Sweet Tea & TV

This “Extra Sugar” officially calls to order the Sweet Tea & TV Book Club! Grab your copy of “Trying to Get to Heaven: Opinions of a Tennessee Talker” by the one and only Dixie Carter and settle in for a gab-fest. This episode turned out longer than normal, but it turns out these two talkers - one a Georgia Talker and one a South Carolina Talker - also had a lot of opinions. 

Ah, the age-old fun-house version that’s not so “fun” - that’s what we were facing this season with Ms. Julia Sugarbaker. Her condescension was at an all-time high throughout the season and the runner of the tension between her and Mary Jo wasn’t our favorite part of the season. HOWEVER, there were some high points, so let’s chat about it.

And come back later this week for the second installment of the “Sweet Tea & TV Book Club” - we’re talking all things Dixie Carter’s 1996 book, “Trying to Get To Heaven: Opinions of a Tennessee Talker.”

This week’s Extra Sugar is inspired by Mary Jo’s brush with the supernatural after Elvis’s face appears on her shovel in season 7, episode 17.

We’re also introduced to Jade Herman, a self-proclaimed expert in the “para-spectacular”, who “markets and promotes everything from Jesus’ face on a toaster to UFOs landing in a wheat field outside of London.”

Naturally, Salina then curated a list of five para-spectacular…occurrences…for your listening pleasure. So if you’re into toasts, ghosts, and UFOs, well, this one's for you. 

Justice for Mary Jo! That’s what we were yelling at the end of season 7. Mary Jo - and, in fact, Annie Potts - deserved so much more than the “Designing Women” writers gave her this season. Of course, there were some funny parts and a couple social commentaries but, for the most part, we veered into funhouse territory - just minus the fun. 

Come on y’all, let’s rip off the Band-aid and get into it! 

This week’s Carlene episode opened the door to something we just have to talk about: Southern Suffragists (courtesy of Carlene’s boyfriend, Eric, giving Julia a book on the topic in episode 20). 

We’ll talk about the women’s suffragist movement generally, unpack the South’s role and what happened here, and wrap up by looking at some women (and men!) suffragists who helped make it happen. 

Come on y’all, let’s get into it! 

The short version of this episode is: Salina and Nikki are disappointed that the writers/producers/universe short-changed easily one of the high points of the post-shakeup “Designing Women” cast. Poor Carlene is reduced to just a couple storylines and a few pop-in jokes here and there. But, that won’t stop us from giving her her due!

Let’s get into our thoughts (and feels) about Carlene’s portrayal in season 7 - from the funniest parts all the way down to the cringiest (including being nekkid on Anthony’s sheets!)

Come on y’all, let’s get into it!

All the way back in season 4, in “Bernice’s Sanity Hearing” (which we called “Some LIke Dolls, Some Like Revenge”), Julia said: "I'm saying this is the South, and we're proud of our crazy people. We don't hide them up in the attic. We bring 'em right down to the living room and show 'em off. See, Phyllis, no one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family. They just ask what side they're on.” 

Which leads us to the thesis of this “Extra Sugar”. We’ll poke around in that concept a little bit - what does Bernice’s character show us about mental health and “crazy" in the South? Is there anything in our collective experience that plays out through Bernice’s story? 

And, since we’re a culture in crisis, we’ll end by sharing our own tips for preserving your sanity.

All aboard! Headed to our next stop on the ST&TV Season 7 Train - BERNICE.

The writers for “Designing Women” season 7 were ALL IN on Bernice as the comic relief this season and so were we. (Don’t be surprised if we break all the rules and share dozens of “funniest moments” for Bernice this season!) We’ll hit all the highs and lows for this red-hot mama. 

And don’t forget to come back Thursday for a mental-health focused “Extra Sugar.”

Our Anthony episode– and his rebound trip to Las Vegas – was a perfectly adequate excuse for Salina to talk about the Dixie Mafia. Confused? OK, stay with us. When people think about Vegas, they think about the mafia. But what if we told you there was a Southern mafia? The Dixie Mafia. AKA the Southern mob, AKA the Cornbread Cosa Nostra. 

Join us as we shed some light on their origins AND some of the most interesting figures and cases in their sordid history. 

Next up in our character run-down for season 7, the one, the only: ANTHONY BOUVIER! 

As we wrap up our time with Anthony, let’s take a second to appreciate the endless shenanigans the Designing Women have put him through, his quickie, season 7 marriage, his never-ending law school career, and the twist ending that has us all wondering if Bernice’s feelings for him were truly unrequited.

We’ll make a pit-stop at Salina’s Sidebar, to talk about the one and only, Sheryl Lee Ralph. 

And we have a special bit for our Patreon listeners, inspired by the crew’s two-part Vegas visit this season.

Finally, don’t forget to come back Thursday for an “Extra Sugar” that was weeks of internet research, podcast listening, and light book-skimming in the making - Salina’s taking the Southern route to Vegas, talking all about the Dixie Mafia.