Big Daddy's Little Lady (S2E6)

Synopsis: Blanche's father Big Daddy returns and brings along his much younger fiance, the widah Spencer; Rose and Dorothy enter a song writing contest prompting a piano to magically appear in their living room.

80s Flashback

Sophia: “Great news. Theresa Lombardi passed away.”

Dorothy: “Ma, what's so great about that?”

Sophia: “Her husband Freddy, he has nothing to do, and neither one of us has seen 'Ruthless People.'”

Crazy Continuity

Big Daddy is now played by David Wayne and no mention of the fact that he ever tried to be a country musician.

Musical Moments

Where do we begin?

Rose's high school fight song: “Onward St. Olaf/Onward we go/Onward and onward St.Olaf's go/Go, go, go/Go, go, go/Go go...”

Miami song attempt #1: “Miami is nice/So I'll say it twice/Miami is nice, Miami is nice/Miami is...”

Miami song attempt #2: “M-l-A, another M-I/M-l-A-M-I spells Miami Beach/It stirs emotion/It's by the ocean/So bring your suntan lotion...”

Miami song attempt #3: "I have to say what I feel Miami has so much appeal/A great place to get a seafood meal Miami/Miami, Miami You've got style/Blue skies, sunshine White sand by the mile/When you live in this town Each day is sublime/The coldest of winters Are warm and divine/Miami, Miami You've got style/Blue skies, sunshine White sand by the mile/There's more clubs and nightclubs All within reach/Dance the samba till morning Then lie on the beach/Each view is a postcard Each day a great time/The cream of the crop It's the top of the line/Miami, Miami You've got style/Blue skies, sunshine White sand by the mile/Miami, You've got style!"

That’s What She Said

Dorothy, to Rose: “I don't know if I could get my hand that far up your dress. But for $10,000, I'd be willing to give it a try.”

Lewd Ladies

Blanche: “People in their seventies and eighties can have great sex.”

Sophia: “Yeah, with people in their seventies and eighties. Put me in a bedroom with Tom Cruise and you'd be peeling me off the ceiling.”

Picture It

Sophia: “Hey, in Italy, for five dollars you got a woman, a manicure, a cappuccino, and a box of Milano cookies to take home to your wife. A fact. Use it as you wish.”

Zbornak Zingers

Big Daddy, to Blanche: “Let me look at you. Oh you're still as pretty as a ladybug sunning itself on a lily pad on a misty spring day south of Savannah.”

Dorothy: “Could you be more specific, Big Daddy?”

Insult Watch

Dorothy: “Rose, I have to confess, I dabbled a little in poetry-writing in high school.”

Rose: “Well that's nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of tall girls who couldn't get dates wrote poetry in high school.”

Product Placement

Sophia: “Let's see. Maria Malanero, 85, died of natural causes, survived by her husband Tony Malanero.”

Dorothy: “Ma, you're getting dates out of the obituaries? That's sick.”

Sophia: “It is not sick. It's practical. Life is for the living. Maria's loss is my date for the Early Bird Special at the Howard Johnson's.”

Sassy Sophia

Big Daddy: “Do my eyes deceive me or do I see Sophia Petrillo standing before me? Or did you all get Sophia Loren as the new roommate?”

Sophia: “Get out the boots. He's back.”

Dorothy Zbornak is My Spirit Animal

Blanche: “Hello there. I'm Blanche Devereaux.”

Dorothy: “Yes, Blanche, this is, uh... I'd like you to meet, uh… Say hello to Big Mommy.”

Back in St. Olaf

Rose: “And then once, in grade school, I cross bred a rutabaga and a potato, but I couldn't decide whether to call it a 'rutatato' or a 'potatobaga.'”

Dorothy: “You'll have to excuse Rose. That hose dance brings up a lot of childhood memories.”

Later, Rose tells the opposites attract story of OIlie Stettlenmeyer, the mayor and town's most respected citizen, and Molly-Jane Doe, the town manicurist, who for an extra five dollars would buff more than your nails.

Best of B.E.D.

Blanche, talkng on the phone to Big Daddy: “Big Daddy, how in the world are you? I'm just fine. How can you say I look younger and more beautiful over the telephone? No, it's true. I just wondered how you knew over the telephone!”

Reel References

Rose: “So, Margaret, you're from Atlanta.”

Margaret Specer: “Well that's right.”

Rose: “Atlanta must be a lovely city. Have they rebuilt it much since it burned down in Gone With The Wind?”

Golden Quotes

Rose: “Well what about this? 'Miami is nice, So I'll say it thrice...'”

Dorothy: “Right, who the hell says 'thrice'?”

Rose: “It's a word.”

Dorothy: “So is 'intrauterine.' It does not belong in a song.”

Rose, singing: “Miami, you're cuter than, an intrauterine.”

and

Dorothy: “You find something to rhyme with Miami, hotshot.”

Rose: “Mammy, whammy, clammy, Alabamy, hootenanny, salami.”

Dorothy: “Hootenanny is marginal, and I refuse to accept salami.”

Critique: “Big Daddy's Little Lady” is probably best known as the one where they write the Miami song. Like the really great episodes, it's filled with really sparkling lines of dialogue but the story is nothing particularly special and that's because of two words: Big. Daddy. For some reason I've never been the biggest fan of the Big Daddy episodes. I love the over-the-top exchanges between Big Daddy and Blanche but generally I agree with Sophia, bring out the boots. (Also, is it weird Sophia keeps trying to score dates with widowers? I guess this is supposed to pass as a storyline for the character, but she makes it work) Luckily, the B story about Dorothy and Rose attempting to write a song about Miami is the saving grace (Why they'd ever want to meet Anita Bryant is beyond me). Their songs are a real highlight. I've always wanted to hear the full versions of their first two attempts. The thrice/intrauterine exchange is a classic GG moment and continues to put a smile on my face. As a side note, if Margaret Spencer looks familiar the actress Sondra Currie was most recently in the trilogy of Hangover films. GRADE: B+