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To Catch a Neighbor is the twenty-fourth episode of the second season of The Golden Girls and the forty-ninth episode overall. Directed by Terry Hughes and written by Russell Marcus, the episode premiered on NBC-TV on May 2nd, 1987.
Synopsis[]
The girls allow two undercover cops to use their house as a base for spying on their new neighbors, who are suspected of being jewel thieves. Dorothy develops a crush on the senior detective and Sophia takes advantage of this. In the middle of the night, the neighbors' house is raided as they try to sell the diamonds and they are arrested, but the junior cop is shot in the process, discouraging Dorothy's notions of a relationship.
Plot[]
Shortly after the girls welcome their new neighbors, the McDowells, two police detectives, Al Mullins and Bobby Hopkins, arrive with some unsettling news: the girls' new neighbors are really dealers in stolen gems. After some debate, the girls decide to let the two police detectives use the house for a stakeout. The police detectives share the kitchen and are bugging the phones. It's clear that Dorothy is attracted to Al and Rose tries to help but is told to stop as they are dealing with dangerous people. Later that day, Martha McDowell comes over and Sophia somehow manages to convince her that the police detectives are her son and grandson. Martha invites them for dinner and after she leaves, Al and Bobby request that one of the girls plants a transmitter in the house. Dorothy decides to do it, partly due to her feelings for Al. After the dinner, the transmitter is working perfectly and Al tries to ask Dorothy out. That night, Blanche admits that she has a motherly feeling for Bobby and since his mother is far away, he asks if he can visit, which Blanche agrees to. That night, the deal goes down and the police detectives go to confront them. The girls listen for sounds and hear gunshots. Al returns and they learn that Bobby has been shot. The next day, Bobby is at the hospital recovering from a bullet in the shoulder and Al reveals that the McDowells have been arraigned. As the girls except for Dorothy go with Bobby, Al admits his feelings for Dorothy but after she realizes that she's too scared to date him as the next time he leaves the house he might die, they decide to stay friends.[1]
Tall Tales[]
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[]
- Joe Campanella as Al Mullins
- George Clooney as Bobby Hopkins
- Barbara Tarbuck as Martha McDowell
Notes[]
- Joseph Campanella and Betty White have both appeared on The Bold and the Beautiful.
- The background shot during the closing credits features Dorothy, Rose and Blanche, looking back at Sophia, while they are all sitting on the floor.
- This is the first mention of Blanche's son Matthew Devereaux.
- The scene before the girls go to the McDowells for dinner is the hardest Dorothy ever hits Rose throughout the entire show.
Cultural references[]
- The title is a reference to the 1955 Alfred Hitchcock film To Catch a Thief.
- Detective Mullins tells the ladies that they have every right to refuse to let them stay at and perform surveillance from their house. This is correct according the Third Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
- Sophia mentions Oliver North when comforting Dorothy the night before they plant a bug in the McDowell residence. North had served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 and on the National Security Council from 1981 to 1986 when President Ronald Reagan fired him for his alleged participation in the Iran-Contra affair.
Goofs[]
- Rose mentioned that she saw the McDowells at the grocery store and wrote down everything they bought. When Martha comes over, she mentions that Rose followed her around the store the day before, but all the characters were in the same clothes, which meant a day hadn't passed yet.
- At the table during breakfast, a bowl of grapes disappears and reappears several times in front of Sophia.
[]
References[]
- ↑ The Golden Girls, Season 2, Episode 24, “To Catch a Neighbor”. Marcus, Russell (writer) & Hughes, Terry (director) (May 2nd, 1987)