Spinoffs
Rhoda (1974-78) starring Valerie Harper
Three years into The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Jim Brooks and Allan Burns decided to give Valerie Harper her
own series. She'd given Rhoda Morgenstern such a freshness and individuality that they felt they had enough material
to spin her off. No doubt she'd been a stalwart fixture of MTMS, and if the new series didn't pan out, nothing would
be lost; they'd vamp her back into Minneapolis.Rhoda ran from September, 1974 to December, 1978. The regular cast included Harper, Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern, Nancy Walker continued as Ida Morgenstern, as did Harold Gould as Martin Morgenstern, David Groh was Joe Girard, and Lorenzo Music played Carlton the Inebriated Doorman. Occasional cast included Richard Masur as accordion player Nick Lobo; Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin, who eventually became Brenda's fiancee; Michael Delano, playing sex-maniacal lounge singer Johnny Venture, who's usually on the make for Rhoda; Ron Silver as their neighbor, Gary Levy; Anne Meara as Rhoda's friend Sally; Barbara Sharma as Myrna Morgenstein, Rhoda's old high school pal and co-worker; and Scoey Mitchlll (sic), as Justin Culp, Joe's co-worker.
Also worth mentioning are guest appearances by Ruth Gordon (playing Carlton's bag-lady mother), which won her an Emmy for Outstanding Single Performance in a Comedy Series in 1975; Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz of I Love Lucy ) and David White (Larry Tate of Bewitched) played Rhoda and Joe's new neighbors in one early episode.
The Rhoda trilogy consisted of three parts. The first was 'The Rhoda and Joe Period', which spans over the first and second seasons. The second involved Rhoda and Joe's stint at marriage counseling and their subsequent separation; the final period marked Rhoda's reluctant return to the singles scene.
The series started off with Rhoda back in New York, with no employment and no apartment of her own. She soon finds employment and meets Joe Girard, father of a little boy whom Brenda babysits. Within a few weeks, they're engaged. The Emmy-nominated two-part episode "Rhoda's Wedding" aired in October, 1974, and also featured Mary Richards, Lou Grant, Murray Slaughter, Georgette Franklin, and Phyllis Lindstrom. It remains a favorite TV wedding. But the marriage turned out, as some later admitted, to be a mistake. It could very well be that they felt Rhoda would eventually grow stagnant in her marriage and consequently the series would not last long. From the very beginning, Rhoda and Joe had their problems. Joe was often hot-tempered, had recently ended a bad previous marriage to a blonde bimbo, and was perhaps overdevoted to his work. It's revealed in a very early episode that Rhoda didn't feel comfortable living with Joe unless they were married. Joe suggested, "let's wed", and that was it. In one of his last appearances, he tells her, "I'm not sure I was ready to be married again." Clearly, this was not the person for Rhoda. Although she obviously cared a great deal for him, and he for her, perhaps they were just too different.
During their separation and divorce, Rhoda loses a few pounds and re-enters the singles scene. She takes up a new job at the Doyle Costume Company (Kenneth MacMillan played the blowhard and loveable Jack Doyle), which seemed to offer her a good change of pace. She started dating again, but nothing permanent developed in the way of a steady relationship. Ultimately, she pressed onward in her career, fiercely independent and always the bearer of a strong component of wit and humor.
Julie Kavner auditioned for a guest spot on The Mary Tyler Moore Show around 1972, and didn't win it. Later, when Rhoda was in development, they remembered her, and asked her to play Brenda. The character was written for her. Brenda Morgenstern remains a single bank teller throughout the years, until two episodes from the end, when she announces she's going to marry Benny Goodwin (the series ends before they do, though). Brenda is a nice, warm-hearted girl with her sister's sense of humor but none of her vitriol. Like Rhoda, she's had her share of sleazy men, but most of her relationships are/have been short-lived and nonsexual.
Nancy Walker and Harold Gould (previously introduced on MTMS) appeared frequently in the early episodes as Ida and Martin Morgenstern. They were absent during the 1976-77 season, when Walker was doing The Nancy Walker Show . It was said that "Ma and Pop went on a trip around the country". After they returned, Pop left Ma for awhile, but came back at the urging of Rhoda and Brenda.
Rhoda never achieved the popularity of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but fared well in the ratings for most of its four and-a-half year lifetime. In fact, in its first two years, Rhoda ranked higher than MTMS ever did. There are even those who preferred Rhoda to its predecessor. In all, it was a strong sitcom that validated women's lib, as MTMS did. Emmys went out to Valerie Harper in 1975 and to Julie Kavner in 1978.
The Betty White Show (1977) starring Betty White, John Hillerman, and Georgia Engel
The series was abruptly cut off after only thirteen episodes due to low ratings. Betty White herself claimed the show was by no means outstanding. Indeed, it's a far cry from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and today remains largely forgotten. Joyce Whitman and Mitzi are almost identical to Sue Ann Nivens and Georgette Franklin, and the Undercover Woman show around which the sitcom is based, is trite and goofy with implausible plotlines.
Stan Daniels and Ed. Weinberger produced the show. David Lloyd developed the concept, which was fairly similar to what had worked well on MTMS. For budgetary reasons, the show was shot on videotape. Directors included Noam Pitlik, frequent director on Taxi, and Bill Persky, story editor and writer for The Dick Van Dyke Show. Given these forces, it's a little hard to swallow that The Betty White Show didn't make it. Evidently the problems went undetected, and CBS didn't renew it at midseason.
One particularly bad moment on the Betty White Show set came when a stuntman was called to make a fall from the "roof" of Joyce's house. He made the fall, but missed the trampoline below and was badly injured. This incident greatly disturbed Georgia Engel, and taping had to be postponed until she, and the stuntman, recovered. Perhaps it was an omen.
All this isn't to say that Betty White's spinoff was without some merit. John Elliot and Joyce make a cute couple, and in one particularly funny episode, they discover that their divorce was never legalized. Georgia Engel is as goofy and loveable as ever. The ratings were evidently improving at the time of cancellation, but the network brass weren't willing to take the gamble. Had the concept been stronger, The Betty White Show could have gone much farther.
Phyllis (1975-77) starring Cloris Leachman
The illustrious Dr. Lars Lindstrom died over the
summer of 1975. Phyllis and Bess left Minneapolis, moving in with Lars' mother and stepfather, Audrey and Johnathan Dexter (Jane Rose
& Henry Jones), in San Francisco. Phyllis was (finally) forced to take a job, and finds work as a photography studio secretary.
Richard Schaal (aka Paul Arnell) and Barbara Colby (Sherry Ferris of "Mary Richards Goes to Jail" and "You Try To Be a Nice Guy") played Leo Heatherton and Julie Erskine, the photography studio coworkers. Sadly, Barbara Colby
was murdered in a drive-by shooting only a few weeks into the series, a death that Cloris Leachman has said was personally one of the
most difficult for her. Liz Torres continued the role of Julie Erskine for the remainder of the season.Despite the unexpected tragedy, Phyllis did remarkably well during its first year. The ratings were high, and viewers loved seeing Phyllis in a new light. In fact, the high ratings were referenced in the highly acclaimed film Network, in 1976. Cloris Leachman received both a 1976 Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination for her work on the series.
It was decided that an appeal to the older demographic might add a few points to the ratings. Character actress Judith Lowry, then aged 85, came onboard in the fourth episode as Johnathan's crusty old mother, Sally Dexter. Mother Dexter became Phyllis' adversary. At long last, here was someone who had the gaul to tell wacky Phyllis to shut up (!). Mother Dexter was fixed up with Arthur Lanson (played by 92-year-old veteran character actor Burt Mustin), and they eventually shacked up in his trailer home. They were TV-wed in late 1976; Lowry passed away several weeks before the episode aired, and Mustin died one month after.
In the second season, Phyllis left the photography studio (after it went out of business), and became secretary to city Supervisor Dan Valenti (Carmine Caridi) in San Francisco City Hall. John Lawlor and Garn Stephens played Leonard Marsh and Harriet Hastings, her office mates. Bess marries Dan's nephew, Mark Valenti (Craig Wasson) and in the final episode, Bess annouces her pregnancy. Unfortunately, the ratings had deteriorated badly by then and Phyllis was cancelled in the spring of 1977, leaving the airwaves at precisely the same time as The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Phyllis was a funny sitcom, but somehow never generated as much energy as MTMS or even Rhoda. Most of the stories were good and entertaining, but given the awkward set up--Phyllis just getting started as a career woman at age 45, living with her dead husband's relatives--the possibilities were limited. One memorable episode dealt with Phyllis' stage fright, and in turn provided a showcasing for Cloris Leachman's abilities as an accomplished pianist. Another two episodes featured Jack Elam (star of a gigantic number of western's) as Phyllis' drunken bum friend, whom she met in a park. Some have commented on the writers making Phyllis into "a nice person" on Phyllis. On MTMS, she was always seen as an eccentric, narcissistic housewife. As one critic remarked, "Phyllis worked well as a counterpoint to the sense and sensibilities of Mary Richards, and not as well on her own." True. On Phyllis, she became more or less a perkier version of Mary.
The Phyllis theme song lyrics (written by Stan Daniels):
"Who makes the fog surrounding the Golden Gate simply disappear? Phyllis, Phyllis! Who makes the warning bells on the cable cars play "The Gang's All Here"? Phyllis, Phyllis! Who charms the crabs in Fisherman's Wharf right out of their shells? Who lights the lamps of Chinatown, just by walking in view? Who? Phyllis?! Phyllis?! Phyllis, it sure isn't you!"
Lou Grant (1977-82) starring Edward Asner
Edward Asner's new show was the most unique of the four spinoffs. For those who remember it, Lou Grant
was an hour-long dramatic series. At the time, it was an innovative show that tackled head-on such increasingly hot topics as rape, politics, and abortion, a practice not dared in series preceding it.
After WJM, Lou Grant moves to Los Angeles and hooks up with his old army crony Charlie Hume (played by Mason Adams), who gets him a job as the city editor of the "L.A. Tribune." The regular cast included Nancy Marchand as publisher Margaret Pynchon; Robert Walden and Linda Kelsey as reporters Joe Rossi and Billie Newman, respectively; Jack Bannon as assistant editor Art Donovan; Daryl Anderson played Dennis Price (aka "The Animal"), photographer.
Lou Grant was reportedly the first series to use multiple storylines, a format that has since been applied countless times in nearly every dramatic series on TV. Asner is well known for his extra-leftist views on political fronts, which on several occasions got him and the rest of the cast into trouble (he has been arrested multiple times for participation in political demonstrations) when Lou Grant so overtly expressed them.
The ratings for Lou Grant didn't flourish until the second season, but popularity was immediate and praise was hearty. The series profited greatly from fine direction and production, and over its five year run, drew in fifty Emmy nominations and sixteen Emmy awards (three of which went to Asner). It also received awards from the American Cinema Editors, USA, and the Directors' Guild of America. A bit of trivia: Lou Grant is one of only two television shows ever to finish both first and last in weekly Nielsen ratings. Check out "Lou Grant" book.
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