Empty Nests

I have to agree with all the reviews about this episode. The main characters are barely featured, the plot revolves around entirely new characters who we have never seen before. I disagree with one point though, Rita Moreno was rather sweet. It was interesting to see her, in something other than musicals.

I'm a big fan and I loved this series when I was in my 20s. Watching series 2 for the first time, but this last one really jarred. Characters completely introduced out of the blue. Paul Dooley makes a bit of a go of his character, but Rita Moreno was bland. Before I googled this episode I was wondering if it could be some forced attempt to introduce a new show on the back of the popularity of The Golden Girls - and I was right. I found it frustrating to watch, and a little cynical of the production company to try this kind of approach. Apparently the show was drastically reworked, with different main characters and it lasted 5-6 years. They must have done something pretty radical, as this episode dies on its feet.

Sometimes backdoor pilots work, like Facts of Life coming from Diff'rent Strokes. Other times, Rita Moreno shows up out of nowhere and we're just supposed to suspend disbelief that Golden Girls' producers figured we wouldn't care after two full seasons that the ladies have neighbors they'd never had before.

I can't believe NBC allowed this to be the finale to an otherwise wonderful season of this classic series! Rita Moreno even said this episode/pilot was a "very, very bad show."

I'm still trying to figure out how this backdoor pilot morphed into Empty Nest, the beloved Golden Girls spin-off that lasted seven seasons! The only things that carried over from this episode were the house (why bother paying for a new set?) and David Leisure (who would end up playing a different smarmy, but slightly more likable character).

Thank God this show didn't make it because the actual Empty Nest was a great show.

This must be the only truly bad episode of "The Golden Girls". One star is one too many.

It was a completely artificial attempt to create a spin off, and it fails spectacularly. After a few minutes of enjoyment with the regular stars of the show, out of nowhere, a whole family of new characters pops in, and the rest of the show is about them. Dorothy and the others act react to them as old friends and acquaintances who we are supposed to know already. This is so abrupt and out of the blue that I thought I must have missed a previous episode. In which these characters were introduced.

Since these new characters are only mildly and occasionally amusing, they are completely out of place in what is usually a constantly entertaining and very funny show. Usually, a spin off uses characters developed and part of an already-existing show. In this case, none of the new characters had ever appeared in "The Golden Girls" before, so there was no way the audience was going to care about them or find them instantly interesting.

No surprise that the spin off never spun off.

What a waste of 30 mins . The "girls" weren't really in it at all and so unfunny it was annoying. Terrible characters awful plot trying to promote a new show that looks truly Terrible!