Empty Nests

 was the 26th and season finale episode of Season 2 of The Golden Girls, also the 51st overall episode of the series. Directed by Jay Sandrich and written by Susan Harris, it premiered on NBC-TV, originally airing on May 16, 1987.

The episode was a backdoor pilot for what would eventually become "Empty Nest."

Synopsis
Paul Dooley and Rita Moreno suddenly appear and then disappear as friends and  neighbors of Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia contending with family and friends in this initial spin-off pilot idea for Empty Nest. The family is never seen or mentioned again.

Plot
A failed backdoor pilot for a spinoff series. In Empty Nest, the girls' friend Renee who had never been seen or mentioned prior to the episode, is feeling depressed and lonely with her children all grown up and have moved out and her husband's workaholic habits. Eventually another Golden Girls spin off called Empty Nest does launch featuring a different cast (other then Leisure)  and different characters. The episode is considered one the worst of the 80's trend of using an episode of a popular series as a pilot for a new series.

Guest Cast

 * George Corliss - Paul Dooley
 * Renee Corliss - Rita Moreno
 * Oliver - David Leisure
 * Jenny Corliss - Jane Harnick
 * Chuck - Geoffrey Lewis