Goodbye, Mr. Gordon

"It's like we say in St. Olaf, Christmas without fruitcake is like St. Sigmund's Day without the headless boy." This article is incomplete. You can help the Golden Girls Wiki by expanding it.

Goodbye, Mr. Gordon is the fifteenth episode of the seventh season of The Golden Girls and the one-hundred and sixty-ninth episode overall. Directed by Lex Passaris and written by Gail Parent and Jim Vallely, it premiered on NBC-TV on January 11th, 1992.

Summary[]

Dorothy is excited when her eleventh grade English teacher, whom she had a crush on, relocates to Miami and romances her. Sophia worries that he is taking advantage of Dorothy's interest in him, but Dorothy ignores her warnings. Rose is promoted to associate producer at the television station and brings Blanche and Dorothy on a morning talk show to talk about being female roommates, but the ladies are shocked to learn that the talk show is actually about lesbians.

Plot[]

Dorothy gets a phone call from her old High School Teacher Mr. Gordon whom she use to have a crush on and she's glad that he wants to visit. Rose reveals she is assistant producer on Wake Up Miami and needs two women that live together and Blanche and Dorothy are happy to volunteer.

Mr. Gordon comes for lunch and Dorothy happily calls him Malcolm, while she removes Sophia to speak to him, he reveals he has been asked to write an article and is having trouble so Dorothy willingly accepts to write him a draft to get him going. At the TV Studio, Dorothy has flowers from Malcolm and a kiss which leaves her happy to help but when Wake Up, Miami starts she and Blanche discover that the topic is in fact about Lesbians. During the commercial break they confront Rose, who acknowledges her mistake as her simple mind misreading the sentences. The girls threaten to walk out when Rose warns them that she would get fired, then forcing them to hear St. Olaf stories, which has them uncomfortable do the live show. Sophia tries to get a laugh from it only for Dorothy to threaten her with Shady Pines.

Afterwards Blanche is low because only women want to date her, Dorothy is too focused on the Article, which has Sophia warn her that Malcolm is using her like he did in school but she doesn't listen, still besotted by her fantasy. However, Blanche finally gets a man wanting to date her feeling that she was looking for the right guy, then Malcolm comes with his finished Article. Dorothy is horrified; it's just her draft and he didn't even acknowledge her. With that she dumps him.^[1]

Tall Tales[]

Clinton Avenue Memoirs[]

To be added.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

• Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak
• Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux
• Betty White as Rose Nylund
• Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo

Guest Stars[]

• James T. Callahan as Malcolm Gordon
• Jack Bannon as Chuck
• Phil Proctor as Ron
• Jana Arnold as Pat
• Kent Zbornak as Kent

Notes[]

• The credits picture is Dorothy being greeted by one of the other lesbians from Wake Up Miami, who found out about Blanche "dumping" her and asks her out.

Production[]

• Kent Zbornak was a stage manager on the show and on The Golden Palace, and allowed producers to use his surname for Dorothy and Stan.
• James T. Callahan, who played Mr. Gordon, was actually eight years younger than Bea Arthur. Callahan also costarred with fellow guest star Jack Bannon's wife, Ellen Travolta, on the sitcom Charles in Charge.
• Rose's nameplate bears the name "Harold Goldstein", which is the real name of actor Harold Gould, who guest starred as Miles Webber.

Goofs[]

• The comedic effect of the episode hinges on Rose not understanding the meaning of the phrase "sleep with someone". But Rose herself has used the phrase correctly numerous times in previous seasons, both for herself and for others.
• When Dorothy first talks to Mr. Gordon on the telephone, she tells him to meet her at her house, but doesn't give the address. If this is the first time they've spoken, Mr. Gordon wouldn't know where to meet her.

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