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Season One

Episode 1: Joe

First aired September 9, 1974 on CBS at 9:30 PM

Writers: David Davis and Lorenzo Music
Director: Robert Moore
Cast: Valerie Harper as  Rhoda Morgenstern, Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern, Nancy Walker as Ida Morgenstern, David Groh as Joe Gerard, Bill Zuckert as Nolan Arthur, Todd Turquand as Donnie Gerard, and Richard Reicheg as Airport Guard, L. Music as Carlton

Memorable Quotes:
Rhoda : "Guilty, Manipulative, and Possessive all in the same sentence? It's a Grand Slam!"

Rhoda : "This is beef pot pie..."
Brenda : "a la mode."

Ma [to Brenda]: "Why are you talking to me like this...like we were equals?"

How we rate it:
Sarah: 9
Suzie: 9

The Short Version: Rhoda comes to New York City to visit her sister Brenda. She meets and falls in love with Joe Gerard, and decides to stay.

The Long Version: Rhoda Morgenstern, upstairs neighbor of Minneapolis' Mary Richards, visits her sister Brenda in New York City.  Rhoda asks Joe out when he comes over to babysitter Brenda's to drop off his son. The two go out. Joe's so bowled over by Rhoda that he almost forgets to pick Donnie up.   Rhoda's so bowled over that she calls in sick so she can stay in New York for an extra week.  When she shows up at Joe's work to tell him the good news, he tells her that he's going out of town and won't be coming back until her last night in town.   Rhoda and Joe fight.  Rhoda rushes off, saying that she's leaving New York. Back at Brenda's as Rhoda is about to leave town, Joe rushes in.   Joe and Rhoda make up, with Rhoda deciding that she's moving back to New York.   A montage shows Rhoda in various New York locations, including (infamously) throwing her hat in the air in Times Square.  Side plot: Ma pumps Brenda for information about Rhoda, and makes Brenda feel guilty for sassing her.  Ma blames Rhoda's influence.

The original first scene showed Mary seeing Rho off at the airport in Minneapolis. It is not in the syndicated version of the show, although you can see a still from the scene during the credits. Shows from the seventies are several minutes longer than shows now, which means that every episode, not just this one, has scenes cut out.

Fashions of the Decade

Rhoda: Rhoda is considerably better dressed than when we saw her in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In this episode, she wears standard semi-formal office attire: a tan skirt with matching jacket, blouse, and heels. She wears her hair in an attractive bob that frames her face nicely.  The current style for hair was short for women and long for men.

Brenda: Brenda is the spitting image of Rhoda in the early years of TMTMS; self-deprecating, overweight, and badly dressed in baggy bell bottoms and matching baggy shirt.

Joe: Joe is dressed in the preferred style of "swinging bachelors": shirt unbuttoned to the navel, wide tie, and a medallion hanging from his neck. Those 'swinging Czech brothers' (Dan Akroyd and Steve Martin) made fun of the style on early episodes of 'Saturday Night Live.'

Brenda's Apartment: Brenda's apartment is typical of late 60's/early 70's style, with a pseudo Tiffany lamp, portable cube TV,  rotary phone, and late 60's pop art on the walls.

Obscure References:

Ma [to Rhoda]: "...So how come you're not wearing a bra?"
Not wearing a bra was very common. During the first and second seasons of the show there are many references to the lack of bras.

The 'natural look' was a style where you were supposed to look like you had either very little or no makeup on.  Because foundation was heavy and opaque in those days it was quite a chore to look natural.  Rhoda comments: "Well, when you look like Alice Cooper, you went too far." Rhoda is referencing Alice Cooper, a rock star known for his garish makeup and wild stage antics. Cooper's big song at the time was "School's Out." 

Rhoda [to Donnie, trying to make small talk]: "Whattya think of Meet the Press, Don?"
Meet the Press was a popular Sunday Morning News Show.

Rhoda [on asking Joe out]: "I thank you Ms. Magazine, I never could've done it without you."
Ms. is the women's activist magazine started by feminist Gloria Steinem in 1972.

The name 'Charlie Rich' is visible on the marquis of a  theatre visible in the background during the closing credits (while Rhoda throws her hat in the air). Rich won a Grammy for his album, "Behind Closed Doors," an album that rescued him from near-obscurity at the age of 42.

70's Trendy Topics:

Women asking men out on dates became more popular and widespread.   Rhoda asking Joe out on a date is a good example of changes in gender roles in the 70's.

Joe tells Rhoda that he has a ticket to a Knicks game. In 1973, the New York Knicks made it to the Championships, so accordingly, in 1974, it was very hard to get tickets (also see Episode 2.)

When Rhoda tries to persuade Joe to take time off work so that she can see him again before she goes back to Minneapolis, Joe reacts in true 70's "swinging bachelor" form. 

Premarital Sex:  Premarital sex was more openly discussed and more accepted in the 70's than it had been previously. In the following lines, the premarital sex between Rhoda and Joe is implicit. 

Joe: ...I said goodbye to you last night
Rhoda: Boy did you ever.  ...So, this morning, I called in sick.
Nolan Arthur: What did you give her?

Later episodes reference the subject even more blatantly.

Ring of Truth

Valerie was a great fan of Ms., giving copies of the magazine to friends of both sexes.  She stated in 1975 "I love Ms magazine...Ms has changed my whole outlook!" and that she had an interest not in female liberation, but in the liberation of both genders.

What's Going On

09/02/74 President Fords signs the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, bringing private pension plans under federal regulation.
09/04/74 The U.S. establishes diplomatic relations with East Germany.
09/07/74 "Hong Kong Phooey" (ABC) debuts.
09/08/74  President Gerald Ford unconditionally pardons Nixon of federal crimes that he may have committed while president.

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