Empty Nest
Surprise! Surprise!
TV Flash files “Surprise! Surprise!” as the last listed hour of season 5 — Empty Nest (1988–1995) on NBC, season 5, episode 26, aired 1993-05-22, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E26: listed hour 120 of 170 in the Empty Nest guide, last listed hour of season 5. It aired 1993-05-22 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Charley to the Rescue” (S05E25). Next is “When the Rooster Dies” (S06E01).
Viewer FAQ
Where does Surprise! Surprise! sit in the Empty Nest guide?
S05E26 is listed hour 120 of 170 — last listed hour of season 5, season 5 episode 26.
When did Empty Nest S05E26 air?
Surprise! Surprise! aired 1993-05-22 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need The Golden Girls first?
Helpful for the shared Miami universe and the crossovers, not required. Empty Nest runs seven seasons on Mulligan's grouch without Blanche in every scene.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Richard Mulligan's widowed pediatrician next door to the Golden Girls — Miami as a shared sitcom universe, adult daughters moving home, and Dinah Manoff as the chaos agent. Crossovers keep the cheesecake continuum alive. Proof a neighbor-spinoff can run seven seasons on grouch charm without needing Blanche in every scene.
Seven seasons. One hundred seventy hours. NBC, 1988–1995 — a neighbor-spinoff that ran into the mid-1990s without needing Blanche in every scene. That is the chart. Empty Nest is Susan Harris's Miami expansion: Richard Mulligan as widowed pediatrician Dr. Harry Weston, Dinah Manoff's Carol as the chaos agent, Kristy McNichol's Barbara, David Leisure's Charley, Park Overall's Laverne. Adult daughters moved home. Next door to the Golden Girls. Guest crossovers kept the cheesecake continuum alive. Rex will call it a…
Filed against
- Richard Mulligan as Dr. Harry Weston
Richard Mulligan’s Burt Campbell survived Soap’s murder-and-aliens recap scripture — Katherine Helmond’s Jessica, boycotts, Billy Crystal’s Jodie — then moved next door to the Golden Girls as Empty Nest’s widowed pediatrician. ABC’s…
- Dinah Manoff as Carol Weston
Dinah Manoff’s Carol Weston was Empty Nest’s chaos agent — Richard Mulligan’s widowed pediatrician next door to the Golden Girls, Miami as a shared sitcom universe, adult daughters moving home, crossovers keeping the cheesecake continuum…
- Kristy McNichol as Barbara Weston
Kristy McNichol's Barbara Weston moved home on Empty Nest — Richard Mulligan's widowed pediatrician next door to the Golden Girls, Miami as a shared sitcom universe, adult daughters as the chaos and the point. The desk files her as 1980s…
- David Leisure as Charley Dietz
David Leisure’s Charley Dietz leered through Empty Nest as the neighbor joke next door to the Golden Girls — Miami as a shared sitcom universe, Richard Mulligan’s widowed pediatrician, adult daughters moving home. Crossovers kept the…
- Park Overall as Laverne Todd
Park Overall played Laverne Todd on Empty Nest, the 1980s Miami neighbor-spinoff next door to The Golden Girls — Richard Mulligan’s widowed pediatrician, adult daughters moving home, Dinah Manoff as chaos agent. Crossovers kept the…