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‘Rhoda’ S1: A good ‘70s spin-off
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Rhoda was not a gypsy, tramp, or thief
As the upcoming release of “The Norman Lear Collection” demonstrates, the 1970s was the decade of the sitcom spinoff. In fact, an interesting documentary on the DVD set of the first season of the 1974 “The Mary Tyler Moors Show” spinoff “Rhoda,” which is being released on April 21, teaches us that the CBS requested this show in response to the success that Lear had with spinoffs.
“Rhoda centers around Mary’s BFF Rhoda moving back to New York and marrying the man who she meets in the pilot. The “very special” episode in which Rhoda gets married is rated as one of the top television programs of all time. The three appearances of Moore during the first season of “Rhoda” are also great fun.
Like most great sitcoms, the supporting characters are what make “Rhoda” great. Julie Kavner, who provides the voice of Marge on “The Simpsons,” plays Rhoda’s much younger sister Brenda who suffers from the same weight and appearance issues that Rhoda overcame on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Seeing Rhoda provide the same support that Mary provided her adds a nice element to the show.
Additionally, Nancy Walker continues the role of Rhoda’s stereotypical Jewish mother Ida Morgenstern that she played in guest appearances on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Many of us can relate to the coercion to eat, the guilt about not calling or visiting enough, and the general neuroses. The heart-warming elements regarding this relationship consist of the few occasions in which Ida treats Brenda and Rhoda like adults and confide in them.
Fans of the “Rhoda” will also remember Carlton the always intoxicated doorman who almost always is only a voice over the intercom. Lorenzo Music, who played Carlton, also provided the voice of Peter Venkman in the great “The Real Ghostbusters” cartoons about which I have written.
Rhoda’s husband Joe was the least interesting of the characters and was not given a very large role. Fans of the show will recall how later seasons addressed this.
Joe was simply a nice “average Joe” with very few quirks and not much of a straight man role. Additionally, his temper did not make him very appealing. The producers of the show admit in the documentary on the DVD set that they rushed the marriage in response to the request by CBS for a wedding episode.
“Rhoda” deserves additional praise for its good portrayal of 1970s marriage. It was amusing that Rhoda and Joe were first shown in bed together on the morning after their wedding. It was also very mid-1970s that they were not shown together in bed the rest of the season.
It was also interesting that Joe felt that he had to be the breadwinner and resisted taking money from Rhoda when his business hit a rough patch. However, he did not object to her having a career and fussed minimally when it interfered with her housework.
Further, the 1970s style was not unduly garish with the exception of a horrible lime-green couch that surprisingly only got a small laugh. This couch also became a plot line.
As always, your comments about this show are very welcome as additions to this entry or as e-mail to tvdvdguy@gmail.com.
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