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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 411478" data-attributes="member: 5079">Having finished my rewatch of MTM, I&#039;m giving PHYLLIS a go.&nbsp; I&#039;ll eschew reviews so as not to spoil anything for Mel, so instead some of the backstage dramas that resulted in PHYLLIS:If the MTM producers had been reluctant to spinoff Rhoda, they were downright resistant to doing the same with Phyllis.&nbsp; How could a character whose defining traits made her a pain-in-the-ass be the center of a series?&nbsp; Even worse, Cloris, like Phyllis, was something of a pain-in-the-ass.&nbsp; A Method actress, she often held up production of MTM while obsessing with minutia of her performance.&nbsp; Because she was only a recurring character, the producers thought the payoff was worth the pain; but to build an entire show around such an exacting actress?&nbsp; They didn&#039;t have much choice though.&nbsp; By the mid-70s, Cloris was at a career high having won an Oscar and a few Emmys.&nbsp; If MTM Production didn&#039;t build a show around Cloris, another company would have.Cloris was indeed known to be difficult on the PHYLLIS set, particularly in how she tried to control performances of the other actors to shift the focus to herself (how Phyllis!)&nbsp; You can see the results of this on screen.&nbsp; In the two episodes I watched, the other actors are all curiously muted as if they&#039;re just standing around waiting for Cloris to do something funny.&nbsp; The star of the show may have been the show&#039;s undoing.One direct commentary on the show, which does not bode well: it has obnoxiously loud audience laughter.&nbsp; This is one of those sitcoms where the audience laughs -- real or &quot;sweetened&quot; -- at everything that happens, even when it&#039;s not remotely amusing.&nbsp; It makes the show feel desperate.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 411478, member: 5079"] Having finished my rewatch of MTM, I'm giving PHYLLIS a go. I'll eschew reviews so as not to spoil anything for Mel, so instead some of the backstage dramas that resulted in PHYLLIS: If the MTM producers had been reluctant to spinoff Rhoda, they were downright resistant to doing the same with Phyllis. How could a character whose defining traits made her a pain-in-the-ass be the center of a series? Even worse, Cloris, like Phyllis, was something of a pain-in-the-ass. A Method actress, she often held up production of MTM while obsessing with minutia of her performance. Because she was only a recurring character, the producers thought the payoff was worth the pain; but to build an entire show around such an exacting actress? They didn't have much choice though. By the mid-70s, Cloris was at a career high having won an Oscar and a few Emmys. If MTM Production didn't build a show around Cloris, another company would have. Cloris was indeed known to be difficult on the PHYLLIS set, particularly in how she tried to control performances of the other actors to shift the focus to herself (how Phyllis!) You can see the results of this on screen. In the two episodes I watched, the other actors are all curiously muted as if they're just standing around waiting for Cloris to do something funny. The star of the show may have been the show's undoing. One direct commentary on the show, which does not bode well: it has obnoxiously loud audience laughter. This is one of those sitcoms where the audience laughs -- real or "sweetened" -- at everything that happens, even when it's not remotely amusing. It makes the show feel desperate. [/QUOTE]

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