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For a while, Designing Women captured some of the spirit of Hollywood's silkiest and smartest, Golden Age sophistication. Debuting in the fall of 1986, this half-hour sitcom--about four Atlanta belles who either owned or worked for an upscale interior design firm--seamlessly blended an understated glamour with razor-sharp dialogue, polished Southern grace, and a ripened female perspective--a sort of perfumed but unequivocal feminism for college-educated women over 30. The core cast of stage and film veterans--Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, and Jean Smart--was unusually strong, and their characters' problems and conflicts were unique to adulthood rather than the protracted adolescence common among today's comedies. The five episodes on this disc represent some of the show's strongest material, including season two's "Killing All the Right People," which--for its time--was bold in introducing a character dying of AIDS complications. Also quite witty is "Reservations for Eight," in which the Georgia quartet and their lovers bicker over gender stereotypes. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Four Southern Belles Sitting on a Veranda
From 1986 to 1993, Desiging Women aired weekly and caught the attention of millions of viewers. Now the series can be seen on Lifetime. But what better than to own a piece of one of televisions' funniest comedies!?! The original cast of Designing Women were one of televisions best combinations of their time. To be the first release for Designing Women...This one has to be a smart one. It is a very clever way to show everyone who wants a little taste of the series just what Designing Women is all about without paying the big bucks for a complete season. This Show, by far, has touched on many topics that have shown a different look at the silly and the sad times of our lives. From Mary Jo's desire to get bigger breasts...to dealing a friend who is H.I.V. positive...to dealing with the coping of weigh gain, the girls of Sugar Bakers' have been through it all. Although "all" of my favorites aren't included on this DVD (simply because it would be hard to put a low enough price on a "top 25" dvd) this DVD is one that fans of Desiging Women will cherish. I recommend to anyone who is just wanting a good laugh and to set back and see just how funny life can be...GET THIS DVD!!!

The Rest Of The Episodes on DVD Please!
When I was 21 Designing Women first aired on TV and I thought it was a very clever show with witty dialogue and interesting characters, Charlene, Julia, Suzanne, Mary Jo, Anthony and Bernice. I'm glad the show is on DVD but it only seems to be one DVD and it's just a best of DVD, I think the whole show should be on DVD in season sets. I have a lot of favorite episodes from this show but two of my favorites are the episoodes with Dub Taylor as Daddy Jones, the first one where they go to a cabin in the woods and go to the local bar and meet Daddy Jones and his crazy sons and they make the ladies dance with them to The Charlie Rich song Behind Closed Doors and Mary Jo gets a little tipsy and starts making fun of them thus making them pretty mad and I like the one where Daddy Jones shows up at Julia's place during a hurricane and hits it off with Bernice and gets the guy who played Les on WKRP drunk and he winds up running around the house in the underwear acting like he's a chippendale dancer, I would definitely love to have those episodes on DVD!

Love it! Want all episodes on DVD, as well as Bloopers!
I just found out this DVD is available and will run out and get it tomorrow! I don't have to see it to know it's wonderful. This is truly one of the classic comedic TV shows of all time.

I'm sure I speak for all fans when I say that I want every last episode on DVD, as well as a bloopers DVD!

I WANTED MORE FROM THIS DVD
I AM SPOILED! I LOVE MY DVD'S THAT HAVE EXTRAS IN THEM! TAKE "FRIENDS" EVERY EPISODE HAS SOMETHING NEVER BROADCAST ON TV! I AM HAPPY THAT THIS DVD IS OUT THERE BUT I WOULD OF LIKE TO HAVE SEEN INTRODUCTIONS BY THE CAST AND BY LINDA BLOODSWORTH THOMASON OR PLEASE LADIES AN AUDIO COMENTARY! IN 1990 I WAS AT THE MUSEUM OF BROADCASTING AND THEY SHOWED A 80 MINUTE REEL OF HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SHOW ( NOW EDITED DOWN TO 43 MINUTES FOR TV BROADCAST) THIS WOULD MAKE A GREAT EDITION TO ANY FUTURE DVD RELEASES. THE 5 EPISODES ON THIS DVD ARE SOME OF THE BEST BUT NEXT TIME GIVE ME A SEASON! THE SHOW IS A CLASSIC AND TV NEEDS SHOWS LIKE THIS AGAIN!
THE SHOW HAD AN OPINION AND WAS NEVER AFRAID TO GIVE IT! THE SHOW STILL HOLDS UP TODAY! WILL YOU EVER BE ABLE TO SAY THE SAME ABOUT "BECKER" OR "KING OF QUEENS" OR "YES DEAR" I DON'T THINK SO

One of the Best Comedy Ever
The best of Designing Women on DVD was a terrific buy. This show is a clasic tv show that was truely hilarious then and even now. I can remember watching this show and loving it in the 80's when I was a little girl. This show like the Golden Girls deserves to be on DVD, not just as the best of but as a box set by season. Delta Burke made this show as well as Meshach Taylor. All the ladies were wonderful but they're characters are what I believe made the show so popular. What would it be without Dixie Carter's getting fired up on a subject as well, or Annie Potts drinking a few drinks and getting macho talking. Jean Smart and all her beau's that never seemed to work out except her husband Bill and all her crazy thoughts. These ladies worked and clicked well together. This is Classic TV at it's best and like I said it should be put on a boxset by season not just the best of designing women. All the episodes were the best. For example the episode where the whole gang goes on the beach weekend with the boys and Ursula is the baby sitter and in hiring her the girls become jealous while the guys druel. The episode where the girls go with the boys on the camping weekend and run into Daddy Jones and his boys and get in a fight. The episode where they have a tornado and Elmer a client of the sugarbakers comes in without his wife who is a crazy fanatic and Daddy Jones shows up to by a nice piece of furniture and meets Elmer. They go out to drink some moonshine during the tornado. Bernice gueststarred in that episode as well as crazy Vanessa, "a mind is a terrible thing to waste". The episode where Julia and Suzzanne's niece comes to town and she is a spoiled brat. The episode that Suzanne shoots Anthony. The episode of pornography and Julia runs her car into the billboard that is on the street 3 times because she despises what it stands for. The episode that the girls design the whitehouse or the governors mansion and Suzanne gets her head stuck in a banister rale that has been there for Decades and they have to saw her out of it and they piece it back together and it breaks lose later on in the show. The episode where Julia and Mary Jo take up jogging and Julia becomes a fanatic and makes a fool out of her self. The episode where Vanessa tries to transform her look and takes up an inventory counting job at Sugarbakers to get closer to Anthony. Meanwhile Anthony is with this stuck up lady who calls her BMW a beamer and Vanessa thinks a beamer is a zit. The episode where Anthony dresses up like Suzanne's maid Consuela and has to pass through INS and take a test dressed up like her so that she could stay in this country. Who could forget his hillarious laugh when he gets nervous. The episode where the design firm has that gel bed in the living room that was supposed to go to two sex crazed newly weds and they don't show up to get it and instead they don't so they end up donating it to the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army asks why the people didn't show up for the bed and Julia says that she doesn't know but that maybe they found a sandbox that they liked better. Mary Jo acts crazy and sits on the bed with Anthony and says that sitting on the bed is like sitting on a fake breast and that they should displace all the gel so when Anthony wakes up he would be on a great big mound. And there are tons more episodes that were outrageously funny. This is a must see and I give it 5 STARS. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Way Too Funny for TV
WKRP in Cincinnati was one of the (if not "the") most side-splittingly funny sitcoms of the late 70's/early 80's.The ensemble cast was custom-tailored to its various roles, and the dialogue was priceless.Invariably, the well-written scripts often made you think about larger issues in life (even when you disagreed with the writers' point of view) while making you laugh your brains out.Unlike so many shows of that era, you didn't need to be (a) smoking weed or (b) snorting coke or (c) otherwise brain-dead to "get" the humor.Truly a classic, beautifully done TV.Do everyone a favor.Put it on DVD.It was an "all-timer."

As God is my witness...
"As God is my witness...I thought turkeys could fly."
That is from the most popular episode of this hilarious series called "Turkeys Away".It was thier Thanksgiving themed episode which should be aired traditionally every Thanksgiving!Sadly the station manager didn't realize his free turkey give-away from a helicopter at a shopping center would end with such "carnage".Poor Les Nesman was left to report the live feed on air.

As God is my witness, I thought this would be out on DVD by now!!

INFINITY STARS!!!!
C'MON, GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!!! JOHNNY FEVER ZONING OUT TO THE SOUND OF DOGS BARKING ON THE AIR, HERB AND HIS SLEAZY USED CAR SALESMAN SUITS, LES NESMAN'S BROADCAST OF THE TURKEY TRAGEDY, MR. CARLSON'S TOY COLLECTION, SCUM OF THE EARTH, AND PHONE COPS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

Release Senior Rod-wi-geez, please!
I recently was at the video rental shop here, which has a huge section of TV series to rent.Every time I go down this isle, I have to sigh a bit, as WKRP isn't there, among the really really lame air headed stuff they do have.Every week I check several sites online, including amazon to see if its release is pending.I rarely watch network TV, but being a huge music fan, I'll always remember this series fondly.I even have a WKRP t-shirt that I wear from time to time.I always get comments about that.Like, "oh yeah, Lonnie Anderson, I remember that!"But despite us male fans admiration, she was not the main reason we watched.Who didn't want to be like Johnny Fever or Venus Flytrap, and work in a rock n' roll radio station?Whatever, it's just that this series had so many memorable moments, that lifted it above the usual 70's drivel of cop shows and more cop shows.I've got one rule of thumb, if it's memorable, it's probably great.So get the liscensing business straightened out, 20th Century Fox, and give us back our 'KRP!!!(I'll buy it all...)

WKRP the best
I can't understand why the best sit com ever, WKRP, hasn't come out on DVD yet and some of the worst junk ever already has. This is a classic comedy and should have been on for 10 years if you go by what "Friends" or "Seinfeld" did.Please, get this great show out there so we can laugh again. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

I WANNA BE RHODA!!!!!
Don't get me wrong Mary Tyler Moore was a "nice" character, but waaaaaay overrated!!!! Rhoda was so much funnier and well deserving of her own show!!!

Although I watched this show in re-runs ( it's original run was before my time), I really enjoyed Rhoda living the single life in New York during the Sensational Seventies!!! Valerie Harper JUST PLAIN ROCKED AS RHODA! She had a great relationship with her sister Brenda, was time enough for her pain in the butt mother ( played by the very funny Nancy Walker), she had a really cool apartment, and I just loved those fabulous scarfs she wore on her head. Very Chic!!!
The 1970's was such a fantastic era for some of the best sitcoms ever created and Rhoda was among them!!! The story lines were well written and the dialogue was really funny, unlike the pathetic sitcoms currently wasting valuable network airtime today!!! I don't even bother to check the tv guide anymore, I'd rather watch Nick at Night or TV Land instead!!!
Well bad tv is an entirely different and depressing subject so I'll just say my prayers and hope the powers at be are listening and RELEASE RHODA ON DVD PRONTO!!!

First Season (1974-75)
Why is this show so hard to find in reruns?I never even saw this until Nick at Nite added it to their lineup in the 1990s, but I instantly fell in love with the show and all the characters in Rhoda's life.

After 4 years as Mary Tyler Moore's best friend on the MTM show, Rhoda moved home to Manhattan so she could be near her sister Brenda (Julie Kavner, now the voice of Marge Simpson!) and pursue a relationship with Joe Gerard (David Groh).Nancy Walker played her pushy mother Ida and Harold Gould played her dad Martin.Both had appeared on the MTM show in those characters beforehand.Heard but not seen was the drunken doorman, Carlton (Lorenzo Music, who helped create this show and then later on became the voice of Garfield the cat).

Season 1's opening credits had Valerie Harper, as Rhoda, telling about her life and why she moved back to New York while we saw several pictures fly across the screen in a mostly animated montage.This opening was dropped later on, but its my favorite of all the openings used.

Here are the first season episodes for what will eventually prove to be a great DVD set:

01 - Joe (9-9-74)
Rhoda comes home to visit her sister and meets Joe Gerard (Mary Tyler Moore guest stars).

02 - You Can Go Home Again (9-16-74)
Rhoda moves out of Brenda's small apartment back into her bedroom at Ida's place.

03 - I'll Be Loving You Sometimes (9-23-74)
Joe tells Rhoda he wants to back off from dating because of his failed first marriage.

04 - Parents Day (9-30-74)
Ida manipulates Rhoda into letting her and Martin finally meet Joe.

05 - Lady In Red (10-7-74)
Rhoda gets a job working for a book publisher, but the job doesn't last and she goes back to window dressing.

06 - Pop Goes The Question (10-14-74)
Joe asks Rhoda to move in with him, but she would rather they get married (Mary Tyler Moore guest stars again).

07 - The Shower (10-21-74)
Brenda throws Rhoda a last-minute wedding shower and invites her old friends from high school, except one of them (Linda Lavin) turns out to have been Rhoda's fierce rival.

08 - Rhoda's Wedding (10-28-74)
Ida manages to get Rhoda and Joe to hold their wedding at her apartment in the Bronx, causing catastrophe when Phyllis forgets to pick her up and Rhoda is forced to ride the subway IN HER WEDDING DRESS!Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, Gavin Macleod, Georgia Engel and Cloris Leachman from the MTM show guest star.This was a 1 hour episode but always got replayed as two separate parts.

09 - The Honeymoon (11-4-74)
Ida gives Rhoda and Joe a honeymoon cruise, but it turns out to be a cruise for old people.

10 - 9E Is Available (11-11-74)
Joe thinks it would be a mistake to move into Brenda's apartment building and Brenda thinks it's because Joe doesn't like her.

11 - I'm A Little Late, Folks (11-18-74)
Rhoda thinks she might be pregnant.

12 - Anything Wrong? (11-25-74)
Rhoda worries when Joe goes to his father (Robert Alda) for marriage advice.

13 - S'Wonderful (12-2-74)
Rhoda can't help interfering when she thinks Brenda's new boyfriend is really married.

14 - Goodbye Charlie (12-9-74)
Rhoda can't stand Joe's chauvenistic best friend and struggles to get along with him.

15 - Guess What I Got You For The Holidays (12-16-74)
Rhoda gives Joe a large sum of cash for Christmas but he loses it trying to save his demolition business.

16 - Whattaya Think It's There For? (1-6-75)
Ida insists on loaning Joe some money to save his business and is offended when he and Rhoda try to tell her no.

17 - Not Made For Each Other (1-13-75)
Rhoda fixes up her shy friend Myrna with Joe's friend Charlie.

18 - Strained Interlude (1-20-75)
Joe is jealous when Rhoda's old boyfriend wants to meet with her after being apart so many years.

19 - Everything I Have is Yours Almost (1-27-75)
Rhoda worries when she finds out Joe's been seeing a doctor.

20 - Chest Pains (2-3-75)
Rhoda and Brenda accompany Ida when she visits a doctor about chest pains (Norman Fell plays the doctor, and John Ritter guest stars as Brenda's date).

21 - Windows By Rhoda (2-10-75)
Rhoda finally rents an office to run her window dressing business, and hired Myrna as her assistant.

22 - A Nice Warm Rut (2-24-75)
Rhoda and Joe end up fighting after Brenda announces she's moving to San Francisco.

23 - Ida The Elf (3-3-75)
Rhoda and Brenda find out that Ida got a job in a hospital.

24 - Along Comes Mary (3-10-75)
Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore guest starring again!) shows up for a surprise visit just as Rhoda and Joe are about to leave for a weekend getaway.

CAN'T WAIT
I was excited about Mary Tyler Moore Season #2 and now I'm thrilled to see this will be available too.Look forward to preordering. Thank you.

HEY FOX ~ BRING ON THAT FIRST SEASON!!
This show rocked those first two years.Who cares what the critics have to say-- Rhoda as a married woman was not just funny as all getout but was a relief to see after those 4 years as Mare's chronicly single best bud.Rho deserved some happiness and that wedding episode delivered in spades!!
Hey you Fox studio suit guys, you need to put this out like you did the Bob Newhart & Mary discs!
IF YOU RELEASE IT, WE WILL BUY!!!
(PS:What about PHYLLIS??-- Mother Dexter was the best!!) ... Read more