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Designing Women Online Guestbook Welcome to the Designing Women Online Guestbook, where visitors can scroll or search our full Guestbook Archives!
Although the DW Online Guestbook is not designed to be a message board, we do encourage any fans who've not posted here before to please add your memories of Designing Women or comments on the Designing Women Online website.
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There are now 513 messages in the DWT Guestbook.
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JT
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I was delighted today to run across this fan club site and wanted to share my memories of Designing Women. I recall reading the T.V. Guide Fall Preview issue that year, 1986, looking for new programmes that I might like. One of the new programmes that Autumn was Designing Women. I read the blurb about the show and looked at the photos. The premise sounded interesting enough, but if I am honest, I was put off by the photo of these beautiful women. I thought they were probably overdressed, and they were positively too heavily made up for "professional women." They also had what a friend of mine at the time used to disparagingly call "big hair." Well, after all, it was the 1980s after all! "Big hair, vibrant clothes and makeup, and big, bold perfumes, amongst other things were in fashion, but I recall thinking to myself that women who looked like this were going to set back all professional women by at least 20 years. I myself would never wear that much makeup to my office for example. It would have been considered very unprofessional. In any case, I sort of wrote off the programme in my mind at that point.
However, once the programme aired, I began to watch some of the episodes, and I was thoroughly taken with Linda Bloodworth's very smart, very funny scripts. I was equally taken by the wonderful cast. I soon fell in love with the programme and its characters including Anthony who was so masterfully played by Meshach Taylor. Meshach was absolutely perfect as Anthony, and I cannot imagine anyone in the role.
The casting was so perfect, and the cast were all top notch. I very quickly forgot about the heavy makeup and the big hair. Instead, I was mesmerized by the sensitive, smart, intelligent, and very funny writing and the character's development.
Just think how many American programmes are written by a slew of writers, but this brilliant comedy was written (at least initially) by one incredible writer who brought her characters to life with such a deft hand. And, oh what wonderful characters they were! I was seldom this well entertained, and I found myself laughing out loud with each episode.
I began watching the reruns again a few months ago, and I still love the programme. If possible, I love it even more now in 2025 than I did in 1986 throughout the first 5 seasons. I have often asked myself which character I am most like. I think I am probably most like Julia, but I have a good bit of Mary Jo in me, and at least as a younger woman, I had a nice dollop of Charlene in me with a slight sprinkling of Suzanne. I suppose I have a smidgen of Anthony in me as well for I have made many mistakes in my life, but I think I have learnt good lessons from most of them, and I have always worked to make myself a better person.
I was very sad to learn that dear Dixie and dear Meshach have passed as has Alice Ghostly and more recently Jean's beloved husband Richard Gilliland. Knowing they have passed on makes me feel as though I have lost truly good friends. There are very few programmes I have ever felt I could magically walk into and happily live, but Designing Women is one of those few programmes. I would be both honoured and blessed to have Julia, MaryJo, Charlene, Suzanne, Anthony, and the rest as friends, colleagues, neighbours. They are all such dear, good people.
It is difficult now for me comprehend that the programme is 39 years old. How can that much time have passed already? It seems unreal, but I look in the mirror and know it is all too true for I myself am now a retired old woman living out the last few years of my life. I feel blessed to have the programme available still after all these years, and I continue to marvel M-F at the brilliant scripts and the wonderful cast. Designing Women surely is one of the very best American comedies of all time, and instead of feeling a bit embarrassed by these beautiful women with their heavy makeup and "big hair," I feel honoured to call both they and Linda "sisters" and Meshach brother. These Southern ladies, and this one very special Southern man, have a lot to teach us all about life, laughter, commitment, ethics, morals, intelligence, dignity, class, trust, and above all love. I never tire of them, and I will love them all forever.
22 July 2025
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ferdi
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I LOVE DESIGNING WOMEN!!!!!!
8 May 2024 - texas
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Lucy Sovereign
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This was/is my favorite show !I am currently watching reruns and it never, ever gets old !I am a GRITS(Girls Raised in the South) and love that this is a true, but very humorous and sometimes far-fetched take on today's Southern women. I really appreciate that everyone treats each other with respect and gentility(as Southerners do) and the cast seem to geniunely enjoy each other's company. And there are always happy endings, even if serious issues are addressed.
9 April 2024 - Nashville, Tn
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Christi Marret
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As one of Linda's Claudia Girls, I am forever hopeful to see more of Linda's work come to the big or small screen. Now that Moonves is out of the way, blow us away Linda! We want more!
7 October 2022 - Little Rock, AR
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Stephanie
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Love that sites like this dedicated to classic shows still exist. Designing Women was hilarious and a great 80s treasure, and who didn’t love Julia Sugarbaker?
7 August 2022 - Missouri
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Jeanine Williams **Avid Fan
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I LOVE LOVE LOVE this show !!! I grew up watching it with my mom and All the reruns and the show on other channels and now I stream it ! Doesn’t bother me at all to watch the smaller screen :). I am 50 and my husband and I just drove back from Colorado heading home to TN. As we went through Poplar Bluff I told my husband that I remembered the name from somewhere AND IT IMMEDIATELY CAME TO MIND !!! Love Charlene and All the Southern ladies !! Thank you for a wonderful wholesome show !!!
17 July 2021 - Estill Springs, TN
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Nikki B
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I don't remember much about Designing Women while it was airing, I do remember I liked it though. Mamaw didn't miss an episode. I recently found the first two seasons in a thrift store and watched them with my 10 year old son. We bought seasons 3-5 from Amazon. Julia is his heroine! He loves when she gets fired up. Each character means so much to the show. I'm not sure we will buy the last two seasons, I am not a fan of the cast changes.
13 July 2021 - Parkers Chapel, AR
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Jes
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Curious as to where Designing Women was filmed? As a CBS sitcom, can I assume it was filmed at Television City?
13 January 2021 - Cincinnati
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Tim John
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Re-Watching the entire series on Hulu. I still love it as much as I did during it's original run. The series is so much fun.
5 October 2020 - USA
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Everett
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An excellent resource! Looked this up for an assignment I'm doing for my Introduction to Comedy Television Screenwriting class after we watched the pilot. Glad to see that the community is still alive, too!
1 September 2020 - Los Angeles
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Alicia
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I loved this show. I was a huge fan of all of them. I met Dixie Carter at a signing in Cranston. Big fan of Annie Potts' work too and continued to watch Delta Burke's new show with Teri Garr.
8 June 2020 - Riverview
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Sandra Harjo
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I loved this show growing up! I admired traits of each one and hoped to be like them. Not a bad group of women to look up to in my opinion.
3 April 2019 - Oklahoma
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Diana Gibson
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I always loved this show it always made me laugh. The shows they have mostly now are so serious and full of killing i wish they would bring back this show it was so good the acting was fantastic !! You couldn't help but to fall in love with the characters.
31 August 2018 - Canada
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Gail Johnson
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Hey LBT, I got timed out so will try again. So glad to hear of try for a reboot. I'm sorry so few signed the petition, but millions would appreciate a newer version. Know some of original have gone. Hope you can keep the sister aspect as well as relevant singing. So looking forward to a newer version. With apologies to Pam Norris and others, a real fan can tell which episode you wrote. Good luck and so looking forward
16 August 2018 - Arapahoe, NC
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Barb Schuster
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My all time favorite show. I truly miss it. Julia getting fired up. Their sas. It was a great show. Of all the tv stations with older shows you'd think someone would put it back on. Shame.
17 June 2018 - Magnolia,NJ
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Kellaneese
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I wish this series would become available digitally. I WOULD PURCHASE IT!!!
16 April 2018 - Little Rock, AR
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Gail Johnson
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Never have I seen a show that can make me laugh (not often) and cry (not often either) and it be all in one episode. Please Miss Linda reboot even though I know you would have to recast many or maybe all. PLEASE
13 March 2018 - NC
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Gail Johnson
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There will always be a Kennedy - thanks to Ethel. Now that's a line from DW. How relevant was and is that now. I see so few have signed the petition and I can't say I blame them. I hope the Thomasons visit this site and don't think 10 of thousands would like a reboot; they just don't their email spread EVERYWHERE . Still hoping for a reboot!
25 February 2018 - NC
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Teresa Crockett
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I only have an antenna so a lot of my channels are chocked full of oldies but goodies. For only a brief time, I believe it was GETTV that aired Designing Women but only for a VERY SHORT TIME. I so wish one of these stations would make and KEEP Designing Women on the air as part of their ongoing programming.
8 February 2018 - Rock Hill SC
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Cheryl
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I have loved this show for years!!!! Suzanne always cracks me up, and people say that sometimes I remind them of her. Julias tirades are the best!!!
11 January 2018 - Oregon
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