by Paul Drinkwater

The Golden Girls NBC, CBC PRINCIPAL CAST: Bea Arthur (Dorothy), Betty White (Rose), Rue McClanahan (Blanche), Estelle Getty (Sophia) FIRST AIRED: Sept. 14, 1985 EMMY WINS: Six NIELSEN HIGHLIGHTS: No. 5 in 1987-88 NIELSEN LOWLIGHTS: No. 31 in 1991-92 RUNNING GAGS: Blanche's man-hungry ways, Rose's boring stories SPINOFFS: Empty Nest (1988-present), Nurses, (1991-present) SERIES WRAP-UP (May 9): Dorothy marries a silver-haired gent (Leslie Nielsen) and moves away from Miami; Blanche, Rose and Sophia buy a hotel, setting up next season's Golden Palace (on CBS). NOTABLE QUOTE: "Sophia [Getty] can say what everyone else thinks but won't say because she's had a little stroke that destroys the part of your brain that would hold her back."--Golden Girls co-creator Susan Harris, TV GUIDE, Aug. 9, 1986

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