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"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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The Auction is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of The Golden Girls and the eighty-eighth episode overall. Directed by Terry Hughes and written by Eric Cohen, it premiered on NBC-TV on January 14th, 1989.

Summary[]

The girls face a badly-leaking roof, but cannot afford to replace it. To get their minds off their troubles, they head to a gallery opening at Blanche's museum, where the obnoxious and rude Jasper DeKimmel is being feted. When Sophia reveals that DeKimmel is dying of a rare blood disease, Blanche hatches a scheme to purchase one of his paintings on the cheap and then sell it for a big profit after he passes away.

Plot[]

To be added.[1]

Tall Tales[]

Picture It...[]

To be added.

Back in St. Olaf...[]

To be added.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

  • Tony Steedman as Jasper DeKimmel
  • Michael McManus as Sid LaBass
  • Colin Hamilton as Auctioneer
  • Renata Scott as Woman
  • Derek Loughran as Mime

Notes[]

  • Blanche's house must be huge. The roofer estimates a new roof will cost $10,000. The average cost of a new roof in 2017 dollars is $5,000 to $15,000 depending on materials used and the square footage of the house. Converted to 1988 dollars, that would be approximately $2,410 to $7,240.
  • The ladies couldn't afford to pay $10,000 for a new roof. Dorothy said they could barely afford the $200 patch job. At the auction, they bought the painting for $9,000. Add in Sophia's $3,000, and they somehow spent $6,000 -- which still seemed unaffordable.

Cultural references[]

  • After Rose details the sweets she ate, Dorothy responds, "I'm surprised you didn't try to kill the mayor of San Francisco." This is in reference to Dan White, who killed San Francisco mayor George Moscone and Mayoral Supervisor Harvey Milk. An urban legend has sprung up that White's attorney said that sweets contributed to White's depression, and this came to be known as the "Twinkie defense". In reality, the actual argument was that his junk food consumption was a symptom of mental illness, not the cause of it.
  • The girls observe the roofer talking harshly on the phone and they fear asking him for a deal on the roof. The same joke is used in two episodes of Family Ties: "Margin of Error" and "The Job Not Taken".

Goofs[]

  • Depending on landlord-tenant laws in Florida before January 1989, Blanche most likely bears the ultimate financial responsibility of providing the other three girls a new roof since she is the landlord and homeowner, so they would have no incentive to chip in on a work of art by Jasper DeKimmel in order to pay for it.
  • Blanche describes a piece of Jasper DeKimmel's on a brochure as non-representational art. Less than ten seconds later, she starts pointing out elements of said piece as representing, signifying, or standing for certain real-life things.

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List of The Golden Girls episodes

Season 1 The EngagementGuess Who's Coming to the WeddingRose the PrudeTransplantThe TriangleOn Golden GirlsThe CompetitionBreak-InBlanche and the Younger ManThe Heart AttackThe Return of Dorothy's ExThe Custody BattleA Little RomanceThat Was No LadyIn a Bed of Rose'sThe Truth Will OutNice and EasyThe OperationSecond MotherhoodAdult EducationThe FluJob HuntingBlind AmbitionsBig DaddyThe Way We Met
Season 2 End of the CurseLadies of the EveningTake Him, He's MineIt's a Miserable LifeIsn't It RomanticBig Daddy's Little LadyFamily AffairVacationJoust Between FriendsLove, Rose'Twas The Nightmare Before ChristmasThe SistersThe Stan Who Came to DinnerThe ActorBefore and AfterAnd Then There Was OneBedtime StoryForgive Me, FatherLong Day's Journey into MarinaraWhose Face is This, Anyway?Dorothy's Prized PupilDiamond in the RoughSon-in-Law DearestTo Catch a NeighborA Piece of CakeEmpty Nests
Season 3 Old FriendsOne for the MoneyBringing Up BabyThe HousekeeperNothing to Fear But Fear ItselfLetter to GorbachevStrange BedfellowsBrotherly LoveA Visit from Little SvenThe AuditThree on a CouchCharlie's BuddyThe ArtistBlanche's Little GirlDorothy's New FriendGrab That DoughMy Brother, My FatherGolden Moments, Part 1Golden Moments, Part 2And Ma Makes ThreeLarceny and Old LaceRose's Big AdventureMixed BlessingsMister TerrificMother's Day
Season 4 Yes, We Have No HavanasThe Days and Nights of Sophia PetrilloThe One That Got AwayYokel HeroBang the Drum, StanleySophia's Wedding, Part 1Sophia's Wedding, Part 2Brother, Can You Spare That JacketScared StraightStan Takes a WifeThe AuctionBlind DateThe Impotence of Being ErnestLove Me TenderValentine's DayTwo Rode TogetherYou Gotta Have HopeFiddler On the RopesTill Death Do We VolleyHigh AnxietyLittle SisterSophia's ChoiceRites of SpringForeign ExchangeWe're Outta Here, Part 1We're Outta Here, Part 2
Season 5 Sick and Tired, Part 1Sick and Tired, Part 2The Accurate ConceptionRose Fights BackLove Under the Big TopDancing in the DarkNot Another MondayThat Old FeelingComedy of ErrorsAll That JazzEbb TideHave Yourself a Very Little ChristmasMary Has a Little LambTriple PlayClinton Avenue MemoirsLike the Beep Beep Beep of the Tom-TomAn Illegitimate Concern72 HoursTwice In a LifetimeSisters and Other StrangersCheatersThe Mangiacavallo Curse Makes a Lousy Wedding PresentAll Bets Are OffThe President's Coming! The President's Coming!, Part 1The President's Coming! The President's Coming!, Part 2
Season 6 Blanche DeliversOnce, In St. OlafIf At Last You Do SucceedSnap Out Of ItWham, Bam, Thank You MammyFeelingsZborn AgainHow Do You Solve a Problem Like Sophia?Mrs. George DevereauxGirls Just Wanna Have Fun... Before They DieStand By Your ManEbbtide's RevengeThe Bloom Is Off the RoseSisters of the BrideMiles to GoThere Goes the Bride, Part 1There Goes the Bride, Part 2Older and WiserMelodramaEven Grandmas Get the BluesWitnessWhat a Difference a Date MakesLove for SaleNever Yell Fire in a Crowded Retirement Home, Part 1Never Yell Fire in a Crowded Retirement Home, Part 2Henny Penny — Straight, No Chaser
Season 7 Hey, Look Me OverThe Case of the Libertine BelleBeauty and the BeastThat's For Me to KnowWhere's Charlie?Mother LoadDateline: MiamiThe Monkey Show, Part 1The Monkey Show, Part 2Ro$e Love$ Mile$Room SevenFrom Here to the PharmacyThe Pope's RingOld BoyfriendsGoodbye, Mr. GordonThe CommitmentsQuestions and AnswersEbbtide VI: The Wrath of StanJourney to the Center of AttentionA Midwinter Night's Dream, Part 1A Midwinter Night's Dream, Part 2Rose: Portrait of a WomanHome Again, Rose, Part 1Home Again, Rose, Part 2One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest, Part 1One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest, Part 2

References[]

  1. The Golden Girls, Season 4, Episode 11, “The Auction”. Cohen, Eric (writer) & Hughes, Terry (director) (January 14th, 1989)