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Designing Women Season 5 Episodes
Season 5 Episode Guide
24 Episodes 1990 - 1991
Episode 1
A Blast from the Past
Mon, Sep 17, 199030 mins
Sugarbakers is put on a historical tour of homes, and Julia gets irate at the selling of the myth of the old south.
Episode 2
Papa Was a Rolling Stone
Mon, Sep 24, 1990
Anthony's 30th birthday is approaching, so the women decide to hire a private detective to find his long-lost father. An old man shows up at the office claiming to be his father's best friend with the bad news that he has passed away, along with other information about the man. When he meets Anthony, he shares this information with him along with a major surprise.
Episode 3
Working Mother
Mon, Oct 1, 199030 mins
When Charlene gets upset about missing Olivia's first steps because she was at work, she decides to quit her job to spend more time with her daughter and watch her grow up. However, when Mary Jo comes to see her she finds that the working mothers in the neighborhood are taking advantage of her to run errands for them. A remark about Quint's latest troubles leads to a debate between the two of them about whether mothers should have jobs.
Episode 4
Miss Trial
Mon, Oct 15, 1990
Julia plans to have dinner with Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, she is called to jury duty. When Mary Jo mentions a case about a man who blamed a sperm bank for his impotence, Julia reveals that is the case on which she is serving. When Charlene does her civic duty and informs the court that she talked about the case outside, the jury is sequestered in a motel. Meanwhile, Charlene has won a radio station contest that gives her the chance to take home all the music and movies she can get in a record store in 92 seconds for free.
Episode 5
The Bachelor Auction
Mon, Oct 22, 199030 mins
Thinking that it will get her the membership she has always wanted, Suzanne holds a bachelor auction at the Beaumont Driving Club. One of the bachelors is Anthony, who feels uncomfortable about the idea of being auctioned off; he is surprised when he finds out who wins a date with him accidentally.
Episode 6
Charlene Buys a House
Mon, Oct 29, 1990
When Charlene buys a haunted house, she hires Sugarbaker & Associates to decorate it and insists that they treat her as just another customer.
Episode 7
Old Rebels and Young Models
Mon, Nov 5, 199030 mins
Mary Jo learns from her mother that her former mentor, Miss Eulalie Crown, is now living at a nursing home in Atlanta, so she goes to visit her there. Frustrated with the lack of respect she perceives, she and a friend run away and stay at the women's office. Meanwhile, Charlene becomes starstruck when a photographer sends Olivia's picture to a talent agency.
Episode 8
Nowhere to Run To
Mon, Nov 12, 1990
When Julia and Mary Jo take up running, Julia becomes obsessed with the sport to the detriment of her business.
Episode 9
A Class Act
Mon, Nov 19, 199030 mins
When Charlene goes back to college, she takes a psychology class with a socially awkward professor who falls for her but cannot express it appropriately.
Episode 10
Keep the Homes Fires Burning
Mon, Nov 26, 199030 mins
When Charlene is distressed about Bill being on a classified mission, she goes to a support group for military spouses where she meets a military husband, also named Bill. While they start to grow closer, she imagines what life was like for wives on the home front in WWII.
Episode 11
My Daughter, Myself
Mon, Dec 10, 1990
Claudia brings home Jack, a 34-year-old man she met in a bar, who soon takes an interest in Mary Jo.
Episode 12
And Now, Here's Bernice
Mon, Dec 17, 1990
While Mary Jo deals with getting dumped by a rich, handsome client, Bernice has trouble getting her guests to show up on her new public access TV show.
Episode 13
Pearls of Wisdom
Mon, Jan 7, 1991
While Suzanne tries out for the evening news, she shows the other ladies her $4,500 pearl necklace and mocks Mary Jo's costume necklace. To get even, Mary Jo switches the two. This backfires when she and Charlene are at a salad bar and she loses the necklace. Meanwhile, Anthony has weird dreams about him and Julia.
Episode 14
High Noon in a Laundry Room
Mon, Jan 14, 1991
Anthony is forced to confront Billy Boy Swine, a bully who has taken over the laundry room in his apartment and disturbed all the other tenants.
Episode 15
How Long Has This Been Going On?
Mon, Jan 28, 199130 mins
Julia secretly sings in a nightclub; Anthony is attracted to an Asian woman.
Episode 16
The Emperor's New Nose
Mon, Feb 4, 1991
Bernice decides to have plastic surgery. When the surgeon botches the job, the women have trouble telling her to her face because they are afraid to hurt her feelings.
Episode 17
Maybe Baby
Mon, Feb 11, 1991
While Suzanne starts smoking to lose weight, Mary Jo wants to have another baby while she still can. When J.D. returns to town on business, she wants him to father the baby instead of going to a sperm bank.
Episode 18
This Is Art?
Mon, Feb 25, 199130 mins
When Julia goes to an art show held by a curator friend of hers, she places her purse on an empty stand where two art connoisseurs mistake it for a work of art. Meanwhile, Mary Jo tries to make it up to Charlene after denting her car while Suzanne accidentally glues her mouth shut.
Episode 19
Blame It on New Orleans
Mon, Mar 4, 1991
When the women go to New Orleans, they are unable to get another room for Anthony and must share a room so that he can have one of the two rooms they had already booked. Meanwhile, Mary Jo goes to bed with a man she has been dating before she finds out that he is already married.
Episode 20
I'll See You in Court
Mon, Mar 18, 199130 mins
While Suzanne gets in trouble for putting on her mascara while driving, Mary Jo finds that the man who robbed her is now working at a pizzeria.
Episode 21
The Big Circle
Mon, Apr 8, 199130 mins
While coping with the sudden death of her boyfriend Reese, Julia takes care of the nasty Randa Oliver while her parents have gone on vacation without her.
Episode 22
Friends and Husbands
Mon, Apr 29, 199130 mins
Bill gets a week's leave while Charlene and Mary Jo are writing a children's book that has a deadline.
Episode 23
Fore!
Mon, May 6, 199130 mins
The Beaumont Driving Club has changed their admission policies after being disqualified from the PGA Tour for racial discrimination. Suzanne tries to learn golf to get accepted into Beaumont, but the membership committee chooses Anthony instead. Julia suspects they only want him in as a token and urges him not to go, but Anthony decides to take advantage of the opportunity and become an active member of the club.
Episode 24
The Pride of Sugarbakers
Mon, May 13, 199130 mins
Mary Jo coaches her son's little league baseball team; they have lost six games in a row. When Julia becomes the co-coach, the team's performance starts to turn around, but Mary Jo feels that they have gotten too competitive.
