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The Worst Episodes of Designing Women

Every episode of Designing Women ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Designing Women!

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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 very outspoken and strong-willed. Mary Jo is a divorced single-parent

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Designing Women Season 6 Episode 12 - Real, Scary Men
    5.0/10(84 votes)

    #1 - Real, Scary Men

    S6:E12

    When their van breaks down the women become unwelcome guests at a men's club retreat Wildman Sanctuary, where Anthony is trying to land a new account.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 17 - Shovel Off to Buffalo
    5.3/10(78 votes)

    #2 - Shovel Off to Buffalo

    S7:E17

    Worshiping hordes gather outside Sugarbaker's after the face of Elvis mysteriously appears on a snow shovel belonging to Mary Jo, who attracts the attention of a ""paraspectacular"" expert (Gilpin) -- especially when she apparently restores her neighbor's damaged hearing.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 10 - Trial and Error
    5.5/10(73 votes)

    #3 - Trial and Error

    S7:E10

    B.J. goes overboard showering everyone with gifts, and law student Anthony gets carried away trying to help Mary Jo win a small-claims case involving her defective freezer.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 9 - The Vision Thing
    5.8/10(71 votes)

    #4 - The Vision Thing

    S7:E9

    Etienne drives Anthony crazy trying to be the perfect wife, and the Sugarbakers crew throw a Las Vegas style wedding shower for them.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Norma Safford Vela

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  5. Designing Women Season 6 Episode 5 - Marriage Most Foul
    5.9/10(76 votes)

    #5 - Marriage Most Foul

    S6:E5

    When Allison's ex-convict former flame (whom she turned in for insider trading) is released, she fears he is plotting revenge, instead, he proposes to her.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 12 - The Odyssey
    5.9/10(78 votes)

    #6 - The Odyssey

    S7:E12

    B.J.'s contribution to the Democratic Party gets the Sugarbaker crew invited to the Inaugural Ball, but the trip proves to be a party for no one, even Julia, who struggles to maintain a cheery disposition in the face of disaster as bad weather forces a change in plans.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 18 - It's Not So Easy Being Green
    6.0/10(77 votes)

    #7 - It's Not So Easy Being Green

    S7:E18

    Anthony is jealous of Etienne's successful writer friend, who shares a vivid past with her, but tries to be gracious by throwing a signing party for him.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Designing Women Season 6 Episode 6 - Picking a Winner
    6.4/10(72 votes)

    #8 - Picking a Winner

    S6:E6

    Mary Jo turns to a sperm bank to get pregnant, prompting mixed reactions at work. Meanwhile, Julia threaten to rip the draperies from the windows of the home of a wealthy client whose payment is overdue.

    Director:Asaad Kelada
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Designing Women Season 6 Episode 20 - I Enjoy Being a Girl
    6.4/10(75 votes)

    #9 - I Enjoy Being a Girl

    S6:E20

    On an overnight Girl Scout outing, Carlene's leadership abilities take a beating, while Allison's methods seem to charm the spoiled troopers, and Mary Jo and Julia advocate roughing it.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Norma Safford Vela

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  10. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 22 - Gone With a Whim (2)
    6.4/10(90 votes)

    #10 - Gone With a Whim (2)

    S7:E22

    With Julia continuing to fight to save the antebellum Kearney mansion, B.J. struggles to save Sugarbaker's and Poteet Industries from a take over from the Kearneys. However, despite their efforts, Kiki Kearney announces her new plans for ""Kikibaker's,"" Lester Kearney announces that the purchase of Poteet Industries is complete, and the modernizing of the mansion gets under way. Though Anthony and the women are fired for insubordination, when Craig, a friend of Mary Jo's, stumbles on some embarrassing news about the Kearney's illegal financial activities, Poteet Industries and Sugarbaker's are saved from the take over.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:David Steinberg

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  11. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 6 - Viva Las Vegas (1)
    6.5/10(70 votes)

    #11 - Viva Las Vegas (1)

    S7:E6

    After Vanessa calls off their wedding, Anthony joins the gang on a getaway to Las Vegas, where he nurses his broken heart -- in the company of a show stopping showgirl he impulsively weds.

    Director:Charles Frank
    Writer:Norma Safford Vela

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  12. Designing Women Season 6 Episode 21 - L.A. Story
    6.6/10(67 votes)

    #12 - L.A. Story

    S6:E21

    Allison thinks she's invited to stay at Charles Nelson Reilly's home, so the decorators do Hollywood and get flimflammed on an expenses-paid trip accompanying investor Allison to the set of her movie.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 4 - On the Road Again
    6.6/10(73 votes)

    #13 - On the Road Again

    S7:E4

    In an attempt at spontaneity, a carefree Mary Jo takes off for Nashville on ""a hen party on wheels"" with Julia and Bernice, but become terrified when a trucker Bernice flirted with at a diner pursues them. Meanwhile, back at the office, Carlene and Anthony put their noses to the grindstone studying for midterms.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 5 - Screaming Passages
    6.6/10(73 votes)

    #14 - Screaming Passages

    S7:E5

    Julia fears the emotional roller coaster of menopause -- just as her affair with Phillip heats up, and is upset when she discovers a Sugerbakers ""Change of Life"" surprise party.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Norma Safford Vela

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  15. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 14 - Wedding Redux
    6.6/10(70 votes)

    #15 - Wedding Redux

    S7:E14

    Anthony and Etienne renew their vows for Etienne's visiting parents and Anthony's grandmother at a ceremony at B.J.'s, where anything that could go wrong does.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Mimi Pond

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  16. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 15 - Nude Julia, New York Morning
    6.6/10(73 votes)

    #16 - Nude Julia, New York Morning

    S7:E15

    Julia's old mentor for her bohemian art school days in New York unveils his nude portrait of Julia.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Designing Women Season 2 Episode 3 - Anthony, Jr.
    6.7/10(101 votes)

    #17 - Anthony, Jr.

    S2:E3

    Anthony goes to extremes to impress his girlfriends' wealthy parents, inventing a pedigreed family -- then an uninvited dinner guest informs him he is the father of her child.

    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:Linda Bloodworth-Thomason

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  18. Designing Women Season 3 Episode 16 - Ms. Meal Ticket
    6.7/10(88 votes)

    #18 - Ms. Meal Ticket

    S3:E16

    Mary-Jo overreacts to J.D.'s losing his job and moving in with her, but a psychic helps her sort out her feelings.

    Director:Hal Holbrook
    Writer:Linda Bloodworth-Thomason

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  19. Designing Women Season 3 Episode 22 - Julia Drives Over the First Amendment
    6.7/10(115 votes)

    #19 - Julia Drives Over the First Amendment

    S3:E22

    A nearby newsstand selling pornography offends Julia, to the point where she drives her car straight through it, and pits her against an equally determined publisher in the ensuing court battle.

    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Designing Women Season 4 Episode 5 - The Girlfriend
    6.7/10(99 votes)

    #20 - The Girlfriend

    S4:E5

    Attempting to prove himself when Mary Jo hires him and some of his ex-convict friends to finish an incomplete remodeling job, Anthony gets a new girlfriend -- an ambitious young woman who sees him as an upwardly mobile vehicle.

    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Designing Women Season 5 Episode 14 - High Noon in a Laundry Room
    6.7/10(81 votes)

    #21 - High Noon in a Laundry Room

    S5:E14

    Anthony, concerned with his masculinity after working with the women so long, tries standing up to his bullying neighbor, and is further humiliated when the women come to his rescue.

    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 7 - Fools Rush In (2)
    6.7/10(69 votes)

    #22 - Fools Rush In (2)

    S7:E7

    BJ offers to help a desperate Anthony, who invents various schemes to extricate himself from his hasty marriage to a Las Vegas showgirl.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Designing Women Season 7 Episode 21 - Gone With a Whim (1)
    6.7/10(91 votes)

    #23 - Gone With a Whim (1)

    S7:E21

    With Sugarbaker's in such bad financial shape, the ladies are grateful when B. J. gets them a job redecorating a house that resembles the great home from Gone With The Wind --- until they find out that the new lady of the house plans to rip out the grand staircase and replace it with an elevator. To make matters worse, B. J. finds out that their client is trying to take over Poteet Industries and plans to give Sugarbaker's to his young bride Kiki --- renaming it ""Kikibaker's"".

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:David Steinberg

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  24. Designing Women Season 2 Episode 13 - Great Expectations
    6.8/10(113 votes)

    #24 - Great Expectations

    S2:E13

    Anthony is dismayed when an old prison cellmate arrives at Sugarbaker's with a business proposition -- he wants Anthony to become his partner.

    Director:David Trainer
    Writer:Linda Bloodworth-Thomason

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  25. Designing Women Season 6 Episode 8 - The Strange Case of Clarence and Anita
    6.8/10(96 votes)

    #25 - The Strange Case of Clarence and Anita

    S6:E8

    Perhaps the most famous episode, and a rare instance of a situation comedy making direct political comment on a current issue. The Sugarbakers women take sides on the controversial confirmation hearings of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill's accusation of sexual harassment: Mary Jo and Julia side with Hill and Allison with Thomas. Conflict spills over into Allison's birthday party, where Mary Jo and Julia turn up in costume just in time to hear a television interview about the hearings with Allison.

    Director:David Steinberg
    Writer:Linda Bloodworth-Thomason

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Real, Scary Men" is the worst rated episode of "Designing Women". It scored 5/10 based on 84 votes. Directed by David Steinberg and written by Unknown, it aired on 12/9/1991. This episode scored 0.3 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Shovel Off to Buffalo".