I was talking to my youngest son, Sam, the other day and I told him I had named one of my new chicks Suzanne Sugarbaker. He didn’t know who I was talking about, so I mentioned the show, Designing Women. He was still clueless. I said, “You know, the one with Annie Potts.” He said, “Who’s that?” I said, “She was the secretary in Ghost Busters.” I know Annie Potts has done a lot of things but that was just the first thing that popped in my head. The show came out in 1986 (he was born in 1989) so I guess he really couldn’t have remembered it and unfortunately, you don’t see it much in the many re-runs like, for example, Roseanne. I did like that show when it came out and I usually always watched it but now when it comes on I immediately turn the channel because I can’t stand to hear the music. I’m not quite sure why I cringe when I hear that intro (harmonica?) but cringe is what I do. There were some shows that I watched that have great music intros, like Newart. That music gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling of nostalgia but the show isn’t as good as I remembered. But I digress.
I really enjoyed watching the show Designing Women. I liked the cast of characters, the southern premise, and the basic humor of everyday drama. Kind of reminds me of working in a school, as I did for years, with so many women and a man thrown in here and there. I watched the speech the other day of Julia Sugarbaker (played by Dixie Carter) talking about her sister Suzanne’s many pageant attributes. Remember how she had that halting speech? “And that…Marjorie…just so you will know…and your children will someday know…is the night…the lights…went out in…Geor….gia.” It still gives me chills.
I loved Bernice (played by Alice Ghostley), the eccentric friend of the Sugarbakers’ mother. You know how southern people say that they don’t hide their crazy; they put them on the porch and show them off? Bernice sort of reminded me of that. Charlene was so sweet and ditzy that when I saw Jean Smart playing another, more serious role, I was really thrown off kilter. What?!
I have always loved Annie Potts in every part she’s ever played, but I loved to see her wild hair as she played Mary Jo. (I’ve always envied naturally curly hair) She had the cutest outfits and she was so funny, talking about her kids and how she entertained them by spraying them with a garden hose in the garage. Delta Burke was so beautiful but plagued by weight issues. I loved it when Suzanne and Anthony (Meshach Taylor) had scenes together. The episode where they were stuck in the hotel room,during a snowstorm, was hilarious. She had him doing everything her maid would have done, like putting rollers in her wig.
I love a good comedy and I love to laugh but I just don’t get a lot of the new shows on television. I don’t know if it’s the writing but I’m just not as engaged and I don’t find it very humorous. Other shows/movies that I have enjoyed that were mostly women were Golden Girls, Mom (although it got a bit too raunchy (for me) sometimes), and Steel Magnolias (some of the accents were a bit over the top). Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t always have to be women. One of my favorite shows of all time is Seinfeld. It’s kind of funny what makes one person laugh and another not so much. Mama doesn’t get Seinfeld and she is not amused by it.
Daddy liked funny movies like Blazing Saddles. He was crazy about westerns whether it was a movie or a television show. We would often watch westerns together and that’s when I fell in love with Clint Eastwood. He was so handsome and tough. He still makes movies and he’s really old but he’s still tough. I guess when you write and direct you can be who you want to be.
When my boys were teenagers, we would often watch Seinfeld together. We still send funny Seinfeld memes to each other. My bestie, Becky, is also a fan of Seinfeld. We find that sort of humor hilarious and often bring it up in everyday conversation. When dark eyebrows became “the thing” awhile back, we remembered Uncle Leo and laughed and laughed. See pic below.
I’m still hoping for a new show to come out that I like. We just got internet at the farm (gasp!) so maybe I’ll have more opportunities to search around. If it becomes political (especially a comedy or comedian), odds are I’ll turn it off. I’m not interested…that’s just me.
Karen G. Bruce 