This is one of perhaps three episodes of the Golden Girls in which the writers tried too hard to deal with a topic that probably should have been left alone. Instead, they glamorize a sobering situation (in this case, an extra-marital affair) by sensationalizing the romance between Big Daddy (a white Southerner) and his (black) hired help, Blanche's Mammy. Can any one of us imagine ourselves in Blanche's shoes, finding out someone whom we trusted and loved ruined our parents' marriage by cheating with one of them? Yet Mammy makes the statement, "I don't need your forgiveness! I did nothing wrong!" Um...okay. And now Mammy wants a momento of her homewrecking days. She has come to see Blanche to acquire a music box.
Entirely selfish. Yet we as the audience is supposed to sympathise with Mammy and reproach Blanche. This rankled.moreless
Episode Summary
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Blanche gets an unexpected visit from her childhood "mammy" (nanny) but Blanche is reluctant to even speak to her since she deserted her when she was a child. Meanwhile, Sophia hires a matchmaker for Dorothy who experiences a date with a convict.moreless
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GUEST STAR
Ruby DeeMammy Watkins
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GUEST STAR
Peggy ReaMrs. Contini
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GUEST STAR
Richard McKenzieJack
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Betty White
Rose Nylund
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Bea Arthur
Dorothy Zbornak
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Rue McClanahan
Blanche Devereaux
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Estelle Getty
Sophia Petrillo
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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TRIVIA (3)
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When Blanche learns about Big Daddy's infidelity with Mammy Watkins, she is stunned and devastated that he would cheat on her mother. However, she seems to be forgetting that in season four she stated that Big Daddy once slept with a girl who Blanche ended a friendship with, that her mother came to accept, along with a new car.
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Blanche and Big Daddy danced to "Tennessee Waltz" at her wedding.
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In this episode, Mammy tells Blanche that she saw her wear a white dress at her wedding. In a different episode, Blanche celebrates her anniversary by slipping into her wedding dress, which happens to be red. Blanche's explanation is that even she couldn't keep a straight face in a white dress.
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QUOTES (7)
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Sophia: (to Dorothy) If you were to go on a date, which of the following characteristics could you live with: body odor, schizophrenia, or extra toes?
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Sophia: (greeting Dorothy after her date with a criminal) Hi, Pussycat! Dorothy: Say good-bye, old woman!
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Dorothy: Blanche, if you don't mind, I'm having a heart-to-heart with my mother. (turns to Sophia) Now listen up, you withered old Sicilian monkey!
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Rose: Blanche, are you alright? Blanche: I'm stunned, I'm just stunned. Dorothy: Honey, what's wrong? Blanche: That call, it was Viola Watkins, she used to be my Mammy. Dorothy: Your what? Blanche: My Mammy, the woman who took care of me when I was little. Dorothy: Oh, I'm sorry, I don't think I ever heard anyone called Mammy before. Rose: What about Mrs. Eisenhower? Dorothy: Mammy Eisenhower... I think only the Nixon kids got to call her that.
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Rose: You know, I had a nanny when I was a child. She was my best friend. I could tell her anything and I'd know she would keep it a secret. We used to spend the days running and playing in the meadow or playing hide and seek in the barn. My nanny treated me like I was her own kid. (crying) Excuse me. (leaves) Dorothy: Am I the only one who didn't think she wasn't talking about a goat? (everybody shakes their heads)
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Mammy: Blanche, I loved your father. Blanche: Of course you did, everybody loved Big Daddy. Mammy: No, I loved your father.
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Blanche: I woke up one morning and you were gone. No goodbye, no nothing. I spent the next few years wondering what I did, or what I said that made you leave. Mammy Watkins: Is that what this is all about? Blanche, I didn't abandon you, I had to leave, your mother found out about your father and me.
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NOTES (3)
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Notice that the lanai is a little different from earlier seasons. There seem to be more actual palm trees, instead of earlier seasons with a painted backdrop of palm trees in the distance. Here the trees block the backdrop, and it can only be seen a little.
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Mammy Watkins states Blanche's full name "Blanche Marie Hollingsworth," however in a later episode, her middle name is changed to "Elizabeth" so her initials spell B.E.D.
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This is the only time Big Daddy's first name is mentioned, Curtis.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
ADD ALLUSIONS- ADD ALLUSIONS from this episode.
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Season One Opening
02/09/123
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bea arthur/betty white feud?
01/30/1227
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continuity errors and oddities
10/24/1123
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Favorite Golden Girl?
10/24/114
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What episode is this scene from?
09/17/115
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