The Golden Girls: Season 4
Long before reality-show staples "Big Brother" and "The Real World" tapped into the drama and high-hilarity of cohabitation, the long-running "Golden Girls" paved the way into that prime-time show format. Only difference is that "Golden Girls" was pure fiction. Season Four stays true to the format that earned the series three Emmys and a Golden Globe Award: Three widowed/divorced friends in their '50s and one octogenarian mother and grandmother all share a home and their retirement in Miami, Florida. In a season that includes a UFO sighting and government cover up; the implications of drug addiction; a late-in-life wedding; the ridiculous '80s aerobics craze--spandex, headbands, leg warmers and all; a nightmarish nursing home; lesbianism; an intergenerational love triangle; and a trip to Rose's mythical St. Olaf; the episodes in Season Four are more entertaining and often downright risqué.There are some notable cameos as well--Bob Hope steals the show in "You Gotta Have Hope" as the featured talent for Dorothy's hospital charity show; Richard Mulligan of "Empty Nest" bridges the spin-off link as the girls' newly widowed neighbor and object of Blanche's advances; Jay Thomas plays an overactive director in "High Anxiety," where the girls' kitchen is used as a TV commercial set; and blink and you'll miss a young Quentin Tarantino as an Elvis impersonator in "Sophia's Wedding." A terrific bonus feature captures the performances of all the season's guest stars on Disc One. Overall, Season Four is zestier and much less earnest than previous seasons, which is exactly what works about the series: the bawdier the grandmothers, the funnier the show.--Gabi Knight