Designing Women has been remastered in high definition widescreen on Hulu

'Designing Women,' one of the best shows ever...so much better than the Golden Girls.

I imagine we will get a Blu-ray set soon. But the question is: will it be in the original aspect ratio or the new widescreen ratio?

Is Jean Smart sitting on a toilet for full length episodes?

I hope they can get Julia Duffy and Judith Ivey to do commentary

Looks good! The technology for 4:3 to 16:9 transfers has improved a lot. Previously, everything looked stretched horizontally, and there would be a noticeable decrease in resolution.

Unfortunately, the technology applied here isn’t likely to work for TV shows that were originally videotaped (e.g. Golden Girls), because the resolution of those shows is limited to 640 x 480, where as filmed shows have enough resolution to create HD digital versions.

But who knows, maybe upscaling technology will improve, and taped shows will look nearly as good as filmed shows when digitized.

The pictures in OP's link look fabulous!

^^^^^^Whereas, not where as.

R1 Designing Women and Golden Girls were (despite featuring all female casts) fundamentally different shows. DW was a much more politically charged and concept based, while GGs was more character humor. Don't get me wrong, I really like both but GGs has a much more timeless feel than DW.

I wish GG had been filmed rather than taped because I would love to see the ladies in HD. Bea Arthur would look even more manly.

Who asked for this?

R9, I did actually.

I stopped binge re-watching Designing Women because of the cuts on both Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. Also, the dialog’s monaural sound track was off-center on both streaming sites.

Both problems have been corrected now on Hulu, and the improved video quality is a new plus. I’m ready to resume my binge watch now.

Designing Women is one of the greatest TV shows of all time.

I have never seen this show. Is it worth watching?

Very much so! There’s even a few episodes related to lesbians. Quite well done for 1986.

Here’s a photo I captured from my TV.

R5 & R8 There's a YouTube channel called GoldenGirlsHD that's done some great restoration.

The episodes are split into 4-5 minute clips.

R13 "Designing Women" is very preachy about feminist issues. If that's your thing, you'll love it.

Hopefully is an improvement all around. One episode I saw on there had the wrong closing credits.

Did they correct the opening sequences as well so it's not just the syndicated opening for every episode.

I don't think we need to see Delta Burke in HD.

Technically, it’s in 4K.

We know who you are, Ray Don.

I’m glad to hear this. The original footage was transferred to tape for its initial distribution and even on DVD this was very obvious. Glad it’s cleaned up so beautifully.

It doesn't look any better than it did before. The digital transfer is still fuzzy. There's only so much they can do with this cheap film.

But just to be safe, I'm re-watching the classic episode "Cruising," with the catty steward who swipes Suzanne's wig so he can moonlight as Bette Davis AND Joan Collins.

R24 I noticed the early “Frasier” episodes are very grainy in the remaster. They must’ve used film stock that wasn’t meant to be seen in high resolution.

“Cheers”, on the other hand, looks absolutely gorgeous.

There are apparently two ways to remaster old film into digital: The expensive and time-consuming method, like they did for Star Trek TNG (which goes frame by frame and makes it look like a whole new show), and the cheap method (which sharpens images a bit, but looks grainy on big screens.

They did the latter, of course.

Thanks for the heads up, OP. I’m almost glad it’s not a super restoration. We would be staring at Annie’s pores for 30 minute stretches.

Honestly, if they did do a release with commentary, Delta Burke would be the only one I’d want to hear from. Maybe Julia Duffy but there’s no way in hell.

“ It’ a Christmas Tree Skirt “

It looks grainy because it wasn’t digitally scrubbed and it’s also cropped to 16:9 instead of 4:3.

I don't know why everything originally in 4:3 has to be converted to 16:9 these days. Are people that stupid and bothered by the black bars on the sides and want their entire tv screens practically filled in?

So many people have told me to upgrade from my 32" TV to something much larger. I'm satisfied with my TV the way it is until that planned obsolescence bullshit kicks in in a few years and I'm forced to get a new one.

I don't need a TV that takes up an entire wall of my apartment like most people think they do. I have better and more important things to spend my money on.

Ditto. Bunch a size queens they are…

DVD cropping

2025 cropping:

Click on the image to see full size

I'm watching the pilot now. The original opening credits are back and I can't believe how bad Annie Potts is overacting in the first scene. Hopefully the director of this episode never worked again.

It doesn't look much better, but I'm glad the cuts are back in. I can't wait for the Carlene's Apartment episode!

I just watched the wilderness challenge episode and it’s hysterical. Denny Dillon is so funny in it.

DW is such a comforting show for me.

The Thomasons, bless them had some of the worst set designs on TV. Julia’s house layout never made any sense. The living room is huge and cavernous and there’s a full kitchen in it, but no table and chairs in the vicinity. And why was Julia’s bedroom door on the same side of the front entrance.

Evening Shade was similar. They lived in a huge house yet the living room, kitchen and dining room were crammed together in one small area.

I don't see much evidence of a restoration.

The opening credits are totally pixelated on an average size smart TV.

As for the episodes themselves, everyone looks like they're swimming through silty pond water.

[quote]I can't wait for the Carlene's Apartment episode!

They showed that one on one of the boomer rerun channels today. So funny! I love Carlene's unintentionally (?) bitchy comment to Mary Jo after she comes in ranting. "Mary Jo, I hate to interrupt you. Your morning monologues are always so witty." Hooks' delivery is hilarious.

I stopped watching when Smart left.

The Thomasons' tackiest move, apart from their gushing hillbilly love for the Clintons, was how formulaic the intro to every episode was.

Mary Jo storms in, telling some story of annoyance with her kids or some article she's just read by a "Northern" journalist insulting Southerners. She gesticulates wildly while recounting the story of her trampy daughter or a columnist calling Atlanta a shithole.

Julia sits stone-faced, sipping coffee out of a teacup.

Suzanne waves her hand in a "fiddle-dee-dee" gesture, and makes some clumsy comment about poor people.

Charlene pulls off one of her cinderblock-sized earrings and makes a twangy comment about used car salesmen named Elvis, an utter non-sequitur.

Mary Jo recounts the last time she and Julia left the building, whereupon they were catcalled by males. Charlene insists that Julia recount what the men said, and she eventually does.

Bernice barges in wearing a Hardee's uniform as a ball gown.

ROLL CREDITS!

R42 Now THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT!

[quote]Suzanne waves her hand in a "fiddle-dee-dee" gesture, and makes some clumsy comment about poor people.

Fiddle-dee-dee?

It’s quite clear why I have idiot R42 blocked.

r42 is some white girl.

Remastered via AI. Netflix is doing it now with old shows and calling it remastered too.

Wrong R47. Rescanning the original negatives in 4K resolution is not upscaling with AI.

I just tried to watch an episode and the snowy grain is awful.

The grain means the detail has not been scrubbed out just like a little hiss with analog tape.

Is Anthony a fag now?

Are you insinuating I'm a Miss Valdosta Feed and Grain?

I would love to see delta Burke back on television.

I wish they would write a guest role for Delta in Jean Smart's show, "Hacks."

BLACK MAN! BLACK MAN! WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!

Another show where the set didn't match the exterior shot of the alleged house at all.

They could have made a half-hearted attempt and stuck a tall bay window behind Charlene's desk, but they didn't care.

Lazy.

Lol @ 42. You forgot Anthony walking in while the women talk about their period cramps and is about to walk out. THen Charlene stops him and asks if he thinks women really care about how big a man's package is. Then Anthony will go off on a tangent about his unfortunate incarceration and T. Tommy Reed asking him to toss his salad.

Oops (42)

Maybe everyone already knows the actual house ‘’The Villa Marre ‘’ ( Exterior only ) is in Little Rock AR and is nothing like the interior set.