User Reviews

Sophia gets a job as a recreational director at the senior center. She is sad that the seniors are made to sit all the time in front of TV. But when she wants to make some changes the boss of the place lets her go and she finds out Dorothy arranged her to have this responsibility. She still gets out once and organizes a party for the seniors and it works out for the best for them.

Not one of the best episodes but still of good quality. The idea is a bit messy, but positive and did give me some laughs. Especially with Sophia's prank idea, I need to remember it for when I am a senior. And there are some fun parts in the Blanche/Rose story.

Dorothy's not at her nicest here as she schemes to get Sophia into a day program at a senior center so she can be looked after a brief bout with the flu. While she doesn't end up in Shady Pines, she creates enough issues within a short period of time, leaving the executive director frustrated and the other residents desperate to get up and boogie. Carol Bruce, Ellen Albertini Dow and Julius Harris show that all it takes is a little bit of motivation to get up and get the party started, while the director realizes that he can't keep old people safe and content simply by sitting in front of a TV all day. Blanche gets the chance to model for local drug store, but is disappointed when she discovers the motivation behind the advertisements that she's put in. Good moments for Estelle Getty, but the wisecracks that come out of Bea Arthur's mouth seem out of character for Dorothy. This was Dow's third appearance on "Golden Girls" (like Meg Wyllie all different characters), and as usual, she's adorable. For anyone who ever wanted to see seniors continue to live an active and happy life, this is a reassurance that indeed, life doesn't stop at retirement.

So Sophia has had the flu and Dorothy wants someone to look after her, so Dorothy's great idea is to call some random retirement home (that isn't even Shady Pines!) and convince the manager, Mr. Porter, to pretend to hire Sophia all the while Sophia has had the flu and will interact with all the other vulnerable seniors in the home. Sophia will also presumably expect a paycheck for her "job", and we are all supposed to believe that the seemingly always angry Mr. Porter goes along with this cockamamie ruse??!! Yeah, OK, sure.

The hilarious B story with the penny saver absolutely saves this overall clunker of an episode, particularly when Blanche tells Rose about the part of the plan she may not like.