Customer Reviews

Designing Women: The Complete First Season

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a treat it will be to at last be able to enjoy a full season set of this clever,witty and wonderful television comedy series!. In particular episode two, "The Beauty Contest" in which Julia delivers her famous "Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia" tirade to Miss Georgia World 1986 in response to offensive comments made regarding her sister Suzanne. Let us hope that we will be able to look forward to further full season releases in the near future!...

My Wife would give this show 5 stars. It was one of her all time favorites. As I often watch her shows with her I have to give it 3 stars due to the poor quality of the scan. I'm thinking it was done years ago for VHS release. They just grabbed these scans and ran them through software for DVD and shoved them out the door. If you pause the show you can see signs of compression. If you're watching on a 19" tube, probably not a problem, on a 37" LCD it appears like its out of focus. For a new release this is unacceptable. I/m going to pretend to watch and read my paper.
UPDATED 4/12/11 I have noticed other older shows that were "taped in front of a live audience" having the same problem in sharpness. The tapes were most likely recorded analog at a resolution that is in conflict with a DVD's resolution. If not properly converted in skilled hands these shows will suffer some degrading compared to filmed shows. So I am upping my review to 4 stars.

Finally we are getting the seasons of this classic late 80's-early 90's sitcom. I hope they will continue with the rest of the seasons! Thanks to Shout!

I just LOVE Designing Women and I am sooo happy that we are finally getting to see releases of this show finally coming to fruition. The fans have waited much too long!!!! I thought I was one of the only ones who loved this show until I began to read other remarks. It is simply one of the best shows ever. I loved watching this show everyweek when it was new, and then eventually the reruns on Lifetime. One of my favorite episodes was Tornado watch. I think I could relate to any of the women on this show at one time or another and I think for women, that was very appealing. Not to mention the funny situations they got themselves into. And Suzanne and Anthony.....what a combination!!! As the seasons went on they got better and better together. Thanks so much for making this happen and please lets get the other seasons released, or how about releasing the complete series? Please consider!!

Fans of DESIGNING WOMEN began to think that Sony had totally dropped the ball when they only released a five episode "Best Of..." DVD of the series back in 2003. As the years ticked by, with no word about complete season sets of the show, independant company Shout! Factory stepped up to the plate and licensed the rights from Sony (who is seems these days has completely given up on most of it's back-catalogue TV stuff, including "Facts of Life", "Diff'rent Strokes", "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and "The Nanny").

The first season of DESIGNING WOMEN isn't the all-time best, with the actresses still trying to find their feet with the characters. Still, the seeds of greatness are sown and the show only gets better from here on in... You'll meet the staff of Atlanta design firm Sugarbaker & Associates, headed by the staunch, free-thinking Julia Sugarbaker (the late, great Dixie Carter) and her sister, the man-crazed former beauty queen Suzanne (Delta Burke). Sweet-natured secretary Charlene Frazier (Jean Smart) and divorced single mother Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts) round out the team. Reserve your table at Tokyo Gardens. DESIGNING WOMEN is back!

Includes the following episodes:

"Designing Women" (Pilot) - The girls are horrified when Suzanne starts dating the ex-husband of Mary Jo! Guest starring Scott Bakula.

"The Beauty Contest" - Mary Jo is worried when Charlene and Suzanne secretly enter her daughter Claudia (Priscilla Weems) in the Miss Pre-Teen Atlanta pageant, but the proceedings unleash a whole new competitive side to Mary Jo's personality instead! Julia lets rip with her "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" tirade.

"A Big Affair" - Charlene's new boyfriend Mason Dodd (Walter Olkewicz) is overweight...something she can't quite get comfortable with.

"Julia's Son" - Julia and the girls welcome home Payne (George Newbern) for a visit from college...along with his forty-something girlfriend Primmie (Natalie Nogulich).

"Mary Jo's First Date" - She's not even rusty...she's totally corroded! The time has come for Mary Jo to re-enter the dating scene. Has she found her match in J.D. Shackelford (Richard Gilliland)?

"Design House" - The girls land a plum spot at the prestigious Design House '86 Expo...but with flaky Suzanne at the helm, are they asking for trouble? This episode also marks the first appearance of the girls' delivery man and former ex-convict, Anthony Bouvier (Meshach Taylor).

"Perky's Visit" - Julia and Suzanne's mother Perky (Louise Latham), along with her friend, the "just a little off the beam" widow Bernice Clifton (Alice Ghostley), visit for Thanksgiving.

"I Do, I Don't" - Julia and her boyfriend Reese (Hal Holbrook) wind up married after consuming "half the alcohol in Georgia"...and now a shamed Julia must deal with the consequences.

"The IT Men" - Lonely after Mason relocates to Japan, Charlene starts dating a new - but very much married - man...

"The Slumber Party" - Fearful for her life when she believes that her maid is plotting voodoo spells against her, Suzanne joins the girls for a slumber party at Mary Jo's house.

"New Year's Daze" - The girls celebrate New Year's Eve with their boyfriends...Julia is none too pleased that Reese is tied up in New York; whilst Suzanne dates an 82-year-old millionaire. Charlene's undercover boyfriend, Shadow (he of the bullet-hole pants), esapes from prison...

"Old Spouses Never Die" (Parts 1 & 2) - Charlene discovers a lump in her breast, but her regular doctor is dangerously non-plussed in his diagnosis. Meanwhile, Mary Jo and J.D.'s respective ex-partners cause fiction in their relationship.

"Monette" - Charlene is thrilled to see her old highschool best friend Monette (Bobbie Ferguson), who now prefers to be called Monica, move back to town, but she's not prepared for the revelation that Monette is a high-class "love consultant".

"And Justice for Paul" - The girls are arrested when they visit the warehouse of a friend, which contains thousands of dollars worth of stolen designer goods.

"Reese's Friend" - Julia sees red when Reese's new working associate Shannon (Lisa Peluso) makes no secret of wanting to pursue a relationship with him.

"Nashville Bound" - Is Charlene on her way to the Grand Ole Opry? When a talent scout picks her up at a bar, gullible Charlene once again allows herself to be headed for heartbreak.

"Oh, Suzannah" - Eyebrows are raised when Suzanne agrees to temporarily house a Vietnamese orphan. But soon little Li-Sing (Connie Lew) is so taken with her new "mother" that she refuses to leave!

"Mary Jo's Dad Dates Charlene" - Mary Jo is horrified when she notices more than a small spark of chemistry between her divorced father (Geoffrey Lewis) and Charlene.

"Seams from a Marriage" - The girls become swept up in the glamorous world of Sissy and Shelby Tate (Janet Carroll and Guy Boyd), their new zillionaire clients.

"Grand Slam, Thank You Ma'am" - Suzanne's ex-husband, baseball player Jack Dent (Gregg Henry) writes his autobiography - which features many romantic "incidents" that didn't involve Suzanne...

"Bachelor Suite" - Mary Jo becomes the latest victim of the firm's womanising new client Hence Winchester (Ted Le Plat), just when her relationship with J.D. enters it's next stage.

Excerpts from a 2006 cast reunion Q&A are included on the fourth disc. This event was held at the Paley Center after it screened the pilot episode of the show. Series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and the original girls are all on hand to share their backstage tales. Fascinating for the serious fans.

DESIGNING WOMEN's fanbase should be pleased that Shout! Factory seems firmly committed to their task of releasing the show in it's entirety (the fourth season is about to hit shelves as I'm writing this review). Whether or not they'll be as timely or forthcoming once the show reaches the Julia Duffy/Jan Hooks episodes (Season 7) is a big question though, as that final year isn't as popular with the fans.

Finally, and perhaps fashionably late, the show 'Designing Women' makes a proper, full season, DVD debut. Watching the first full season of this show is both enjoyable if not a bit surprising. Usually, it takes a normal show an entire season to really define itself and find its legs. That is not the case with this show. I was surprised by how many remarkable big moments occurred within the first season. You have the famous Julia Sugarbaker 'The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia' speech, a big episode about women's health and breast cancer, sexual harassment and even issues of race (and of course gender) all packed into one season.

Quality wise, the only video-to-dvd transfer that seemed off was the pilot episode. When I saw it, I was worried how the remainder of the episodes were going to appear. Yet, by the second episode, the transfer and quality are of little concern. Plot/content wise, the episodes do not disappoint. Most left me in tears from laughing or from the sheer honesty/sincere words these characters spoke. What works best with 'Designing Women' is that while it's a comedy and is aimed at making you smile and laugh, it managed to take on big, at times daunting, issues that no one at the time took on. Watching the whole first season will in fact make you wonder what's happened to television because this, like other shows from this era, is a real show that portrayed life-like characters that you can't wait to watch and wish you could have the opportunity to interact with.

I also am more than pleased that Shout Factory chose to include the panel/reunion at the Paley Center for Media from 2006. While some may skip over this feature thinking it's boring and dull, I encourage everyone to actually watch it. Hearing how the show came about from the creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason made me appreciate the show even more. Hearing the actors and their individual anecdotes and stories on the characters, favorite lines, quotes in this live setting really was enjoyable because, like the show, it contained moments of pure amusement and laughter as well as very telling, intimate moments that made me appreciate this show and those involved even more.

In all, a great release and a must own for anyone looking for quality television that'll have you both laughing and thinking at the same time.

Why are they charging so much? I love this series,
but am not willing to pay that price.
I will wait to buy it used for less!
But, I am very glad that they have finally released it.

OMG I grew up on this show and I have always wanted to own all the seasons on DVD. Thank you so much for releasing this.

Amidst so much economic uncertainly, God has blessed us again with our favorite four Southern Women. We've all waited for so many years to have the complete seasons in our home collections. This is something we will all enjoy again, show our children and grandchildren. May 26th will be a happy day!

Finally this show is being released! It's a wonderful show with strong female roles that show women can be fun, smart, even sexy and still be strong business women, too. The Beauty Pageant episode is the one with Julia's "The Nights the Lights Went out in Georgia" and I believe that the first season is where Suzanne's ex Jack gets revenge by writing a tell-all book, also this season is where we meet Payne, Julia's son, and his much older girlfriend. These are just a few of the classic episodes- and I am so glad it's finally being released- Thanks to Shout! Keep the seasons coming!