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The Best Episodes of Designing Women Season 4

Every episode of Designing Women Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Designing Women Season 4!

The Best Episodes of Designing Women Season 4

Julia Sugarbaker, Mary Jo Shively, Charlene Frazier-Stillfield and Suzanne Sugarbaker are associates at their design firm, Sugarbaker and Associates. Julia is the owner and is...

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  1. 9.1/10(179 votes)

    #1 - They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?

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    S4:E11

    Fat as a feminist issue surfaces when Suzanne endures cruel jokes about her weight at her high-school reunion; Anthony enlists Julia and Mary Jo to join him in a two-day fast to focus attention on world hunger.

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  2. 8.8/10(158 votes)

    #2 - The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century (2)

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    S4:E14

    Suzanne and Mary Jo rush Charlene to the hospital when she goes into labor on New Year's Eve and conceives a desire to deliver the first New Year's baby. Dolly Parton plays Charlene's ""guardian movie star,"" who comes to her in a dream with news of her baby's birth, and Bernice goes for an unexpected ambulance ride.

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  3. 8.7/10(115 votes)

    #3 - Bernice's Sanity Hearing

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    S4:E7

    The Sugarbaker women testify for Bernice when her niece Phyllis attempts to have her declared legally incompetent because she sings Bobbie Gentry songs to strangers on the street and introduces Anthony as her illegitimate son.

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  4. 8.5/10(116 votes)

    #4 - There She Is

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    S4:E3

    While preparing for Charlene's baby shower, the Sugarbakers women are surprised by a visit from the Director of Pageants for Miss Georgia. Due to a clerical error discovered in the 1975 balloting, Suzanne must relinquish the crown she won 15 years earlier.

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    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:N/A
  5. 8.5/10(114 votes)

    #5 - Tornado Watch

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    S4:E20

    A bizarre collection of characters is trapped inside Sugarbakers by a tornado warning, including hillbilly Daddy Jones who takes a liking to Bernice.

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  6. 8.5/10(104 votes)

    #6 - Foreign Affairs

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    S4:E24

    When her maid Consuela is threatened with deportation, Suzanne puts Anthony in a dress and pays him to impersonate the terrified woman. But he performs too well, awakening romantic interest in the Immigration and Naturalization Service examiner.

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    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:N/A
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  8. 8.5/10(103 votes)

    #7 - La Place sans Souci

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    S4:E28

    At a plush spa, the sparse diet, vigorous exercise program and thermal mud baths bring out the worst in Suzanne -- especially when Julia and Mary Jo are encouraged to gain weight.

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    Director:N/A
  9. 8.4/10(131 votes)

    #8 - The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century (1)

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    S4:E13

    Suzanne and Mary Jo rush Charlene to the hospital when she goes into labor on New Year's Eve and conceives a desire to deliver the first New Year's baby. Dolly Parton plays Charlene's ""guardian movie star,"" who comes to her in a dream with news of her baby's birth, and Bernice goes for an unexpected ambulance ride.

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  10. 8.2/10(102 votes)

    #9 - The Proxy Pig and Great Pretenders

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    S4:E1

    Mary Jo uses the mansion she's decorating to entertain, and Anthony suffers when his health insurance lapses and Suzanne must nurse his injured back.

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  11. 8.2/10(124 votes)

    #10 - Julia Gets Her Head Stuck in a Fence

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    S4:E8

    While posing for a gag photo at the governor's mansion, Julia gets her head stuck in the banister just before the annual ball.

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    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:N/A
  12. 8.1/10(109 votes)

    #11 - Suzanne Goes Looking For a Friend

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    S4:E23

    A lonely Suzanne digs through her old pageant connections for a best girlfriend, not realizing that her friend's "coming out" meant that she was a lesbian and not just the oldest living debutante.

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    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:N/A
  13. 8.0/10(132 votes)

    #12 - The Rowdy Girls

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    S4:E6

    While she is helping the Sugarbakers women choreograph a Supremes lip-synch routine, Charlene's favorite cousin inadvertently reveals that she is a victim of domestic violence.

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  14. 8.0/10(112 votes)

    #13 - The Mistress

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    S4:E15

    The ladies are hired by wealthy stockbroker Ancel Pollard to decorate a house for a client's wife -- and a condo for his mistress. Suzanne is sure that straight laced Julia and Mary Jo will never go through with the assignment.

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    Director:N/A
  15. 8.0/10(95 votes)

    #14 - Payne Grows Up

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    S4:E19

    Julia is not pleased to learn that Payne is graduating early in order to marry his pregnant girlfriend. Upset at becoming a grandmother so soon, Julia gets tipsy at the wedding, then wakes up mortified -- and scantily clad -- the next day with Payne's frat house roommate (Young).

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    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:N/A
  16. 7.9/10(115 votes)

    #15 - Julia and Suzanne's Big Adventure

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    S4:E9

    Julia and Suzanne's plans go awry when they travel to Japan to visit their mother: after discovering that she has gone to Paris to see a sick friend, they are robbed of their luggage and money. Meanwhile, Anthony and Mary Jo are stuck with an enormous telephone bill after calling in votes to a television poll.

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    Writer:N/A
  17. 7.9/10(100 votes)

    #16 - The Fur Flies

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    S4:E16

    The fur flies at a fashion show, where Suzanne's after-dinner mink causes a riot among animal-rights activists. Meanwhile, Charlene is forced to bring Olivia to Sugarbakers while she looks for a nanny.

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    Director:Hal Holbrook
    Writer:N/A
  18. 7.9/10(85 votes)

    #17 - Anthony's Graduation

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    S4:E27

    An extremely anxious Anthony makes it to his college graduation despite a series of mishaps and his nervousness about his grandmother's visit and his performance as commencement speaker.

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  19. 7.7/10(132 votes)

    #18 - Nightmare From Hee Haw

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    S4:E4

    The Sugerbaker women and their mates take a canoe trip in the Georgia backwoods -- which turns into a nightmare when them encounter some good ole boys.

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  20. 7.7/10(92 votes)

    #19 - Oh, What a Feeling

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    S4:E17

    Julia and Suzanne negotiate for a new delivery van and drive a hard bargain with an overbearing salesman (Ross).

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    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:N/A
  21. 7.6/10(87 votes)

    #20 - It's A Wonderful Life

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    S4:E22

    Julia intervenes when Bill's grief over the loss of his first wife threatens his relationship with Charlene -- and she becomes convinced he is having an affair with his new cockpit partner, Gail.

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  22. 7.5/10(96 votes)

    #21 - One Night With You

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    S4:E2

    A terminally-ill high school classmate's last wish is to spend one night with the girl of his dreams -- Julia. The catch is, she doesn't remember him at all.

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  23. 7.5/10(96 votes)

    #22 - You Got to Have Friends

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    S4:E12

    Mary Jo takes a second job at a fast food place when Ted's child support payment is late.

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    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:N/A
  24. 7.4/10(99 votes)

    #23 - Manhunt

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    S4:E10

    Desperately single Mary Jo, worried that her busy schedule will condemn her to a life alone, accepts coaching from Suzanne as she plans a weekend manhunt.

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    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:N/A
  25. 7.4/10(87 votes)

    #24 - Anthony and Vanessa

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    S4:E18

    Hired for a temporary job at Sugarbakers, Anthony's needy friend Vanessa learns the tricks of the trade from Suzanne, then goes to work reeling in Anthony.

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  26. 7.2/10(86 votes)

    #25 - Their Finest Hour

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    S4:E26

    An hour-long clip show of highlights from the previous seasons, including: razor-tongued Julia standing up for Suzanne against an insolent beauty pageant contestant, Julia defending Bernice's eccentricities, Mary Jo commenting on men and bra sizes, Charlene wondering about everything from killer bees to the personal habits of other women, Suzanne displaying a series of wacky dresses, and Anthony being plagued by a variety of indignities.

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    Director:N/A

Season 4 Ratings Summary

"They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?" is the best rated episode of "Designing Women" season 4. It scored 9.1/10 based on 179 votes. Directed by Harry Thomason and written by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, it aired on 12/11/1989. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century (2)".