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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: May 2, 1987
PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: The Golden Girls, “To Catch a Neighbor” (Season 2, Episode 24) [Stream on Hulu]
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: One of the best things about ’80s TV is that when you dip back into them in 2017, you’ll find any number of familiar faces in bit parts and guest roles. The most celebrated of these, given the current state of Hollywood’s A-List, is George Clooney. Clooney’s one of the biggest stars in the world now, but he only became famous as a TV star in his 40s when he got his big role on E.R. Which means he clocked years and years and guest-starring roles on random TV shows before he became a household name. Take one look at the bottom of his IMDb page: one-offs on shows like Riptide, Hotel, Murder She Wrote, and Hunter; semi-regular roles on shows like The Facts of Life, Roseanne, and Sisters. It seemed almost inevitable that Clooney would have showed up on The Golden Girls.
In the second season episode “To Catch a Neighbor,” the ladies host a pair of police detectives who are pulling a sting operation on their new nextdoor neighbors, who are supposedly some notorious jewel thieves. Clooney is the junior detective, taking a back seat to the older detective (who has a bit of a flirty love-hate banter going with Dorothy). Though Clooney, looking boyish with some dynamite wavy hair, does at least get his requisite moment with Blanche. …Oh, not like THAT. In fact, it’s a particular mother-son kind of moment, which is actually quite sweet.
Clooney’s character gets shot during the operation, and it’s potentially going to end up as a Very Special Episode, but don’t worry, all’s well that ends well. And it gives The Golden Girls a very special place in George Clooney’s Hollywood origin story.
