The Golden Palace

Lifetime apparently got many, many requests to show this flop of a spin off from The Golden Girls. I don't recall ever watching it when it was on in 1992, so I had no real expectations. They will be showing it for a limited time only, obviously due to the fact that there is not that much to choose from. Repeats would get real old, real fast. Well, when I work from home, I watch the girls from 5-6, they have replaced the usual second episode w/ an episode of The Golden Palace. I have been watching it w/ eager eyes, trying to pick up any tidbit of animosity or longing for a past chemistry. The true fun really doesn't exist in this show. It is fine as a sitcom, but it lacks something. Obviously, Bea Arthur is no longer part of the show, and it truly hurts it. It has become apparent that she was the glue of The Golden Girls, and it seems it was truly her show. There was an episode recently of Palace, in which Dorothy returned to visit her mother and friends. I felt a genuine sigh of relief from the other actors, both as their characters and as themselves. Dorothy's presence immediately made the show better, and I was reminded of Farrah Fawcett's return to Charlie's Angels once she had "retired" from the show. A breath of fresh (0ld) air. Each time I watch the show, I get a strange sense of trying too hard; desperation. Many times I have heard the other characters mention the character of Dorothy. Of course, they should remember her. But there is always a bit of sadness in the voice of the characters, probably due to the fact that the actors themselves are upset by this gaping void. Come back Dorothy, make our show work again. It just doesn't cut it. The most obvious problem, is that Estelle Getty clearly seems lost w/ out Bea Arthur. They were a great team, and w/out Arthur, Getty just seems there to put out one-liners. True, in The Golden Girls, that was her main stay, but there was always a sense of rich history between Sofia and Dorothy. Here, it is missing and painfully so. Thank goodness this show did not go on, and it is clear that Bea Arthur's absence was the reason. But still, I will watch it.