Worst episode? Good Times' "Judy Cohen Story" or Golden Girls' "Empty Nests"

[TMC]

Since this is a forum for The Golden Girls, here's a brief refresher on "The Judy Cohen Story":


The "Judy Cohen" episode apparently came about because Norman Lear liked her and wanted to see if she would be a good fit for a spinoff, which nothing ever came of it. At least the "Empty Nests" episode was in the pilot for a fairly successful spinoff (albeit later extensively retooled).

[BestTVever]

I voted for Empty Nests. Both were lame spin off tries though. At least the Judy Cohen Story involved JJ in something he may have been involved in. It is explained how JJ meets Judy, etc.
Empty Nests, we see people that we were never introduced to before and the writers act as if we know them already. Its really hard to follow along. At least Judy Cohen Story we could follow along and know what's happening.

Although JJ's fake laugh at 2:05 almost had me vote Judy Cohen Story

[bandonurse]

I've never understood why so many people hated the Empty Nest episode so much. It's not exactly a favorite of mine, but I like it because I love Rita Moreno. "I like to be in America....."

Personally....I can't watch the episode where Sophia's son Phil dies. What the heck were they thinking????

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by bandonurse

I've never understood why so many people hated the Empty Nest episode so much. It's not exactly a favorite of mine, but I like it because I love Rita Moreno. "I like to be in America....."

Personally....I can't watch the episode where Sophia's son Phil dies. What the heck were they thinking????

I dont hate the episode. Part of me likes it for its quirkiness. We see these characters as if we've known them for a long time. Its hard to follow along. But I've seen it a million times so I can follow the script. Its so weird because the scene where Dorothy is at the table explaining why she does not like her neighbor, Dorothy lists all of the things he did at their house on new years eve. She said he relieved himself in their pool. The Golden Girls never had a pool. I just think the script could have been better.
However, I too LOVE Rita. She did a great job. There is an interview with her on youtube where she talks about this episode. She thought she bombed because she had to travel extensively to get there and did not sleep much.
I think the writers should have gradually worked in Rita into the show and then worked on the spin off. This episode does not work for me because its too much of a jump into a new show and the script tries to use the Golden Girls to introduce them to us and it came off as odd IMHO.

[ThatWriterChick1976]

Judy Cohen was an odd episode. Why should I care about someone that doesn't add to the show's canon? Empty Nests, on the other hand, stood as an obvious backdoor pilot. So, I voted for Judy Cohen.

[TVLegend]

Originally Posted by bandonurse

I've never understood why so many people hated the Empty Nest episode so much. It's not exactly a favorite of mine, but I like it because I love Rita Moreno. "I like to be in America....."

Personally....I can't watch the episode where Sophia's son Phil dies. What the heck were they thinking????

It was a Golden Girls spinoff 227.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by bandonurse

I've never understood why so many people hated the Empty Nest episode so much. It's not exactly a favorite of mine, but I like it because I love Rita Moreno. "I like to be in America....."

Personally....I can't watch the episode where Sophia's son Phil dies. What the heck were they thinking????

Yes it seemed the writers were desperate for stories. While Phil was always a punchline, him dying and them making a joke out of it was odd. But Sophia was so bitter and angry and they made her fight with Phil's wife for stupid reasons. It all just seemed so out of character for them.
This is why I created a thread about the Golden Girls almost jumping the shark. Bea had sense to know when to quit.

[Sven]

I can't even watch Empty Nests, it annoys me to no end. I don't even know what they were thinking with that one. It's just plain boring and the plot just is lame. At least George's other character Isaac Q. Newton was halfway entertaining.