In the beginning, it seemed like sitcoms showed us what we wished things were like. There were so many shows with white picket fences, depicting suburban situations where even the big episodic conflict wouldn't really threaten the status quo. Shows such as The Donna Reed Show, Ozzie and Harriet, and even The Andy Griffith Show gave us a glimpse at a type of American idealism. 

However, as the medium progressed, it moved away from making life seem shinier and kinder and showed us lives as they truly were. Roseanne is a great example of working class struggle put up onscreen for millions to see. Everybody Loves Raymond is another show that rooted itself in a relatable world, and strived to present issues that the audience had as well. This is a seismic shift where the problems all came from real-world stuff, not because some stranger came in on a train to visit town and left when the episode was over. Instead, now plots were about putting food on plates when the money was too tight, and how to explain the bids and the bees to a too-rapidly-maturing bunch of kids.

The Golden Girls fits pretty nicely into this latter category, and star Estelle Getty knew it. In her 1988 autobiography, If I Knew Then What I Know Now, the actress who played Sophia demonstrated her understanding of not just her character but also the show and its appeal to a broad audience.

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"I think a big part of Sophia's appeal is that our writers, who are absolutely brilliant, have mader her so real and accessible," Getty wrote. "I don't think anybody would be afraid to walk over to Sophia and just start chatting. People see the character and think, I could talk to that lady. She plays it as it lays."

This is, of course, in pretty stark contrast with a lot of other media personalities that came before. Approachable TV stars weren't always the model.

"How many people would walk up to Joan Collins on the street and say something like, 'Alexis? I was wondering, wherever do you pick up your earrings?'"