Thank you for being a…loyal viewer: Saratogians react to the 'Golden Girls' 40th
PLUS: Saratoga in the news, and local movers and shakers.
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Thank you for being a…loyal viewer
Saratogians react to the iconic ‘Golden Girls’ for their 40th anniversary that’s being celebrated tonight on ABC.
From Sicily to St. Olaf, and Miami to Saratoga Springs, The Golden Girls are beloved for their one-liners, fabulousness and the types of scandals that a midnight cheesecake can always fix.
Now ABC is toasting the global phenom’s 40th anniversary (the hit show premiered in fall 1985) tonight with a jam-packed, high-wattage special with interviewees including George Clooney, Kelly Ripa and Laverne Cox. To get you prepped for the emotional roller-coaster that only these queens of TV could take us on, we asked our local readers to tell us their favorite memories or quotes from their decades of watching one of the few comedies that stands the test of time. (Skeptical? Check out its popularity on Hulu or 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.)
And Saratogians came out in Sophia Petrillo-worthy force to share their fave moments.
As for me, I loved the show when I was much younger – four fabulous women living in Miami and having adventures on the daily? I was spellbound. As I got older I wondered, Who got this show greenlit anyway? “No, really, this show is going to be bananas – it’s about three old women, but the real star is an even older woman. The ratings are going to be huge!”
However they got it done, it was genius. Let’s see what Saratogians had to say.
“Eat dirt and die, trash,” sums up Zac, 39. Who else could deliver a line like that but Blanche Devereaux? (She was mad that Dorothy fired a particular housekeeper.)
Seana, 51, also had an immediate fan favorite quote; it began with Rose asking Dorothy, “Where are you going?” Her friend’s deadpan answer: “To get ice cream or commit a felony. I’ll decide in the car.” Who cares about the original context — this famous exchange has been made into memes across the internet landscape, covering everything from perimenopause to a rough day at the office.
“Shady Pines, Ma, Shady Pines,” laughs Dawn, 65, doing a mean Dorothy impression. (Whenever Sophia was being extra-salty, Dorothy would threaten to send her back to the nursing home.) “That show was my mother’s favorite — she’s in her 80s now and has seen them all; she even had the box set of DVDs at one time,” Dawn says. “To this day, every night I set the timer on the TV to automatically turn off and I listen to an episode as I fall asleep. It’s just noise — I know what happens by now.”
She wasn’t the only one with nostalgia for Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty and the bonding time they created with family members.
“It was my all-time favorite,” says Lori, 48. “I started off watching it with my grandma. Looking back, I don’t think we were laughing at the same jokes.”
“It was my mother’s favorite show,” says Paul, 59. “She loved the mother.”
Marcella, 46, was simply thrilled by today’s celebration of these TV legends. “I’ll be using them,” she says, “as fashion inspiration today in their honor.”
The Golden Girls: 40 Years of Laughter and Friendship airs tonight on ABC at 10 p.m. and starting tomorrow on Disney+ and Hulu.
SARATOGA IN THE NEWS
A tale of two reviews: national spotlight on Saratoga
I’ve been meaning to write about a recent rave Travel + Leisure piece on Saratoga for a week. But with the Daily Mail wading in over the weekend, a comparison was born.
The Daily Mail piece, published Saturday, puts up Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy as our claim to fame, but eventually focuses more on our real estate — specifically, the back-on-the-market Riggi mansion. “’Yes, that isn’t a typo,” Julie & Co.’s relocation specialist Sheila Sperling told the British tabloid. “Over $24 million for one of our listings on North Broadway.”
She went on to rave about Saratoga, saying she talked her husband into returning home after they tried living away (while raising triplets).
“There’s no better place in my eyes to raise a family,” she says, “because of everything that we have to offer.”
The article also mentioned Bob Dylan’s famous turn at Caffè Lena, a cursory look at Bobby Flay’s house ownership issues, and of course the Belmont.
Over at the luxe travel bible Travel + Leisure, the focus of its Nov. 4 piece was on the outdoors, hotels, shopping and historic sites, serving more as an itinerary for future tourists than a news story on the town. Some of its top recs: Darling Doughnuts, Saratoga Arms, Beekman Street, Lyrical Ballad and the Saratoga National Historic Park.
MOVING AND SHAKING
Career moves at Stewart’s, Julie & Co., and Roohan
With so much employment volatility chatter on the national scene, let’s celebrate these movers and shakers making career moves closer to home. First up: Stewart’s Shops, which just promoted Alison Abbey and Kelli Derway to vice president roles. Abbey, who’s spent her last 10 years working in personnel in the Ballston Spa corporate office, will now be at the helm of payroll management, benefits administration and partner relations for more than 5,500 employees in New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. Derway started at the company in 1993 as a facilities coordinator and will now lead a department that invests more than $50 million a year on remodeling and selecting new shop locations. In Saratoga, Julie & Co. recently welcomed native Capital Regionite Seth Catchpole to its brokerage. And down the street, Paula Perpall has joined Roohan Reality as a licensed real estate salesperson. Congrats to all.
Today’s Dispatch is brought to you by…
Opera Saratoga presents La boheme, a concert version of Puccini’s timeless masterpiece. Featuring local and national talent, this first-ever holiday production brings together the magic of Juilliard, The Metropolitan Opera, Skidmore Chorus and Excelsior Vocal Ensemble.
🎭 UPH | Friday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.
🎟️ Tickets: atuph.org
ICYMI…
‘Missing You’ ‘80s icon will rock UPH on Friday
Saratoga foodies to toast ‘masterpiece’ of a book at SPAC on Saturday
Exclusive! Cult new dish alert, Noah’s update, Caroline St. lawsuit
PLUS: Bite-sized updates on Tyromance, 13 North and Standard Fare