The Golden Girls (minus Dorothy) sell the house and go off to run a swanky South Beach hotel. In the first episode of this sequel to "The Golden Girls", Blanche, Rose and Sophia are sitting on the wicker couch when two moving men walk in, pick it up and move it out. Blanche yells, "goodbye house!" This might've been heartbreaking territory for "Golden Girls" fans, but "The Golden Palace" had lots of funny things in store, most notably the colorful supporting performances by Don Cheadle and Cheech Marin--both terrific. The three episodes that stay in my mind are Dorothy's return in a two-parter which finds Sophia running BACK to Shady Pines (seems it has been converted into a posh resort, and when Rose finds out they have Circus Night, she checks in too--wearing dark glasses). The other episode is the sad, curious one where Miles asks NOT ROSE to marry him, but another woman; Rose tries to be big about it and invites the couple to get married in her hotel, and watches from the kitchen as Miles leaves her. Well-written, laugh-out-loud show never found an appropriate (or permanent) time-slot, but thankfully Lifetime has recently resurrected it and now we can all remember life at the "Palace".
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bg11215-366-2631774 September 2012OK, so the writing wasn't nearly as good as the Golden Girls. Sometimes the jokes were thin. And the humor wasn't nearly as witty. Nevertheless, I think the format worked. Also I like the other characters (Roland, Chuy & the kid). Some episodes were hilarious. I kind of wish it had lasted longer than one season. I guess it must have had low ratings. But still I like this show and think it was funny. It didn't deal with serious themes as GG did, but still I find it a nice spin-off to one of the greatest shows in TV history. I recommend it! See it. See it now. Watch it tonight and experience the laughs with familiar faces for the first time all over again.
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tlharrison-5954631 January 2022Thanks Hulu!! I have been wanting to see this for years but could never find much on it. Since it never really lived in syndication like The Golden Girls, and was quickly canceled -- it seemed like it would have been a stinker. On the contrary, I think it's great. Sophia, Rose, and Blanche are still their wonderful selves. Seeing fresh jokes from their characters that I've never heard before make me laugh out loud. I've noticed some changes to their characters but nothing that takes away from who they were in GG too much. I'm not crazy about Cheech Marin's character but Don Cheadle was an AMAZING addition.
The one glaring flaw in my opinion, is that the writers seemed to have run out of material pretty quickly. The jokes were still a hit, but the storylines seemed to hit a wall. The Christmas episode was a real *jump the shark* moment, and what the writers did to Rose and Miles relationship wasn't cool, but was an example of how they must have been dry for ideas.
Regardless, it's still enjoyable and I hope this show stays on Hulu for years. I'll watch and rewatch. -
AppleAsylum13 May 2002I am a HUGE fan of the Golden Girls. When Dorthy got married & the show ended on an emotional side I was saddened...BUT, guess what...Blanche, Rose, & Sophia carried on. The 1st episode started off a little sad. It all begins with the remaining Golden Girls packing up the house because it was Sold! They all are moving to Southbeach into a hotel that they decided to purchase. With Blanche mostly running the front entrance, Rose as the maid, & Sophia (along with Cheech) as the cooks, the zany hotel gets a good taste of the Golden Girls! The show wasn't terrible by all means...actually it was nice to be with the girls again. Where it went wrong was to many story-lines in each show. It was almost to busy! The better parts of the show are (few & far in between) when the girls are actually together to discuss the problems over cheesecake. As much as I want this to be perfect (like the Golden Girls) it's not. Dorthy is a BIG part that is missing...even bringing her on a couple of episodes towards the end wasn't enough to save the show. The Golden Girls will always be remembered as a WONDERFUL show. I think only the die-hard fans (like myself) will remember this one though. Z. 1-10 (9)
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sigmapi3027 January 2008Any true collector of The Golden Girls franchise should want the The Golden Palace on DVD. This final grouping of shows completes the history of TGG. TGP was not nearly as successful as TGG but was hilarious in its own right. It appears Buena Vista owns the rights to TGP. I have emailed them several times and they send a generic response saying "there are no plans at this time to release TGP". Please help support this release. Vote for the DVD at tvshowsondvd.com. Also, please email Buena Vista directly. You can find their email address through their website. The "Questions" link is at the bottom of the page. http://video.movies.go.com/index.html
Let's get this show out on DVD!!! -
OllieSuave-00730 June 2018Picking up where "The Golden Girls" left off, "The Golden Palace" reunites Rose, Blanche, and Sophia as they move out of their Miami home and open a hotel called the same as the title. Some funny misadventures derived from the hotel, as well as some good nostalgic moments - especially Bea Arthur guest-starring as Dorothy in one episode.
Though funny, this show doesn't quite captures the humor, magic, and spirit of its prequel. It's laughable, but not pure entertainment.
Grade B- -
jameswarrender30 June 2013After seven seasons on the air, The Golden Girls came to an abrupt end after Bea Arthur decided to leave. But as they say "The show must go on" and that is exactly what happened. Rose, Blanche and Sophia leave their Miami home and open The Golden Palace.
The stars, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty return to cause havoc in the hotel in this fun, light hearted spin-off series. Even Bea Arthur makes a guest appearance in two episodes (Feels Like Old Times I & II) The well written, acted and filmed show proves that the girls still had a few good laughs in them yet. Sadly this was shorted lived as the series was cancelled after just one Season.
The spiritual 8th season of The Golden Girls reminds fans just how great the women were together with laughs from tip to tail of each episode. -
crhdfk8 April 2022Just as The original girls it has lots of laughs. I like how Rose actually came into her own. She became funnier in a new way. Love the Golden girls and always watch it on repeat and so happy to see the Golden Palace since I'm an 86 baby and never got the chance to see it when I was younger. Thanks Hulu.
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df420510 March 2020So, Golden Girls was very popular. But Bea Arthur decided it was time to hang up her hat and step away. I've heard and read conflicting reports about what led to this decision. Some say that she felt that the show had reached its apex, and that continuing on would be like beating a dead horse. Others say she felt that the jokes and references weren't quite as funny anymore, and that all the references where really going to start dating the show. Others say that she had wanted to leave after season five (in solidarity with Terry Hughes leaving), but was talked into staying. But it doesn't really matter why she left, the point is....now we have a car with only three wheels. I've also read where Rue was against the idea of doing The Golden Palace, that she wanted to ask Debbie Reynolds (who had appeared as a possible replacement for Dorothy, when she was going to re-marry Stan) back on the show. From what I gather, Rue just wanted to more or less keep doing what they were doing, only with a new and interesting character thrown in the mix. Its not hard to imagine why she held this mentality. The Golden Palace presents a huge tonal and characterization shift when compared to its mother show. I can only imagine that the people in charge felt that changing things and shaking up the status quo was the way to go. It didn't work very well. First of all, throughout the entire run of Golden Girls, we've been told that the girls don't really have a lot of money. They were panicked by the idea of gathering 10,000 dollars for a new roof. I'm no real estate person...but I would imagine that buying a hotel costs significantly more than that....where did they get the money? Even selling the house wouldn't seem adequate to buying a hotel. Its also implied that Blanche and Rose gave up their regular jobs to focus on running the hotel. Isn't that going to put a strain on your already floundering new business? Then, we find that pretty much everyone that works here...also lives here. That's not a good thing Blanche! The idea of a hotel is to have rooms available to your PAYING guests. You now have at least five rooms that are now permanently off-limits; incapable of bringing in any money. These occupied rooms seem to include the Presidential suite in regards to Blanche occupying it. But enough about that. Let's talk about the employees...or lack thereof. In the first episode we learn that the people that sold Blanche the hotel had cooked the books a bit. In order to make it seem like the hotel was turning a profit, they had fired most of the staff. At the end of the episode, we're told that the girls made enough money to hire more staff.....we never EVER see this new staff. You have ONE guy working the desk. You have ONE guy acting as the chef. Now, we're told that the hotel has over forty rooms. But for simplicity, we'll say 40. Let's pretend that every room is booked by couples. That's eighty people this guy has to cook for! Anyone who's ever cooked a day in their life knows: Cooking is time-consuming and hard even for two people...let alone eighty! While we're told that they do have a housekeeping staff, we never see them, and such things are usually taken care of by Rose. Sweetie....that's 40 beds to change. 40 rooms to vacuum. 40 toilets to clean. 40 sets of blankets, sheets, and pillowcases to wash/dry/fluff/fold/put back. And that's not even counting scrubbing the showers, wiping down counters (etc). Is it any wonder that when Dorothy came for a visit she was upset that the girls were working her mother to death?! While we're on the old characters. They all seem a bit...off from their former selves. Estelle often seems like she's either forgotten her lines, or just can't be bothered. There are times in the show when she's supposed to have a line, and you just see her staring vacantly off into space. Rose is now the strong one. (When did you become the strong one?...I don't know!) Good question! You probably shouldn't point out that one of your characters is a different person now show! We learn that Miles (Rose's boyfriend) has fallen in love with another woman out of the blue and says that he's just confused and needs more time to sort it out. Rose gets all high and mighty about it and breaks off their relationship. Um Rose? Do you not recall the time when Buzz (her old boyfriend) came to town and you fell back in love with him? You told Miles that you were confused and needed more time! Granted, this relationship has never been particularly stable. At one point on GG, Miles was going to dump rose because she wouldn't go to bed with him (she was being celibate at the time). Then, he left the safety of the Witness Protection Program in order to be with Rose again. Then, he kissed Dorothy behind Rose's back. So, who knows with this relationship? Blanche meanwhile, has picked up a brand new brother. One that we've never heard about in SEVEN years of GG. But he's totally always been there folks! The reason for this oversight we're told is that: Blanche is ashamed of him because he's mentally handicapped. And the writers evidently saw nothing wrong with portraying their character as being so selfish and horrible as to lie about such a thing...for over 40 years! But its okay, Blanche comes to accept him as he is, and to love him despite the embarrassment he causes her....he's never seen or spoken of again. But, onto the staff. We have a cute little Cousin-Oliver-Syndrome child named....Oliver. Wow! Weren't even trying to hide it were you show? But don't worry. Out of 24 episodes, he only sticks around for 8 of them. Guess they figured out that Cousin-Olivers just don't work. I particularly love how within the first few episodes the character makes a comment about reporting them for child labor. Yeah...that's not a joke people, you're making a (12?) year old do the work of 5 grown men. Then we have Chuy, the cook. (Which one is Cheech and which one is Chong?) I'm still not entirely clear on what characterization this guy was supposed to have beyond the fact that he was Mexican. As is so often the case...it was basically just "Look! It's Cheech everybody!" But I gotta say, if I was staying in this hotel, I'm not sure I'd want to eat the food. Chuy wears the same filthy smock-apron day in and day out. He's often seen wandering about the hotel in this filthy thing. If I saw that....think I'd stick with take-out. Then we have Roland the manager, played by Don Cheadle. This character alone made me really resent this show. From the moment we're introduced to him, we see he has a completely reprehensible attitude problem. Within five minutes of meeting the new owners (his new bosses!) he flies into a rant about "Well congratulations! You ran a house!" Excuse me? Perhaps we weren't clear on the fact....we are the new BOSSES! One or two episodes later, Roland completely disregards what Blanch tells him to do. He completely countermands her orders and tells the staff to "Ignore her, go back to how it was, and come to HIM with any problems." All right in front of Blanche's face. And the episode would have you believe that it was Blanche that was in the wrong here, forcing her to apologize to Roland. If Blanche's name was Gordon Ramsey...I think we'd agree: Roland would have been out on his back...and possibly in a full-body cast. But instead, we're handed: "Now now WOMAN, you go ask that MAN over there if its okay that you run your own business and make your own decisions." I hate to play the gender card...but had Blanche been a man, I think we'll all agree that he wouldn't have done anything approaching that level of disrespect. It seems a very poorly thought out thing to have your female character always "being wrong" when compared to the male character. To have her always having to apologize to him, beg his forgiveness, and go running to him to fix her problems when "she screws up". That the poor little women just have no idea how to run a business and need a man's help in order to function...way to be progressive show. All in all, The Golden Palace is the hollowed out husk left behind by The Golden Girls. It reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns 'died' and Homer and Smithers had to rig his corpse to wires and jostle him about, in order to convince people he was still alive. The characters are no longer the people we came to love. The plot and setting are rather illogical. The jokes aren't particularly funny. I only recall actually laughing out loud once...when Rose shot the 'ghost'. So, its generally best to pretend that this show never happened, as it leaves a stain on the Golden Girls name.
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BrickNash10 September 2018I really don't see what problem is that people have with this show? I laughed my ass off at every episode and came away feeling great!
It'll obviously never top The Golden Girls , but The Golden Palace is a tremendous runner up, and there's some quality writing and performances here.
Shame it only got a season, but even so it's a real gem! -
I have always been a mega fan of The Golden Girls during the time it was on and was disappointed when the series ended in 1992 due to Bea Arthur calling it quits after 7 seasons. There was hope on the horizon though when another network picked up T.G.G. and reworked it into 'The Golden Palace'.
The characters I enjoyed - Rose, Blanche and Sophia - were there, but in another setting and with new characters to mingle with. The absence of Dorothy was sorely missed and noticeable too. She was like the missing link on a comedic chain of interaction that all 4 women connected so successfully with during the Golden Girls era.
Whenever I tuned in, it was the girls I wanted to see and not those other characters like Roland and Chuy. I didn't find those guys too funny at all. The kid named Oliver was totally unnecessary and I was pleased when he was written off the show not long after.
This short lived show had it's funny moments, like the war of pranks between Sophia and Rose as well as the dilemma on how to 'hide the body' when an elderly food critic died while eating in the hotel restaurant. I also enjoyed the hilarious mix-up that caused Sophia to be accidentally taken away to a hospital instead of the elderly lady who suffered from Alzheimer's.
My favourite episode, not surprisingly, was Bea Arthur's guest appearance for a couple of episodes. The chain was connected again and her stay at the hotel was really enjoyable, especially when she volunteers to help run the place. Her comedic confrontation with that grouchy restaurant diner who was never satisfied, was priceless.
I wished this show could have lasted longer despite the pitfalls, but it was cancelled after 1 season. Sophia later turns up as a regular on Empty Nest with no explanation given on what happened to the hotel business. It's almost like it was all for 'naught'. The way this show abruptly ended, I think it was. -
Andy B-827 October 1999It was very sad when The Golden Girls came to an end in 1992 with the departure of Bea Arthur - but it was some consulation when this series followed - if only for one season.
The writing was still sharp and dialogue brilliant and played with the usual excellence of the three remaining cast. Unfortunately Dorothy's absence was seriously noticeable and probably played a big part in it not going past 24 episodes. Don Cheadle and Cheech Marin could not fill the void.
The best episode was of course the two-parter where Dorothy visited the hotel.
Still vintage stuff but sadly a show that will be forgotten in the shadow of it's excellent predecessor. -
andrewjerome18 April 2019I didn't know what to expect from this show, especially since Beatrice Arthur was one of my favourite actresses on "The Golden Girls". This spin-off though, definitely does have its charms.
It's a shame this show did not continue longer as some of the episodes are really funny and enjoyable. The new supporting cast adds some variety to the show, and the three remaining Girls are still as comical as before.
If you compare "The Golden Palace" to "The Golden Girls" you may be disappointed, but if you'd like to see the ongoing adventures of three wonderful characters, you will enjoy this show. -
Calicodreamin25 January 2020The golden palace is a great follow up to the much loved golden girls. The idea of the remaining ladies picking up stakes and moving into a hotel to run it is a bit wild, but plays well. The new characters, a goofy cook and the tad too serious manager, fit right into the cast. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments, clever odes the original GG, and heartwarming moments. I particularly enjoyed seeing Rose's character come into her own and fill the gap left by Bea's absence. It was a joy to watch.
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Bancie311025 August 2005I was sad when The Golden Girls ended. And I was glad to see where they picked up where they left off. This show isn't all that bad I actually like it. It's funny watching "the girls" trying to run a hotel. Plus I liked seeing some of the old guess from The Golden Girls make guess appearance's. I wished it lasted longer than one season. But it just wasn't like The Golden Girls it was missing something in the story line in most of the episodes. I also missed the talks that they used to have while enjoying a cheesecake. There also seemed to be a bunch of story's going on in an episode whereas in The Golden Girls one episode had one maybe two story lines to it. The girls are still themselves in this show Blanche is still chasing men (if not more) and Sophia is still telling her stories as is Rose. If you like The Golden Girls I would recommend you to watch this show also.
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edwagreen12 May 2011When Dorothy Sbornak unexpectedly remarried and left the show, the surviving cast members moved away and bought a hotel. This was the premise of the one season "Golden Palace." It is absolutely amazing that the original show was so marvelous and this sequel was just the opposite in nature.
There were two basic culprits why this show flopped. It proved that the capable Bea Arthur was needed. When she chose to leave the hit "Golden Girls," that decision in effect doomed the series. The other reason for the failure was the premise. Having our gals buy into a hotel and leaving that lovely Florida house was ridiculous. If that weren't bad enough, the writing on the sequel left a lot to be desired. As an example, in one segment, when a young Mexican child was running from the police, the child asked Sophia (Estelle Getty) for a place to hide. Sophia responded: "What am I Anne Frank?" That insensitive comment alone doomed the show. -
mccabe-shannon31 December 2022I had zero clue this show existed until I just saw it on Hulu. Watched the whole thing in 2 days. It's fantastic! Why did it only last 1 season?
I was born just before Golden Girls started so I didn't watch it in its original run, nor did my parents so it wasn't a nostalgia show for me. Obviously I have seen a bunch of episodes in reruns but never in order and nowhere near all of them. It's obviously a gem of a show. It's absolutely hilarious and the dynamic among the 4 women.
This show opens after Dorothy leaves in the last episode of Golden Girls. The remaining 3 women pool their money and buy a hotel in Miami. The cast is 5 characters- Sophia, Blanche, Rose and the hotel manacher and the hotel cook, played by none other than Don Cheedle and Cheech Marin, respectively. They are fantastic together and the injection of the 2 new male characters is absolutely perfection. I laughed out loud multiple times in every single episode. The characters we already know have the same relationships and jabs at each other and the other two just join in so naturally. Gosh I just loved it so much. You can tell they didn't know it was getting cancelled because there was no wrap up.
Definitely give it a watch! -
philhayes8029 August 2018All I have to say is that even when Bea Arthur said she wanted nothing more to do with Golden Girls she showed up in Golden Palace and that was the only high point of the series. that's it. The show disappointed everyone and wasn't even mentioned years later by Cheadle or Marin, so that says a lot. But they tried and it was like a table without a leg, it wouldn't stand a chance. Golden Girls was everything and had nothing bad going for it, the only thing the palace did was sully golden girls reputation
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"The Golden Girls" was a consistent winner from 1985 to 1992 on NBC, but Beatrice Arthur's departure and a slow decline in ratings killed the series. Or did it? By the fall of 1992, CBS thought they would strike while the iron was still somewhat warm by bringing the rest of the core cast (Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Estelle Getty) back with a new series and a slightly new situation. The three actresses were still the same characters and still in Miami, but McClanahan had sold her home and bought a hotel in the city. Naturally she brings White and Getty with her and comedy was supposed to follow. The trio just never had the chemistry or comedic/dramatic timing that they all shared with Arthur. The series also brought in hotel workers Cheech Marin and Don Cheadle (a complete unknown at the time who has become one of the best character-actors of the last few years, making the largest impressions in Steven Soderbergh films like "Out of Sight" and "Traffic"). The new additions, along with familiar faces like Herb Edelman and Harold Gould, ended up creating a helter-skelter group that always seemed to be chasing the magic of the old series. In the end, the Friday night time slot and anemic ratings doomed the program mercifully after one season and only 24 episodes. 2.5 out of 5 stars.
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shelbythuylinh19 November 2021The show did not have the same kind of chemistry and wit that the Golden Girls have. Due to Bea Arthur missing as her character married in the Girls finale the late Leslie Nielsen's character and Arthur did not want to do another show.
But the women ran the hotel the three of them and had to fall back on funny cook Cheech Marin and then unknown Don Cheadle as the deadpan manager. Really needs to rerun this again. -
vikjurk28 August 2022The extra male characters constant presence. The show was always great because it was the Golden GIRLS four women now they got rid of Dorothy leaving a wonderful comedy team of Estelle,Rue and Betty. Which would of worked. Adding annoying characters including a kid in the 90s always leads to a fail. Also story lines like rebel flag after blanche already did that in the Golden girls realizing she's like a pinch Jewish. So being that they added a black man they felt the need to reteach blanche AGAIN that that kind of world is disgusting. I still watched it of course but it was DOA. I'll never say the show ran it's course because to this day I watch the exact same Golden girls episodes every night. The palace is honestly disrespectful to one of the funniest shows ever. How do you fail this badly.
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bewitched792123 April 2024Where do I start the golden girls was good the golden palace stunk the new characters were awful and looked they were reading off cue cards..the best episode were Dorothy comes back and the others stunk that's why it only lasted a season..never should have rerun this on lifetime channel at all bored to tears watching it..a few episodes were like God this is dull or roll you're eyes at the very special episodes after all the awwws came on.. should have done a season 8 with Dorothy or something she made the show funnier and more humor this show was not funny the special guests even stunk and everyone clapped when they came on a real roll your eye time.
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mark.waltz10 November 2021Outside the British sitcom "Fawlty Towers", sitcoms about hotels have not been popular. Especially in America. In addition to Golden Palace I can also think of "Amanda's by the Sea" and "The Nutt House". Something tells me that Bea Arthur had no regrets in leaving after the 7th season of Golden Girls and was relieved to be gone when she heard a watch the spin-off would entail. If Bea and a cast of Mel Brooks film veterans can't do well in their sitcoms, it's pretty obvious that Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty will also fail, even with the added support of Cheech Marin and the young Don Cheadle, not yet a star. There's also a little boy who disappears halfway through the series, and he really is not missed.
So you get single guest appearances of Harold Gould as Miles and Herb Edelman as Stan, but the writing for their characters ruins what was established before, and that tarnishes the legacy that had been created before. Cheech and Cheadle did well acting wise, and there was especially some chemistry between Getty and Cheech. But the individual situations really aren't all that funny, and the laughs are really scattered. Even the special two part return of Bea Arthur is a disappointment. It is obvious that a new roommate could have created some interesting new conflicts, but putting these women where they really didn't fit in turns out to be almost as big a disappointment as the pilot episode that would later became "Empty Nest". It's obvious that these three women deserved a lot better. -
cockezville17 December 2021Not for one minute did I buy the whole buying a hotel aspect of a show. Where did they get all their money? It would have been a risk, but they should have replaced Bea Arthur with another character. But Bea Arthur was such a presence it would have been a challenge. They could have found another strong performer to round it out, as the other 3 were great. It all fell flat.