Show: The Golden Girls
Title: Clinton Avenue Memoirs
Season 5 Episode 16
Original Air Date: February 3, 1990
Favorite Quotes:
+Blanche: Oh, that’s the trouble with being beautiful – the maintenance will kill you.+Sophia: Oh, forgive me, I forgot something. Maybe you should ship me back to Shady Pines. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in the living room being feeble. If I can find the living room!
+Dorothy: I guess I’ve just been hoping that things would improve by themselves. You know, I never thought Ma would lose her memory. Of course, I never thought Alan Alda would get on my nerves.
+Sophia: Oh, lucky me, I can remember from now on. My whole past is gone! I could have slept with JFK and don’t even know it!
+Blanche: Well, I’m sorry, Rose, but I ask a man 20 questions, you can bet your life one of ’em’s gonna be, “Are you married?”
+Sophia: It’s not what I want to do, it’s what I have to do. Dorothy, today is my anniversary, and I barely remember getting married. You know, I hate getting old. You always seem to be losing something. First it’s your eyesight. Then people are telling you to turn down the TV set when you can barely hear it. And you could live with that. But this? They’re trying to take something from me that I just won’t give. I can’t let this happen, Dorothy. I can’t lose my Sal. Not again.
Summary:
Blanche is upset. Her hair has split ends. And she thinks it’s making her look old, well at least her age, which makes her unhappy. She talks about a talented hair stylist that she wants to do her hair. Rose then tells a St. Olaf story about mousse. Blanche’s hair stylist charges $300 and she can’t afford that. Rose suggests she moonlights and works a second job to save up for Robert. But Blanche complains she already works 12 hours per week and it’s just too much. But seriously she only works 12 hours? This may be why she needs three tenants renting from her. Rose clarifies to Blanche that she wants her to work for her. She has a big project at work and needs additional help to gather all the data on time. It’s about senior healthcare. This is still a hot button topic today and no real solution has been found. But sadly, Blanche doesn’t care about the seniors and their health needs. She just wants $300 for her hair. Rose agrees and now Blanche has work. Sophia asks Dorothy to take to the mall friday night for a blood pressure bet with some of her friends. Dorothy tells her they are going to dinner that night as its her wedding anniversary. Sophia didn’t remember this. Now did Sophia just forget or did the writers include this as a nod to alzheimers and dementia because the actress who plays Sophia also had this condition? Sophia becomes offended by what Dorothy said and storms off to the living room. With Sophia out of the room, the ladies discuss the memory issues that she has been having lately and are concerned about her. Later, Dorothy finds Sophia looking at pictures of Sal. The two take a trip down memory lane. They find a picture of their old apartment and disagree on where the height chart was kept. Dorothy suggests a visit to the doctor. The doctor changes her diet and thinks that will help improve her memory. But it won’t bring back memories that are lost. She just won’t forget things moving forward. But that doesn’t make Sophia feel better. Many memories of her previous years are gone and those were important to her. She likely won’t get them back. This depresses her. Dorothy is upset as well. She wishes she could help, but what can she do? Blanche finally starts working on the surveys. However, she turns each call into a pick up to get dates. Now it’s friday. All are concerned about Sophia who’s been in her room all day. Suddenly, she comes out of her room with a suitcase. She’s going to Brooklyn. Sophia says she and Dorothy are going back to the old neighborhood and she charged it all on Dorothy’s credit card. The 80s clearly had much looser requirements to use a credit card. This is clearly a fraudulent transaction as Sophia is not on Dorothy’s credit card, but no one verified or checked? No wonder credit card fraud is always such a big issue. They arrive to the old apartment and ask to look around. The current tenant agrees but advises them not to steal anything. The pair start to stroll down memory lane. They find the height chart in the kitchen, as Dorothy remembered it. They share more memories. Back at the house, Blanche has actually finished her work and gives it to Rose. Back in Brooklyn, Sophia goes upstairs to the bedroom. She has an imaginary conversation with Sal. When the tenant comes in to grab a jacket from the closet, she sees the heart Sal carves. She’s overjoyed.
Categories: The Golden Girls, TV Shows