"The Golden Palace" Pilot (TV Episode 1992) Poster

(TV Series)

(1992)

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7/10
A purpose
Calicodreamin21 April 2022
Those missing one of the key players, the golden palace has the same wit and charm as it's predecessor. The new cast have chemistry and add a fun dynamic.
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4/10
At least they made an effort
LaverneandShirleysucks2 August 2022
I really don't want to hate on The Golden Girls and i'm glad they at least tried to continue the series rather than end it after Bea Arthur left. So i'm rating this pilot 4 stars solely for putting in the effort.

I just wish they didn't make such absurd and drastic changes like this. It's hard to believe Blanche would part with the home she lived in with her late husband George to become a Miami Beach hotel owner because we've heard her say in the series how much the house meant to her. I just can't believe this is something she would do. Sure she's a tramp, but with everything else, she's been shown to be pretty conservative tramp and wouldn't throw away her beloved home to run a beach hotel.

The Golden Girls could have easily gone on another few seasons by just adding a new roommate to fill the hole left by Dorothy and staying put. When Debbie Reynolds guest starred, I wondered how great it would've been with her taking Bea Arthur's place. I think she would've made a perfect replacement.

I remember they mercilessly shoved this show from it's very successful Saturday night time slot to Friday nights where moved shows go to die. I remember it moved from NBC to CBS so that was probably the reason for the schedule change, but you'd think CBS would've wanted to keep it's core Saturday night audience.

I don't recall much of this short series. I know I watched episodes here and there, but I remember nothing specific of it 30 years later, so it obviously didn't leave an impression on me.

I do recall watching when Bea Arthur made an appearance in this and i'm looking forward to seeing that again, but after watching the pilot tonight, I wish they had kept the characters in the home and just gotten a new roommate.

I'll watch the rest of these one season episodes, but mainly out of curiosity and nostalgia. Then it's back to The Golden Girls.
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5/10
Funny lines don't always make for a good sitcom.
mark.waltz13 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
It's the last chance to see Blanche's house in this first episode of "Golden Palace", and Bea Arthur was probably glad that she moved on when she did, having failed with a similar sitcom, "Amanda's by the Sea". It's just another variation of the British sitcom "Fawlty Towers", and weakly plotted in an unnecessary way.

Don Cheadle's Roland is rather obnoxious to his new bosses, making you wonder why they didn't fire him within the first few minutes of meeting him. Efforts to give him a bit of Dorothy's personality fails miserably. The character of Oliver is completely unnecessary (just as he was I'm the last season of Brady Bunch), but the character of Chewie played by Cheech Marin is very funny, particularly in his interactions with Sophia.

What does work is the individual gags but the best lines go to Estelle Getty and Cheech Marin. Betty White's dumb schtick feels particularly forced, especially when she's dealing with a masked robber and later deals with calling the wrong number to report it. The whole premise seems rushed and that makes it often tedious to try to get through more than one episode.
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A first class burial
braniki9 April 2006
The Golden Girls (or what is left of them) running a hotel!? What a lousy concept! Why on earth would they take such a risk, considering their total lack of experience? That's what this watchable but rather depressing pilot is trying to explain. Actually the 3 girls never really get a chance to deliver a funny line. Situations are more than tired and the new characters won't succeed in making you forget the absence of the essential Dorothy. You'll also have this sad feeling of watching a bad remake of "Fawlty Towers". Regrets! You will only feel regrets for how hilarious they once were and how plain uninteresting they suddenly get. Should have stopped on a good impression. Now, it seems wasted and pitiful.
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5/10
Thank You for Killing the Show
owen-watts1 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
After trawling through the Golden Girls I thought I'd give this much-maligned spin-off / sequel show a bit of a gander but this first episode made me decide against it pretty quick. Dorothy is gone and the magic formula feels broken - the remaining girls feeling like sketchy caricatures without her. To make matters worse the flimsy premise feels barely justified - their final conversation amounting to "oh well I guess this is happening then". Another of the billion failed attempts to do a US Fawlty Towers, but with an annoying child. I like a bit of young Don Cheadle but the whole deal feels too depressing to pursue. This is the "Scrubs: Season 9" of the 1990s.
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