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Barbara Weston

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Barbara Weston is a central character in the first four seasons of the 1988 NBC sitcom Empty Nest, and a minor character in its parent series The Golden Girls. The middle daughter of Harry and Libby Weston, Barbara is a fun-loving, financially-troubled police officer, always upbeat and carefree unless she’s trotting out the door for her latest undercover assignment. When her father finds out that she is thousands of dollars in debt, he insists she move back in with him, but her fast-paced lifestyle isn’t exactly what he was expecting.

Barbara appeared in the first four seasons of Empty Nest and two episodes of Empty Nest's parent series, The Golden Girls. She is portrayed by Kristy McMichol.

Personality and Traits[]

Barbara definitely likes to have fun, a characteristic displayed by her various relationships over the years. She isn’t necessarily looking for any long-term commitments, but instead just goes out with guys she thinks she’d have a good time with. Her looks and personality give her the pick of any man she’d like, which doesn’t please her sister, Carol. Barbara has a very good handle on who she is, and calls the things she enjoys "Barbara Things". These things include chilidogs, Bruce Springsteen music, and police work.[1]

Barbara takes her job as a police officer very seriously and is extremely dedicated to her work. She is often seen wearing unusual undercover disguises, dressed as anything from a nun[2] to a prostitute.[3] She dumped a previous police partner because he wouldn't keep the things they spoke about confidential, but then had trouble sticking with the partner that replaced him because, despite him keeping their conversations confidential, he was dating Carol and ended up cheating on her.[4] As the series progresses, Barbara becomes more mature and responsible, such as when she decides she is ready to be a mother and considers artificial insemination, although she opts instead to focus on her career. Her hard work and determination pay off during Season 4, when she is promoted to sergeant.

At times, Barbara does tire of being perky and upbeat. She admits to feeling sad and lonely at times, but she isn’t sure how her father and sister would react to seeing her that way.[5] When Carol stops a criminal at a mall and is hailed as a hero, Barbara began to feel lost and threw herself into her police work, which led her to be suspended from the force until she could work her emotions out.[1]

Biography[]

Childhood[]

Barbara was born in Miami, Florida to Harry and Libby Weston in 1962, four and a half years after her older sister Carol.[6][7] In their childhood, Barbara was regarded as the "adorable" one, while Carol was the "smart" one.[7]

One year for Easter, Harry got each of the girls a baby chick. The next day, Barbara came running into the house crying that Carol's chick was dead. If Carol is to be believed, Barbara killed her own chick so she could have Carol's chick -- but Barbara insisted that the dead chick was Carol's, as "it had the same depressing peep" that Carol had.[8]

When Barbara was ten, she and Carol spent a summer at Camp Wee-Ma-Wok. They made their own Indian headdresses and got "Indian names", with Barbara's being "Swims-Like-A-Fish". Barbara got a crush on a boy named Gordon D'Amico, but Carol ended up stealing him away from her. To cover up their dating, Gordon snuck around to keep Barbara from seeing him and he told Barbara that he had to leave because his family died in a freak summer avalanche.[9]

Adulthood[]

To be added.

Returning Home[]

“Barbara: I started out with a very good system. Every time I'd get in too deep with one credit card, I'd get a cash advance from the other to bail me out. Everything was fine until the Visa people got greedy and demanded more than the Mastercard people were willing to give.

Harry: So you paid them.
Barbara: No, I applied for American Express.”

— Barbara reveals to her family that she's in debt; "Full Nest" (1989)

Barbara's apartment building chose to go condo, and due to her bad credit, Barbara was unable to buy her apartment or take out a loan to do so. Additionally, a lien was placed on her salary to ensure she paid of the $15,000 debt she had accrued. In order to have a place to live, Barbara decided to move in with a coworker, insisting that everything would be fine as he was engaged to a friend of hers. However, Frank tried to seduce Barbara the night she moved in, and Barbara beat him up badly enough that he could no longer touch his nose with his tongue. Barbara then moved in with Carol.[10]

Barbara held hostage; Witness (1991)

Barbara held hostage; Witness (1991)

Barbara appeared on two episodes of The Golden Girls. In "Witness", Barbara stops by to follow up on Sophia's report of missing glasses. She returns later in the episode to return Sophia's glasses, which had been turned in at the station, and unknowingly walks into a hostage situation caused by The Cheeseman. Barbara pretends to be just as helpless as the rest of the household, only to surprise The Cheeseman with her own firearm and rearrest him, borrowing a pair of Blanche's handcuffs as someone else called the station to take The Cheeseman away.[11]

In A Midwinter Night's Dream, Barbara confronts Sophia, who had been attempting to start a fight between Barbara and Carol in order to break a Sicilian curse.

Family[]

Template:Westonfam

Career[]

To be added.

Quotes[]

Season 1[]

“Oh, my god, two whole days? Daddy, I was on a stakeout!”
— Barbara's first line; "Pilot" (1988)


Appearances[]

Empty Nest (1988-1992)[]





Template:ENSeason5Appearances

Template:ENSeason7Appearances

Casting and Development[]

Near the start of Season 5, Kristy McNichol left the series unexpectedly for health reasons, leaving no time for a sendoff episode for Barbara. For a short while, she is said to be out of town and afterward has apparently moved to Tucson, Arizona. During the final episode, Barbara returns home to pack up her things when Harry sells the house.

Trivia[]

  • Barbara received dance lessons when she was a child.
  • Barbara was the first of the Weston girls to lose their virginity.

Site Navigation[]

V - E - H
Empty Nest characters
Main Cast Barbara Weston • Carol Weston • Charley Dietz • Dreyfuss
Harry Weston • Laverne Todd • Maxine Douglas • Sophia Petrillo
Recurring Cast Ben Braxton • Doris • Emily Weston • Fred Dietz • Jeffrey Millstein • Kevin Millen • Lurlene Moss • Matt Kane • Miss Bingham • Mr. Garrison • Nick Todd • Patrick Arcola • Scotty Weston • Ursula Dietz

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Empty Nest, Season 2, Episode 6, “Rambo of Neiman Marcus”. Harris, Susan and Kogen, Arnie (writers) & Zuckerman, Steve (director) (November 11th, 1989)
  2. ↑ Empty Nest, Season 1, Episode 8, “What's a Father to Do?”. Cooper, Rod (writer) & Cooper, Hal (director) (December 3rd, 1988)
  3. ↑ Empty Nest, Season 1, Episode 2, “The Check Isn't in the Mail”. Jacobs, Gary (writer) & Cooper, Hal (director) (October 22nd, 1988)
  4. ↑ Empty Nest, Season 2, Episode 4, “Between a Cop and a Hard Place”. Levy, Neil Alan (writer) & Zuckerman, Steve (director) (October 28th, 1989)
  5. ↑ Empty Nest, Season 3, Episode 17, "The Dog Who Knew Too Much”. Jacobs, Gary (writer) & Zuckerman, Steve (director) (February 9th, 1991)
  6. ↑ Empty Nest, Season 1, Episode 1, “Pilot”. Harris, Susan (writer) & Sandrich, Jay (director) (October 8th, 1988)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Empty Nest, Season 1, Episode 5, “Father of the Bride”. Harris, Susan (writer) & Cooper, Hal (director) (November 12th, 1988)
  8. ↑ Empty Nest, Season 1, Episode 3, “Barbara Gets A Shot”. Reo, Don (writer) & Cooper, Hal (director) (October 25th,1988)
  9. ↑ Empty Nest, Season 4, Episode 3, “Her Cheatin' Heart”. Dougherty, Pat (writer) & Zuckerman, Steve (director) (October 5th, 1991)
  10. ↑ Empty Nest, Season 1, Episode 12, “Full Nest”. Beavers, Susan (writer) & Cooper, Hal (director) (January 15th, 1989)
  11. ↑ The Golden Girls, Season 6, Episode 21, “Witness”. Hurwitz, Mitchell (writer) & Buzby, Zane (director) (March 9th, 1991)
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