I beleive that if the did Carlene and BJ right away after Charlene and Suzanne left, I think they could have gone on a couple of more seasons. Allison ruined it. Everyone was so excited to see who would replace Suzanne and Charlene when Allison came on. Since she didn't work out that well, I didn't even like her, by the time BJ came on, people had lost all interest.

I liked both Carlene and BJ so yes i believed they had a few more seasons left in them. i'm one of the few that liked Allison and thought she worked well on the show. I think they just needed to give her a few more redeeming qualities to make her more bearable.

I liked both Carlene and BJ so yes i believed they had a few more seasons left in them. i'm one of the few that liked Allison and thought she worked well on the show. I think they just needed to give her a few more redeeming qualities to make her more bearable.

Of course the BJ years (what a name! ;) ) could've lasted a lot longer. What killed the last season of Designing Women was its timeslot switch to Friday nights from Monday, plain and simple. Some of the funniest episodes were with BJ. Sure, it was preferable to have Suzanne and Charlene there instead, but BJ and Carlene weren't chopped liver. And for what it's worth, Allison wasn't bad either. I just think they tried too hard to make her a foil for the other characters a la Suzanne and it failed to appeal to people. But I can more than bear with her. Again, some of the funniest episodes were when Allison was on, and I fondly remember the "Anita Hill" episode and was proud of how the show handled it.

In any case, yes, Season 7 didn't have to be the last season. It was more to the timeslot change and not indicative of a drop in quality.

Ed

Of course the BJ years (what a name! ;) ) could've lasted a lot longer. What killed the last season of Designing Women was its timeslot switch to Friday nights from Monday, plain and simple. Some of the funniest episodes were with BJ. Sure, it was preferable to have Suzanne and Charlene there instead, but BJ and Carlene weren't chopped liver. And for what it's worth, Allison wasn't bad either. I just think they tried too hard to make her a foil for the other characters a la Suzanne and it failed to appeal to people. But I can more than bear with her. Again, some of the funniest episodes were when Allison was on, and I fondly remember the "Anita Hill" episode and was proud of how the show handled it.

In any case, yes, Season 7 didn't have to be the last season. It was more to the timeslot change and not indicative of a drop in quality.

Ed

I agree totally. some of the best episodes were in the final season---in particular because we got to see a lot more of Bernice. one of my favorite episodes from this season was "Carlene's Apartment". HILARIOUS.

I agree totally. some of the best episodes were in the final season---in particular because we got to see a lot more of Bernice. one of my favorite episodes from this season was "Carlene's Apartment". HILARIOUS.

Definitely one of my favorites as well. It's weird but not only did I miss Suzanne & Charlene in the last season (admittedly), but in some ways I wonder how BJ, Carlene and Allison would've fared in the previous seasons without them. Weird, eh?

By the way, I love your avatar. Who's the guy and can I have a copy??? :)

Ed

Definitely one of my favorites as well. It's weird but not only did I miss Suzanne & Charlene in the last season (admittedly), but in some ways I wonder how BJ, Carlene and Allison would've fared in the previous seasons without them. Weird, eh?

By the way, I love your avatar. Who's the guy and can I have a copy??? :)

Ed

The guy is named Billy Bean, he is a former baseball player for the L.A. Dodgers (i think) and an author and gay activist. i got it online, just do a google or yahoo image search for Billy Bean, they are all over the internet.

I agree that i missed Suzanne and Charlene but i often wonder if BJ, Carlene or Allison would have worked well with them on-screen together. I would have liked to see Charlene help Carlene grow as a person or to see Suzanne and Allison interact or see what BJ would think of Suzanne.

I know I am the minority, but I personally loved the last 3 seasons better than the first four. I found that they dropped many of the "issues-oriented" episodes and went for straight comedy during this period. It was quirky but classy comedy, and a perfect companion piece for its CBS bunkmate "Murphy Brown", though not as topical (which is a good thing, because it's that exact topicality that prevented "Murphy" from being a big hit in syndication).

Many people diss the post-Delta years of this show, and yes there were a few (and only a few) clunkers during this time (The "I Enjoy Being a Girl" episode with the girl scouts, many of the ones that featured Etienne--the one where Julia gives Anthony the "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah" speech was kind of embarrasing and cringe-inducing, but that blame goes to the writers).

On the other hand, it seems to me they really upped the comedy quotient starting in Season 5 and tried lots of sight gags and physical comedy, which the cast all excelled at (Mary Jo and Charlene tearing apart the salad bar looking for lost pearls, Allison dancing with T. Tommy Reed and losing her wig, etc.) If you compare Seasons 6 and 7 with ANY sitcom of the '90s or '00s such as "Friends" or "Yes Dear" etc. the writing and acting is FAR superior IMO, even without Delta or Jean.

It was the way Allison's character was written that put the nail in her coffin, not Julia Duffy's portrayal. If you saw Duffy on Season 1 of "Reba" you can see she was born to play confrontational characters like that. The "All About Odes to Atlanta" may well be my favorite Allison episode, because SHE is the only one who sees though Heather's act and is able to help the others extract their revenge which kind of redeems Allison to the viewers.

I would say the writing was dumbed down in Season 7, only when it came to the episodes centred around Etienne. I do wish Jackee would have become a semi-regular. Nothing against Sheryl Lee Ralph, but her arrival seemed to cheapen the show IMO.

Judith Ivey on the other hand, was an excellent addition to the cast, except her character's traits threw the balance off-kilter, since she kept anatagonizing Julia, and Carter had to play the prissy, petulant spoiled diva several times this season. While it may have seemed a refreshing change for her as an actress, it was jarring to viewers to see the once sane voice of reason acting so out-of-control. The writers do deserve some credit by trying to explain it by putting the blame on menopause.

DW took advantage of Ivey's range by giving her material such as the monologue in "Love Letters" where she confides in her late "my sweet James", as well as schtick such as her Elvis impersonation in the episode with the snow shovel.

It's a real shame the viewership had dropped so drastically because this season actually got excellent near the end. The cross-dressing episode as well as the one with Mrs. Beechum were among the series funniest moments, with Alice Ghostley stealing the show and making "The Woman Who Came to Sugarbakers" my favorite episode of the entire series. That was the week I read about the series cancellation in the local newspaper (there was a big B&W cast photo of Carter, Potts, Hooks, Ivey and Taylor with the caption "Designing Women - Not Returning" on the front page of the Entertainment section).

It was shocking and sad, especially since it seemed like the show was starting to crank out some wonderful episodes again. Furthermore, I was expecting the show to run about 2 more seasons with Ivey. Dixie Carter had appeared on a talk show just weeks before stating she would like to enjoy a 9-Season run. Also, it seemed unfathomable that CBS would cancel a show that had been in the top 10 the previous season without giving it more of chance to recover, but as they say, "that's show biz."

Perhaps it's best they ended when they did. Although many say the show "jumped the shark," they certainly left this viewer wanting more!

I can only hope that ALL Seasons are released by Shout! Factory, though I am rational enough to realize most will stop buying after Season 5.

my only real regret about the last season is that the show never got a proper series finale. I would have liked if the show had gotten to tie up loose ends and show us Suzanne and Charlene one last time before ending and i would have loved it if Suzanne finally found a way to use her maternal instincts and if Mary Jo finally got married again.