Rhoda

Being British I have never had the pleasure of watching any episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show from which this sitcom spun off from so I didn't know much about Rhoda's character in that show. However, I found this show very funny anyway.

Valerie Harper may be the lead but the show really shines because of the wonderful Julie Kavner as her sister and Nancy Walker as her interferring mother. Characterization is always very important in making a great situation comedy - just look at Cheers, The Golden Girls, Roseanne.

Carlton the Doorman was always good for a laugh even though you never saw what he looked like.

A very funny show.

I recently watched all seven seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and it is a timeless classic. The 1970s was the era of spin-offs and of the two sitcoms from The MTM Show, Rhoda fares much better than Phyllis. Rhoda was a character who was down-to-earth, self-deprecating and she was the perfect best friend for the so-good Mary Richards. The MTM Show always had a perfect ensemble cast but Rhoda had characters leave and, especially when Rhoda and Joe separate, we don't know what became of Barbara Sharma who was Rhoda's assistant in dressing windows. Anne Meara leaves without a trace after becoming a close friend to Rhoda and Brenda. In comes Ron Silver as Gary Leavy who becomes a good friend but Johnny Venture comes and goes and it is never clear why he is there. Rhoda gives up dressing windows and it looks hopeful when she becomes a costume designer. Julie Kavner was extremely important to Rhoda as her younger sister and her comic performances are superb. The relationship between Rhoda and Brenda was pivotal to this show's success. Nancy Walker, who was missing in season three but returned for season four & five, was always brilliant. Valerie Harper progressed as Rhoda became more confident and was always there for her insecure sister, Brenda. These are brilliant moments in the show. I do wish very much that the final season would be released. Season Five has not been put on DVD and there are some five episodes never shown except when the program was syndicated. Over all, the show is good and funny. Valerie Harper is a joy to watch. There are a few episodes that didn't fare well but they are in the minority. Valerie Harper is a great actress and she remains Rhoda who has embraced feminism. Over all, good acting, good writing, and excellent acting from Valerie Harper, Julie Kavner, Nancy Walker, Harold Gould, David Groh, Ron Silver, Barbara Sharma, Anne Meara, the guy who played Benny and the owner of the costume shop where Rhoda finds a new career. A Most Enjoyable Show over all. What destroyed it was that CBS moved it six times so it lost viewers. So, I hope Shout Factory, who released the full four seasons will release Season Five!

I honestly don't get how this show was popular. Annoying characters, grating voices and a laugh track AND applause track that is probably the most overused in TV history. The laugh-track kicks in every 7-15 seconds. At the end of almost every line. Occasionally there's a 30 second pause - but that will be followed by a combination of laughter and applause. "I used several books of stamps" - laughter and applause. "Hah. Caught you." Laughter. "I like your floor." Laughter and applause. "They look like us." Five seconds of laughter.

Remember the Star Trek episode where the aliens had a laugh machine and would just keep using it? Even in the least funny moments. That's Rhoda.

I loved the programme simply called Rhoda in the 70s. Also from the UK, I had never seen the Mary Tyler Moore show until i moved to NZ in the mid-80s, where it was one of the first things on TV, and truly terrific. So back to Rhoda, her mum and her sister, and the menfolk in their lives. Very colourful, very well written and Very Very funny. I have recently found it on YouTube and am loving it as there seem to be no (legit) boxed sets available. Rhoda spoke for so many of us in the 70s, and even though times and norms have changed, so much is still relevant. Haven't seen much of Valerie Harper since the 70s but Brenda must be rich as now with Marge Simpson heading towards infinity. Nancy Walker as Ida is perfection itself. People say to me that USA sitcoms aren't funny, but that's not true. There's a lot of rubbish out there - from every country - but MTM, Rhoda and Evening Shade are my all time faves, and I'm delighted to see that my tastes haven't changed. How can you improve on perfection?

I haven't seen Rhoda again since I was devotedly watching it in our tiny black and white tv in post dictatorship Greece. Although I was barely out of childhood, I absolutely adored it. It was an oasis in a sad tv landscape offering a glimpse of another fascinating world with strong and funny women friends. I had to write something about this forgotten series when I heard that Valerie Harper died this year. Well, she' s still alive in our hearts.