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The Golden Girls Season 5 Review

The fifth season of The Golden Girls was another strong season of this iconic sitcom. It ranks among the best of the bunch.

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“She’s always depended on the kindness of strangers“

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Sick and Tired is a fantastic two-part opening. Part 1 was the funnier of the two while Part 2 ended on a more dramatic and inspirational note. It’s all about unknown illnesses and the ageism that patients experience when treated by doctors. Accurate Conception also deals with a serious issue. Artificial insemination wasn’t as well known or as normal as it was now back in the eighties, so Blanche reacts quite badly at the idea of her daughter doing it, but eventually she accepts it. It’s another issue episode in a series full of them, but at least the creators really knew how to tackle these problems without being too didactic.

In Rose Fights Back Rose deals with age discrimination in a workplace. It’s another overly dramatic, but potent and important episode. Love Under the Big Top is a very forgettable episode about environmentalism and… clowns? That second subplot with Dorothy was particularly unfunny. Dancing in the Dark focuses on Rose’s lack of intelligence to mostly amusing results.

Not Another Monday is weaker in the other girls’ subplot, but fantastic and so moving in the Sophia story where she refuses to participate in the suicide of her old friend. It’s a pro-life and anti-suicide episode that was highly inspiring. That Old Feeling is forgettable, but Comedy of Errors was terrific as it finds Dorothy doing stand-up to expectedly brilliant results as she is perfect for the job. All That Jazz is also important in how it treats the story of Dorothy’s son and his childish refusal to accept adult responsibilities.

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Ebb Tide is a funeral episode for Blanche’s father and it was surprisingly lacking in emotion for such a dark subject matter. Have Yourself a Very Little Christmas is a solid Christmas episode that is elevated by the amusing presence of Stan. Mary Has a Little Lamb is hilarious in Blanche’s subplot about a prisoner and her fling with him. It was so in-character for her and, thus, very funny. Great Expectations deals with somewhat familiar themes to middling results.

Triple Play finds Blanche and Sophia at their funniest – the former with her obsession with men and the latter with her money schemes. Clinton Avenue Memoirs deals with a very difficult theme of aging as Sophia starts to forget things. It’s a touching episode. Like the Beep Beep Beep of the Tom-Tom is an instant classic. Blanche decides to give up sex after having a medical scare and eventually she returns to her old self. It’s a very moving and relatable episode for everybody who has ever experienced a setback in life. An Illegitimate Concern is another classic. It has an emotional Blanche subplot and a hilarious story where Dorothy and Sophia enter a mother-daughter pageant.

72 Hours deals with HIV to expectedly emotional and groundbreaking for the time results. It’s another overly dramatic episode, but at least it was handled with utmost care and respect. Twice in a Lifetime is a familiar episode in its plot beats, but it’s solid overall. Sisters and Other Strangers is another solid episode about, funnily enough, Communism as Stan’s cousin from Czechoslovakia comes to a visit.

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Cheaters is fine, but nothing special. It was weird to find Sophia at her dumbest, which was out of character for her. The Mangiacavallo Curse Makes a Lousy Wedding Present finds Rose at her horniest, which was unexpected and so goofy. All Bets Are Off deals with Dorothy’s gambling issues among other things. It’s a solid episode. The President’s Coming! The President’s Coming! is another weak finale in a show full of them. It’s another filler episode framed by a tiresome titular plot that ended nowhere with an ending that was quite cheap.

Overall, the fifth season of The Golden Girls is overly dramatic for its own sake, but at least it dealt with so many important issues effortlessly well and with utmost care. It was even groundbreaking in that regard. It also has its fine comedic episodes that were reasonably diverting and even hilarious. Each girl got a moment to shine in this stellar season.

Worst Episodes: Love Under the Big Top, That Old Feeling and The President’s Coming! The President’s Coming!

Best Episodes: Sick and Tired, Not Another Monday, Comedy of Errors, Like the Beep Beep Beep of the Tom-Tom, An Illegitimate Concern and 72 Hours.