Created by Susan Harris—a pioneering producer and the writer of the famous abortion episode of Arthur's Maude—Golden Girls boasted characters who were sharp in their humor and secure in their freedoms, which included the freedom to be mean. The show's most biting laugh lines—which are shaped so well that these scripts would work for radio—achieve that ideal bitchiness The Women. In a typical moment, Blanche, the vain Southern belle played by Rue McClanahan, preens, "One thing I know for sure, I have not lost my hourglass figure." Which is the cue for Arthur, as acid Dorothy, to snipe, "And it looks like somebody poured about 90 minutes of extra sand in the glass." The in-studio audience laughs, and Blanche laughs it off. That the characters insult each other so viciously indicates their intimacy. When addressing the comforts and frustrations of friendship, The Golden Girls is more interesting than Friends (which had its moments) and as compelling as I Love You, Man (which has some rather awesome moments). Call it The Sisterhood of the Comfortable Slacks.
Celebrating the Genius of the Golden Girls
You know, if you like that sort of thing.