"You Gotta Have Hope" is an episode in the fourth season of The Golden Girls.
Rose is convinced that Bob Hope is her real father and that he will perform as the Master of Ceremonies at an upcoming charity benefit.
Tropes:
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Sophia presents the Donnatello Triplets (played by the Del Rubio Triplets) early in the episode to the other Girls for the charity benefit... on conditions that her boyfriend (and most likely herself as well) would get to perform in said benefit as well. They do fulfill the conditions late in the episode, which pays off big time when it turns out Sophia's boyfriend just happened to be in vaudeville with Bob Hope in the past and is able to get him to make an appearance.
- Assurance Backfire: When Dorothy is already feeling stressed out over the prospect of the charity benefit failing, Rose tries to consult her... by claiming to be Bob Hope's daughter and, therefore, certain that he would show up to save the day at the charity performance. Too bad it's all a Celebrity Lie that Rose has genuinely held onto, which only serves to stress Dorothy out more, if anything.
- The Cameo: Bob Hope appears as himself at the end of the episode.
- Celebrity Lie: Rose claims that she was the daughter of Bob Hope in order to get him to perform for a benefit—the variation being that she genuinely believes this to be true. (She was an orphan and reminisced about seeing Hope on a movie screen as a child, becoming convinced that he was her father). Luckily for her, he turns out to be the old vaudeville partner of Sophia's boyfriend and shows up anyway.
- Contrived Coincidence: Dorothy desperately tries to get entertainment for a ladies' auxiliary talent show. Rose firmly believes that Bob Hope is her father, having always envisioned him as such after seeing him in a movie while living at an orphanage, and swears that she can get him to help. Just when she gives up, though, it just so happens that Sophia's boyfriend, who's appearing in the talent show, used to be in vaudeville with Hope and is able to get him to make an appearance. It's lampshaded by Rose herself as a "lucky coincidence," but perhaps it can be forgiven because of its heartwarming nature.
- Dirty Old Woman: When Rose claims that Bob Hope is her father with no other proof than that she used to dream it, Blanche says it's strange, and wonders why Rose doesn't have a normal, healthy dream, "like sweaty Argentinean men whipping things while they ride naked on the backs of Brahma bulls." Dorothy just shoots her an odd look and reminds herself never to use Blanche's towels again.
- Larynx Dissonance: The episode starts with a burly black man singing Puff the Magic Dragon in falsetto. None of the girls auditioning the performers is impressed. Here's the clip.
Blanche: Thank you. That was... very odd. - Negative Continuity: Rose's maiden name is well-established as Lindstrom, but a notorious goof in this episode gives her parents the name Nylund, her married name.
- The Reveal: Rose reveals for the first time that she was adopted.
