Particularly after the loss of Rhoda and Phyllis. With the absence of her two friends, Mary's entire life seemed to revolve around work; even her social life seemed to include only her co-workers. (Sure there was Georgette, but she was tied to Ted.)
Of course, once she moved to her new apartment, we had the brief appearances of Mary Kay Place and Penny Marshall as Mary's "whacky" new neighbors.
I actually think they could've worked, but I'm not really sorry, either, when they were quickly whisked away to MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN and LAVERNE & SHIRLEY midway through the 1975/76 season..
Right. Basically Rhoda because the Mary and Brenda became the Rhoda, but that was just never going to work out. Seems like David Groh got way too much blame for the relative failure of RHODA for not being 'interesting' enough. Rhoda -- the Rhoda we knew from MTM -- really needed a straightlaced, straight man for the same reason she complimented Mary so well. Joe was fine. The problem is that Rhoda lost most of her color. (Judd Hirsh was the producer's first choice for Rhoda's love interest but he declined.)
Yes, Groh wasn't the problem. And once he was dumped, RHODA becomes the swinging single -- only, a reluctant one -- the producers had originally intended for the spin-off, only Fred Silverman and CBS pressed for an early wedding for November sweeps to achieve a ratings bonanza... Which they got. But now they'd already written themselves into a corner.
Who knows what might've happened had Rhoda stayed single for longer on her own spin-off. But by the time they divorced her from Joe, and surrounded her with lounge lizard disco kings perpetually on the make, RHODA's identity just became even more muddled... I'm not sure if the late-'70s time capsule motif of cheesy guys with gold chains and low-buttoned acetate shirts (I had them myself, although I swear I was much younger) was an error, or if they should've leaned into
even more than they did.
Harper was a decent dancer, so maybe having her haunt the clubs with her breezy moves by night, and staked by a pervy serial killer she'd met there by day, could have been the right place to go creatively. I dunno. It could be a season-long story arc, full of homicidal chuckles, in the pre-DALLAS days.. After all, Rhoda Morgenstern had always portrayed herself as the perennial loser -- so maybe being stalked by a groovy sex killer was a natural development for her future and that of the series.
And I'm not sure I'm kidding.
I didn't know that about Judd Hirsch. I'm a bit meh on Hirsch -- liked him in ORDINARY PEOPLE but not always in a lot of other things. He was okay in TAXI, but perhaps he thought a co-starring role in RHODA might have derailed him from all his DELVECCHIO glory... I wonder how a Hirsch version of Joe might have changed the series' dynamic... We're supposed to believe Joe was an incredibly sexy New York guy, and David Groh almost captured that, while Hirsch would have likely struck an un-sexy, uptight, self-righteous, vulnerable-for-the-wrong-reasons fellow.
So his saying "no" was probably a good choice.
Speaking of Hirsch, I always think he's too old and perhaps miscast in RUNNING ON EMPTY. I always want to see a Jon Voight, with dark hair, but I don't think nordic Voight was jewish (which was slightly important to the story).
Which is funny because I doubt many little girls grew up wanting to be Maude, but an entire generation grew up wanting to be Mary Richards.
Did the next generation want to be Murphy Brown? I actually don't know, but somehow I doubt it.
If you decide to skip RHODA , I strongly encourage you to get over your aversion to Youtube videos and watch the two-part wedding episodes (S01E08 & S01E09). You won't have any trouble following along despite skipping the first seven episodes, and the wedding is hilarious. They're also basically episodes of MTM, since Mary, Phyllis, Georgette, Lou and Murray guest star. Toss in Rhoda's parents and it's pretty much the last time you'll see the entire cast together. (Excluding Ted, who had no reason to attend Rhoda's wedding, and Sue Anne, not yet a cast member.) I think you'd be best to watch these in between seasons four and five.
Yes, yes. Watch the two-part wedding episode -- for the reasons you describe.
