A spinoff of the very popular The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda ran for five seasons from 1974-1978. Valerie Harper played Rhoda Morgenstern, the funky, flamboyantly fashioned best friend of Mary Richards who leaves Minneapolis and returns home to New York City. Rhoda had begun her television life as Mary Richards’ slightly overweight, self deprecating upstairs neighbor from New York who openly admitted she was looking to get married. By The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s third season, Harper had begun to slim down and had won three Emmy Awards as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. As a result, Harper was being flooded with offers from other producers to star in projects of her own.
James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, creators and producers of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, would later claim they knew from day one that Rhoda would one day merit a spin-off. Whatever the case, in 1974, Rhoda left Mary Richards behind and struck out on her own. In the series premiere, which aired on September 9, 1974 Rhoda takes a trip back to her hometown of New York City. While there, she meets the recently divorced Joe Girard (David Groh) and in the course of one episode, decides not to return to Minneapolis because the two are deeply in love.
Though that first episode was a ratings winner, scoring the number one spot in that weeks Nielsen ratings, watching the series now, it’s obvious to me that the series was destined for trouble. The character of Joe is poorly conceived; he’s not very likeable almost from the start. Owner of a demolition company, Joe was so ‘perfect’ in the first few episodes that he comes off as a total hothead when the producers tried to make him into a more realistic character. The show’s producers made a huge error when they had Rhoda and Joe get married by the end of the eighth episode. One of the things that made the character of Rhoda so appealing was the fact that that she was she was single. Not ugly, not gorgeous, she was a woman in her early thirties still struggling to find herself and a career that suited her. By having Rhoda slim down and decide to marry in just a few episodes, producers effectively wiped away a lot of what the public had come to love about Rhoda Morgenstern.
In the face of that disappointment, the series was fortunate to have such a solid supporting cast. Nancy Walker, fabulous as Rhoda’s mother Ida, had already appeared in a handful of episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and occasionally steals scenes from Valerie Harper. Well known character actor Harold Gould played Martin, Rhoda’s father. Ida and Martin were the archetypal Jewish parents. Ida was overbearing, overprotective, benevolently manipulative, and desperate to make sure Rhoda found a good husband. Martin was her dutiful, mild-mannered dad. Julie Kavner (The Simpsons) played Rhoda’s younger sister Brenda. Kavner had auditioned for a bit part in an episode of Mary Tyler Moore in 1973 but didn’t get the role. However, she wasn’t forgotten by the show’s producer’s when it came time to cast the part of Rhoda’s sister.
Ten years younger, Brenda is reminiscent of the Rhoda viewers saw on the early days of The Mary Tyler Moore Show; a plain-Jane who makes a beeline for the refrigerator at the first sign of trouble. The series is really at its best when it concentrates on the relationship between the two sisters. The second episode, “You Can Go Home Again,” is a great example, with Rhoda moving back into her parent’s apartment until Ma works up the courage to kick her daughter out of the nest, for her own good. It’s a touching, hilarious episode, as good as anything on Mary Tyler Moore. Other early shows like “Parents’ Day,” “The Shower,” and “Rhoda’s Wedding” all have great moments between the two sisters, and between mother and daughter. Walker, with her marvelous deadpan delivery, is a true television icon.
Rhoda and Joe got married in an episode that originally aired on October 28, 1974. Rhoda’s friends from Minneapolis, Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore), Lou Grant (Ed Asner), Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), and Rhoda’s usual adversary, Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman), appeared in the hour-long episode. Two days before “The Wedding” on Rhoda, the subplot of the Mary Tyler Moore episode “The New Sue Ann” featured Mary preparing for Rhoda’s wedding. The final scene shows Lou and Murray about to take Mary to the airport. “The Wedding” reveals to the audience that Mary’s plane was delayed, so Murray and Lou, who had a few too many at the airport bar, decided to fly to New York with Mary to attend Rhoda’s wedding. “Rhoda’s Wedding” was easily one of the biggest events on television in the seventies, with about 50 million viewers tuned in to see the nuptials. Thankfully, Shout! Factory has provided the original one-hour version of “Rhoda’s Wedding”, as opposed to the two-part edited version that aired in syndication.
At the end of the first season, Rhoda was number six in the Nielsen ratings, higher than Mary Tyler Moore ever was. Valerie Harper also won her fourth Emmy Award for playing Rhoda Morgenstern. Though the show was a success, it was in the ensuing seasons that producers would regret marrying off Rhoda, after all, much of the Rhoda’s humor came from her angst, so having her happily married didn’t give them much to work with.
Rhoda: Season One is presented on four single-sided, dual-layered discs. Unedited shows run approximately 25:30. However, most of the shows run about 22:40-50, which indicates these episodes are either cut and/or time-compressed – note how Harper’s voice sounds sped up during the otherwise terrific opening titles. Thankfully, “Rhoda’s Wedding” runs 51:21 and appears complete. It even includes a show “bumper” in the middle of it.
The look of the complete shows is not great but it would likely be acceptable for major Rhoda fans. The major disappointment is the cut/compressed ones that dominate this set aren’t just incomplete; they tend to look like they were taken off old VHS tapes. The audio is poor, the film elements are dirty and the colors are muddy.
Shout! Factory’s disclaimer preceding the episodes insist they’ve been “compiled from the best possible surviving masters,” but they have not put that disclaimer anywhere on the packaging itself.
The only special feature is Remembering Rhoda, a ten-minute interview with co-creators James L. Brooks and Allan Burns. It’s has some interesting tidbits; they discuss the show’s development, what it was like working with Harper, Kavner, and Walker, and why the show didn’t really work after Rhoda’s wedding to Joe.
If you can tolerate the issues with this set I’ve outlined above, Rhoda: Season One would be a welcome addition to any television fans DVD library.
