We can’t possibly round out our coverage of season 6 without discussing the much-discussed, oft-aligned newbie, Allison. It’s a big change, but how did we take it? Let’s discuss. Salina’s also going to bring us a Sidebar on Julia Duffy. And then come back Thursday for an Extra Sugar we’re calling Cast Away. We’re going to chat not only about the major Designing Women cast changes this season, but some other major - and less-major - cast shifts throughout TV history.
Some Duffy reads for ya’:
Come on y’all, let’s get into it!
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Transcript
Sweet Tea and tv is coming to an end with its sixth season
Hey, Nikki.
Hey, Salina.
And hey, y'all. And welcome to Sweet Tea and tv, where we still don't know how to start our episodes. And by we, I mean me.
It's always just a little awkward. We like to keep people guessing.
Yes. Will they talk? Are they here? Is the Earth still rotating? Lots of questions.
Yes is the answer to all those questions.
Yes, indeed. And another thing that we can say yes to. Can you believe it? We are already to our final main episode, All About Allison.
It's crazy. Season 6 coming to an end.
Just. It just came and it went like the winds of winter. I. I don't know. No, it was like. It's like a balmy 70 degrees here.
Right now, so it is not wintry outside right now.
Yeah. What is winter? I don't know.
We'll know in January and February and.
Oh, that too. Yeah. Yeah.
Allison is a new addition this season following the departure of Suzanne
So are we ready to talk about arguably the most controversial Designing Women character of all time?
Arguably, yes, we're ready.
All right, take us there.
All right, so we're going to talk about Allison, who is a new addition this season following the departure of Suzanne Sugarbaker. So the episodes this season that were Allison focused are episode one, the Big Desk. So this is the one where we transition Charlene's business affairs over to Carleen, and where we transition Suzanne's business shares over to the Sugar Baker's cousin, who is Allison. Allison, has been introduced as a silent partner, but it turns out she's a lot more vocal than anyone expected. episode three, a Toe in the Water. In this one, Allison suspects that the guy who's taking Julia out on dates may actually be gay. The while she's also battling it out with Anthony over Suzanne's house. Then we have episode five, Marriage Most Foul. In this episode, Allison's former boss, who had been convicted of some major financial crimes, comes to Atlanta and right back into the arms of Allison, who he asks to marry him and then leaves at the altar. Then we have episode nine. Just say do. My description of this one is super short. Mary Jo's brother comes to visit and takes a liking to Allison.
It's perfect.
And then episode 21, La Story. so this is one of the few on this list, actually, Salina. As I was putting these together, I realized that we haven't actually already talked about in some way. So Allison has invested in a film and is invited to LA on an all expenses paid trip to oversee the progress. in fact, the show is. Or the trip is. So expenses paid that they're going to be put up in Charles Nelson Riley's home for the weekend. And it's just that someone forgot to tell him.
Not Charles Nelson Riley.
Charles Nelson Riley. Major, plot points. So the most obvious plot point is that she's introduced, to the cast as a long lost cousin of Julia and Suzanne. she moves back to Atlanta from the big city to take over Suzanne's interest in Sugar Bakers. being an investor is, like, a pretty big part of her storyline throughout the season. I think we learn at some point early on it's actually her dad's money. but she's like an angel investor slash taskmaster for Carleen's college adventures. she's also an investor slash member of the production team. Thong bathing suit wearing, hog straddling, co star in a Hollywood film. She wears lots of hats. we also get a glimpse into what sounds like it amounts to a bit of a sad love life for Allison this season. So early in the season, like I just mentioned, she almost marries her former boss, and then she's jilted at the altar. Then she finally meets the infamous T. Tommy Reed. she has a terrible new hairstyle which really draws him in. They share a few sweet dance moves. Nothing comes of it. Then she has, like, that super brief fling I just mentioned with Mary Jo's brother. So all around kind of unsatisfying, a little bit sad love life. And then finally, I think another major plot point for the season is her personality. most specifically her obnoxious personality disorder. it's the OPD that I think sort of explains some of the failed romantic relationships, her general lack of friends. I think they're all interrelated. this season we get her first ever slumber party because she's never had friends. I just made Salina sad.
Yeah, but I laughed. So I can do two things at once.
We learn a couple tidbits about Allison this season
And then the last thing I wanted to mention is that we do learn a couple tidbits about Allison this season. so I think I mentioned this later in my notes. It's a cut line from episode, one that she's a former Seeing Eye person for a rich woman in New York City. City. we learned that she's in aa. We learned that in Dwayne's world. And then she was scouted for the CIA while she was in college, but she couldn't speak Farsi. Darn it. So she wasn't, taken into the CIA. And we learned that in All About Odes to Atlanta. Did I miss anything?
Well, no, because I Didn't remember those last three at all.
Oh, well, there you go.
See?
So learn something new every day.
Yes, I'm learning too.
So we're calling Our Allison Season 6 adventures Allison. Tiny Lady, Big Obnoxious Personality disorder.
And so, Nikki, would it be fair and okay if we did a little sidebar?
I'll allow it. It's a sidebar. Salina sidebar. She's got a keyboard Looking for a reward by digging deep in the obscure Taking us on a detour Whatcha got, Salina In Salina's sideb.
Nikki Beerman interviewed Julia Duffy, who played Allison on Cheers
So how does it feel to jam to your own theme song?
It feels so good. I'm so lucky that I have a talented co host that can come up with a theme song for me.
I don't know that everybody else agrees that it's talent, but whatever.
Well, if they don't agree, then I disagree with them. So there's that. I. You know, for Carleen, when we did that episode just here recently, we did a little mini dive into the life of Jan Hooks. And so I wanted to do the same for Julia Duffy, who played Allison. Sound good?
Yes.
I guess it would be bad if it sounded bad to you.
I know it's kind of late for me to say that, so I'm going to say sure, yeah. Sounds good.
So wonderful.
You've done all the work. Why not?
I. I don't even know exactly how to say this, but it does feel worth mentioning that we had a little bit more to work from with Jan Hook. Sadly, it's like the upside of her passing is there was more retrospectives on her. Julia Duffy, is thankfully still with us, and so there's not like those retrospectives on her as much. So there's not quite as much information to work from. but I was still able to find some things about her, career and just a couple of things about, you know, her personal life. Not too personal, but her personal life. So Duffy was born on June 27, 1951 in Minnesota. So that is not a Southern accent. And it seems like they didn't really give a hoot about that anyway. Maybe she's the kind of person who would try and delete her Southern accent, especially if she was living in New York for a while. I'm not sure. we also can see from her bio that her father died when she was only seven. She's been married to fellow actor Jerry Lacey since 1982. Now he's best known for Dark Shadows. This is the TV show, and they have two children together. And Then, on the career front, she was bitten by the acting bug as a kid, and in 1970, moved to New York City, where she enrolled in and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She did do a couple of soaps, and she even did, like, a horror exploitation film. And then she was actually one of three finalists for the role of Diane Chambers on the iconic Cheers, which, she, you know, that ultimately goes to Shelley Long. And then Duffy was cast as one of Diane's friends in the first season, which I kind of sort of think I remember seeing that episode. I just haven't watched that show in many, many, many years. I kind of think this is pretty perfect. Are you familiar with the character Shelley Long played? What she was like? Okay, so it's so funny because before reading that tidbit in preparing for this segment, I had this passing thought about how Allison is, like, in the Diane Chambers mold. Uh-huh. She's like, snobby, self important, and she's usually grander in her own mind. Uh-huh. So every time we peel back a layer of the onion, you wind up finding out, oh, it's actually daddy's money, or, I didn't actually do this, or, oh, I was actually just working in the mail room. I wasn't running the company, or whatever the case is. So I thought that was interesting. And I think she could have made a really interesting Diane, actually. But, she is actually most well known for the role of Stephanie Vanderkellen on Newhart, who was also a snooty character.
Her name sounds like it.
It does, doesn't it?
no offense to all the Vander Kellens out there. It just sounds like old money.
the Vander Kell ones have been through enough, Nikki.
Haven't they experienced enough?
But, yeah, so apparently she's a little typecast as it is. I don't entirely know what's going on there, but I think the difference in New Heart is that she also had a little heart in that show as well. this show, of course, bubbled up in the culture a bit again after Bob Newhart, who I just absolutely love. an absolute comedy legend. He died over the summer, so there were, like, lots of retrospectives from cast members, including her. Duffy, was nominated for an Emmy seven times for Best Supporting Actress, but she never won. Ironically, she would lose to Rhea Perlman four times and Bebe Neuwirth one time. And I say that's ironic because they are both from the cast of Cheers.
I was going to say, did Rhea Perlman win for Cheers.
Yes. and so. And Bebe Neuwirth. What is Fraser's, ex wife.
Okay.
And still wife on the show? Lilith.
Yeah.
a fantastic character. but also she lost out to Jackie Harry. That's another Designing Women connection. Who is our Vanessa number two. And then for you, Golden Galaxy, Estelle Getty. She lost out to her as well. So she had probably deserved it. I think that's probably right. she had this to say on her season of Designing Women. I think it was difficult for the writers to adjust. They still heard other characters voices in their heads, and that was a very highly rated season. But I don't think it lived up to the show's original concept. So she seems very self aware.
Yeah, that's tough role they worked her into.
I can't tell you the amount like, of bad I feel for her to have walked in there and something that is completely not her fault. To be disliked that much I think is, ah, honestly, I think, I think it's a little silly. She's a human being. but if you look at Duffy's filmography, she has steadily worked all of these years, including guest roles on Reba and Drake and Josh, as well as recurring guest roles on Looking and Shameless. And then More recently in 2018, she actually wrote a book called Bad Auditions. And in there she tells stories of her own bad auditions in an irreverent manner in order to help prepare young actors for the real world of auditioning. This year, Duffy appeared on both the Night Court reboot and Palm Royale, starring Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney, Laura Dern and Carol Burnett.
Duffy said she was frustrated with limited and stereotypical roles for older women
And then she got a little coverage in the media in mid October of this year. And that's because she appeared on the podcast still here in Hollywood. They started talking about the topic of aging in Hollywood. And basically Duffy said that she was frustrated with the limited and stereotypical roles for older women. And I thought I would just pull her quotes directly so that we could hear them and if we want to talk about them, we can. It's not required. So I'll tell you something that drives me up a wall because it's symbolic of all of it. I have read for and actually played the role of a woman who's older that they have named Myrna. That takes place present day. Now I know what people were named who are my age. We were Patty and Kathy and Susie. These women that they write in older roles could have been at, Woodstock, if you're having them be 70 today, in 2020.
Four, you have to write the person and not the type
Four, you have to write the person and not the type. And it is very disappointing to me how much even younger writers seem to be writing Aunt B or something. When they write an older person and not an individual. I hope they're listening. And I know you have the talent to do it, make that a real person.
So I think that's fascinating because I've been thinking a lot recently how crazy it is to me that we're approaching midlife. Because my idea of midlife and who that person is is so different than I feel like we are. And that's an interesting perspective because even I'm looking at my parents and just today my, stepdad said to me, you, know, I'm a middle aged, blah, blah, blah. We talked for a minute. I was like, but you know you're not middle aged, right? Like you're elderly now. And it never occurs to me that he's elderly because in my mind, elderly is something very different. And so I think that idea of what an elderly person looks like either didn't advance past a certain period in entertainment, or we're all just have forever been harboring this idea of what an old person is.
Yeah, I mean, I think anytime that we can call out this is like intersectionality of like ageism and sexism. But like, anytime that that can be called out, I think it's. I think it's good because, I mean, I think it's better than it used to be. But, Yeah, I mean, you just don't see a lot of women over a certain age on tv. And And I think that is like telling younger people something without telling them something, you know, and it sort of perpetuates these problems with. I just don't know. The American culture does a great job at honoring older people. You know, we don't really hold them, we. The general we. And like, in the esteem that they should, you know, that they've earned so well.
I'm glad you said that she was on the Night Court reboot because I did watch a lot of that and I don't remember the character that she played. So I gotta go back and re watch because when you were, when you started the sidebar, I was like, what has she been up to lately? Because I don't remember seeing her in that much. And then you said Night Court and I was like, well, dang something I should have seen her in.
I watched some of Palm Royale and I really liked it. I think it's just really easy to get distracted because there's so many different things on TV now.
Yeah.
that sometimes that has made finishing things a challenge for me. and I liked it. And she's. She is like kind of one of the main characters, but I mean, she doesn't get quite like the Kristen Wiig, Alice and Janney airplay, you know? I, I haven't. Yeah, I mean, I haven't. some of these shows I just didn't watch. And then Night Court I really was very excited about. And then I could not get through the first episode.
So it's one of those I stuck with probably a lot longer than I wanted to. And it does get better. It's a cute little escapist sort of show.
I, mean, I can't tell you how much I loved that show when I was little. And I mean, I thought, this is great. And I can't believe they're bringing over the girl from Big Bang Theory. I can't remember her name off the top of my head. And I love the setup of it and all of that. And then it was just very much so in that three cam, like, haha, laugh track. And, I was like, I just can't.
But it's an interesting look at, like, you do wonder to what end, like, why do we bring that back? Because it is very much the same show, even some of the same characters with like, a different story laid around them. I don't fully understand why they brought it back, but once you can just sort of move past that and just take it as silliness. It's a silly, funny show.
Yeah, it's good.
Nighttime watching.
You know, sometimes we just need some easy things.
Easy things.
No reason. Just sometimes that's just what you need. So. Okay, do we feel comfortable un, sidebarring and moving on to character superlatives now?
I'm ready if you are.
What did you see as Allison's best episode overall
Okay, so let's talk about our best and worst episode overall. Nikki, for you, what did you see as Allison's best episode?
So for her best episode, I gave her all about Odes to Atlanta. And I'll tell you why.
Okay.
I gave it to her because it was redemption for her. So, you know that early episode, I'm forgetting the title right now. A, Toe in the Water. She built this narrative up about this man that Julia was dating and all these, like, reasons that Julia was going after this man because he was safe and whatever, and she kept being told like she was making stuff up. She was wrong. So turns out she was wrong about the gay bit. But what she wasn't wrong about was the Julia going after someone who was safe. Julia admits later that was true, but it's not like full redemption. It's not like the real. You're right, Allison. By the time we get to all about odes to Atlanta and she is right about Heather, and everyone realizes she was right, it was just sweet redemption. So for her character, who'd been, like, so maligned the whole season, everybody told her she was crazy. It was really kind of nice to have her get that redemption. She also had some really funny lines throughout the episode. Two of them that I really loved were, they're talking about this job at the beginning that they have. And she says, you've got to get a better attitude about this job. Lester Pittman is the kind of customer Sugar Baker's needs to be associated with. Don't think of it as working hard. Think of it as sucking up. And that encapsulates Allison's entire perspective. and then right at the end, she says, rather than I told you so, she says, no, no. Just the sight of you dressed in those Hee haw fly girl frocks is all the I told you so I'm going to need for the rest of my life. And I thought, hee haw fly girl frocks. It hits a certain way if you know what a fly girl is. I thought it was just really cute and clever. So that was my favorite episode for her. What about you?
I went with Marriage Most Foul.
What was your favorite and worst episode of Designing Women this season
Okay, so.
And I've already talked a little bit about this one in our Weddings episode five, Extra Sugar, where we talk about our favorite and not so favorite Designing Women weddings, but then also more broadly about just weddings in general on TV shows. So I'll try and not repeat myself, but I thought this one was silly fun, and the whole Marla Maples Julia Trump call was resonative. And then it also Sneaky Pete, fills in the blanks on Allison's backstory. And so it's kind of what I was alluding to earlier. This, like, Cheers esque Diane Chambers, in her prior successes, quote, unquote, and popularity back in New York City are more personal myth than reality. And so it helps us understand who we're dealing with a little bit better. especially since, I think, I don't know, she was just almost more of a caricature in those first episodes. so, yeah, I think her, coming down the stairs and her days old tattered wedding gown and everything with like a cup of ramen noodles or something in her hand was just all really enjoyable.
So, so ironic that you picked that as the best.
You picked it as the worst.
It is the worst.
Okay.
And because I'm going back and forth on my interpretation of best and worst, in my mind I'm interpreting it for Allison as the worst storyline for her character. And there's just nothing more sad than that image of a jilted bride coming down the stairs in like a crumpled wedding dress holding cup of noodles or like day old coffee or whatever it is.
Right.
And I just thought it was. She got taken for a ride twice this season in this episode and then in LA Story. This one was more sad, this one was more personal. And I just really felt for her character.
Well, I'm really, My m. Only child hangs on, hangs out in these kind of interpretive exercises. And so what was the best for me?
What did you enjoy the most?
Exactly?
What did you hate the most? And you know, interpreting it through that lens, I really, really. My runner up for worst episode was the Big Desk. And it's because I hated the way she was introduced and set up, in the series. I just thought it was such an unfortunate. They just didn't present her with really anything endearing in that. And so when you're already shaking up a well known, well loved cast when she's sort of type filling, I understand it wasn't a one to one her for Suzanne, Carlene for Charlie, and that wasn't really the intent, but it's how it reads, it's how it comes across after having watched the entire season. And so to put her in that position and make her wholly unlikable with like zero endearing redeeming qualities, I just think they really did her dirty. And I think the Big Desk shows that.
insightful. Yeah, I agree 100%.
This episode airs a year after Steve Martin's LA Story comes out
What was your first episode?
Mine was LA Story. So, this episode airs a year after Steve Martin's LA Story comes out. So I think they definitely had that in mind. Now, LA Story, the movie is a romantic comedy that he wrote and starred in about a man navigating the cliche and vapid world of LA while trying to pursue an English reporter. So I could see this being some kind of ode to it and I could see this being a movie that people in LA really loved because it captured the culture there so well in the early 90s. I just thought the whole thing in terms of this ode to it was under baked. And we spent so much time on the swindling of Allison that we lost out on more opportunities to see like wacky la or whatever. for me, again, it was like a pacing issue, where if we had played with the economy of the episode in a different way, I think we could have gotten more of the good bits and kind of tightened in some of the things that we just languished on for more than we probably needed to. Again, I've just every now and then, for anyone who's new and just pops in in the sixth season, in our final episode, I want to be very clear. I don't write television, and so I really have no reason to be giving any feedback like that. But I've put myself in the position where I feel like I have to explain myself. And so here we are.
Per usual, want to talk about our three funniest moments on the show
I also, per. Well, per usual, want to talk about our three, up to three funniest moments. And so what struck you as best in that regard?
so the combination of her wig in episode seven, plus this is the, the T. Tommy Reid dance scene. So the wig, plus her getting, like, thrown around dancing with T. Tommy was glorious. She's so tiny and so petite. And so to watch him sort of, like, manhandling her was just, like, peak physical humor. And then, like, pair in that wig or that terrible hairstyle. And I thought that entire thing was pretty funny.
Well, then when Julia is like, we've got to find a way to get this to stop, and then he flings her down and the wig falls off.
It was just brilliant, right? The whole thing was played really, really nicely. So I really enjoyed that. in episode you want me keep going.
Mm.
I have two more. In episode one, she was talking about how Anthony is always so mad. And she said he always acts that way. Last night, I sent him for ice cream. He practically threw the change at me. And that one felt very Suzanne adjacent. And it was just like a throwback to the kind of humor between Suzanne, and Anthony that we're used to. So it made for a pretty funny line. And then in Big scary men, episode 12, she says, oh, excuse me. I've just walked five miles in the mud wearing a Hefty bag. I'm freezing to death. This moisture is not good for my sinuses. I'm really not looking for etiquette tips on what's proper from a guy wearing a big diaper. Okay. And her delivery there was so fantastic. I thought she calls out the effect of moisture on her sinuses and the big diaper. Like, it's all just perfectly on brand for things that she'd be worried about. And her criticisms of the situation so Those were my favorites. And then my honorable mention is the whole gag in, I like being a girl. That's good, Allison. You're right, Allison. It's not a her thing. But it's a running gag throughout the episode that I thought was really funny.
Okay. Yeah. I mean, she's got really good comedic timing.
She does.
On that note, I think so many times they've written her as, like, the foil. They've written her as, like the straight man. you know, and so for that reason there, you know, she's uses more of the device for the punchline. And so it was hard for me to find places where I truly thought she got the opportunity to shine. All that said, I picked when she gets stuck in the air vent of the inventory room in episode 13, Driving My Mama back home. Just, the way that I could have probably watched a whole episode with just her. Carleen and Anthony. Yeah, all three of them played really well off of each other. And it wasn't just. It was her getting stuck in the vent. It was the way that she reacted to Anthony at every single turn. you know, getting really like. And then asking that he please cover his eyes so he didn't see up her skirt or, threatening to break Carleen's hands. which I think was also a favorite for you in our Carleen episodes. So. And that, I think is one of the times where we actually got to see that comedic timing.
Yeah.
The one, kid from their double date walking in. In episode 10, Julia and Rusty sitting in a tree and saying, ugh, mine's old. And then the look on her face is like, so good. And that, that, hey, hey, hey. If you haven't turned 39 yet. Yeah, you get to look forward to that every day. Is basically some pimple face 15 year old telling you that you're old.
And we did it once upon a time to the 39 year olds around us.
I did the circle of life. That's right. And but even, like, by the time I was like 25, I was like, oh, it's coming for me.
Yeah.
And it comes for us all. And then my final. That's here nor there. My final funny Moment is episode 22, A Little Night music. While they're stuck in the elevator, she writes and then reads this note on the back of a hospital card to the idiots who own this hospital. When you open this tomb of death, you better hope I'm not one of the survivors, because I will hound you like a dog till your dying day.
Tomb of death.
Oh, would have thought she was in the office to the death. I don't know.
Just.
Just ripping.
It's the elevators.
And how about up to three cringiest? Or this is really apropos. In this case, three most obnoxious moments for Allison.
Yes, it is apropos for her. And I've still managed to take a liberal interpretation of this category, so bear with me.
We get a lot of Alison's backstory cut in the first episode
in the Hulu episodes, which we're watching, which we've talked about before, have cuts in them which track with the cuts that were made for syndication. We get a lot of Alison's backstory cut in the first episode, which I find personally very obnoxious because I do think it builds the character out a little bit. so, for example, so in the very first episode, in setting up who Allison is and why we should know her, this was cut. These are the papers I picked up at the bank. Allison had them, sent them back. So the deal's final. Allison's your cousin who brought out. Who bought out Suzanne's share of the business. Right. She won't actually work here. She'll just drop in occasionally. So I think that with that cut, the first time we ever learn of Allison is when Anthony comes in upset that she's called the police on him. So we are getting truly the worst of the worst of Allison presented to us, and I think that's kind of obnoxious. when she's making her plea to get to stay, she's also telling them about a job she had to take in New York City, but that she couldn't tell her parents about because it was so beneath her. So everybody in the group guesses it was that she was a hooker. but she says hooker? No, I was a seeing eye person for a rich blind lady, Mrs. Digby in New York. She was allergic to dogs. I was really very good at it. You know, I speak three languages. Eventually, we had a code. If an unattractive woman was approaching from the right, I would whisper in her ear, canine queen at 3:00. So why did you quit? I didn't. She fired me. I dyed her hair this terrible color and someone told her about it. Do you have any idea what it's like to be let go from a position that was formerly held by a dog? So, again, I think it's helpful, set up for one how desperate she was. And then also it plays into those insecurities that slowly come out over time. So I thought that was obnoxious.
Yeah, I. Doesn't it make you want to be able to just take this exercise into daily life and be like, let me tell you what's obnoxious right now.
I have a list of three things.
I have a very important list for you. Take a seat. so for me, I think Allison's whole purpose is to be cringy. But with that in mind, I have three. When she takes her coat off to reveal her Clarence Thomas shirt. When she sides with the mall after Anthony's run in with their Renacox. Hers are just the most obvious, you know? And then, for the most part, her obnoxious personality disorder runner. It. It just didn't really land for me. It was like, two on the nose after the first part. Like, I love the part where she was like. And many people are driven to drugs and drink or something like that. And Mary Jo's like, the people who are diagnosed, I know they're relations, right?
Yeah. It was a funny setup. It just went on maybe a little too long.
I think so. Yeah.
So I also had flagged her snotty way of asking Anthony if he's sure there weren't extenuating circumstances for which the mall cops, like, attacked him. That was really obnoxious. The other thing that's obnoxious is in the vein of her political views. So her politics seem to align with the point she's trying to make. So in the Christmas episode, episode 13, Julia mentioned she thought holiday crowds would have been smaller because of the recession. And Allison says, there's not a recession. George Bush has said that. And then she comes back in episode 23 and either embraced the recession or forgot that she thought there wasn't one. Because she tells Julia, excuse me, Julia, there's a recession on, and we need this job. So I think, it tracks with the political environment we're in now that people use politics to make their case, and it's just obnoxious.
M. I also feel like I need to point out that if anybody hears whispering in the back, it was, like, about device. It was my Alexa. Yes.
You just ran the bell again.
Well, apparently, we needed to get a wicked promotion.
Oh.
In a whisper. That also scared the crap out of me. I, was like, oh, my God, there's a ghost.
I saw you looking concerned, but I didn't know if I should just keep going.
You did the right thing.
Until you waved your arms.
You did the right thing. I just don't want someone to hear and be like, my God, we have a ghost.
I think it would even be better if they thought that we're a spooky podcast now. That's right.
I was like, I'm going to stay with my mom this weekend. You know, she moved into a farmhouse that's over, like, 100 years old. And she was like, where do you want to sleep? And I said, wherever there aren't ghosts. And I've brought it up like three times now.
Has she heard ghosts or felt them or anything?
No. She's like, there's no ghost.
Why are you freaking out? What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?
I think you know. There are plenty of things wrong with me. That's a different podcast.
Oh, my gosh.
Anyways, let's try and get this back on track.
Allison really shined a light on obnoxious personality disorder
Nikki. Geez, just taking us all over the map. is there anything socially or culturally important about her plots, Allison's plots, that you want to bring up?
Does it count that she really shined a light on obnoxious personality disorder and they there may have been, like, millions of sufferers languishing out there, not knowing their condition.
Did you ever look up if that was real?
I didn't. Did you?
Okay.
No.
I just assumed it had to be. Not a real thing.
I did, too.
Okay, so Nikki's gonna live Google. I'm gonna vamp. I'm gonna vamp with my answers.
Don't vamp.
Don't vampire. I just think again, much like the obnoxious or like, you know, histrionic.
Personality disorder seems to be the closest.
Okay, you did that.
Personality disorder that can cause people to behave in ways people might consider obnoxious. They may be attention seeking, manipulative, over dramatic, or easily influenced.
Well, there's something to sit with.
There you go.
So I didn't even need to vamp. But if I was going to say, Because you're so fast. If I was going to say what? Similar, to her cringey moments. It's like the culturally important ones sort of follow the same track. It is the things that were going on with Anthony and Clarence Thomas. I guess you could also pivot and say with LA Story, because of Internet and global communication. Scamming and frauds are very pervasive. So maybe that's hers. She was really blowing the lid off.
That she was ahead of her time.
Yeah.
Just been in an email. She would have clicked the link.
She would have helped that prince. So, if something sounds too good to be true, y'all, it probably is. Don't let your ego outpace good old fashioned common sense.
On a scale from 1 to 5 how good or bad of a season was this
Well, on scale from 1 to 5 how good or bad of a season was this for our Allison? Is she up? Is she down? Tell us, Nikki, what are your thoughts?
So my rating scale is $25,000. Fraudulent movie investments. And is she up? Is she down? I think we talked about this with Carlene. It's hard to answer it that way because we're. We're new with her.
M. I'm,
I'm answering it from the perspective of, like, you open the episode by saying she's arguably one of the most controversial characters introduced on the show. I went into the season thinking I would think she was the worst. I gave her three out of five. She's right in the middle for me. Like, I do not think she's the worst character ever. Definitely. I don't even know that at times she's the worst character on this show. You know, like, I think that some of the characteristics of her that we find annoying or off, putting one are intentionally written that way and thinking in a really unfair way to her. So I hate that for Julia Duffy, that she kind of got swept up in that. But also, just again, I don't think they're the most obnoxious things we've heard people say on the show. I think we just fell in love with Delta Burke saying them. Or we've fallen in love with the way Dixie Carter says it, that when Julia Duffy says it brand new, it's a little more offensive or a little. It's a little more off putting. I didn't think she was the worst. I gave her a three out of five. I think she's right in the middle. She, Julia Duffy did the best with what they gave her.
Mm. I 100% agree. I also gave her three out of five, but, I gave it three out of five. Convenient diagnoses. I might also pull that one out when I'm, like, feeling particularly spry. But, on paper, I would say Allison is having a pretty good season. Now, this is going to go in complete opposition to everything you said leading up to this, so hold on. But she essentially buys sugar Bakers. She becomes a benefactor of sorts to Carlene. She meets some interesting men. Mary Jo's brother T. Tommy Reid. She reconnects with her ex. She was also briefly Bernice's best friend. Let's all be honest. We all want to hold that position.
Sure.
Allison also makes some good calls along the way, teaching Mary Jo and Julia a little feminist lesson in episode 20. I enjoy being a girl and has Heather's not number in episode 19. All About Odes to Atlanta. Is it because she's also done some weird things? Yes, it is. But she still had her number. On the other hand, she also gets jilted on her wedding day, gets swindled by someone in Hollywood, and everyone hates her both on and off screen. So that is tough.
That does sound hard.
It sounds hard. Also, it's not exactly a secret that we won't see Allison again. So there is that. But I just want to tack on to. I do not hate the character of Allison. I 100% agree that she was not done any favors. I think Julia Duffy did what she could.
So I wonder if they regretted that at a point. Like, was there a point where. So every episode this season, the writing, the writers were up and down, like, it wasn't the same. It wasn't LBT writing the first two seasons of the show. So it's hard to pin it to one particular writer. You imagine they're working from, like, an outline of who this character is, and so can't blame the writers. But at some point, was there someone in the showrunner position or something like that, in the LBT position who really regretted making that choice?
Yeah. I mean, and it feels like m. I don't know. I don't have any reason except for isn't Pam Norris really driving the train at this point? So it seems like she would probably be the one giving that direction. And, yeah, I don't know. But it's also funny, too, because just like Julia Duffy said, and you know what I said in her sidebars, like, it was, like, one of the highest rated seasons, so. Talk about confusing for the cast, you know, But Allison Woo.
Designing Women is finishing up its sixth season with seven episodes
So with that, we're done with season six, right? I can't believe it just flew right by.
It just really flies by. When you knock it down to seven episodes.
It's like a third of what we did the last few seasons, I think. I'm not great with Bath, but I.
Think it feels like a 1 20th of it.
It feel. It feels like the right amount to me.
So, y'all, we had, like, 60 episodes last season.
It was a lot. But that means that we have the capacity then to come back for season seven.
Yes.
Right.
Capacity.
We have to finish the drill. We got to finish this. I've got Salina. I've hooked her for season six, and I've hooked her for season seven. So we're stuck. We got to do it. so it does look like right now we're going to be back early in the New year with season seven, we're planning, I think, to cover it the same way, character by character, over about seven episodes and accompanying extra sugars. in the meantime, I think we have good stuff lined up. We're first off, we're taking a break for Thanksgiving.
Good stuff.
but then we teased this back in our Carleen episode. And then I think maybe some eagle eyed social media followers might have seen it this weekend. But we had a couple amazing conversations with Brandon at Front Row Classics Podcast this last weekend. And I genuinely mean that. That was such fun discussion.
Everything else Nikki says is totally full of crap.
I'm lying about everything else with this. I mean, it was really good conversation.
It was great.
So we're gonna be on his show at some point in the next several weeks Talking about the 1949 classic film Flamingo Road starring Joan Crawford. And then he'll be on our show the first week of December talking about Designing Women, his memories of Designing Women, sort of how he came to the show. And then we wanted to get his thoughts more specifically on the somewhat maligned seasons six and seven. And then we mined his encyclopedic knowledge. I am blown away by how quickly he processed through some, like decades of classic Hollywood knowledge to play a game with us where we re envisioned Designing Women in classic Hollywood. So I think he clearly did some prep in advance, but I threw some names at him that he had no reason to know I was going to bring up and he knew exactly who I was talking about. It wasn't for, for me who can't remember anything, it was really impressive. and then Salina and I, have been toying with the idea of a special episode. Salina suggested the 80s classic troop Beverly Hills because I had my whole extra sugar on Girl Scouts this season. And the Girl Scouts moms have been wanting to watch Troop Beverly Hills and I need to preview it anyway to see if it's appropriate for the girls. So why not watch it and do a special episode?
Well now it also feels like it's got this Allison connection too. Julia Duffy.
Yeah, there you go.
Yeah.
So we got with connections abound.
So we probably could bring that to folks before the holidays. so that's it.
Sweet Tea welcomes everyone to share their feedback on season six
Season six. as always, we welcome everyone to share their feedback. We'd love to know if you liked what we did this time, especially if the answer is yes.
or we don't really want to hear from you if it's no. No, we do, we do.
Especially if you have suggestions on how to do things differently next time. I'm always happy to hear didn't love it. But here's the suggestion. If you just share that you didn't love it, that's not helpful.
Here's a suggestion. How'd you go fly a kite?
Salina is not allowed to answer the fan mail.
I meant m. Maybe that's their suggestion for us. We be the ones flying Hawkeye.
Right, right. Right. Fair enough. So, as always, you know how this goes. Instagram and Facebook at Sweet Tea and TV tick tock at Sweet TV Pod YouTube. You, can find Sweet TV 7370. I'm sitting here processing, telling people, go flag. And that's all I can think about now. Our email address is sweet tea tv pod gmail.com and our website is wweetv.com. you can support the show in several ways. You can tell your family and friends about us, reader review, the podcast, wherever you listen. And then there are some additional ways to support the show from the Support Us page on the website. And then come back Thursday for extra sugar. What's it about, Salina?
Well, on Thursday, we are going to be discussing some casting shifts on Designing Women and other TV shows over the years. Who did it good, who did it bad, and what's the tea?
What if someone was like, what casting changes happened on, Designing Women, I would say.
Would you like to join our podcast?
I point you to episode one.
well, you know what that means.
What does it mean, Salina?
It means that if people used to go, their best burn was go fly a kite. The world really was a gentler place. And we'll see you around the bend. Bye.
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