Designing Women: The Final Season

"You Must Be the Sugarbakers...I'm Bonnie-Jean Poteet"
This July, one of the most beloved, well-crafted, character-driven sitcoms will finally be complete on DVD thanks to Shout Factory, when Season 7 of "Designing Women" is released.

In 1992 "Designing Women" was coming off its highest ratings in the series' history following the replacement of half the cast, including the show's big breakout character. A remarkable achievement in lieu of the fact that one of the replacements was very poorly received by audiences. The producers decided to let Julia Duffy go because they felt the show was tarnished by such an unlikeable character. In the years since, it seems unanimous that it was the writing and NOT Duffy's performance that caused the backlash.

For Season 7, veteran stage/character actress Judith Ivey was brought in as the now-revolving fourth member of Sugarbakers (rumour has it after Bonnie Hunt turned down the part). As extremely-rich-but-down-to-earth widow B.J. Poteet, Ivey is a terrific addition to the...

The End Is Here.
Not having seen this since it originally aired 20 years ago(!), my memory of this season was, to put it mildly, a little hazy. The only episode I actually remembered was the Gone With The Wind spoof two-parter that served as the show's swan song. My other recollection was that I liked the addition of Judith Ivey and I thought overall that this was a better season than the previous one. So now it feels like I'm watching it again for the first time. And here's what I've deduced.
1) Season Six Was Better. As much as Julia Duffy's character (an extension of her Newhart role) was universally hated, overall I felt Season Six had better stories and better laughs. In contrast the first six episodes of Season Seven are dreadful, but if you make it through those, things definitely improve. And in retrospect, Duffy really wasn't that bad in Season Six, she was simply stuck with an unlikable Suzanne-filler that she couldn't do much with. The character of Carlene was much more successful...

I (unlike many) LOVE the later episodes!
DVD itself came sealed and works as intended with no flaws in viewing. Price of course is always better (OK, almost always better) on Amazon!

The episodes of the final season are probably not regarded as the best in the series, but I truly love the later episodes. The introduction of the charachter BJ and the continuation of Carlene from the season prior are great additions to this season. The feeling of the shows is much more "fun," than prior early seasons when the actors tend to be more business-like for lack of a better term. As they get more and more comfortable with each passing year their characters seems to take on more personality and become increasingly fun and relaxed on each episode, especially Julia and Mary Jo. Very stoic and business oriented, they become increasingly fun and down-to-earth as the series goes on.

I personally love the entire series from season 1 right to the end. This season might not fit everyone's idea of the best season, but I...

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