Rhoda

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.

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.

This show is ground-breaking and paved the way for many shows to come. Before Friends and Seinfeld, this was the show about singles living in New York City. This show portrayed the Jewish-American culture in a positive light. The chemistry between Valerie Harper, Julie Kavner, and Nancy Walker is among the best that television has ever seen. And, while always funny, it was constantly breaking its premise in half and yet still staying funny and great. I love, too, how it is the first great sitcom that used self-deprecation as a tool to provide humor and portray grand humanity. Both Harper and Kavner (Marge Simpson of The Simpsons) belong in the Television Hall of Hame based simply on this wonderful show.

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.

In 1974, Mary Tyler Moore was the working woman who called her boss "Mister" while he called her Mary. She looked like a beauty queen and had wonderful dates with handsome men.

Rhoda was her outspoken neighbor who addressed men by their first names, fought with her mother, and had a steady stream of terrible dates. She struggled with food and never let people put her down. She had nerve and demanded her fair share.

As a young working woman in 1974, I knew I would never be Mary Tyler Moore because I wouldn't work for a man who made me call him "Mister" while he addressed me by my first name. I was so grateful to Valerie Harper and Rhoda.