The Good

Twenty-Five episodes come in this very easy to manage 3 disc set.

The Bad

They could have at least included descriptions of all the episodes to make it easier for fans to jump around to the shows they want to see first. Pretty skimpy extras.

By about this point in the show, The Golden Girls - The Complete Third Season essentially features 4 actresses who have really hit their stride. While I am not sure how a show like this would fare in today’s TV environment, I have always felt that this show “captured the morning.” What I mean by this is that essentially, it always feels like it’s 7am-11:30am on this show. Whether we are watching Dorothy (Bea Arthur) try and keep order, Sophia (Estelle Getty) keep up her rambunctious ways, Rose’s (Betty White) merry aloofness or lastly, Blanche (Rue McClanahan) showing that no matter what your age is you’re to never too old to try and “get down,” these ladies had a magical quality when they were together on screen

Why I think this show lasted for as long as it did had a lot to do with all of these characters being people that we genuinely liked. Especially in Season Three, which starts with an episode in which we get to see a different side of Sophia. Other episodes that I think stood out in a good way were “Letter to Gorbachev,” “The Audit” (especially it’s statement on taxes) and “Mixed Blessings.” While this show always strived to keep things light, one could certainly see that all the actresses were capable enough to handle the more dramatic material.

Features

Golden Moments and The Golden Girls Scrapbook

These extras are actually my only complaint with this DVD. They are essentially the same thing even though the material served up is different. The Golden Moments is just a montage of funny moments from the entire season. It’s merely just a broad overview of clips strung together. The Golden Girls Scrapbook is quite similar to this only it focuses on the best moments of all 4 characters.

Video

Full Screen - 1.33:1. As I mentioned above I love the look of this show. Simple, soft sitcom lighting that gets the point across by not doing anything very special. There is just a sense of believability with these characters. The situations and conversations that they encounter are real. I have no problem with these 4 women being roommates. The fact that they used this show to actually deal with important human issues (it wasn’t just for women) was also another reason why it lasted from 1985-1992.

Audio

Dolby Digital Stereo sound. I love the comic timing that all 4 women seem to have. I also love that the writing on this show was good enough so that all the ensuing comedy and humor didn’t seem telegraphed. While there is nothing too intricate with any of the technical aspects of The Golden Girls - The Complete Third Season, I didn’t notice any audio problems on any of the episodes. There was no point where the sound dropped out or it became “crackly.” What I find funny is that sometimes the sound from shows from 1970s sounds better than these later shows. As I stated, everything in a “technical sense” was just where it needed to be.

Package

The entire packing is colored in pink and the front cover also features palm trees with shots of all 4 girls within diamond shapes. The back features a shot from the show, a description of what this third season is about, a cake that lists out the bonus features and some technical specs. All 3 discs are housed in a piece of packaging that unfolds out of the box, listing out the names of the episodes and the technical specs on them. Behind the discs is a transparent piece of plastic that contains shots from the show. There are also some more diamond shaped pictures of our favorite ladies inside as well. Overall, this is the same packaging that was used for all the other season releases I have seen, it is just in a different color.

Final Word

As I mentioned above, it was at about this point in the show that “The Girls” had really hit their stride both with the material and with each other. Sure there were moments that seemed a bit “cheesy,” but there was just something comfortable about the way these women acted on screen. They are all the grandmothers that we would love to have (or they remind us of our grandparents or older people that we know). They are the kind of people that if you went to stay with them, you know that the linen would be fresh and all your meals would be served like you were in a hotel.

Thank you for being a friend, Golden Girls - The Complete Third Season, you are a welcome addition to my “TV on DVD” collection.

The Golden Girls was released .