The terrific George Grizzard guest stars here as the local baker who finds himself attracted to Emma (Eileen Heckart) and convinces Delilah to set her up with him. Of course, Emma is aghast at the thought of being desired by a man after all these years, still obviously holding in the hurt and resentment of her unseen husband walking out on her years ago, leaving her alone to raise her four sons without a father. But he wines and dines her, and after their first date, she's smitten. Unfortunately, Grizzard is keeping a secret from her which the girls find out and must make a decision of how to confront him and how to tell Mother Buchannan without destroying her self esteem or damage their relationship which even if often strained through passive/aggressive behavior is hiding a lot of love and respect.
Grizzard, who won a Tony Award for the revival of "A Delicate Balance" opposite Rosemary Harris and Elaine Stritch (and played Stritch's husband as well in a few episodes of "Third Rock From the Sun"), is completely charming, even if his character is a bit of a scoundrel. He has some funny moments with Charlotte Ross's Bree who is trying to hide the fact that with her slender toned body, she eats a giant cruller log from his bakery every day. Ross also gets a very funny moment where she gives Emma some "physical" blush to which Heckart calls her a slap-happy dimwit. The four ladies obviously adore seeing Mother Buchannan finding love at her age, and she becomes a bit more human and open with them, even after she learns the truth. Delilah gets the closing scene where she indicates that she's sure that Mother Buchannan is happy that the relationship didn't go further to which Mother Buchannan can only smile in apparent disagreement.
It's great to see Heckart get the focus of the story and show that even at the age of 70 that a woman can still be attractive, even if she's not what is considered in society a raving beauty. "I happen to be a lot of fun" she explains to her daughters-in-law in an earlier episode, and obviously it is so, with Grizzard's character forced to lie even though it is obvious that his lies would be found out. Why they didn't want to make Grizzard a recurring character is a mystery as the two have terrific chemistry, and when you can have chemistry with Heckart, Stritch and Rue McLanahan (as her late husband and his look-alike brother on "Golden Girls"), you are worth keeping around.
Grizzard, who won a Tony Award for the revival of "A Delicate Balance" opposite Rosemary Harris and Elaine Stritch (and played Stritch's husband as well in a few episodes of "Third Rock From the Sun"), is completely charming, even if his character is a bit of a scoundrel. He has some funny moments with Charlotte Ross's Bree who is trying to hide the fact that with her slender toned body, she eats a giant cruller log from his bakery every day. Ross also gets a very funny moment where she gives Emma some "physical" blush to which Heckart calls her a slap-happy dimwit. The four ladies obviously adore seeing Mother Buchannan finding love at her age, and she becomes a bit more human and open with them, even after she learns the truth. Delilah gets the closing scene where she indicates that she's sure that Mother Buchannan is happy that the relationship didn't go further to which Mother Buchannan can only smile in apparent disagreement.
It's great to see Heckart get the focus of the story and show that even at the age of 70 that a woman can still be attractive, even if she's not what is considered in society a raving beauty. "I happen to be a lot of fun" she explains to her daughters-in-law in an earlier episode, and obviously it is so, with Grizzard's character forced to lie even though it is obvious that his lies would be found out. Why they didn't want to make Grizzard a recurring character is a mystery as the two have terrific chemistry, and when you can have chemistry with Heckart, Stritch and Rue McLanahan (as her late husband and his look-alike brother on "Golden Girls"), you are worth keeping around.