Straight No Chaser, and other Stress Relieving Golden Girls Moments

When we are stressed, we all have our go-to stress reliever. Right?  Some are healthier than others.

Lots of people smoke or drink ...as a way to relieve stress.

Lots of people ignore, dwell or eat their feelings away, which usually causes more stress in the long run...not that I would know of course, but I've heard. :) 

Some people even choose the healthy route and exercise, practice yoga or mindfulness. 

Good for you.  I am in awe of you.  I want to be you! :) 

I have some good, healthy stress relievers.  When life gets too much, I close the bathroom door, put on my go-to playlist and take a hot bath.  This is my luxury, my reliever, my quiet space and time. 

I don't know what I would do if I couldn't do this. 

Unfortunately, I have some unhealthy habits as well, for dealing with stress when it gets to be too much.  I drink a glass of wine sometimes when I should just go for a walk. 

Oh well.  Could be worse. 

One habit I have when stress gets high is to watch

one of my all time favorite TV shows...

The Golden Girls. 

Now, I love this show.  I can recite lines from most episodes, if not all.  I can pass all the quizzes people write and post about the show.  It's the best.  Here are some of my favorite episodes.

Snap Out of It, Season 6, Episode 4

This episode combines humor with a serious issue, agoraphobia.  Martin Mull guest appears in this episode as an agoraphobic who is an eternal hippie, who hasn't left his apartment in more than 20 years. He and Dorothy form a friendship when she meets him while helping Sophia with Meals on Wheels deliveries. 
Early in the episode, Dorothy tells him he's not handicapped and he retorts that he is just as disabled as anyone. 



The episode combines lots of moments of humor with this serious and real issue.
It's a good one,in my humble opinion. 
There are the ridiculous, humorous and unbelievable moments
mixed in with these important PSA moments. 
And Martin Mull dressed like a hippie. How can you not laugh at that?



Blanche Delivers, Season 6, Episode 1

Blanche's daughter, Rebecca, decides to get pregnant via artificial insemination, as opposed to the good old fashioned way.  This hits Blanche hard as we all know, Blanche is very....social when it comes to men.  So Rebecca comes to Miami for a visit and decides to have her baby there, except Blanche is embarrassed by the artificial insemination. 

Rebecca goes into labor and wakes Dorothy up asking, "what does labor feel like?" 
Dorothy asks how she feels and Rebecca says, "if I had any military secrets, I'd talk."  Yep, that's pretty much how I remember it!
Dorothy replies that it is time.   

The whole episode has its usual humor throughout, but in a surprisingly serious moment,
after the baby is delivered, Blanche tells Rebecca
"the first time I held you in my arms,
I knew I was holding somebody I was gonna love for the rest of my life." 

That sums it up pretty well.  Doesn't matter how many times I watch this episode and that I know the line is coming and know the line from memory....I still cry. 

The Flu, Season 1, Episode 21

In this particular episode, Dorothy, Blanche and Rose all get the flu at the same time. 
Now this episode resonates with me because I am usually a pretty nice, mellow, easy-going person.  However, when I am sick, I suddenly feel like the orneriest person alive.
I want to be mean to people and I want to be left alone. 
So how funny is it when the three girls all get the flu
and are under each other's skin almost immediately?  Pretty funny. 


Blanche says, "I treat my body like a temple."
Sophia retorts, "yeah, open to everyone - day or  night."

Blanche asks Dorothy, "where's my heating pad?" Dorothy asks, "how should I know",
despite the tell-tale sign of the cord peeking out from under the blanket Dorothy is wrapped up in.
Blanche comes back with,
"if this isn't it, I'd like to know what other electrical appliance you're using under that blanket."

Rose asks Dorothy if there is any more orange juice,
Dorothy pours the remaining orange juice into her glass and then indicates, "no, we're all out."

Blanche tells Dorothy she is "undoubtedly the meanest sick person she has ever met."

Henny Penny - Straight No Chaser, Season 6, Episode 26

In this episode, the Girls participate in the play, Henny Penny,
after the child cast comes down with the Measles. 
They each bring their particular personalities to the characters
they are assigned to in this extremely amusing episode.
Rose plays Henny Penny,
after being discovered  by Dorothy's friend
who can't imagine any adult would have the "childlike naivety to play Henny Penny."   Enter Rose Nyland.


Blanche plays Goosey Lucy and I doubt I have
to explain this to anyone who has ever watched the show.
Her costume though is a riot, with its feathers and her personality brings the character to life.

Dorothy is Turkey Lurkey, and as Sophia introduces her,
she describes her as
"poor lonely Turkey Lurkey.
Poor dateless, hopeless, self-basting Turkey Lurkey"  Hmm. 


The Case of the LibertineBelle, Season 7, Episode 2

This is my favorite go-to stress relieving episode. 
Don't ask me why, but when the going gets tough, I turn this episode on. 
I know this episode well, given the amount of times I have watched it.
 It just provides me with comfort when I watch it.
The episode is full of great one-liners that never cease to amuse me,
no matter how many times I have watched.

Blanche tries to convince the Girls to accompany her on her museum staff's annual outing on this weekend trip to the Queen of the Keys Hotel to participate in  murder mystery weekend.
 She explains that she needs three more people to get the group rate at the hotel.
Sophia states, "I thought hotels always gave you the group rate",
which prompts Rose to explain, "yes sweetheart, but this is for the whole night."

The fun begins with the first mystery and Dorothy shines by promptly solving the case.


In her explanation, she explains that "statistics show that patricide is overwhelmingly a male crime, although daughters frequently murder their mothers!"

She is clearly frustrated with her mother, Sophia.  I think we all have been there once or twice, yes?



During the discussion of the case, the detective is relating specifics of the crime
while Sophia exclaims, "yeah, yeah, yeah, cut the cake."

Rose exclaims, "the butler did it", to which the accused replies "I'm a maître de."
Rose continues her embarrassment by saying, "thank you, the maître de did it."

Gloria, the accused, directs an insult towards Dorothy saying, "this woman's pathetic."
to which Sophia replies, "oh big news, tear out the front page." 
Maybe this helps explain to us while daughters frequently murder their mothers?

Of course, things appear to get serious when Blanche's boss is found stabbed to death in her room.
Things look pretty bleak and Sophia urges Dorothy to figure out what really happened.

"Oh, come on, pussycat, you figured out that mystery at dinner." she tells her.

Dorothy responds with, "Oh, ma, that was a game. this is life."

And Sophia, never missing an opportunity to zing her daughter, responds with,
"Oh yeah, that's right. you've never been good at life."  Yep....

 


Everyone seems convinced of Blanche's guilt except Dorothy.  When Posey accuses Blanche saying, "that tramp murdered my lover," Dorothy assures the Lieutenant by telling him,
"I know Blanche Devereux, Lieutenant, and this tramp is incapable of committing murder."

Everything gets sorted out - of course, this is TV, and the Girls forgive each other.

Sophia sums up the weekend by saying,
"So this was just a mockery, a sham. No crimes were committed at all. What a load of fun!"

I guess the bottom line is that when I am feeling stressed, I like to imagine I am just another guest at the Queen of the Keys Hotel trying to solve the mystery.  Gives me a little escape for a little while.

There are many, many more great comedic moments in this episode, but there are far too many to include.  I suggest you watch the episode yourself, particularly if you are feeling stressed. 😊 
I dare you to try not to laugh!

I would love to know what TV shows you turn to when you are stressed! 
Leave me a comment and let me know!