It's time to kick off a new episode guide! Over the next six weeks, I will be looking at Rhoda during my weekly Thursday episode guide! A reminder about my breakdown in ratings of episodes:
9-10: Exceptional
7-8: Strong
5-6: OK
3-4: Mediocre
1-2: Terrible
RHODA: SEASON ONE
1974-1975
25 episodes
After four celebrated years on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Valerie Harper moves over to one of TV's first successful spinoffs in Rhoda. Rhoda kicks off its run in grand fashion with a string of very strong episodes leading up to the iconic one hour wedding episode (more on that below). After the wedding episode, the show starts to meander a bit and develops the inconsistent streak that will plague it for the rest of its run. Though there are great episodes to come, Rhoda is a show where the first 10 episodes collectively are better than any batch of 10 that follow it.
Starring
Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern Gerard (25 episodes)
Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern (25 episodes)
David Groh as Joe Gerard (23 episodes)
Nancy Walker as Ida Morgenstern (10 episodes)
Lorenzo Music as Carlton the Doorman (19 episodes)
Harold Gould as Martin Morgenstern (7 episodes)
Scoey Mitchell as Justin Culp (5 episodes)
Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards (5 episodes)
Barbara Sharma as Myrna Morgenstein (4 episodes)
Wes Stern as Lenny (3 episodes)
Beverly Sanders as Susan Alborn (2 episodes)
Richard Masur as Nick Lobo (1 episode)
1. Joe (9/9/74)
Rhoda visits her sister Brenda in New York and falls in love with a man named Joe making her not want to go back to Minneapolis.
The pilot episode of Rhoda is actually edited on the DVD set. It should begin with a scene at the airport with Mary Tyler Moore. Luckily, that can be viewed elsewhere online. It's followed by the epic opening sequence which is a great way to introduce a show. I'm glad they changed it after season one because it didn't need to last forever, but it's perfect for the early episodes of the show. This is really a great pilot in every way. It establishes Rhoda's relationship with both Brenda and Joe and it has the first of many great performances from Nancy Walker. We all know Rhoda had a bumpy road at times during its run, but it certainly started off on a high note. The playoff of Mary tossing her hat, Rhoda-style, is introduced in this episode and then used in the closing credits.
RATING: 9.5/10
2. You Can Go Home Again (9/16/74)
Now unemployed in New York, Rhoda looks for a place to live and Ida suggests she moves back home.
These early episodes of Rhoda really do a nice job of building Rhoda's new world. We get more development between all the main characters. This episode also features a guest turn by Henry Winkler who at this point was already starring on Happy Days, but wasn't quite the iconic character he became. I don't feel it's quite as tight as the pilot but picks up once Rhoda is back at home and dealing with Ida as Nancy Walker gives another great performance. She is just so funny in this role. However, can we say how icky it is that Brenda is dating a third cousin?
RATING: 8/10
1974-1975
25 episodes
After four celebrated years on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Valerie Harper moves over to one of TV's first successful spinoffs in Rhoda. Rhoda kicks off its run in grand fashion with a string of very strong episodes leading up to the iconic one hour wedding episode (more on that below). After the wedding episode, the show starts to meander a bit and develops the inconsistent streak that will plague it for the rest of its run. Though there are great episodes to come, Rhoda is a show where the first 10 episodes collectively are better than any batch of 10 that follow it.
Starring
Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern Gerard (25 episodes)
Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern (25 episodes)
David Groh as Joe Gerard (23 episodes)
Nancy Walker as Ida Morgenstern (10 episodes)
Lorenzo Music as Carlton the Doorman (19 episodes)
Harold Gould as Martin Morgenstern (7 episodes)
Scoey Mitchell as Justin Culp (5 episodes)
Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards (5 episodes)
Barbara Sharma as Myrna Morgenstein (4 episodes)
Wes Stern as Lenny (3 episodes)
Beverly Sanders as Susan Alborn (2 episodes)
Richard Masur as Nick Lobo (1 episode)
Rhoda visits her sister Brenda in New York and falls in love with a man named Joe making her not want to go back to Minneapolis.
The pilot episode of Rhoda is actually edited on the DVD set. It should begin with a scene at the airport with Mary Tyler Moore. Luckily, that can be viewed elsewhere online. It's followed by the epic opening sequence which is a great way to introduce a show. I'm glad they changed it after season one because it didn't need to last forever, but it's perfect for the early episodes of the show. This is really a great pilot in every way. It establishes Rhoda's relationship with both Brenda and Joe and it has the first of many great performances from Nancy Walker. We all know Rhoda had a bumpy road at times during its run, but it certainly started off on a high note. The playoff of Mary tossing her hat, Rhoda-style, is introduced in this episode and then used in the closing credits.
RATING: 9.5/10
2. You Can Go Home Again (9/16/74)
Now unemployed in New York, Rhoda looks for a place to live and Ida suggests she moves back home.
These early episodes of Rhoda really do a nice job of building Rhoda's new world. We get more development between all the main characters. This episode also features a guest turn by Henry Winkler who at this point was already starring on Happy Days, but wasn't quite the iconic character he became. I don't feel it's quite as tight as the pilot but picks up once Rhoda is back at home and dealing with Ida as Nancy Walker gives another great performance. She is just so funny in this role. However, can we say how icky it is that Brenda is dating a third cousin?
RATING: 8/10
3. I'll Be Loving You, Sometimes (9/23/74)
Joe says he wants to take a step back in the relationship so Rhoda starts dating again while worrying about Joe.
I think this is the kind of episode we would have had more of if the writers didn't rush Joe and Rhoda to the altar (famously, they were worried about ratings against Monday Night Football so they planned the wedding to happen early but didn't have to since Rhoda was a smash out of the gate). I so wish they had the confidence in the show to give Rhoda and Joe a whole year (at least) of dating. I think the show would have had a completely different trajectory. This episode features a funny guest turn by Howard Hesseman and is a sweet building block in the Rhoda/Joe relationship but also shows Joe's restlessness long before they would make a decision for them to divorce.
RATING: 7.5/10
After pressure from Ida, Rhoda and Joe decide to meet each other's parents on the same day.
A great showcase for Ida, this is a fun premise. We also get to see Harold Gould for the first time on this show (he appeared twice on Mary Tyler Moore). We also get to meet Joe's parents and it's refreshing to see the show not go to the typical sitcom place of a nasty potential mother-in-law. Instead, Rhoda gets along great with Joe's parents. When the episode shifts to Ida and Martin's apartment, the comedy picks up quite a bit with Ida trying to be something she's not before turning into everything we know her to be. Another great early Rhoda episode.
RATING: 8/10
5. The Lady in Red (10/7/74)
Rhoda is unemployed and finds a job that forces her to go to a funeral of an author during her interview.
This episode doesn't have Joe in it and is the only one in the early Rhoda canon that doesn't deal with their relationship at all. Of course I wish there were more of these early on as I already discussed, but this isn't a great episode. The Mary Tyler Moore Show did the funeral scene a whole lot better about a year later and it feels a little anti-climactic. One thing I did like about was seeing the relationship between Rhoda, Brenda and Martin. It's not too often that we get to see a lot of Martin without Ida and it's nice once in awhile.
RATING: 5/10
6. Pop Goes the Question (10/14/74)
After Rhoda wants to know what's happening with their relationship, Joe asks Rhoda to move in with him
This would have been a fantastic episode if it had just been about Rhoda and Joe moving in together. Most of the episode is, with some good deliberation with Brenda and a very funny scene with Martin. But then the haste of getting Rhoda and Joe to the altar rears its ugly head again and they end up getting engaged at the end of the episode. It just feels like everything moves way too fast and doesn't unfold organically. It's interesting that this episode was brought up again in the season three marriage counselor episode after Rhoda and Joe separate. A special shout-out though to seeing the Mary Richards apartment and hearing the Mary Tyler Moore theme song when Rhoda calls Mary to share her news.
RATING: 7.5/10
7. The Shower (10/21/74)
Brenda throws a bridal shower for Rhoda and invites her friends (and one enemy by accident) from high school.
There are some fun things in this episode - Linda Lavin's guest appearance (more on that below) and a drunk Brenda are highlights. But it also introduces a couple characters who I never found funny - the super-nerd Myrna and the perpetually pregnant Susie. Neither of these characters show up all that often but they were examples of something I think Rhoda felt victim too often during its run: developing characters based on one trait instead of developing fully-formed characters. That being said, I would have loved to see more of Linda Lavin's character. She was hilarious and biting and had a great competitive dynamic with Valerie Harper.
RATING: 6.5/10
Rhoda and Joe get married with her family and friends from Minneapolis there for the wedding. But first, Rhoda has to find a way to get to the Bronx in her wedding dress when Phyllis forgets to pick her up.
A classic episode not just for Rhoda but for TV in general and a hugely rated event when it first aired in 1974. This is one of those episodes where there was a ton of hype and the show completely lived up to it by delivering pretty much a perfect episode. It was also one of TV's first "event" episodes in a sitcom. Never mind that it came on too fast for the show's long term health, this episode was great as an individual episode. The great moments here are too numerous to name but there are hilarious moments from every member of the Rhoda cast as well as the Mary Tyler Moore cast that was guest starring (all except Ted Knight and Betty White). Rhoda's iconic run through New York City as she tries to make it to her wedding in time is not only an inspired idea but a great look at New York City in the 1970s. Phyllis' and others reaction when she figures out her mistake is a brilliant comedic moment. It's all so good and so well done. Rhoda never reached this height again. I wish it had been a first season finale instead of the eighth (and ninth) episode of the season. Incorporating "Here Comes the Bride" in the closing credits is a brilliant final touch.
RATING: 10/10
10. The Honeymoon (11/4/74)
Despite Rhoda and Joe wanting to have a quiet honeymoon at home, Ida and Martin give them of a cruise.
It would be hard for any episode to follow "Rhoda's Wedding" and it was natural to do an episode about a honeymoon. This has some nice moments: seeing Rhoda and Joe together at the beginning of the episode was a nice way to start and there were some funny moments with the senior citizens on the cruise (including a nice appearance by sitcom guest starring veteran Charles Lane). Still, I would classify this as a "good, not great" episode because it never quite kicks into high gear. It also has the introduction of another obnoxious recurring character, accordion player Nick Lobo (Richard Masur).
RATING: 6/10
11. 9-E is Available (11/11/74)
Rhoda wants to move into a new apartment and a beautiful one opens up in Brenda's building but Joe is reluctant about it being too close to Brenda.
It seems like this whole first half of Rhoda's first season is filled with episodes dealing with major life milestones and this is no exception as it deals with Rhoda and Joe getting an apartment. Not really important, but Rhoda and Joe's apartment that they buy in this episode has always reminded me of the California apartment from I Love Lucy. It's a very similar layout. It's a good episode to develop the Brenda and Joe relationship, but Joe taking it sight unseen after just one little suggestion from Brenda is a little bit too easy of a resolution.
RATING: 6.5/10
Rhoda is late and worried that she is pregnant at the same time that Joe is worried about finances.
Boy, those Gerards sure get an apartment put together quickly. It seems a little bit soon for Rhoda to do an episode like this in the marriage of Rhoda and Joe, but it is handled well. This was a pretty daring topic for an MTM show (seems more like a Norman Lear plot). At least the show found a natural way to include Susan. She's a one-trick pony but that trick is related to pregnancy so her connection to this episode makes sense. There was some sweetness between Rhoda and Joe in this episode.
RATING: 5.5/10
13. Anything Wrong? (11/25/74)
Rhoda suspects something is wrong with Joe but he will not talk to her about it.
As I mentioned, it seemed like Rhoda spent much of the beginning of its run dealing with major life events. Now we're into regular married life and there are more humdrum episodes. It doesn't get much more humdrum than this and we already get to meet the moody Joe and see cracks in the marriage. This makes me wonder how early the writers were thinking about divorcing Rhoda and Joe. I can't imagine it was this early, but episodes like this certainly helped seem like foreshadowing to the divorce.
RATING: 3.5/10
14. S Wonderful (12/2/74)
Rhoda is convinced that the man Brenda is dating is married.
This is a good episode for the development of the Rhoda/Brenda relationship even if Rhoda comes across a little bit annoying. There are some good lines and moments though with Rhoda making the married man wildly uncomfortable. This is where we first start to see Joe being used in an unimportant way, which was a growing problem for the show. Here, he's reduced to a dumb sub-plot about needing to sell his car and he spends most of the dinner just telling Rhoda to stop. This seems to be the episode where they started to realize they couldn't write for Joe.
RATING: 5.5/10
15. Goodbye Charlie (12/9/74)
Joe wants to spend time with his best friend, Charlie, but it turns out that Rhoda can't stand him.
Richard Schaal, Valerie Harper's real-life husband at the time, made appearances in many MTM shows including a stint as a regular on Phyllis. In my opinion, this was a terrible case of nepotism because boy, is Schaal annoying in every show he's in. I know he plays obnoxious characters but there are ways to play them in endearing ways (Ted Knight, Danny DeVito, Steve Carell, etc). That never happens with Schaal, he's always just annoying to watch. So Schaal is annoying but I think there's some truth to this episode and probably something that married couples have had to negotiate so at least that is interesting and helps the premise of the episode overcome Schaal.
RATING: 5/10
Rhoda tries to help out Joe financially at the holidays when he's having a lot of trouble with his business.
Another "mopey Joe" episode, this one is set at Christmas time and has a decidedly Christmas theme at the beginning despite the fact that Rhoda and Brenda are Jewish. This was highlighted in the Mary Tyler Moore Christmas episode but seems to be ignored in this one, I'm not sure why. The rest of the episode seems to not be too much about the holiday, however aside from some passing mentions. I wish that Rhoda used Joe's office staff a little bit more, particularly Scoey Mitchell, who is very funny as Justin Culp and has a great bit about being the first black guy in his union in this episode. I think if they had done more with that, it may have helped developed Joe's character.
RATING: 5.5/10
17. Whattya Think Its There For? (1/6/75)
Rhoda and Joe reluctantly ask Ida and Martin for money only to discover that they are having money trouble too.
This is sort of a "Part 2" to the previous episode. I'm not sure why Rhoda chose to do this money arc so early in the run because it's a little bit of a downer, but this episode is better than the previous one thanks to the presence of Ida and Martin. Ida has some great moments including a hilarious line about Johnny Carson. That line comes during the best scene in the episode and it's between Ida and Martin with the main characters nowhere to be seen. That's nice for this episode, but the problem with the show's meandering in the second half of its first season.
RATING: 6.5/10
18. Not Made for Each Other (1/13/75)
Rhoda and Joe host a dinner party where Rhoda's single friend Myrna and Joe's single friend Charlie are attending, but Rhoda doesn't want to fix them up.
Boy, this is a rough episode. The worst thing throughout Rhoda's run was some very bad side characters that didn't have the last name of Morgenstern. Here, we have three of the most annoying characters we've met to date: Myrna, Charlie and Lenny. The tight race for most annoying character in this episode has to go to Myrna though, who is a pretty insufferable character. She's played for laughs, but she wears on you quickly. Again, Rhoda does not seem to know how to make annoying characters lovable with the exception of Ida, who is masterfully played by Nancy Walker (and not in this episode). This is the worst episode of Rhoda to date.
RATING: 2/10
Joe stresses about Rhoda meeting up with an old boyfriend.
So, Rhoda apparently was in love with the same man for three years in her 20s? It's weird that detail never came up in her four years on The Mary Tyler Moore Show before Rhoda. Perhaps because that detail was only devised in order to do this episode? The whole episode feels a little weird, that they keep calling it a "date" with the ex, particularly. This episode almost seems like the writers wanted Rhoda to be single and go on a date and they had to find a way to work it around the marriage because Rhoda's behavior in this episode is completely out of character, especially when she convinces Brenda to leave as soon as the "date" starts.
RATING: 3/10
20. Everything I Have is Yours... Almost (1/27/75)
Rhoda finds out that Joe has been seeing a psychiatrist and doesn't know how to ask him why.
So many of these post-wedding first season episodes of Rhoda seem to be built on Rhoda and Joe not trusting each other or not sharing everything with each other. This one plays a little more real and a little less mopey than some of the others, so that helps. I know this ends sweetly but episodes like this are reasons that the divorce doesn't seem completely shocking when it comes in season three. There's a great scene with the underused Justin Culp where he relates Rhoda's dilemma about asking Joe what's wrong to his suspicions that his wife is pregnant.
RATING: 6.5/10
21. Chest Pains (2/3/75)
Ida concerns Rhoda and Brenda when she tells them she has been experiencing chest pains so she goes to a doctor for the first time in her life.
Joe does not appear in this episode and instead we get the first complete showcase for Ida. It really is amazing to see how Nancy Walker just takes over every scene she's in. Her delivery and commitment to character is so impressive. She also plays so well off of both Valerie Harper and Julie Kavner and while she's mostly hilarious, she has a couple really, really sweet moments in this episode too. Any episode focused on her is going to be a strong Rhoda episode. This episode also features a guest turn by John Ritter, an MTM guest star favorite before he landed his role on Three's Company. It's weird that he's playing a boyfriend of Brenda's who plays the accordion when that is what another boyfriend, Nick Lobo, is best known for. Was Richard Masur not available for this episode at the last minute?
RATING: 8/10
With her windows jobs booming, Rhoda decides to open up her own office and finds herself swamped there too.
Even with the presence of Myrna, this is a pretty decent episode with a nice milestone for Rhoda and her job. There's also some interesting sexism addressed that make you realize how different a time the 70s were in some ways. It was a time where people still wanted a husband to sign for an office space his wife rented. I like when Rhoda makes passing jabs at some of the issues of the day. MTM shows always did that better than Norman Lear shows which were far more in your face about everything.
RATING: 7/10
23. A Nice Warm Rut (2/24/75)
Rhoda has a fight with Joe after worrying that Brenda is in a rut and needs to take more chances.
This is pretty much a middle of the road episode that doesn't shine or tank too much. There's another great appearance by Justin Culp so I'll say it again, I wish he appeared more often than some of the terrible side Rhoda characters. Episodes like this don't really carry a lot of weight because the resolution is pretty apparent early on and it doesn't do a ton of character development. Most of the Brenda-Rhoda relationship has already been hashed out and though this deals directly with Rhoda's meddling, it's a topic that they address indirectly a bunch. But it's not a bad episode either. It's just kind of there so maybe "A Nice Warm Rut" is an appropriate title.
RATING: 5.5/10
24. Ida the Elf (3/3/75)
Ida feels unfulfilled in life and decides to get a job.
It's another good, Ida-centered episode and this one speaks a truth about a certain generation of women. Ida comes from an era where women stayed home but now with her kids long gone, she is feeling unfulfilled and jealous of the working women of the 70s. As always, the expert Nancy Walker manages to convey all these conflicting feelings without being transparent about it all. That's what makes her such a strong actress. The only downside to this episode is my visceral dislike for Myrna but now it's not just the acting, but the character choices the writers make.
RATING: 7/10
Mary surprises Rhoda with a visit on the same weekend that Rhoda and Joe planned to go away for the first time since their honeymoon.
Rhoda had some bumps along the way in season one, but ends its season on a huge high note with a hilarious episode with guest star Mary Tyler Moore. This is such a perfect plot for an episode of Rhoda because it puts the nearly-perfect Mary in a really awkward position without her even knowing it for much of the episode. It also must have been a huge treat for fans to see Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper back together after a season apart. Ida's reveal to Mary that she's spoiling the vacation is comedic gold from both Moore and Nancy Walker. The plot is great but Joe really comes across as a jerk in this episode (the second time he's acted this way in front of Mary).
RATING: 9.5/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON ONE:
6.6/10
The Best Episodes
1. "Rhoda's Wedding" (#8/9) - 10/10
2. "Along Came Mary" (#25) - 9.5/10
3. "Joe" (#1) - 9.5/10
4. "Chest Pains" (#21) - 8/10
5. "You Can Go Home Again" (#2) - 8/10
The Worst Episodes
1. "Not Made for Each Other" (#18) - 2/10
2. "Strained Interlude" (#19) - 3/10
3. "Anything Wrong?" (#13) - 3.5/10
4. "Goodbye Charlie" (#15) - 5/10
5. "A Nice Warm Rut" (#23) - 5.5/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week!
Next Thursday: A look at the second season of Rhoda!
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