The Engagement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “The Engagement” | |
|---|---|
| The Golden Girls episode | |
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| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
| Guest stars | Charles Levin as Coco Meshach Taylor as the cop F. William Parker as the minister Frank Aletter as Harry |
| Written by | Susan Harris |
| Directed by | Jay Sandrich |
| Production no. | 001 |
| Original airdate | September 14, 1985 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| – | "Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding?" |
| List of The Golden Girls episodes | |
- For the Seinfeld episode, see "The Engagement (Seinfeld episode)"
"The Engagement" is the pilot episode of the television series The Golden Girls. It first aired on NBC on September 14, 1985.
Contents |
[edit] Plot Summary
Viewers are first introduced to the women who will become famous as "The Golden Girls." Dorothy returns home from her job as a substitute teacher, and discovers that Rose, a grief counselor, is home as well. While their gay male servant Coco prepares Mexican food for dinner, Dorothy complains about how old she felt at work, while Rose laments the number of sad people she must deal with (Dorothy's response: "What do you expect, comedians?"). Southern belle Blanche enters and asks to borrow some jewelry, and Coco reveals that she has a date with a man named Harry. Blanche has been seeing Harry for some time, and Rose and Dorothy are curious. Blanche tells them that he is a handsome, charming man-and that he proposed to her! Rose frets over this news, because the house belongs to Blanche, and if she gets married, they will have to leave. Dorothy shushes her when the doorbell rings, hoping to encounter Harry...but she gets a surprise when her mother Sophia appears! Sophia tells them that her retirement home, Shady Pines, has burned down. Dorothy must deal with her moher's irate cab driver as Sophia comments on Blanche's outfit unflatteringly. Rose is shocked, but Blanche reminds her that the stroke she suffered destroyed the part of her brain that censors her speech. Harry shows up then, and whirls Blanche away on a date. The moment Rose encounters him, though, she is suspicious. Blanche accepts the marriage proposal, and plans to get married at the house. On her wedding day, Rose tries to tell Blanche of her fears, but Dorothy goes to great lengths to prevent her from ruining Blanche's happiness-she locks in her a closet. The wedding is delayed for an hour, and a knock on the door inspires hope. Sadly, though, it is a police officer, who reveals the truth: Harry is a bigamist wanted in several states. Dorothy reads a note that Harry left for Blanche- "you were different from all of the others, I swear." Distraught, Blanche locks herself in her room for a few days-but the love and support from the other three girls eventually cheers her up. As they gather on the lanai, they vow to always take care of each other, no matter what.
[edit] Trivia
- Charles Levin, who plays the gay cook, Coco, was supposed to be a series regular, but was cut from the series after the first episode.
- Estelle Getty was originally intended to make regular guest appearances on the show as Sophia, but she proved to be so popular that she became a series regular.
- Designing Women's Meshach Taylor plays the cop who tells Blanche about Harry.
[edit] Goofs
- In this episode Dorothy mentions her hometown to be Queens, but in most other episodes, her hometown is Brooklyn.
[edit] Memorable Quotes
- Rose: Oh what a day. One sad person after another.
Dorothy Zbornak: Rose, you work at grief counseling. What do you expect, comedians?
- Dorothy: Ma, the taxi driver said you promised him a $67 dollar tip!
Sophia: Don't be ridiculous, I said a $6,$7 dollar tip! Why don't these people learn English if they're gonna live here? This is Miami--I'd have less trouble getting around Ecuador!
- Rose: Come sit down here, Sophia. You must be exhausted.
Sophia: Why? I rode in the cab, I didn't push it!
- Harry: (to Sophia) You must be Blanche's sister.
Sophia: You must be blind!
