The Golden Girls
Season 5
DVD cover
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes26
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 23, 1989 (1989-09-23) –
May 5, 1990 (1990-05-05)
Season chronology

The fifth season of The Golden Girls premiered on NBC on September 23, 1989, and concluded on May 5, 1990. The season consisted of 26 episodes.

Broadcast history

The season originally aired Saturdays at 9:00-9:30 pm (EST) on NBC from September 23, 1989 to May 5, 1990.[1][2]

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
1031"Sick and Tired: Part 1"Terry HughesSusan HarrisSeptember 23, 1989 (1989-09-23)10334.8[3]
After five months of worsening fatigue and pain, Dorothy believes she is seriously ill. Two doctors tell her there's nothing wrong with her, as does a specialist whom Sophia then rebukes. Traveling with Rose to New York City, Dorothy sees neurologist Dr. Budd (Michael McGuire), who tells her she's just aging and any other problem is in her head, despite two psychiatric assessments that she's mentally healthy. Dorothy breaks down, thinking she may be crazy, but Rose reassures her that she is sick. Sophia fears losing Dorothy to an unknown disease. Blanche decides to become a novelist, but immediately suffers writer's block.
1042"Sick and Tired: Part 2"Terry HughesSusan HarrisSeptember 30, 1989 (1989-09-30)10434.8[4]
Harry refers Dorothy to Dr. Chang (Keone Young), who diagnoses her with chronic fatigue syndrome. Although there is no cure, Dorothy is relieved to put a name to her condition. She treats Sophia, Blanche, and Rose to dinner at a fancy restaurant, and sees Dr. Budd in the restaurant with his wife Helen (Bibi Besch). She confronts him, and Helen insists he hear Dorothy out. Dorothy laments his lost humanity and hopes he'll have a better doctor than himself when he needs one someday. Blanche stays awake for three days and deliriously writes a manuscript, but is rejected by publishers. She believes there will be nothing special about her if she fails to achieve fame, but Rose explains that her Minnesota upbringing taught her that friends and family are special.
1053"Accurate Conception"Terry HughesGail ParentOctober 14, 1989 (1989-10-14)10528.4[5]
Blanche's visiting daughter Rebecca (Debra Engle) intends to become a single mother through artificial insemination. Blanche objects; her friends share unusual details about their children's conceptions, but Blanche still considers it unnatural. A visit to a local sperm bank with her roommates and Becky also fails to convince Blanche, but Dorothy finally persuades Blanche to accept that Becky is an adult who must make her own decisions; Blanche apologizes. Dorothy succeeds in getting a reluctant Sophia to have a checkup.
1064"Rose Fights Back"Terry HughesMarc SotkinOctober 21, 1989 (1989-10-21)10630.7[6]
When the company that Rose's husband worked for cuts off his pension, Rose must find a better-paying job. When she goes to a TV station to complain to their investigative reporter, Enrique Mas (Chick Vennera), of the age discrimination that she is facing, she finds that he needs an assistant — and gets the job. Meanwhile, Sophia goes wild buying things in quantity at a warehouse store.
1075"Love Under the Big Top"Terry HughesRichard Vaczy and Tracy GambleOctober 28, 1989 (1989-10-28)10828.8[7]
Dorothy is dating a lawyer (Dick Van Dyke) and believes he is on the verge of proposing. However, he tells her he is leaving law to become a circus clown. Meanwhile, Rose and Blanche put together a protest to save dolphins from tuna fishermen.
1086"Dancing in the Dark"Terry HughesPhillip Jayson LaskerNovember 4, 1989 (1989-11-04)11031.0[8]
Rose becomes romantically interested in her ballroom dancing partner Miles (Harold Gould), a college professor, but begins to doubt that the relationship can work when she meets his intelligent friends.
1097"Not Another Monday"Terry HughesGail ParentNovember 11, 1989 (1989-11-11)10932.2[9]
Sophia's friend Martha (Geraldine Fitzgerald) wants to commit suicide and she wants Sophia there to hold her hand; Blanche, Rose, and Dorothy become singing nursemaids to a sick baby that they are taking care of for the weekend.
1108"That Old Feeling"Terry HughesTom WhedonNovember 18, 1989 (1989-11-18)10733.6[10]
Blanche is visited by her brother-in-law Jamie (George Grizzard) and is taken aback by his resemblance to her late husband George; Sophia secretly starts driving.
1119"Comedy of Errors"Terry HughesDon ReoNovember 25, 1989 (1989-11-25)11331.3[11]
Dorothy finds a list of things that she wanted to accomplish before a certain age and realizes that she has not accomplished many of them, so she signs up to do stand-up comedy at a nightclub. Meanwhile, Blanche finds herself battling the Internal Revenue Service when they discover her failure to report her rental income, and Rose tries to figure out why an employee dislikes her.
11210"All That Jazz"Terry HughesRobert Bruce and Martin WeissDecember 2, 1989 (1989-12-02)11130.1[12]
Dorothy's son, Michael (Scott Jacoby), shows up on her doorstep with news that he has separated from his wife and needs a place to stay; Dorothy tires of his freeloading and dumps him on Stan, who also tires of him. Meanwhile, Rose is under much stress at work, but she is reluctant to ask Enrique Mas to cut back her duties.
11311"Ebb Tide"Terry HughesMarc SotkinDecember 9, 1989 (1989-12-09)11231.4[13]
When Blanche goes back to her childhood home for Big Daddy's funeral, she argues with her sister, Virginia (Sheree North), and decides not to attend. Meanwhile, Sophia tries to raise cash for a TV and rents out the girls' rooms in their absence.
11412"Have Yourself a Very Little Christmas"Terry HughesTom WhedonDecember 16, 1989 (1989-12-16)11531.2[14]
The ladies volunteer at a soup kitchen on Christmas and are shocked when Stan shows up, broke and needing a meal.
11513"Mary Has a Little Lamb"Terry HughesHarold ApterJanuary 6, 1990 (1990-01-06)11734.8[15]
The girls take in 16-year-old pregnant Mary (Julie McCullough), who has been thrown out of her home; Blanche's prison pen pal, Merrill (John Dennis Johnston), has just been released and is looking for her.
11614"Great Expectations"Terry HughesRobert Bruce and Martin WeissJanuary 13, 1990 (1990-01-13)11632.2[16]
Rose joins a positive-thinking group and tries to get a pessimistic Dorothy to join. Meanwhile, Blanche is scared to get physical with her boyfriend Steven (Robert Mandan), especially after he has a heart attack.
11715"Triple Play"Terry HughesGail ParentJanuary 27, 1990 (1990-01-27)11933.0[17]
Blanche tries to lure men by placing an ad for a Mercedes she does not intend to sell. Meanwhile, Rose has to deal with meeting Miles's daughter, Caroline (Molly Hagan); Dorothy discovers Sophia is hoarding Social Security money she's receiving, thanks to a computer error, in excess of her entitlement.
11816"Clinton Avenue Memoirs"Terry HughesRichard Vaczy & Tracy GambleFebruary 3, 1990 (1990-02-03)11432.4[18]
Sophia decides to try to regain some of the memories she has lost by taking a trip to Brooklyn to see their old apartment. Meanwhile, Blanche works for Rose.
Guest stars: Sid Melton as Salvadore Petrillo; Kyle Hefner as young Salvadore; David Correia as Mr. Hernandez, Flo Di Re as young Sophia, Jandi Swanson as young Dorothy.
11917"Like the Beep Beep Beep of the Tom-Tom"Terry HughesPhillip Jayson LaskerFebruary 10, 1990 (1990-02-10)12031.0[19]
Blanche has a pacemaker implanted, and is afterward so scared of intimacy that she decides to give up sex.
12018"An Illegitimate Concern"Terry HughesMarc Cherry and Jamie WootenFebruary 12, 1990 (1990-02-12)11828.2[20]
Blanche is stunned when a young man named David (Mark Moses) comes to the house and claims to be the illegitimate son of her late husband George; Dorothy and Sophia enter a mother-daughter pageant at Shady Pines.
12119"72 Hours"Terry HughesRichard Vaczy and Tracy GambleFebruary 17, 1990 (1990-02-17)12131.3[20]
Rose is afraid that a blood transfusion that she had six years ago may have contained HIV-infected blood, and has to wait three days for her test results (hence the episode's title); Sophia reacts poorly to the possibility of having an HIV-positive roommate. Meanwhile, Dorothy struggles to put together a charity function to save the local wetlands.
Guest stars: Tony Carreiro as the Doctor; Peggy Walton-Walker as receptionist.
12220"Twice in a Lifetime"Terry HughesRobert Bruce and Martin WeissFebruary 24, 1990 (1990-02-24)12232.1[21]
Rose must decide between her boyfriend, Miles, and an old boyfriend (Eddie Bracken) who wants her to go to Europe with him. Meanwhile, fed up with Dorothy's rules, Sophia decides to move out.
12321"Sisters and Other Strangers"Terry HughesMarc Cherry and Jamie WootenMarch 3, 1990 (1990-03-03)12331.0[22]
Blanche and her sister, Charmaine (Barbara Babcock), reconcile after a life-long rivalry, until Blanche reads her sister's recently published romance novel and realizes that the heroine is based on her. Stan's visiting cousin Magda (Marian Mercer) from Czechoslovakia, wears out her welcome doing nothing but extolling the virtues of Communism.
12422"Cheaters"Terry HughesTom WhedonMarch 24, 1990 (1990-03-24)12430.3[23]
Glen O’Brien (Jerry Orbach), the married man Dorothy dated, re-enters her life with news that he is now divorced and would like to reconcile with her; Blanche and Sophia become the victims of a con game at the mall.
12523"The Mangiacavallo Curse Makes a Lousy Wedding Present"Terry HughesPhillip Jayson LaskerMarch 31, 1990 (1990-03-31)12530.0[24]
The girls attend the wedding of Dorothy's goddaughter, who is marrying the grandson of a man who was once engaged to Sophia. Sophia thinks that the wedding reception is the perfect spot for revenge. Rose, however, is dreading the ceremony, due to her tendency to become sexually aroused at weddings. Dorothy asks to grab one of Blanche's former dates for her ceremony accompaniment, but gets mad at Blanche for her advances to him.
12624"All Bets Are Off"Terry HughesEugene B. SteinApril 28, 1990 (1990-04-28)12622.4[25]
Dorothy's gambling problem re-surfaces after a visit to the racetrack; Rose takes up painting; and Blanche is insulted when a co-worker rejects her advances.
12725"The President's Coming! The President's Coming!"Lex PassarisMarc Sotkin, Gail Parent, Martin Weiss, Robert Bruce, Philip Jayson Lasker, Tom Whedon, Marc Cherry, and Jamie WootenMay 5, 1990 (1990-05-05)12724.1[26]
12826128
The girls learn that President Bush (voiced by Harry Shearer) is coming to Miami and their house is a possible stop on his way to a retirement home. The girls reminisce as a Secret Service agent (Timothy Stack) does background checks.

References

  1. ↑ TV Listings for September 23, 1989
  2. ↑ TV Listings for May 5, 1990
  3. ↑ "'Cosby' reclaims the top spot". Life. USA Today. September 27, 1989. p. 3D.
  4. ↑ "NBC wins but loses viewers". Life. USA Today. October 4, 1989. p. 3D.
  5. ↑ "ABC muscles way to the top". Life. USA Today. October 18, 1989. p. 3D.
  6. ↑ "Earthquake shifts the ratings". Life. USA Today. October 25, 1989. p. 3D.
  7. ↑ "NBC's hits beat ABC baseball". Life. USA Today. November 1, 1989. p. 3D.
  8. ↑ "NBC sweeps the week, 1-2-3". Life. USA Today. November 8, 1989. p. 3D.
  9. ↑ "Brokaw still 3rd despite coup". Life. USA Today. November 15, 1989. p. 3D.
  10. ↑ "'Small Sacrifices' wins big". Life. USA Today. November 22, 1989. p. 3D.
  11. ↑ "NBC sweeps up another win". Life. USA Today. November 29, 1989. p. 3D.
  12. ↑ "'Cosby' rebounds to lead NBC". Life. USA Today. December 6, 1989. p. 3D.
  13. ↑ "'Cosby' leads NBC charge". Life. USA Today. December 13, 1989. p. 3D.
  14. ↑ "'Rudolph' shines for CBS". Life. USA Today. December 20, 1989. p. 3D.
  15. ↑ "Football fumbles for ABC". Life. USA Today. January 10, 1990. p. 3D.
  16. ↑ "49ers are ratings winners, too". Life. USA Today. January 17, 1990. p. 3D.
  17. ↑ "AMA gets the popular vote". Life. USA Today. January 31, 1990. p. 3D.
  18. ↑ "'Amen,' wedded to ratings win". Life. USA Today. February 7, 1990. p. 3D.
  19. ↑ "'Faith' abides for No. 1 NBC". Life. USA Today. February 14, 1990. p. 3D.
  20. 1 2 "'Home Videos' a hit for ABC". Life. USA Today. February 21, 1990. p. 3D.
  21. ↑ "'Videos' is a repeat winner". Life. USA Today. February 28, 1990. p. 3D.
  22. ↑ "'Incident' tops Sunday movies". Life. USA Today. March 7, 1990. p. 3D.
  23. ↑ "Fox builds Sunday strength". Life. USA Today. March 28, 1990. p. 3D.
  24. ↑ "ABC gets an Oscar boost". Life. USA Today. April 4, 1990. p. 3D.
  25. ↑ "'Caroline?' a hit, no question". Life. USA Today. May 2, 1990. p. 3D.
  26. ↑ "NBC barely sweeping by CBS". Life. USA Today. May 9, 1990. p. 3D.
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