This show along with The Golden Girls were the only reasons to watch TV during the last half of the 1980's. Thank God that both series are in syndication and can be seen on numerous channels today. Designing Women was the warmer of the two series, particularly the first five years before the change of cast. Just great writing and brilliant acting took this series to the very top of comedy shows. It was always a hoot to see all the girls supposedly working in an interior decorating company when they never appear to actually be working. Many of the shows featured Julia singing and those were the shows that I liked the best. My other favorite character was played by Jean Smart who unfortunately left the show after the fifth season when she married Bill the serviceman. All in all such a wonderful entertaining show that can still be seen today.

"DESIGNING WOMEN," in my opinion, is a must-see CBS hit! Despite the fact that I've never seen every episode, I still enjoyed it. My favorite one is the one where Mary Jo (Annie Potts) got her head stuck between the banister rails in the house. Also, I really loved the theme song. I just can't believe that Delta Burke (Suzanne) and Jean Smart (Charlene) weren't with the show throughout its entire run. Everyone always gave a good performance, the production design was spectacular, the costumes were well-designed, and the writing was always very strong. In conclusion, even though it can be seen on Lifetime now, I strongly recommend you catch it just in case it goes off the air for good.

I just saw an episode of Designing Women entitled "Tornado Watch". In my opinion this was the best episode of the entire series. The writers and actors were at their peak of hilarity when they produced this little gem back in 1990. I've seen it many times and it never fails to make me laugh out loud. This particular episode had all the elements that made Designing Women one of the best television sitcoms in history. Dim-witted Charlene Stillfield makes a home video to send back to her hillbilly clan in Poplar Bluff. Aging beauty queen Suzanne Sugarbaker at her most 'PMS-on-a-diet' bitchy, shrieks "Happy Anniversary, Lois and Shimmy!" into Charlene's camcorder. Sassy single mother Mary Jo Shively is whining about some sexist pig again. Feminist Julia Sugarbaker is her usual cool-collected self but getting more frazzled by the minute. Ditzy senior-citizen Bernice Clifton drops by and so does Daddy Jones, an old mountain man. When Daddy breaks out the moonshine things really get zany. Ex-con Anthony Bouvier and his annoying girlfriend Vanessa groove to motown tunes in the background. It's an all-out madcap party. As Bernice and Daddy Jones dirty dance, Julia delivers the funniest line of the show, "I don't ever wanna see anything like this in my home again." Then, a nerdy client drunk on moonshine, strips down to bikini briefs and proceeds to sexually harass all the women. Luckily, a tornado rips through Sugarbaker's before things get too out of hand. The next day as everyone cleans up the mess, Charlene's outrageous home video airs on CNN...the perfect ending to this perfect episode. Many thanks to Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Jean Smart, Annie Potts, Meshach Taylor and Alice Ghostley for making us laugh for seven great seasons. Now we can see them all again everyday on Lifetime. Enjoy!

One of the funniest "Designing Women" moments never even happened on the show; it was on the short-lived series "The Edge". Shortly after Julia Duffy came on the show, "The Edge" spoofed the show in a hilarious skit where a 50-foot Delta Burke shows up, rips off the roof, and after exchanging some wise cracks with the group, eats one of them (Julia, I think), then storms through Atlanta creating havoc. Although the written description of this skit can't possibly describe its hilarity, it did spoof the irreverance of the character's sense of humors and their relationships with each other. Terminator Julia (Dixie Carter, my favorite) had a loving if strained relationship with her selfish sister Suzanne (Delta Burke), while sassy but sensible Mary Jo (Annie Potts) had a very close friendship with all of them, especially the not-so-dumb Charlene (Jean Smart). Charlene was more of an innocent, lost in her own naive world yet was quite intelligent in her own way. The "fifth" of the clan was black ex-con Anthony (Meshach Taylor) who had a way of always walking in during a "female" discussion which would ultimately embarrass him. Then, there was a bizarre array of recurring characters, most notably the wacky Bernice (Alice Ghostley), the dizzy senior citizen "with the arterial flow problem to the brain", who always had a wonderfully hilarious comment for everything. She reminded me of the hard-of-hearing Emily Latella from "Saturday Night Live" with her wacky comments, and every episode with her was a highlight of the show. Carter's real-life husband, Hal Holbrook, was memorable as well as Julia's attorney lover.Yes, there were some serious social issue episodes, but this was a show created with that purpose. The writers were not afraid to explore these issues, and in most cases, they were very successful. I adored Julia because she was not just a one-dimensional opinionated woman; she showed tenderness on many occasions. However, cross her with an issue which upset her, and you would feel her wrath. She often exploded on Suzanne, but on a few occasions, she felt a true sympathy for Suzanne's well- meaning flaws. She also had a soft spot for Anthony, and was proud of the fact that he could put his past behind him and become successful. Suzanne on the other hand had a soft spot she hid behind her seemingly selfish nature. She could be self- serving at one moment, then totally sympathetic the next. Her love/hate relationship with Anthony was one of the show's highlights, as was her hysterical love for her pet pig, Noelle. Mary Jo was probably the most sensible of the four women; unlike Julia, she saw things from a more widened point of view. Wacky situations came to her by chance; she didn't invite them like the others did because of their eccentricities. Charlene was both touching and funny, an innocent woman the others felt they had to protect. However, she had a strong streak out of her goodness and big heart, winning the respect of the others at Sugarbaker's. Julia Duffy came on after Delta Burke's departure. As the obnoxious Allison, Julia's cousin, Duffy played a character hiding behind her deep insecurities by being overly obnoxious and opinionated. While she could be funny, her character was not as developed as the other women. Jan Hook's Carleen was funny and lovable; not naive like sister Charlene, but more of an overly happy woman. I loved when she tried to be more like Julia because she looked like a little girl playing dress-up. I only saw a few episodes with Judith Ivey, whom I think is one of the funniest women on TV today. I found her character much more likable than either Suzanne or Allison, making her fit in better as the show concluded. Yet, she was not overly nice like Carlene or Charlene, but just a good old gal whom everybody could not help but love. "Designing Women" itself could be hysterical (Julia getting her head stuck in a bannister; Bernice having a nose job and looking like Miss Piggy; Suzanne gluing her lips shut, etc....) or very, very touching. The episode which stands out as the most touching was the hour-long episode where Charlene gives birth, and Julia meets a 100 year old black woman (played by the fabulous Beah Richards). Who could not help but weep when Charlene is handed her baby while angel Dolly Parton escorts the old woman, who has died, into heaven, while she is singing "Somewhere Out There". It was presented in a way which was full of emotion; human, yet not manipulative. It is an episode I watch between Christmas and New Year's every year (as it took place on New Year's Eve 1989) and consider one of the best sitcom episodes ever made. "Designing Women" slowly shrunk in ratings after the departure of Delta Burke, but went out on a high note with a "Gone With the Wind" spoof where all of the female characters (including Bernice) fantasize about being Scarlett O'Hara. To end the series, the producers gave a wonderful closing to the delightful Alice Ghostley by having her have the last moments to herself of the series as she fantasizes about Anthony being Rhett to her Scarlett. It was a hysterically funny (and touching) way to end a fabulous show.