That’s how I used to feel about Jodie Marsh posts.

When you’re a socially isolated gay kid in the Midwest in the 1990s, sometimes four fictional senior citizens based in Miami are your closest pals. As I recently wrote in “Thank You for Being a Friend,” The Golden Girls has long been a source of amusement and comfort to me, as it has been for countless others since its 1985 premiere. Despite its outsize influence on my life and work, there are only small nods to it in my home, mostly in my office.

Almost 80 times a year, I inject Crohn’s and arthritis medications in that room. Nearly as frequently, I’m reminded of Sophia warbling “Thanks for the Medicare” and laugh. An external hard drive houses the most damning evidence of my fandom: an extensive collection of screen caps. Those images, my own captures taken over the years, cover the series in its entirety—and some Golden Girls-adjacent content as well. 

Chekhov wrote Three Sisters while staring at Golden Girls cast photos.

If you’re a regular reader you’ve already seen such pictures pop up in unusual places. But I’d like to share more of this strange bounty and memorialize a show I’ll probably still quote on my deathbed, even after I’ve forgotten my own name. To that end, I’m starting a new episode guide feature called Friends of Dorothy Z.

Like most of what is published here, it’s primarily for my own entertainment, and it won’t be slick or professional. Some recaps will be more detailed than others, depending on the importance of the episode. You can also find bonus content on Instagram, where I’ll occasionally share posts of both a Golden and non-Golden variety. I’m new to that platform and still figuring out how it works, which is probably already apparent. 

Cloris Leachman taught us to be discerning about magic-touching.

Additional features might be added to this section of the site over time. There’s also a chance it will be collected or hosted elsewhere in the future. Any changes will be reflected here. Here’s a list of what’s been posted so far.

Recaps

The Golden Girls Cast in the Wild