Ep 16. The Fur Flies

The Fur Flies is the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of the popular television show Designing Women. It was first aired on CBS on February 6, 1990 and was directed by Harry Thomason.

The episode presents a hilarious and entertaining story in which the women of Sugarbaker's Design firm find themselves caught up in a grand scheme of deception and intrigue, all centered around a mistakenly delivered package of fur coats. As it so happened, Mary Jo's assistant Teri mistakenly receives a collection of luxury fur coats that were supposed to be delivered to a nearby boutique. Rather than returning the coats, she seizes the opportunity to impress her wealthy friends by pretending they are her own.

Eventually, the boutique manager tracks down Teri, but before the coats can be returned, they are stolen. The ladies of Sugarbaker's are soon caught up in a non-stop journey of investigation and deception that takes them from the streets of Atlanta to the glamour of high society.

During the course of the episode, we get a glimpse of each of the character's personalities. For example, Julia's temper flares up when she gets a whiff of the stolen furs in the shop and is convinced that the guilty party must have broke in through the air conditioning vent. Mary Jo, as usual, is quick to laugh off any mishap, although it is obvious that the fur coats are a sore subject for her due to the fact that she had previously been turned down for a loan to purchase a coat. Meanwhile, Charlene is mostly concerned with planning her upcoming wedding to the love of her life Bill.

Along the way, the women cross paths with various other characters. One of the most amusing of these is a sleazy fur salesman named Wayne (played by guest star Jerry Hardin), who is convinced that the fur coats are connected to a major conspiracy involving a shadowy group known only as "The Furriers." His antics, along with those of various other characters, add to the overall chaos of the episode, which reaches a peak at a high society charity ball.

The ball provides the perfect setting for the conclusion of the story, as the women find themselves face to face with the thief. Despite Wayne's insistence that they proceed with caution, the ladies confront the suspect, leading to hilarious consequences as they try to tag him with a hidden device that was used to track the fur coats.

Overall, Designing Women season 4 episode 16 is an entertaining and lighthearted episode that offers plenty of laughs and excitement for viewers. It's an excellent example of why the show became a fan favorite in its time, and why it continues to resonate with audiences to this day.