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The Movie: A popular NBC series from 1985-1992, "The Golden Girls" chronicled the ups-and-downs of life for four retired women living together - Dorothy (Bea Arthur), goofy Rose (Betty White), Sophia (Estelle Getty), and flirty Blanche (Rue McClanahan). After not watching the series for a good ten years, I was surprised to find that it still plays about as well as it did back then, which I've found is not always the case with . The chemistry between the four leads was excellent and the writing and direction were certainly solid in this third season. This third season set provides plenty of highlights, including: "Old Friends", where Sophia befriends an older gentleman on the boardwalk who has alzheimers disease; "The Housekeeper", where strange events occur after the girls let the housekeeper they recently hired go; "Three On a Couch", where the girls seek therapy when they realize they aren't getting along; "Grab That Dough", where the girls go on a game show and end up in competition with each other and "Rose's Big Adventure", where Rose's boyfriend changes after retiring. Season 3 52. 19 Sep 87 Old Friends 53. 26 Sep 87 One For the Money 54. 3 Oct 87 Bringing Up Baby 55. 17 Oct 87 The Housekeeper 56. 24 Oct 87 Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself 57. 31 Oct 87 Letter to Gorbachev 58. 7 Nov 87 Strange Bedfellows 59. 14 Nov 87 Brotherly Love 60. 21 Nov 87 A Visit From Little Sven 61. 28 Nov 87 The Audit 62. 5 Dec 87 Three on a Couch 63. 12 Dec 87 Charlie's Buddy 64. 19 Dec 87 The Artist 65. 9 Jan 88 Blanche's Little Girl 66. 16 Jan 88 Dorothy's New Friend 67. 23 Jan 88 Grab That Dough 68. 6 Feb 88 My Brother, My Father 69. 13 Feb 88 Golden Moments (1) 70. 13 Feb 88 Golden Moments (2) 71. 20 Feb 88 And Ma Makes Three 72. 27 Feb 88 Larceny and Old Lace 73. 12 Mar 88 Rose's Big Adventure 74. 19 Mar 88 Mixed Blessing 75. 30 Apr 88 Mister Terrific 76. 7 May 88 Mother's Day The DVD VIDEO: "Golden Girls" is presented by Buena Vista in 1.33:1 full-frame here, the show's original aspect ratio. While the opening credits look a little faded and worn, the episodes themselves actually look rather good. Sharpness and detail were not entirely consistent throughout, but the presentation did often look quite crisp and well-defined. Some minor shimmering was occasionally spotted, as were a couple of slight instances of artifacts, but otherwise, the picture looked crisp and clean. No moments of wear and tear were spotted, either. Colors remained bright and vivid, with no smearing or other issues. SOUND: "Golden Girls" is presented in stereo and sounds fine, with clear dialogue and music. EXTRAS: Unfortunately, the only extras are a montage of the season's best moments and a piece offering a "scrapbook" of each character's funniest moments. Final Thoughts: The third season of "Golden Girls" sees the show going strong, with solid writing/direction. It's nice to see that the show doesn't seem dated at this point and the writing still manages to get laughs. The DVD set provides fine audio/video quality and minimal supplements. Recommended. |