New Reunion of DW

[jayman75]

Reunited... and it feels so good...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The setting was California, but Georgia was on the minds of virtually all at the Museum of Television & Radio, as Dixie Carter, Jean Smart, Annie Potts and Delta Burke — the original stars of the sitcom "Designing Women" — gathered for a tribute to the show.

"Well, every few years we talk about getting together for lunch or something, and it never seems to work out. So this is nice," said Smart.

"It's thrilling," added Carter. "It's so exciting, being asked to come out."

Airing on CBS from 1986-93, "Designing Women" followed the full lives of four Atlanta interior designers. Thanks to reruns, the show has rarely left the airwaves.

"Well, it was really funny," noted Smart. "And I've said this in every interview and it never seems to end up in print, but (show creator) Linda Bloodworth was writing for sitcoms what no one else was doing anything like... And I'm not sure if she ever got the credit for it that she deserved. She was pretty amazing and ahead of her time."

While prime-time sudsers like "Dallas" and "Dynasty" were dishing and dicing for ratings supremacy, "Designing Women" built an audience by tackling such topics as sexism, ageism, body image and AIDS. And it never forgot that "Women" was a key part of its grand design.

"It was something so unique, because there had never been anything quite like it," said Potts. "We had Lucy and Ethel (on TV previously), but we never had that exponentially expanded, smart, attractive women who read newspapers and had passions about things and loved each other and stood by each other. So, I'm thrilled to be here and I'm not at all surprised to be here."

Creator Bloodworth, who was in attendance, was honored as one of 50 women in the museum's "She Made It: Women Creating Television and Radio" initiative.

Both Smart and Burke left the series two seasons before the series was canceled. Burke, who had gained weight as the series progressed, was fired, with producers alleging she was let go for creating discord on the set. But, on this night, the svelte-looking actress had nothing but fond memories of the gig.

"It was women supporting each other and loving each other and not trying to tear each other apart and being vindictive or manipulative," she recalled. "And we just had a lot of aspects that were weird, anyway. But it worked."

All the principals went on to other successes: Carter on the hit series "Family Law" and as a cabaret queen, Burke to Broadway in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and in the upcoming live-action "The Year Without a Santa Claus" and Potts in the Lifetime series "Any Day Now." Smart earned a Tony nomination (for "The Man Who Came to Dinner"), garnered two Emmys for guest appearances on "Frasier" and this year earned an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of the president's wife on "24."

Despite those successes, Smart said she wasn't sure "Designing Women" had improved the landscape for women in television. "I don't know. Television kind of historically was kind of a good medium for women. That's actually, unfortunately, changed."

The cast got together for a 2003 reunion special for Lifetime, but this event marked its first time together in public since Smart and Burke left the cast. A reunion show and even a stage play of the series have been rumored, but none of the actors would confirm anything. For the moment, fans will have to be satisfied with a "Best of `Designing Women' DVD from Columbia TriStar and reruns on Nick at Nite.

There is a video at the link above...

[jayman75]

Found another one...

When the various lists of the funniest television characters in history are compiled, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason wonders why none of the indelible characters from her classic series "Designing Women" ever make the cut.
There's the outspoken feminist Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter), sweet country girl Charlene Frazier-Stillfield (Jean Smart), feisty single mom Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts) and self-absorbed beauty queen Suzanne Sugarbaker (Delta Burke).

On this CBS sitcom, which ran from 1986 to 1993, these four deliciously distinct Southern women worked at a design firm run out of Julia's Atlanta home, along with reformed ex-con Anthony Bouvier (Meshach Taylor), and endured the frequent visits of loopy but lovable Bernice Clifton (Alice Ghostley).

The four actresses who inhabited the four lead characters were scheduled to reunite this week in Los Angeles at the Museum of Television and Radio, joining with Thomason to celebrate a show that was added to the Nick at Nite lineup Oct. 2 after more than a decade on the Lifetime channel.

"I had no idea it would have this kind of staying power," Bloodworth-Thomason says. "All of the women just jump off the screen at you. There's nobody like Annie, Dixie, Delta and Jean. Each one of those women could have starred in their own show, but they didn't detract from the other. Each got featured on the show in a memorable way."

Created by Bloodworth-Thomason, the show revolved around the workplace as well as the personal lives of its characters. It also tackled such social issues as AIDS, hunger, single parenting, gun control, aging, weight discrimination, racism, domestic violence and equal rights.

But it was all presented with humor and humanity. Julia was most often the social conscience of the group as well as the voice of reason, as the other characters sometimes got themselves into a bit of trouble.

The character who experienced the most obvious metamorphosis was Burke's much-married Suzanne Sugarbaker. The actress, a beauty queen in real life, was funnier with each passing season, and her increasingly hilarious performances coincided with a well-publicized weight gain. Burke's weight was eventually addressed in the season four episode "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?" which was written by Bloodworth-Thomason and earned Burke an Emmy nomination.

Burke and Smart left the show after season five. Carter and Potts stayed for two less-memorable years, joined by Jan Hooks both years as well as Julia Duffy and Judith Ivey for one season apiece.

Bloodworth-Thomason says she has written and secured financial backing for a "Designing Women" Broadway play featuring Julia, Suzanne, Mary Jo and Charlene as they would be today.

There will also be a long-awaited "Designing Women" DVD collection, held up for years because of negotiations over music clearance rights.

"Designing Women," midnight weeknights on Nick at Nite.

[Kristen]

There will also be a long-awaited "Designing Women" DVD collection, held up for years because of negotiations over music clearance rights.

Does this mean we'll finally be seeing Season 1 in the near future?! *crosses fingers*

Kristen
PS - Thanks for posting these articles, Jim!

[Edster2973]

Originally Posted by Kristen

Does this mean we'll finally be seeing Season 1 in the near future?! *crosses fingers*

I'm with you on that Kristen. It's been far too long, especially since we were told about Season 1 coming out "soon" over a year ago. It's the same with The Bionic Woman; that was supposed to come out in 2004 and still no word about it. What's worse is that other countries outside of the USA have already gotten Season 1. Aaarrrggghhhhhh!

Ed

[Scoobiedoo30]

I am just wondering how long has it been since Designing Women been on CBS Monday's at 8:30 pm Central Time.

[80sTrivia]

Thanks for posting the link to the reunion special... all of the actresses look fantastic and it's wonderful to hear them speak so fondly of their time together on the show, even though I understand that life on the set was often extremely difficult...

[Scoobiedoo30]

I hope the cast is in The Designing Women Reunion.