Alice Ghostley gets one of her very best moments, acting as a psychiatrist unknowingly treating a patient when the women break into an office in an attempt to get rid of the houseguest from hell, Julia's boarding school head mistress, Pat Carroll, bullying everyone and causing complete disarray at Sugarbaker's. When Julia confronts her, Carroll absolutely refuses to leave, which leads into a seance in an effort to bring back her late husband to manipulate her into going. Of course, that fails miserably which leads to other desperate steps. The role that Carroll plays could have been a truly horrid character, but underneath all of the bellowing she does, Carroll makes her quite funny. However the best lines are given to Ghostley, and Judith Ivey get some great moments as well. While not a perfect episode among the show's classics, it is quite enjoyable as a standalone episode but it doesn't really serve much purpose other than to give some great veterans a chance to show what they can do with funny material.
3 Reviews
"Hold Me Back, I'm Gonna Knock Her Block Off"
kgraovac23 June 2022
I always get flak for this, but this is undoubtedly my favorite episode of the series. I remember when it first aired in 1993 it was like a breath of fresh air. Right from the opening scene, the cast and audience seemed completely energized, and every other line got a huge and genuine reaction. After a series of substandard episodes and a pretty weak season, it seemed they were finally getting their groove back with this and "The Lying Game" that aired the week after this one. Too bad the rest of the season did not have more episodes this funny.
Bernice was hilarious here, whether sparring with guest star Pat Carroll or unwittingly passing herself off as a psychiatrist to an insecure, vulnerable female patient. The seance scene IS kind of silly, but otherwise this is definitely one of the best Judith Ivey episodes, that deserves to rank among the best of the series' really comedic outings.
Bernice was hilarious here, whether sparring with guest star Pat Carroll or unwittingly passing herself off as a psychiatrist to an insecure, vulnerable female patient. The seance scene IS kind of silly, but otherwise this is definitely one of the best Judith Ivey episodes, that deserves to rank among the best of the series' really comedic outings.
Another weak, stupid season 7 episode
professor_of_gamez25 January 2024
They kept introducing new characters in the hopes that SOMETHING would stick, and perhaps save the series. None did (this was the final season).
Etienne wasn't in this episode, but jeez. What an annoying woman. She added absolutely NOTHING to show, except irritability.
This episode was just as stupid and unfunny as most from season 7.
The only positive note is that the guest star, who tipped the scales at over 250 lbs., outlived three of her co-stars (Anthony, Carlene, and Julia all pre-deceased her) and lived to the ripe old age of 95.
I know the basic model of the show (focusing almost exclusively on "female rants") got the series to 7 seasons. But I can't imagine WHO would find rants funny. And without them, most episodes would be 2-6 minutes.
Etienne wasn't in this episode, but jeez. What an annoying woman. She added absolutely NOTHING to show, except irritability.
This episode was just as stupid and unfunny as most from season 7.
The only positive note is that the guest star, who tipped the scales at over 250 lbs., outlived three of her co-stars (Anthony, Carlene, and Julia all pre-deceased her) and lived to the ripe old age of 95.
I know the basic model of the show (focusing almost exclusively on "female rants") got the series to 7 seasons. But I can't imagine WHO would find rants funny. And without them, most episodes would be 2-6 minutes.
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