also established in the series that Phil wasn't very wealthy (they lived in a trailer and Sophia had to displace six of his ten children, who all slept in the same room, when she stayed with him - so, not much room for all those kids), and maybe they couldn't afford a plot of their own and Sophia, with Dorothy's help, paid for the burial down in Miami.

I guess that is a way to explain it - especially if Sal was in Miami when he died, since he's buried there and Sophia would be buried there at the time of her death.

It's harder to explain away why the kids didn't show up to the funeral - especially when consider even some of Phil's cross-dressing buddies decided to show up!

Oh, and I think Phil lived in New Jersey, Newark, to be exact - so, not Brooklyn.

*The series originally established 1983 by saying Sal and Sophia had been married 52 years and were married in 1931 (1931+52 = 1983). However, Dorothy claims in another episode that "Pop" has been dead 22 years - which would put his death some time in the 1960s. So, another error and one that changes the dynamics. If Sal died while they still lived in Brooklyn, wouldn't the family plot actually be in Brooklyn instead of Miami? I doubt they moved his body when they relocated to Miami - so, if he died in 1983, it's more probable he died in Miami than if he died in 196X, when I doubt Dorothy, Stan, Sophia and Sal all relocated to Miami. But who knows, maybe they did relocate to Miami in the 50s or 60s (we know Stan and Dorothy got a divorce in 1984 and had been married 38 years - which puts their marriage back in the 40s ... which gives a considerable amount of time for them to relocate) and soon thereafter, Sal died and was buried at the new family plot

Wow. I over-analyzed that like mad. :crazy:

The episode tries to explain it away early when Sophia mentions she talked Angela 'Big Sally' into having Phil buried in the family plot ... which, I guess, was in Miami.

It works somewhat because they never specifically state when Dorothy (and I'm assuming Sophia) moved from Brooklyn to Miami. The only definitive thing we know is that Sophia was in Brooklyn when she was 50 (flashback episode), but that doesn't mean much considering she was near 80 when the series started. So, somewhere between 1959 and 1985, she moved to Miami.

Wiki says Sal died in 1983*, so, two years before the series started. It's entirely possible all three moved to Florida in the 60s or 70s, (four when you include Stan) and the family plot being there would make sense. It's also established in the series that Phil wasn't very wealthy (they lived in a trailer and Sophia had to displace six of his ten children, who all slept in the same room, when she stayed with him - so, not much room for all those kids), and maybe they couldn't afford a plot of their own and Sophia, with Dorothy's help, paid for the burial down in Miami.

I guess that is a way to explain it - especially if Sal was in Miami when he died, since he's buried there and Sophia would be buried there at the time of her death.

It's harder to explain away why the kids didn't show up to the funeral - especially when consider even some of Phil's cross-dressing buddies decided to show up!

Oh, and I think Phil lived in New Jersey, Newark, to be exact - so, not Brooklyn.

*The series originally established 1983 by saying Sal and Sophia had been married 52 years and were married in 1931 (1931+52 = 1983). However, Dorothy claims in another episode that "Pop" has been dead 22 years - which would put his death some time in the 1960s. So, another error and one that changes the dynamics. If Sal died while they still lived in Brooklyn, wouldn't the family plot actually be in Brooklyn instead of Miami? I doubt they moved his body when they relocated to Miami - so, if he died in 1983, it's more probable he died in Miami than if he died in 196X, when I doubt Dorothy, Stan, Sophia and Sal all relocated to Miami. But who knows, maybe they did relocate to Miami in the 50s or 60s (we know Stan and Dorothy got a divorce in 1984 and had been married 38 years - which puts their marriage back in the 40s ... which gives a considerable amount of time for them to relocate) and soon thereafter, Sal died and was buried at the new family plot

Wow. I over-analyzed that like mad. :crazy:

That was a good analysis! The writers should have done that. :) They probably just wrote with the intent of good jokes, "facts" be damned. I never gave much thought at all to Sal having died so close to the series beginning. I always figured he'd died sometime in the 1960s.

Sadly this happens a lot because no show ever keeps the same writers...you would have thought the girls would have said something.

Sadly this happens a lot because no show ever keeps the same writers...you would have thought the girls would have said something.

Different writers and just plain ol' not caring. I mentioned in another post (I think I did, anyway) that back then, series continuity was not a big deal. You've got to remember, syndication was just in its infancy, and there was no internet, so, for the most part, episodes would run once and that would be it. I don't think the writers ever thought fans would nitpick things from certain episodes and you know what? They were right. I mean, how many of these goofs were only picked up in syndication and not when the episode aired? Probably a lot. Maybe not all, since some are pretty big or unexplained (why Gloria never attended her brother's funeral...or for that matter, why his kids didn't, either), but most.

The creation of the internet changed a lot of that. So did syndication and DVD releases of each season (which wasn't available until the last decade, really for many, many shows).

I have noticed most of the inconsistencies mentioned here over the course of the years, but I agree, they never diminished how much I have enjoyed the show!!! :)

Here's one I can't believe no one has mentioned:

Charlie died about "5 years ago" in the series; yet, in the pilot, he died 15 years ago! That would have made his heart attack at age 40!

Unless Charlie was quite an older man than Rose, but I always picture them about the same age.

Here's one I can't believe no one has mentioned:

Charlie died about "5 years ago" in the series; yet, in the pilot, he died 15 years ago! That would have made his heart attack at age 40!

Unless Charlie was quite an older man than Rose, but I always picture them about the same age.

Rose also called him "Charles" instead of Charlie, the first few times he's referred to.

Different writers and just plain ol' not caring. I mentioned in another post (I think I did, anyway) that back then, series continuity was not a big deal. You've got to remember, syndication was just in its infancy, and there was no internet, so, for the most part, episodes would run once and that would be it. I don't think the writers ever thought fans would nitpick things from certain episodes and you know what? They were right. I mean, how many of these goofs were only picked up in syndication and not when the episode aired? Probably a lot. Maybe not all, since some are pretty big or unexplained (why Gloria never attended her brother's funeral...or for that matter, why his kids didn't, either), but most.

I wouldn't say syndication was in its infancy when the Golden Girls was on. Star Trek reruns were shown regularly via syndication starting in 1969. The writers should have been fully aware that there was a good chance people would be rewatching episodes.

And other sitcoms from the same era (like Cheers or The Cosby Show, for example) don't seem to be anywhere near as bad with continuity.

I suspect that a lot of people noticed the errors back then. (You don't need to have seen the episodes a bunch of times to realize that it made no sense for Rose's adoptive parents to have the last name Nylund.) It's just that without the internet, they didn't have a way to publicly register their confusion.

I know this is a bit off topic but I wanted to add it in here. Has anybody else ever noticed in several episodes that when Betty White or Bea Arthur says a funny line sometimes Rue McClanahan seems to be trying very hard not to laugh out loud at it? I have, and stuff like that always makes me laugh out loud.

Ed.

also with some of Estelle Getty's lines, especially when Dorothy Blanch and Rose are sitting at the table. :)

In the episode where the girls attend a mystery weekend, early in the episode Blanche is wearing these black dangly earrings and Rose comments that those are her earrings that Blanche borrowed without asking. However, in an episode earlier in the same season, when Blanche is nervous about her date with Mel Bushman because of her renewed feelings for him after having feared him dead, she is wearing the exact same earrings that supposedly belong to Rose.

A very odd one to me, was the episode where they suddenly "revealed" that Rose had a drug dependency of over 30 years. Rose could never have refilled a prescription over 30 years without a doctor's OK, yet they seemed to imply that she was getting the refills on her own. That was confusing.

Dorothy says she was suppose to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium but her kid got sick. The timing of this never made sense to me, being that the
Terry Kiser guest staring Beatlemania episode was in the last year.

Dorothy says she was suppose to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium but her kid got sick. The timing of this never made sense to me, being that the
Terry Kiser guest staring Beatlemania episode was in the last year.
What exactly didn't make sense to you? :confused:

The last season's Beatle episode was a Beatles tribute band, not the actual Beatles. She missed the original Beatles in the '60s.

Yes- Dorothy was saying that she missed the actual Beatles years back when the band played Shea Stadium. And, now, the tribute was the closest she'll ever get to the Beatles.

[QUOTE=Adam the Great]Ok, here are some more insonsistencies. On the pilot episode Charles Levin played a gay cook named Coco, but after that episode Coco was never mentioned again. Also in the pilot episode, Estelle Getty's "Sophia"wig is different from the other episodes. Finally 2 different actresses play Dorothy's sister Gloria. In the episode "The Custody Battle" Gloria is played by a red-headed actress named Doris Belack. But in the episodes Monkey Business 1 and 2, Dena Dietrich a blond haired lady plays Gloria.[/QUOTE


She is listed on imdb as Gloria #2. This happens on TV shows. The original actress or actor doesn't always return as the character. ]

Yes- Dorothy was saying that she missed the actual Beatles years back when the band played Shea Stadium. And, now, the tribute was the closest she'll ever get to the Beatles.

And to build on an oft-picked on inconsistency, by the time the Beatles played Shea in 1965, Dorothy would have been married for almost 20 years. At least one of her kids would have been 18 or 19, old enough to care for the other if Dorothy really had wanted to go to Shea! :)