Designing Women

Season 4

TV-PG

Outspoken feminist Julia Sugarbaker runs a design firm out of her Atlanta home, along with her shallow ex-beauty queen sister, Suzanne, divorced mother Mary Jo, and, naive country girl Charlene. Black ex-con Anthony helps deliver furniture for the business and voices his unique opinion on whatever the women are discussing. Episodes typically revolved around the work, personal, and love lives of these four women.

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28 Episodes

The Proxy Pig and Great Pretenders
E1
The Proxy Pig and Great PretendersMary Jo uses the mansion she's decorating to entertain, and Anthony suffers when his health insurance lapses and Suzanne must nurse his injured back.
One Night With You
E2
One Night With YouJulia receives a request to spend the night with Donald Stillman, a former classmate dying of a rare form of lymphoma. She barely remembers him, and there are no photos of him in the school yearbooks, so when she and Donald go out to dinner, the other ladies and Anthony go to the same restaurant in case he turns out to be a maniac.
There She Is
E3
There She IsWhile preparing for Charlene's baby shower, the Sugarbakers women are surprised by a visit from the Director of Pageants for Miss Georgia. Due to a clerical error discovered in the 1975 balloting, Suzanne must relinquish the crown she won 15 years earlier.
Nightmare From Hee Haw
E4
Nightmare From Hee HawThe Sugerbaker women and their mates take a canoe trip in the Georgia backwoods -- which turns into a nightmare when them encounter some good ole boys.
The Girlfriend
E5
The GirlfriendAttempting to prove himself when Mary Jo hires him and some of his ex-convict friends to finish an incomplete remodeling job, Anthony gets a new girlfriend -- an ambitious young woman who sees him as an upwardly mobile vehicle.
The Rowdy Girls
E6
The Rowdy GirlsCharlene's cousin Mavis coaches the ladies for an upcoming talent show, where they will be playing the Supremes. When Charlene goes back to pick up something she lost, she notices Mavis's husband brutally abusing her. Meanwhile, Julia is appalled by Suzanne's suggestion on how to make them look more like the Supremes.
Bernice's Sanity Hearing
E7
Bernice's Sanity HearingThe Sugarbaker women testify for Bernice when her niece Phyllis attempts to have her declared legally incompetent because she sings Bobbie Gentry songs to strangers on the street and introduces Anthony as her illegitimate son.
Julia Gets Her Head Stuck in a Fence
E8
Julia Gets Her Head Stuck in a FenceSugarbaker's is hired to decorate the Governor's mansion for its annual ball. Anthony receives an invitation to the ball, but Suzanne is dismayed when she doesn't. After decorating the "Abbott banister" at the mansion, Julia is persuaded by the others to do something silly and winds up with her head stuck in the banister, which cannot be cut due to its historical significance.
Julia and Suzanne's Big Adventure
E9
Julia and Suzanne's Big AdventureJulia and Suzanne's plans go awry when they travel to Japan to visit their mother: after discovering that she has gone to Paris to see a sick friend, they are robbed of their luggage and money. Meanwhile, Anthony and Mary Jo are stuck with an enormous telephone bill after calling in votes to a television poll.
Manhunt
E10
ManhuntDesperately single Mary Jo, worried that her busy schedule will condemn her to a life alone, accepts coaching from Suzanne as she plans a weekend manhunt.
They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?
E11
They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?Fat as a feminist issue surfaces when Suzanne endures cruel jokes about her weight at her high-school reunion; Anthony enlists Julia and Mary Jo to join him in a two-day fast to focus attention on world hunger.
You Got to Have Friends
E12
You Got to Have FriendsMary Jo is forced to clip coupons and work at Burger Guy because her ex-husband Ted is late on his child support payments. After Julia persuades her to accept a personal loan, Mary Jo asks an emergency favor from her, Anthony, and Bernice when Burger Guy is short of help.
The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century (1)
E13
The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century (1)Suzanne and Mary Jo rush Charlene to the hospital when she goes into labor on New Year's Eve and conceives a desire to deliver the first New Year's baby. Dolly Parton plays Charlene's ""guardian movie star,"" who comes to her in a dream with news of her baby's birth, and Bernice goes for an unexpected ambulance ride.
The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century (2)
E14
The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century (2)Suzanne and Mary Jo rush Charlene to the hospital when she goes into labor on New Year's Eve and conceives a desire to deliver the first New Year's baby. Dolly Parton plays Charlene's ""guardian movie star,"" who comes to her in a dream with news of her baby's birth, and Bernice goes for an unexpected ambulance ride.
The Mistress
E15
The MistressThe ladies are hired by wealthy stockbroker Ancel Pollard to decorate a house for a client's wife -- and a condo for his mistress. Suzanne is sure that straight laced Julia and Mary Jo will never go through with the assignment.
The Fur Flies
E16
The Fur FliesThe fur flies at a fashion show, where Suzanne's after-dinner mink causes a riot among animal-rights activists. Meanwhile, Charlene is forced to bring Olivia to Sugarbakers while she looks for a nanny.
Oh, What a Feeling
E17
Oh, What a FeelingBecause Suzanne promised a nasty woman named Mrs. Fricke that their job would be done by a certain date or it's free, the women need a new van to deliver it by midnight. Despite Julia's misgivings, they go to a car dealer with the intention of trying to manipulate them into a bargain, but the dealer beats them at their own game.
Anthony and Vanessa
E18
Anthony and VanessaHired for a temporary job at Sugarbakers, Anthony's needy friend Vanessa learns the tricks of the trade from Suzanne, then goes to work reeling in Anthony.
Payne Grows Up
E19
Payne Grows UpJulia is not pleased to learn that Payne is graduating early in order to marry his pregnant girlfriend. Upset at becoming a grandmother so soon, Julia gets tipsy at the wedding, then wakes up mortified -- and scantily clad -- the next day with Payne's frat house roommate (Young).
Tornado Watch
E20
Tornado WatchA bizarre collection of characters is trapped inside Sugarbakers by a tornado warning, including hillbilly Daddy Jones who takes a liking to Bernice.
Tough Enough
E21
Tough EnoughA redecorating job for a sports account is right down Sugarbakers' alley when it pits the women against a macho, over-confident designer from an all-male firm. They determine to steal one of his prized clients, Cherokee Lanes Bowling Alley, but discover they must pose as regular bowlers.
It's A Wonderful Life
E22
It's A Wonderful LifeAn exhausted and overworked Charlene believes Bill is having an affair. When he tells her he's being sent on a classified mission, she doesn't believe him. The other ladies hear their fight over a baby monitor. Concerned, they set up a surprise rooftop dinner for two at the soon-to-be-demolished hotel where they had their first date.
Suzanne Goes Looking For a Friend
E23
Suzanne Goes Looking For a FriendSuzanne wants a female friend to accompany her to a charity ball for which she was given tickets. So she calls up Eugenia Weeks, her former competitor in the Miss Georgia pageant who gave Suzanne her batons, who is now a TV weather forecaster. When the ladies meet her, Suzanne is the last one to figure out that Eugenia is a lesbian.
Foreign Affairs
E24
Foreign AffairsWhen her maid Consuela is threatened with deportation, Suzanne puts Anthony in a dress and pays him to impersonate the terrified woman. But he performs too well, awakening romantic interest in the Immigration and Naturalization Service examiner.
Have Faith
E25
Have FaithWhen Mary Jo attends church with Julia and Suzanne, she ends up dating Gene Chapman, the minister, but feeling guilty about her sexual interest in him.
Their Finest Hour
E26
Their Finest HourAn hour-long clip show of highlights from the previous seasons, including: razor-tongued Julia standing up for Suzanne against an insolent beauty pageant contestant, Julia defending Bernice's eccentricities, Mary Jo commenting on men and bra sizes, Charlene wondering about everything from killer bees to the personal habits of other women, Suzanne displaying a series of wacky dresses, and Anthony being plagued by a variety of indignities.
Anthony's Graduation
E27
Anthony's GraduationAnthony is about to graduate from college, and he is nervous about his commencement speech. Bernice buys him a Jeopardy home game to study with, but the ladies become so engaged in it that Suzanne plans to take the book of clues in the night when Julia's not around. She does that, but when Anthony comes in just afterwords, she thinks it's a burglar and shoots him in the leg.
La Place sans Souci
E28
La Place sans SouciSuzanne invites everyone, including Anthony, for a weekend at a fancy health spa at her expense. While Julia and Mary Jo try to gain weight, Suzanne and Charlene suffer on the stringent plan to lose weight. Suzanne also plots to get even with Mary Jo and Julia for making her and Charlene feel dumb by challenging them to a game of Trivial Pursuit to which she has memorized all the answers.