tv meme, day 28: first tv show obsession

Ah, the after-school programming. While my early years were spent plopping in front of the TV after a day of school to watch the likes of Darkwing Duck and DuckTales, after a year or two of school, I graduated to a higher level of braininess in my TV choices. Well, okay, maybe not. But I did get hooked on back-to-back reruns of Designing Women.

So how does one know if they've encountered a television obsession? Well, after a daily reran show cycles through an entire seven seasons-worth of episodes and then starts back at the beginning, and you're still keen on tuning in every day, you just might be obsessed. That was the way of it with this highly humorous, Atlanta-set sitcom. And for all the flack it gets for its uber-80s big hair and shoulder pads and synthesizer "moral moments," the show packed a comedic punch. From Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts) the pushover single mom with spunky self-deprecating sense of humor, to the former beauty queen Suzanne Sugarbaker (Delta Burke) the blunt debutante with a brash mouth to match, to Charlene Frazier (Jean Smart) the slow-talking blonde with a heart of gold, to the center of the group Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter) an uber-feminist with a no-nonsense attitude and a series of political tirades to entertain each and every potential viewer. Admittedly so, though the show may've been poked fun at a time or two, it's impossible to deny that this wasn't a talented cast. The ladies of Sugarbaker Designs were never devoid of zingers, and even though it suffered a few slight plotlines in some episodes, this 80s series is worth revisiting or seeing for the first time, if only to acquaint yourself with one of those famous Julia Sugarbaker speeches.