Highlights of the 26 episodes include "Ladies of the Evening," featuring a cameo from Burt Reynolds, just a few years prior to his own network sitcom, Evening Shade. As Blanche exclaims, "Mr. Burt Reynolds is one of our finest living actors...I mean, you put Sir Laurence Olivier in Cannonball Run--see what he can do." Then there's "Isn't It Romantic?" with Lois Nettleton (In the Heat of the Night) as Dorothy's lesbian friend, Jean, who falls for an unsuspecting Rose (Betty White). As was often the case, a sensitive subject is handled with taste and humor and resulted in an Emmy nomination for Nettleton's performance.

Further highlights include a white-wigged Nancy Walker (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda) as Sophia's long-lost sister, Angela, in "The Sisters" and "Long Day's Journey Into Marinara," and a pompadoured George Clooney (ER) in "To Catch a Neighbor." The final episode of The Golden Girls second season, "Empty Nest," features David Leisure and Oscar winner-Rita Moreno (West Side Story) and sets the scene for creator Susan Harris's 1988 spin-off, Empty Nest (although only Leisure would segue to the new show, while Soap's Richard Mulligan would take over for Moreno).

There are some notable cameos as well--Bob Hope steals the show in "You Gotta Have Hope" as the featured talent for Dorothy's hospital charity show; Richard Mulligan of "Empty Nest" bridges the spin-off link as the girls' newly widowed neighbor and object of Blanche's advances; Jay Thomas plays an overactive director in "High Anxiety," where the girls' kitchen is used as a TV commercial set; and blink and you'll miss a young Quentin Tarantino as an Elvis impersonator in "Sophia's Wedding." A terrific bonus feature captures the performances of all the season's guest Stars on Disc One. Overall, Season Four is zestier and much less earnest than previous seasons, which is exactly what works about the series: the bawdier the grandmothers, the funnier the show.

It's a good sign when a new year begins with Jeffrey Tambor (The Larry Sanders Show, Arrested Development) and ends with Harry Shearer (Spinal Tap, The Simpsons). Tambor shows up as Dorothy's doctor in the The Golden Girls two-part fifth season premiere ("Sick and Tired"). Unfortunately, he isn't able to determine why she's feeling run down, so she pays a visit to Empty Nest's Dr. Weston (Richard Mulligan, who returns a few episodes later). Blanche (Rue McClanahan), meanwhile, decides to become a romance novelist, despite the fact that she can't write. Dorothy (Bea Arthur) will eventually find out she has chronic fatigue syndrome (an affliction shared by writer/creator Susan Harris, who'll soon exit the show), while the flighty Blanche will retire from writing as suddenly as she took it up. Then she'll get the news that her daughter, Rebecca, has decided to become a single mother--via artificial insemination. Blanche is aghast. As for Rose, she'll get a new job as the assistant to a consumer affairs reporter and find second love with professor Miles Webber (Harold Gould). Other guests during the 1989-1990 season include Dick Van Dyke ("Love Under the Big Top"), Robert Culp ("Like the Beep Beep Beep of the Tom-Tom"), and a pre-Law & Order Jerry Orbach ("Cheaters"). Then there's Shearer ("The President's Coming! The President's Coming!"), who provides the voice for the first George Bush. Also, Marc Cherry, the man behind Desperate Housewives, receives his first writing credit, while Mark Moses--now best known as the murderous Rex--appears as Blanche's stepson. Unlike previous sets, this collection includes commentary from Arthur, McClanahan, and White.

 

Season 6

As before, everyone wanted to drop by NBC's Saturday staple, like Martin Mull ("Snap Out of It"), Sonny Bono ("Mrs. George Devereaux"), CESAR Romero ("Girls Just Wanna Have Fun... Before They Die"), Debbie Reynolds ("There Goes the Bride"), Alan King ("Melodrama"), and Hal Linden ("What a Difference a Date Makes"). The behind-the-scenes talent shines just as brightly in co-executive producer Tom Whedon (father of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Joss Whedon) and story editors Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives) and Mitchell Hurwitz (Arrested Development). Although there are no commentaries this time around, the set includes an insightful chat with McClanahan, White, Cherry, Hurwitz, and others from a Museum of Television and Radio tribute. One of the more notable insights: "To this day... 70% of our mail comes from people under 25 years old."