Deja View: Take "Two!"

In the vast television landscape, many sitcoms have come and gone. Some became cultural touchstones and have never gone off the air thanks to syndicated reruns. Some linger in the memory, though we don't see much out of them anymore. Some are completely forgotten if we ever even knew about them at all! I don't know how many of my readers will recall the 1982 show depicted at right, It Takes Two. Springing from the creator of hits like Soap and Benson, it was unfortunately fated to land closer to Fay, Loves Me, Loves Me Not and I'm a Big Girl Now, also by the same creator, Susan Harris. You'll surely recognize some of the show's familiar faces.

The concept of It Takes Two concerned the issues that sprang up between a middle-aged, married, Chicago couple with two successful careers who sometimes ran into conflicts as a result. That, and their colorful family life provided the story fodder.

Though he tends to be remembered for movie roles and dramatic television fare, Crenna was a TV comedy veteran, with scores of episodes of Our Miss Brooks and The Real McCoys under his belt. He portrayed a successful surgeon here.

Oscar-winner Patty Duke also had significant sitcom cred, having played two leading parts in The Patty Duke Show during the mid-'60s. As Crenna's wife, she played a district attorney.

This was a pretty big opportunity for character actress Billie Bird, who had portrayed scads of bit parts in movies and on TV since 1950. Here she played Duke's sassy, blunt mother, who lived with the couple.

As the family's daughter, Helen Hunt brought a childhood full of prolific acting work to the table. She would, of course, go on to win an Oscar of her own in addition to costarring in the successful sitcom Mad About You.

Then at the dawn of his career, Anthony Edwards had Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) in the can, along with a couple of other small parts, before playing the family's son. His character had moved out, but was still around frequently. He would proceed to costar on the monster hit medical drama ER, among other things.

Richard McKenzie, who played a colleague of Crenna's at the hospital, was a veteran of countless bit roles. This was his only regular series role, surely thanks to several appearances on Soap - as a doctor.

But the purpose of this post isn't really to delve into the intricacies of the show. Nor to expound on the gravity-defying hairdo that Duke adopted for the role, though that would be fun!

We're here to talk about Crenna and Duke's living quarters. Anything stand out about this kitchen to you? (Apart from its heavily-'80s decor.)

Does this help?

Yes, Crenna's and Duke's 1982 kitchen was redressed and used as the one for 1985's The Golden Girls! Actually, the rendition shown in these last two photos are following a makeover. In season one of TGG, the set had been left in a version closer to the one seen in ITT. It was only after that successful first season that the wallpaper and some of the other decor was upgraded and further feminized.  I have prepared some comparison photos. Apologies in advance for some of the shitty visuals from It Takes Two. The lesser-known show is not readily available in high quality.

Although it doesn't read that way, thanks to the poor video quality, the two shows featured the same kitchen wallpaper. A beige background with a paler, cream, diamond pattern on it.

The very same baker's rack in the niche.

The "Girls" had a wall calendar on their swinging kitchen door.

For the sake of everyone's health, I do hope that is not the same fruit leftover from two years or so before...! LOL

Earlier eps of ITT had a small butcher block in the middle of the room, which was replaced by the table with the fruit on it. As you can see, TGG got a new refrigerator, but those cabinets remained.

When Helen Hunt used the kitchen phone, it was on a side table against the wall. But in the second show, a wall-mounted phone was installed.

As I say, ITT was created by Susan Harris.

The characters lived in a Chicago high-rise.

Yet, hilariously, when Harris created TGG, it was set in suburban Miami, where the precise same kitchen could be found!

So while Crenna & Co. looked out the kitchen window to see other skyscrapers in their midst...

...the Girls had a view of their neighbors' similarly-built ranch-style, Florida homes!

Here is a photo of the kitchen set soon after its remodel for season two of The Golden Girls.

I've wondered to myself if that yellow cup behind Crenna is the same one used in the AIDS awareness episode of TGG in which Sophia puts an R on it for "Rose."

This angle shows the back doorway of ITT's kitchen, a shot rarely-seen in TGG.

In the pilot for TGG, you'll see that the back doorway area is cleared out with no cabinetry. (And note that Coco's frying pan in dead empty as he's stirring away......) 

There's that cup again, along with the familiar (and peculiar) stove-top placement.

Could the recycling have extended to this coffee cup?

Here's a shot of that wallpaper up close. But the kitchen isn't the only room of ITT's set to be recycled... Take a look at these comparison shots from the living rooms!

The condo living room is very much the same as the Miami house but with some tweaks. The door and general furniture placement is similar, but a fireplace has been moved.

The back hallway is still there. In ITT, it leads to most of the bedrooms. In TGG (apart from the pilot, when it led to Blanche's bedroom), it leads to the lanai.

The balcony area has been removed and in its place is a seldom-used seating area (and an even less-used fireplace.)

In ITT, there was a modern chair in front of the fireplace for Duke to look over legal briefs, etc... This area was kept open on TGG.

One bigger change was on the right side. Where Billie Bird once had a single bedroom, this now has been adjusted to make a longer hallway, leading to the Girls' rooms.

This shows how the bedroom door was closed off and an angled hallway created further left.

This shot allows a little peek into Bird's bedroom. Most of this area would later be the hallway on TGG.

Before Harris came up with the Golden character of Sophia, she had experimented with similar ideas before. There was Audra Lindley as Lee Grant's live-in mother on Fay and then Bird, who offered many zany remarks as the live-in mother of Duke here.

I know you wish I was done, but I'm not...! Take a look at this, too. They reused Crenna and Duke's bedroom, turning it into Blanche's boudoir! Looks like Duke really liked to moisturize at night...!

All of this was in the mid-1980s, before it was as fashionable as it is now to "go green" and recycle. They really made good use out of the existing sets from It Takes Two when preparing The Golden Girls. When watching ITT, you can see similarities in the way the shows are handled. The timing, the dialogue, the music, etc... One show clicked and the other didn't.

McKenzie even found himself recycled as a guest star on a 1990 episode of Girls as an ex-con set up on a blind date for Dorothy by a matchmaker her mother has hired.

During the pandemic and all its attendant stressors and annoyances, I've gravitated to everything simple and/or amusing in order to get my mind off of things. For some reason, this tickles me far more than it probably ordinarily would, but I can't quit cackling about it! It Takes Two's opening credits featured a theme song by Paul Williams, which he sung with Crystal Gayle. Called "Where Love Spends the Night," it played while all the usual clips from the show were flashed on-screen along with the actors' names. Trouble is, the song was a LULLABY! I can tell you from experience that from age 50 on, it's enough trouble to stay awake in front of the TV set. So a perkier song (like the rejuvenated "Thank You for Being a Friend?") would be more in order if one wants people to stay tuned. This poor song, which isn't bad on its own terms, limped along and every time one thought it was over, it kept on going! LOL It also contained a really fascinating descending verse end which makes me howl with laughter every time I hear it. Maybe it's just me. And to bring everything full circle, the oddball pairing of Williams and Gayle brought to mind for me the famed duo Sonny and Cher...

...which, of course, reminded me of this stellar Golden Girls moment! Till next time.