I think "Rhoda" was doomed from the start. Despite Valerie Harper's natural charm, she'd simply outgrown the Rhoda character even by the end of her run on MTM. She couldn't play the frumpy loser that everyone loved, so they tried to make her something else and simply couldn't figure out what that something else was. A neurotic New Yorker? A freethinking bohemian? The stable, sensitive sister to a frumpy loser?
Combine that confusion with the absolute worst support casting of any MTM show (well, "Phyllis" wasn't great either) and you have a disaster from Day One. I include Kavner in that assessment, by the way. I think a little of her went a long way. And Groh was charmless and not nearly as good-looking as the show wanted us to think. In fact, kinda creepy looking, even for the 70s hairy, macho type.
Perhaps "Rhoda" could have worked with a really well-cast husband (think Ted Bessell on "That Girl," or Dick York on "Bewitched"), but sometimes, second bananas should remain just that. Valerie Harper, Don Knotts, Jason Alexander -- the list is long.
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pvd295
11 years ago
A five season run proved she was more than a second banana. I think the writers/producers lost their focus with all the changes on the show, behind the scenes, and at the network.
"I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News" - B.Streisand
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pvd295
11 years ago
This past week METV reran two eps from Season 4, which originally aired in October, 1977. The first one was when Rhoda was hired by Jack Doyle, the second one was when Gary and Benny were fighting over the affections of Brenda. First was OK (but obvious Doyle was a carbon copy - yet no match - for Lou Grant). Second was just plain stupid, yet once again - much funnier than what is considered 'the best' comedy on TV these days. For the record, I could not believe how much weight Julie Kavner and Valerie Harper both lost in the Spring/Summer 1977 - Harper looked anorexic in these eps, and Kavner didn't look too healthy either. (If I remember correctly, both of them were on the same diet, and worked together as the 'buddy system' when the show was in hiatus.)
Gary (Ron Silver) was a hottie, though.
"I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News" - B.Streisand
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SimplemindedSociety
11 years ago
'I include Kavner in that assessment, by the way. I think a little of her went a long way. And Groh was charmless and not nearly as good-looking as the show wanted us to think. In fact, kinda creepy looking, even for the 70s hairy, macho type.'
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Glad to see that I'm not the only one who wasn't completely charmed by Kavner(the voice) I also mentioned previously whether Harper was right for a lead character on a sitcom. That is why they supposedly mellowed Harper out on the 2nd season--only to change their minds later. There were plenty of supporting actors who were funny they could have used, like Arlene Golonka
But why is Groh creepy, that same adjective I keep hearing again and again on imdb? Is it women who use that word repeatedly, or when an actor reminds them of somone they used to know? How handsome do you feel he needed to be? He was more handsome than Silver. If he was that creepy, he would not have been cast
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