On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Three of Rhoda!
RHODA: SEASON FOUR
1977-1978
24 episodes
David Groh has left the show and Rhoda kicks off season four with somewhat of a reset. We thankfully get Nancy Walker back, but the show continues its trend of super obnoxious side characters and we don't even have the Rhoda and Joe storyline to keep things afloat like we did in season three. It's a new(ish) apartment, new characters, new theme song, new feel. But it's not a better show. This is very clearly the beginning of the end for Rhoda, a show that can still be great but feels like a shell of what it was.
Starring
Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern (24 episodes)
Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern (24 episodes)
Ron Silver as Gary Levy (20 episodes)
Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin (15 episodes)
Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle (15 episodes)
Nancy Walker as Ida Morgenstern (14 episodes)
Lorenzo Music as Carlton the Doorman (13 episodes)
Rafael Campos as Ramon (10 episodes)
Michael DeLano as Johnny Venture (8 episodes)
Harold Gould as Martin Morgenstern (2 episodes)
Nancy Lane as Tina (1 episode)
74. The Return of Ida (10/2/77)
Ida returns after her year-long trip and gets into an argument with Rhoda after learning her divorce is final.
Season four kicks off a new and officially post-Joe era on the show and it starts with an episode where Rhoda's divorce becomes final. The best part of this episode though is the grand return of Nancy Walker. Her absence was notably missed in season three and it feels good to have her back and less like the show is grasping for straws whenever she's around. In some ways, it feels like a mash-up of different Rhoda eras. We have Nancy Walker, who we mostly saw during Rhoda's marriage, with the sub-average characters that have appeared in her absence (Gary, Johnny and Benny). It is pretty funny when Ida says to Gary "you're looking better to me every minute" because that's how I've started to feel about Gary with the addition of more of these bad characters.
RATING: 7.5/10
75. The Job (10/9/77)
Rhoda decides to quit her window dressing business, but then has trouble finding a job.
Season three didn't even touch on Rhoda's window dressing business (whatever happened to that terrible Myrna?). But we find out here that she is not happy with her job. We meet another late-era Rhoda character in this episode in Jack Doyle. While Jack is not a terrible character, it's so very clearly an attempt to recreate the magic of Mary Richards and Lou Grant. Except Kenneth McMillian is no Ed Asner and Valerie Harper does not play as well in the Mary Richards role, that's not true to Rhoda's character. I don't want to be judgmental but McMillan is only 45 years old in this episode and he looks (and acts) at least 10 years older.
RATING: 5.5/10
1977-1978
24 episodes
David Groh has left the show and Rhoda kicks off season four with somewhat of a reset. We thankfully get Nancy Walker back, but the show continues its trend of super obnoxious side characters and we don't even have the Rhoda and Joe storyline to keep things afloat like we did in season three. It's a new(ish) apartment, new characters, new theme song, new feel. But it's not a better show. This is very clearly the beginning of the end for Rhoda, a show that can still be great but feels like a shell of what it was.
Starring
Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern (24 episodes)
Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern (24 episodes)
Ron Silver as Gary Levy (20 episodes)
Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin (15 episodes)
Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle (15 episodes)
Nancy Walker as Ida Morgenstern (14 episodes)
Lorenzo Music as Carlton the Doorman (13 episodes)
Rafael Campos as Ramon (10 episodes)
Michael DeLano as Johnny Venture (8 episodes)
Harold Gould as Martin Morgenstern (2 episodes)
Nancy Lane as Tina (1 episode)
Ida returns after her year-long trip and gets into an argument with Rhoda after learning her divorce is final.
Season four kicks off a new and officially post-Joe era on the show and it starts with an episode where Rhoda's divorce becomes final. The best part of this episode though is the grand return of Nancy Walker. Her absence was notably missed in season three and it feels good to have her back and less like the show is grasping for straws whenever she's around. In some ways, it feels like a mash-up of different Rhoda eras. We have Nancy Walker, who we mostly saw during Rhoda's marriage, with the sub-average characters that have appeared in her absence (Gary, Johnny and Benny). It is pretty funny when Ida says to Gary "you're looking better to me every minute" because that's how I've started to feel about Gary with the addition of more of these bad characters.
RATING: 7.5/10
75. The Job (10/9/77)
Rhoda decides to quit her window dressing business, but then has trouble finding a job.
Season three didn't even touch on Rhoda's window dressing business (whatever happened to that terrible Myrna?). But we find out here that she is not happy with her job. We meet another late-era Rhoda character in this episode in Jack Doyle. While Jack is not a terrible character, it's so very clearly an attempt to recreate the magic of Mary Richards and Lou Grant. Except Kenneth McMillian is no Ed Asner and Valerie Harper does not play as well in the Mary Richards role, that's not true to Rhoda's character. I don't want to be judgmental but McMillan is only 45 years old in this episode and he looks (and acts) at least 10 years older.
RATING: 5.5/10
76. Lady's Choice (10/16/77)
Gary and Benny fight for Brenda's attention and Brenda realizes she has to make a choice.
Ugh, this is a tough episode to get through. The plot revolves entirely around Gary and Benny and their love for Brenda and that's a bad enough idea because Ron Silver and Ray Buktenica are not up for an episode where they are the centerpieces. Then on top of that, the two characters get drunk and Silver/Buktenica are embarrassingly bad actors when it comes to playing drunk. It's nearly unwatchable once it gets to that part of the episode. And we also have Rhoda again playing a very minor role in her own show, which I just don't understand. Even when a Mary Tyler Moore episode revolved around another character, Mary always felt like an important player. Not here.
RATING: 1/10
Rhoda cannot find anyone to spend an evening with her so she decides to go out on the town on her own.
Johnny Venture gets entrance applause now? Anyway, now that that's out of the way, this is actually a pretty good one and a completely Rhoda-centric episode for once. This is a fun plot for a divorced character and there's something I really like the idea of Rhoda being at this little Times Square diner in the middle of the night. I know that it was done on a Hollywood soundstage, but it really had the feel of what the grimy Times Square of the 1970s must have been like. The show loses its momentum a little bit when all the subpar supporting characters are looking for Rhoda, but it's still a fun and original premise with a very sweet Carlton moment to boot.
RATING: 8/10
78. Ida Works Out (10/30/77)
Ida gets a job at Rhoda's workplace and ends up driving Rhoda crazy.
This episode title is clever considering Ida enters the episode working out with Brenda, but the premise is actually about her working with Rhoda. It also has a Halloween backdrop, which is pretty unusual for an MTM show, but I guess there's a fitting element with Rhoda now working at a costume store. As far an Ida-centric episode, it's not my favorite. This also might be the time to ask, what were they trying to do with Ramon? That character does not work at all and they've given him no personality except being vaguely dumb.
RATING: 4/10
79. Rhoda Likes Mike (11/6/77)
Rhoda falls for a friend of Jack's but is unsure of how to feel about her first major crush since Joe.
One year before he hit in big on Taxi, Judd Hirsch makes a memorable two episode guest stint here. Hirsch is a pro through and through and has good chemistry with Valerie Harper (come to think of it, he might have been a good Joe... but I digress). I think it was good for the show to get Rhoda into a more serious relationship (if only for two episodes) with a good guy and not a clown like Johnny Venture. It allowed them to grow Rhoda as a character and also make her life feel a little less pathetic in the post-Joe era.
RATING: 7/10
Mike invites Rhoda to go away for the weekend while Ida is visiting Rhoda at the same time.
I really wish Judd Hirsch had become a regular on Rhoda. I think it would have changed the trajectory of the later run (of course he wouldn't have been able to Taxi then). Not only does he continue to have great chemistry with Valerie Harper, we see now that he can go toe to toe with Nancy Walker and the scene between Ida and Mike was pretty hilarious. Not that I'm complaining about it, but the storyline with Brenda sort of seemed to die halfway through the episode. It wasn't any good anyway, the Rhoda and Mike stuff was much more interesting, I'm just noting that they didn't really resolve it.
RATING: 8.5/10
81. Home Movies (12/4/77)
In a snowstorm, Rhoda and Brenda end up at their parents house and watch old movies.
Harold Gould makes his first appearance on Rhoda since season two and he has been missed! This is a wonderful episode for the Morgenstern foursome, probably the best in the entire series to focus on the nuclear family. If you read the logline for this episode, it's not going to sound like anything special because it's not plot-driven. But, this is a very warm and sweet episode that's all about building relationships. I also think for a show in the 1970s, they do a good job of making the home videos look older and the characters younger. That's something TV shows are very good with now, but weren't as good with back then.
RATING: 9/10
82. Johnny's Solo Flight (12/11/77)
Johnny Venture's big break with opening a new nightclub turns into a flop, which sends him into a depression.
Ugh, Rhoda has been in a pretty solid stretch of episodes and here comes Johnny Venture to ruin it. They certainly try to make Johnny more human in this episode, but I just can't be compelled to care about him. Unlike with Judd Hirsch's character, there's just no chemistry between Valerie Harper and Michael DeLano despite the series' many attempts to try to make some magic. On top of that, there's way too much singing in these episodes. Rhoda is not the type of show where I need to hear a lot of singing. I keep hoping it's the last Johnny Venture episode and this one still isn't it but it's the last one to be primarily about him.
RATING: 1/10
Brenda tries to get over her shyness by going to a group for people who are shy.
This is an episode that is only so-so, but is highlighted by one great moment. The stuff with Jack falls pretty flat (as usual despite a pretty blatant attempt to humanize the character). Even the premise of Brenda trying to be less shy is not all that interesting. But there is such a funny moment in the middle of the episode when Brenda is asked at her shyness group to impersonate her mother at the store. Julie Kavner does a spot on impression of Nancy Walker in terms of mannerisms and delivery. It's a great moment and one of my favorites of the season but it doesn't move the needle that much in my rating of the episode because it's such a small part.
RATING: 5.5/10
84. Blind Date (1/8/78)
Rhoda is set up on a blind date with a man who ends up being very short.
This episode feels like a retread because The Mary Tyler Moore Show had a pretty well-known episode where Mary dates a much shorter man (and Rhoda can't help making jokes on that episode). I'm not saying sitcoms can't use the same plots, but Rhoda is associated with Mary obviously so I don't know that this was a good idea for an episode. Also, Valerie Harper just doesn't nail the comedy as well as Mary Tyler Moore did in the same scenario. Guest star David Landsberg does a good job of being so obnoxious that we don't feel sorry for him because of his height and that allows Rhoda to be pretty forceful with him without coming across as a jerk.
RATING: 5/10
85. Ida Alone (1/15/78)
Ida feels very alone because all her friends have either died or moved away so Rhoda and Brenda decide to throw a party for her.
You would think this would be a good episode with it being centered on Ida and revolving around a true to life plot that many have to deal with as they get older. But the episode feels incredibly disjointed. There's a pretty good plot with a new friend for Ida who ends up leaving just like all her other friends have done. But there's far too much with a "crazy cat woman" at the party that doesn't come across funny at all as well as some dumb scenes with Jack and Ramon. This episode should have done more to build up the friendship with Ida and Mae (guest star Erica Yohn) so the end of the episode would have been more meaningful. But they meandered around and didn't make it as tight as it could be.
RATING: 6.5/10
86. All Work and No Play (1/22/78)
Rhoda finds herself completely overwhelmed with work and letting down her friends.
This episode starts out by being about Rhoda being so overwhelmed with work and letting everyone down but it morphs into more of an episode about Rhoda and Brenda's relationship. I can't blame Rhoda for forgetting about things with Gary and Benny because, well, Gary and Benny are lame. And we have another Johnny Venture scene. Sigh. So I think it was smart to make this mostly about Brenda. It does expose some truths that have been seen throughout the series about Rhoda's sometimes selfish nature. It's nice to see the show put those character qualities out in the open.
RATING: 6/10
Rhoda and Brenda try to throw a surprise party for Ida and Martin's anniversary without Ida figuring it out.
Another fun episode with the Morgenstern family. Rhoda too often focuses on the bad side characters so it's always a breath of fresh air when we get an episode about Rhoda's family. The sisters scheming against Ida is a pretty funny plot that I actually think could have been flushed out even more. Once it got to the party, we got Johnny Venture (sigh) and the plot seemed to hit the brakes. This episode does seem to attempt to plant the seeds of the ill-advised Ida and Martin split that happens in Season Five. Maybe they were already considering that plot development so they decided to include a fight between Ida and Martin. But I still would have preferred an episode more about the surprise hidden from Ida.
RATING: 6.5/10
88. The Jack Story (2/5/78)
Jack is jealous of his brother so he brings Rhoda along as a date when he gets together with him.
I was pretty down on this episode before it even started due to it being called "The Jack Story." If this episode was trying to make me feel sorry for Jack, it failed. He is such a jerk and unlikable character. There is no gruffness mixed with sweetness like Lou Grant. He's just a jerk and the show really botched making this role by not making him multi-dimensional. Also, this show is a little weird with Brenda lately. Sometimes, she seems to be dating Benny and other times, she seems to be dating Gary. I get that people do that sometimes, but it seems a little weird when both are major characters on the show and there seems to be no rhyme or reason episode to episode.
RATING: 1/10
89. Rhoda Cheats (2/12/78)
Rhoda and Brenda enroll in night school and Rhoda gets kicked out for cheating.
Can we talk about the way that Benny walks for a minute? Why does he have that obnoxious strut with this dumb skates? It happened early in the episode so I had to get that off my chest first. Anyway, this is a fun episode premise and it's executed decently, though it could be better. Valerie Harper has some good moments as Rhoda tries to cheat in class and the contrast between her and Brenda as students is funny. But the episode loses it for me when Jack goes to the class to try to get her money back and gives an enthusiastic speech. Aside from one funny exchange with Brenda, it's just not as funny as it could be because it's Jack delivering it.
RATING: 5.5/10
Gary's parents move away and he starts relying on Rhoda, Brenda and then Ida to fill the void left by his mother.
I've mentioned this before, but Gary has really become a decent member in the cast if only because worse characters (Benny, Johnny, Jack) have come along after him. They also developed his character to a more interesting persona than the swinger he seemed when he first appeared at the beginning of season three. Pairing up Gary and Ida was an interesting matchup and it allowed for some good moments between Ida and her daughters. I wonder why Harold Gould was so absent for this season, only appearing in a couple episodes. He had done a series the season before, but it appears he wasn't on another show this season. His absent is felt especially with how much Ida is a part of this season.
RATING: 8/10
91. As Time Goes By (2/26/78)
Rhoda and Jack host a party to boost business and end up locked in a janitor closet where they get drunk.
A premise that was common on sitcoms back in the day but would be hard to do convincingly nowadays thanks to cell phones: characters get locked in somewhere. I don't have a problem with that as a sitcom trope and there have been some good ones under this category, but there's two problems here. First, I don't like drunk Rhoda and second, I don't like Jack (drunk or sober). Jack is a little bit more likable here than in past episodes, but that doesn't make him a fun character to watch for the majority of the episode. It's also interesting how Ida and Brenda seem to be brought down a little bit by being placed in an ensemble with the rest of the also-rans (including Ramon).
RATING: 4/10
92. Two's Company (3/5/78)
With Gary's business faltering, Benny offers to go into business with him as a silent partner.
So during this episode, I'm watching a scene between Benny and the newest lame recurring character, Tina, and I think to myself "is this even the same show that used to have episodes about Rhoda and Joe's marriage?" Talk about a show that just really became something totally different. Speaking of Tina, boy is she an annoying character. Like, right up there with Johnny Venture, Myrna and Nick Lobo levels of annoying. This show did not know how to find good supporting characters ever and that's so different from MTM gems The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show. If Gary and Benny were better characters, this would be a decent premise. If it was Murray and Ted going into business together on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, it would have worked. But with these characters, it only works a little bit of the time.
RATING: 2/10
Against her better judgment, Brenda enters a contest to be Bank Girl of the Year and gets further than she expects.
This episode is reminiscent of the Mary Tyler Moore episode "Rhoda the Beautiful," where Rhoda wins a beauty contest. Now it's Brenda's turn as she has become much more comfortable in her own skin amidst her weight loss. The difference here is Brenda becomes a little bit of a jerk. There are some funny moments though between Brenda and the other contestants as well as Rhoda encouraging Brenda that she actually does want to win. As great an actress as Julie Kavner is and as often as she is able to save mediocre writing and bad supporting characters, I have to say she is a pretty terrible crier on screen. Luckily, I don't think she's had to do that much as Marge Simpson.
RATING: 6/10
94. So Long, Lucky (4/2/78)
Rhoda becomes convinced she's a jinx after being involved in a couple serious accidents with a police officer and his animals.
This feels a little bit like an I Love Lucy episode with its plot. It is handled in a more mature way, which would be expected of a show like Rhoda. But it also isn't as funny as Lucy would be, also expected. Guest star Carmine Caridi, who had previously appeared on season two of Phyllis, was a game guest star and a good foil to Valerie Harper. The problem with this episode was it was just a bunch of the same thing. Rhoda killing the police officer's horse and then subsequently his bird was funny. But then it just kept going with the same joke over and over. He visited her multiple times and more things happened. And there wasn't even a real resolution. It was just very lazy storytelling.
RATING: 4.5/10
95. Jack's Back (4/9/78)
Right before everyone is supposed to go out for the evening, Jack throws out his back and ends up staying at Rhoda's for a long time.
Ugh, a very long episode about Jack. At the risk of repeating myself, this would have been a hilarious episode if Lou Grant threw out his back and had to live with Mary Richards. But, it doesn't work with Jack because he's just such an unlikable character (and disgusting, I know that sandwich bit was played for laughs but it made me a little sick). Also, it seems now as though Johnny Venture only exists to make entrances in ridiculous costumes. I'll still take it over episodes centered on him. But episodes centered on Jack are not much better. There is one funny bit with Brenda being stuck in her shirt. This is also quietly the final episode for Gary, who departs the series with no explanation.
RATING: 2/10
96. Five for the Road Part 1 (4/16/78)
Ida's pot roast is stolen on her way over to Rhoda so Rhoda, Ida, Jack, Brenda and Benny decide to go on a road trip to an upstate restaurant Jack knows about.
Getting a bunch of a show's characters on a road trip gone bad is usually a recipe for success on a TV show but when two of those characters are Jack and Benny, it's less appealing. We already know Jack is a jerk but Benny is a really big jerk in this episode between his complaints to Brenda at the beginning of the episode and his behavior during the road trip. I don't know what was with this show's propensity to make characters (especially male characters) just so terribly unlikable in every way. They really make it hard to watch sometime and they spoil any potentially good plan for an episode, like this one.
RATING: 3/10
After getting stranded in upstate New York, the gang has to try to make it through the night at a deserted restaurant.
This episode is a better than part one,. I think it's mainly because there's more of the Morgenstern girls and less of Benny and Jack. I also think it's the setting of the deserted restaurant, which makes for fun scenes. This episode reminds me a little bit of the snowbound episode of I Love Lucy, especially when Brenda eats the chocolate bar. Ida's interrogation of all the "suspects" is actually a pretty funny bit. I did get to thinking watching this episode that Rhoda is at the point where Ida can only help it so much. She was always a breath of fresh air early on in the show's run and was involved in some of the best episodes. Now that she's included more with the ensemble, her appearances seem less special. But, without her, the episodes would be worse.
RATING: 5/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON FOUR:
5.1/10
The Best Episodes
1. "Home Movies" (#81) - 9/10
2. "The Weekend" (#80) - 8.5/10
3. "One is a Number" (#77) - 8/10
4. "Gary and Ida" (#90) - 8/10
5. "The Return of Ida" (#74) - 7.5/10
The Worst Episodes
1. "Johnny's Solo Flight" (#82) - 1/10
2. "Lady's Choice" (#76) - 1/10
3. "The Jack Story" (#88) - 1/10
4. "Two's Company" (#92) - 2/10
5. "Five for the Road" Part 1 (#95) - 3/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week!
Next Thursday: A look at the fifth and final season of Rhoda!
No comments:
Post a Comment