Rhoda

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/2/14 at 12:39pm

I've been watching the sitcom Rhoda recently (part of my journey to revisit the 70s). I never watched it when it aired and so this is my first time viewing the material. I find it an interesting sitcom because all the parts seem to be in place, but it never really reaches the heights that it should.

Valerie Harper is an engaging actress. She proved herself on Mary Tyler Moore and I think definitely deserved her own sitcom. But when they moved her from funny sidekick to center stage, they couldn't think of enough situations to put her in. That's really a shame because they give her a "sexy" job and then spend the series largely ignoring it, choosing to focus on family. Valerie did well as "the wisecracker" but they just can't put her in enough situations to justify the dialogue. Plus in the transition to center stage, Valerie lost some of her great material to Julie Kavner.

Julie Kavner is great as the sister. She takes on all the material that Valerie had on the Mary Tyler Moore Show: overweight, can't find a date, etc. But what makes her better is that Julie has a deadpan delivery and an innocence that Valerie didn't have. Valerie wisecracked her way through, which was funny, but Julie is funny because of the innocence.

David Groh is wonderful as Joe. The unfortunate part is that the writers moved his storyline along too fast. A marriage in Season 1? What were they thinking? They should have spent at least two seasons developing Joe as boyfriend.

Nancy Walker is brilliant as the mother. She lifts the show everytime she is on it.

Of course, one of the most brilliant gags in tv history is Carlton the Doorman. This was a winner of an idea and has been repeated in other sitcoms to great effect.

By Season 3, you can see the writers grasping for straws as they introduce new characters. Ron Silver and Anne Meara are great characters, but it forces Rhoda into the position of being sidekick to them rather than the other way around. And it diminishes the work of David Groh who is just cast aside.

But Rhoda is fun to watch for the special guest stars they bring in. Leland Palmer played Rhoda and Brenda's weight loss coach. And Doris Roberts shows up as Ron Silver's mother. Of course, Jerry Stiller shows up as Anne Meara's ex-husband. And several other interesting people show up on the show.

Still the show ran for 5 seasons and has been issued on dvd, so Rhoda still lives on.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 2/3/14 at 4:56pm

I loved this show. And watched it in the 70's.

Rhoda's wedding was an EVENT! I remember that my sister and I had friends over for a 'Wedding Party' sleep-over. (Even though it was a school night!)

I think the show was kind of ground-breaking, as so many of those iconic 70's sitcoms were. They dealt with topics that hadn't been depicted on TV before.
Perhaps it didn't reach the same heights as some of the other shows from that era, but it broke audience records - and we all had a place in our heart for Rhoda.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 2/3/14 at 4:58pm

...the scene in which Rhoda runs down the street in her wedding dress - is one of the most memorable scenes in TV history!

Updated On: 2/3/14 at 04:58 PM

[NYadgal]

Posted: 2/3/14 at 5:01pm

The dress is so wonderfully "1970s"!

[NYadgal]

Posted: 2/3/14 at 5:02pm

ps - I NEVER forgave Phyllis for forgetting to pick Rhoda up on the day of her wedding.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/3/14 at 5:09pm

I love Rhoda. (And Valerie too!)

[NYadgal]

Posted: 2/3/14 at 5:17pm

She was so REAL.

[D2]

Posted: 2/3/14 at 7:21pm

To this day I've never seen Rhoda's wedding in its entirety! I had rehearsals on the nights it was first aired, and rehearsals when it was repeated in the spring. ( Back in the pre-VCR days. ) I've since seen bits and pieces of the episodes, but never both of them back-to-back from beginning to end.

Like Addy and PJ, though, I loved ( and love ) Rhoda, the character, and loved the show. As Addy pointed out, it might not have scaled the heights that other classic sitcoms from the 70s did, and perhaps it never really found a consistent voice, but it was a successful show in its own right with its own quirky charm.

[DAME]

Posted: 2/3/14 at 7:29pm

I enjoyed it immensely. It is one of the first sitcoms I have recollection of ever watching. Thanks for sharing. I think I am going to get them.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 2/3/14 at 8:01pm

I loved RHODA and I love Valerie Harper, but what they did to that character when they gave her her own show was eventually turn her into "Mary" and her sister assumed her old role of dumpy sidekick. RHODA became to "slick", she lost her edge and she essentially became "That Jewish Girl". That is not to say that the show wasn't funny, because it was. They shouldn't have married her off so fast, it backfired and then they wound up having her get a divorce,which sucked because boy did I have a crush on David Groh!

[DAME]

Posted: 2/3/14 at 8:04pm

Sh*t everyone here is old.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 2/4/14 at 11:47am

David Groh's chest hair deserved it's own show.

LOVED this show, and I dont agree that it lost anything from MTM. I accepted, even as a child, that Rhoda was growing up. It's all in the opening credits. I also loved Phyllis, but that really was an uneven show. All of those actresses were just so damn good!

And Brenda Morgenstern was one of my favorite characters back then...LOVE Kavner!