"It's like we say in St. Olaf, Christmas without fruitcake is like St. Sigmund's Day without the headless boy."
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Mother Load is the sixth episode of the seventh season of The Golden Girls and the one-hundred and sixtieth episode overall. Directed by Lex Passaris and written by Marc Cherry and Jamie Wooten, it premiered on NBC-TV on October 26th, 1991.
Blanche's relationship with a local newscaster is threatened by both his over-protective mother, and by Rose's efforts to uncover embarrassing secrets about him for an upcoming surprise birthday party. Stan convinces Dorothy to join him at a counselling session, only for her to realize that he's having her attend couples' therapy with him.
Plot[]
Stan shows up to try and get Dorothy to agree to come to a couple therapy sessions so he can attempt to get over her and get “closure”. Rose invites her friend, and rock star local TV newscaster, Jerry Kennedy over to try and write down any quirks he might have for a roast she is preparing for his birthday. Once Jerry arrives, Blanche somehow convinces him to join her for lunch the next day. Once Blanche arrives at home from her night out with Jerry, his mother comes to the house to threaten Blanche not to see her son again. Dorothy agrees to come to therapy with Stan, but to her dismay, Stan tricked Dorothy and brought her to a couples therapist. At the session, The Doctor reveals that Stan needs closure from Sophia, not Dorothy, because he never got closure from his own mother who neglected him. After a session with Sophia, Stan is forgiven for treating Dorothy poorly over the years. Finally, at a meeting with Blanche, Jerry and his mother, Blanche helps Jerry realize that he shouldn’t need his mom’s approval to be with the woman he cares about. Sadly, this leaves him to want to be with another woman, and not Blanche.[1]
At the end of the episode, Blanche asks, "Does anybody know how to say 'vulnerable' in Spanish?" Vulnerable in Spanish is vulnerable.
Production[]
Betty White had a stiff neck while filming this episode as evidenced by how she cannot turn her head.
Steve Landesberg plays Stan Zbornak's therapist. Though they never appeared together, both previously appeared in the police sitcom Barney Miller, Landesberg as a series regular, Sgt. Arthur Deitrich who ultimately replaced Abe Vigoda's character, Detective Fish, and Herb Edelman appeared in a season 1 episode as a mafia witness.
Goofs[]
The last name of Peter Graves and Meg Wyllie's characters is Kennedy. The credits, however, give their name as Scott.
