Phyllis

I was 20 when Phyllis was filmed - and had the absolute pleasure of attending every single episode filmed, as part of the live audience for the two season run. What a thrill. I was (still am) an avid Cloris Leachman fan and following Phyllis from MTM was so exciting. It had a great start - and I especially loved Barbara Colby. So sad for the world that she did not get the chance to fulfill her talent longer due to the untimely death. Looking back though, I must say that the highlight of the whole Phyllis experience was the Mother Dexter character. She just stole EVERY scene (the way Phyllis used to on the MTM show). If I want to smile - all I have to do is think about Judith Lowry (Mother Dexter) chasing Billy Barty (guest starring as Bess' potential new in-law) around the living room saying..."you're so cute" - as if he was a baby. As much as I love Cloris (always will) - Judith was the highlight. The second season absolutely declined, but still contained many classic Judith Lowry & Cloris moments. Mother Dexter's Wedding stands out. So funny & moving at the same time to see these two old people (Judith & Burt Mustin) getting married. Burt was also perfectly cast. And then...as fate would have it...Judith died a week before the airing of the show and Burt died about six weeks later. This was the last piece of work they would do. (What a way for an actor to go!). HOPE THE WHOLE SHOW GOES TO DVD SOON! While I do have an unedited version of the "wedding" - the rest of what I have is so heavily edited. IF anyone from MTM reads this...THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!

Though the show obviously needed help with more creative plots and had too many 70's sitcom rejects, it did have some funny moments, and with recasting, could have had a nice run. Barbara Colby as (Julie Erskine), and Liz Torres as (Julie Erskine)were not funny and their character was unneeded. Phyllis' "generation gap" conversations with her daughter Bess (Lisa Geristien)were predictable and dry. The main reason I think Lisa Geristien was still on the Phyllis show was for consistent transition form the Mary Tyler Moore show. Her character was pointless. The real entertainment came with the dialogue between Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) and "Mother" Dexter. The caustic wit of "Mother Dexter" as she poked fun of Phyllis' troubled life was hysterical. Further, the dialogue between Judge Dexter (Henry Jones) and Audry Dexter (Jane Rose) as they tried to understand the antics of their "well meaning" but confused daughter-in-law Phyllis, was also extremely funny. Judge Dexter's stuffy monotone, yet patient voice countered nicely against Phyllis'scatter brained personality, thus highlighting Phyllis' bizarre logic.

Overall, the show did have potential, if they had just thinned out the cast and had more creative plots. It was funny though.

Sure, this series didn't showcase Cloris Leachman's talents to any great extent. Sure, the comedy was more than often silly. Sure, the cast changes at the start of season 2 LOOKED like the desperate attempt that it really was to keep fresh story ideas alive. Sure, Jane Rose's performance was the equivalent of finger-nails on a chalk board. Sure, the character of Phyllis was extremely watered down after the pilot.

But for Mother Dexter alone, I'd have to disagree with the opinion that it's "unwatchable." ...And whatever happened to Lisa Gerritsen anyhow??

The "Mary Tyler Moore" spinoff, "Phyllis", is often hounded as a failure where spin-offs are concerned. Actually, it is a very funny show and, if it hadn't followed up such an astounding breakthrough show as its predecessor, it would have been quite successful. Though the character of Phyllis, by far the most interesting character on MTM, was changed somewhat in her switch to her own show, it was only to make her character more likable, which worked most of the time and was a very pleasant experience to finally see the softer side of that downstairs bubblehead. The ensemble cast of the first season was wonderful (and would have been even more so if Barbara Colby hadn't have been murdered after the third episode. She was terrific as Phyllis's boss Julie Erskine.) Henry Jones is especially good, as are Jane Ross and Richard Schaal. And, of course, Cloris Leachman is a treasure. The real problem was in the show's second season, when Phyllis changed workplaces to the downtown city building, where the characters were far less interesting and oft times depressing. The ratings show it, too, because in its first season, "Phyllis" was in the Top Ten, higher than "Rhoda" or "MTM". But in its move to the second season, it did very poorly, hence its cancellation. It's a show that tried hard, so give it a chance. You won't be too disappointed!

I'm very much working from memory but there was a time back in the70's when I was as happy viewing this MTM comedy as its more celebrated originator and first spin-off series, "The Mary Tyler-Moore Show" and my personal favourite "Rhoda". The few times I remember in "TMTMS", she was almost the anti-heroine, the snobbish, bitchy next door neighbour whom you wondered how even St Mary could befriend. Only occasionally did she show her human side which probably made it difficult for the show's writers to centre her as a watchable character in her Jen show.

For what it's worth, I certainly remember enjoying the show on the sporadic occasions it turned up on British television in the mid-70's. Clovis Leachman was great in the title part, her face capable of going from happy to sarcastic in the one line. I was never comfortable when her daughter got air-time with her own brand of spoilt second-hand sardonic-ism but her genial but occasionally caustic middle-aged parents and her acid-tongued grandmother Dexter made good foils for her, the latter perhaps prefiguring the similar character who stole the show years later in "The Golden Girls". It perhaps said something about the star- power of the show that the episode I remember best is the one where Tyler-Moore guest- starred, perhaps to try and boost the ratings.

Perhaps I'm remembering thus show as better than it was but I'd sure like the opportunity to see it again although its short-lived TV shelf-life makes that only a remote possibility. One thing it did have was a great bitter-sweet theme tune which arguably captured the title character's personality in one pay-off finishing line better than two full series of half- hour shows!