Is 'Designing Women' a copy of 'The Golden Girls'? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

OOliver · 05-29-2009, 07:47 PM

Does anyone think 'Golden Girls' was 'purposely' copied on CBS when they debuted 'Designing Women' in 1986, or was this just a coincidence?

The similarities in the premise are striking of course, and I recall many critics described this as 'a younger version' of GG when it debuted a year after them, but I always thought DW had a niche of their own. Other fans I have spoken to have also voiced their opinion that the show was purposely copied by CBS, due to the success of GG on NBC.

Thoughts?

Marvo301 · 05-29-2009, 09:48 PM

I don't think Designing Women was a copy of Golden Girls. However I do think Golden Girls paved the way for Designing Women by proving that a sitcom with four female leads could be successful.

TVFactFan · 05-29-2009, 10:18 PM

Yes, Designing Women was CBS answer to NBC's Golden Girls which was obvious. DW had 4 women who were young and it was made to pull people away from the Golden Girls

Smartboy · 05-29-2009, 11:00 PM

How could it pull people away from the "Golden Girls"? They were never even on the same night!

Jude The Obscure · 05-29-2009, 11:27 PM

^Thank You Smartboy!

Would that be saying "Growing Pains" on ABC and "Charlie and Company" on CBS were designed to pull the audience away from "The Cosby Show" on NBC?

TVFactFan · 05-29-2009, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

^Thank You Smartboy!

Would that be saying "Growing Pains" on ABC and "Charlie and Company" on CBS were designed to pull the audience away from "The Cosby Show" on NBC?

Charlie and Company was a clear copy of the Cosby Show

All Black Sitcom with Three Kids, a Mom and Dad living in a big city-lol

McGillicuddy · 05-30-2009, 05:06 PM

Julia was Dorothy (the leader, and the one you don't mess with)
Suzanne was Blanche (the sexy one; vain and self-centered)
Charlene was Rose (the naive, (sometimes dim-witted) one)
Mary Jo may be a combination of all 3
and
Bernice was Sophia (the former nursing home resident, lacking some of her facilities)

OOliver · 05-30-2009, 05:22 PM

Julia was Dorothy (the leader, and the one you don't mess with)
Suzanne was Blanche (the sexy one; vain and self-centered)
Charlene was Rose (the naive, (sometimes dim-witted) one)
Mary Jo may be a combination of all 3
and
Bernice was Sophia (the former nursing home resident, lacking some of her facilities)

That's how I saw it as well. I don't think it was to 'pull' audiences from GG, but to capitalize on the success of the show, and have the GG audience tune into DW on Monday evenings.

I myself watched both shows, however I don't think DW ever really broke out of the GG mold.

Smartboy · 05-30-2009, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markway895

Julia was Dorothy (the leader, and the one you don't mess with)
Suzanne was Blanche (the sexy one; vain and self-centered)
Charlene was Rose (the naive, (sometimes dim-witted) one)
Mary Jo may be a combination of all 3
and
Bernice was Sophia (the former nursing home resident, lacking some of her facilities)

I never really got into "Designing Women", but I thought that for sure there were only four women. You described five. Please fill me in on what the circumstances were!

Kristen · 05-30-2009, 05:50 PM

Bernice was not a main character, however she did appear frequently. She was a good friend of Suzanne and Julia's mother's. Once their mother moved to Japan, Julia and Suzanne more or less "adopted" Bernice. Bernice had an "arterial flow problem" from the neck up, which often caused her to say outrageous or unusual things, such as introducing Anthony as her illegitimate child, etc. While I don't think Bernice was nearly as outspoken as Sophia I do see the comparison of them both being the oldest of the group, and of course both nursing home residents.

- Kristen

80sTrivia · 05-30-2009, 05:55 PM

The two shows were similar in scope, of course, and I do believe the success of The Golden Girls helped to get Designing Women greenlighted on CBS.

McGillicuddy · 05-30-2009, 09:18 PM

Yes, Bernice was only a supporting character, but I thought it seemed like her casting was Designing Womens' answer to Golden Girls' Sophia.
Even though theres similarities to the shows, I don't criticize DW creators, this show was unique enough in its own right.

Smartboy · 05-30-2009, 09:54 PM

Let us take a minute to look at other shows or groups of characters in which one was modeled after the other but that there were enough differences for the second one to be a show in its own right. One example that is very obvious is the "Flintstones" being modeled after the "Honeymooners". As non-negotiable as this statement is, I would argure that on the "Flintstones" there were enough differences in situations for it to be a sereis in and of itself. Also, a lot of people will say that, Bert and Ernie from "Sesame Street" were modeled after Felix and Oscar from the "Odd Couple". As true as this probably is, I would say that with Bert and Ernie, there were definately enough differances for them to be a different set of characters. In other words, Bert and Ernie were not a puppet version of Felix and Oscar but rather two puppets whose behavior resembled that of Felix and Oscar. Any thoughts anyone?

Chocolate Moose · 05-30-2009, 10:01 PM

MAY BE sort of. I didn't like either of them.

Mr. Television · 05-30-2009, 10:06 PM

I don't see it. I loved Golden Girls and didn't care that much for Designing Women. Except that it was about 4 women, I don't see any similarities.

05-29-2009, 07:47 PM	#1
OOliver Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 28, 2009 Location: Providence RI Posts: 569	Is 'Designing Women' a copy of 'The Golden Girls'? Does anyone think 'Golden Girls' was 'purposely' copied on CBS when they debuted 'Designing Women' in 1986, or was this just a coincidence? The similarities in the premise are striking of course, and I recall many critics described this as 'a younger version' of GG when it debuted a year after them, but I always thought DW had a niche of their own. Other fans I have spoken to have also voiced their opinion that the show was purposely copied by CBS, due to the success of GG on NBC. Thoughts?

05-29-2009, 09:48 PM	#2
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,453	I don't think Designing Women was a copy of Golden Girls. However I do think Golden Girls paved the way for Designing Women by proving that a sitcom with four female leads could be successful.
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05-30-2009, 05:50 PM	#10
Kristen Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 17, 2000 Location: New York, USA Posts: 4,042	Bernice was not a main character, however she did appear frequently. She was a good friend of Suzanne and Julia's mother's. Once their mother moved to Japan, Julia and Suzanne more or less "adopted" Bernice. Bernice had an "arterial flow problem" from the neck up, which often caused her to say outrageous or unusual things, such as introducing Anthony as her illegitimate child, etc. While I don't think Bernice was nearly as outspoken as Sophia I do see the comparison of them both being the oldest of the group, and of course both nursing home residents. - Kristen
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05-30-2009, 05:55 PM	#11
80sTrivia Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 23, 2002 Posts: 21,715	The two shows were similar in scope, of course, and I do believe the success of The Golden Girls helped to get Designing Women greenlighted on CBS.
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05-30-2009, 10:01 PM	#14
Chocolate Moose Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 21, 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 4,898	MAY BE sort of. I didn't like either of them.
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05-29-2009, 10:18 PM	#3
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,062	Yes, Designing Women was CBS answer to NBC's Golden Girls which was obvious. DW had 4 women who were young and it was made to pull people away from the Golden Girls

05-29-2009, 11:00 PM	#4
Smartboy Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 06, 2007 Location: South Orange, NJ Posts: 4,231	How could it pull people away from the "Golden Girls"? They were never even on the same night!

05-29-2009, 11:27 PM	#5
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,520	^Thank You Smartboy! Would that be saying "Growing Pains" on ABC and "Charlie and Company" on CBS were designed to pull the audience away from "The Cosby Show" on NBC?

05-30-2009, 05:06 PM	#7
McGillicuddy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 28, 2002 Posts: 5,179	Julia was Dorothy (the leader, and the one you don't mess with) Suzanne was Blanche (the sexy one; vain and self-centered) Charlene was Rose (the naive, (sometimes dim-witted) one) Mary Jo may be a combination of all 3 and Bernice was Sophia (the former nursing home resident, lacking some of her facilities)

05-30-2009, 05:22 PM	#8
OOliver Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 28, 2009 Location: Providence RI Posts: 569	Julia was Dorothy (the leader, and the one you don't mess with) Suzanne was Blanche (the sexy one; vain and self-centered) Charlene was Rose (the naive, (sometimes dim-witted) one) Mary Jo may be a combination of all 3 and Bernice was Sophia (the former nursing home resident, lacking some of her facilities) That's how I saw it as well. I don't think it was to 'pull' audiences from GG, but to capitalize on the success of the show, and have the GG audience tune into DW on Monday evenings. I myself watched both shows, however I don't think DW ever really broke out of the GG mold.

05-30-2009, 09:18 PM	#12
McGillicuddy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 28, 2002 Posts: 5,179	Yes, Bernice was only a supporting character, but I thought it seemed like her casting was Designing Womens' answer to Golden Girls' Sophia. Even though theres similarities to the shows, I don't criticize DW creators, this show was unique enough in its own right.

05-30-2009, 09:54 PM	#13
Smartboy Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 06, 2007 Location: South Orange, NJ Posts: 4,231	Let us take a minute to look at other shows or groups of characters in which one was modeled after the other but that there were enough differences for the second one to be a show in its own right. One example that is very obvious is the "Flintstones" being modeled after the "Honeymooners". As non-negotiable as this statement is, I would argure that on the "Flintstones" there were enough differences in situations for it to be a sereis in and of itself. Also, a lot of people will say that, Bert and Ernie from "Sesame Street" were modeled after Felix and Oscar from the "Odd Couple". As true as this probably is, I would say that with Bert and Ernie, there were definately enough differances for them to be a different set of characters. In other words, Bert and Ernie were not a puppet version of Felix and Oscar but rather two puppets whose behavior resembled that of Felix and Oscar. Any thoughts anyone?

05-30-2009, 10:06 PM	#15
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,133	I don't see it. I loved Golden Girls and didn't care that much for Designing Women. Except that it was about 4 women, I don't see any similarities.
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