Season One
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Season One
Episode 4: Parent's Day
First aired September 30,1974
Writer: Charlotte Brown
Director: Robert Moore
Cast: Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern, Nancy Walker as Ida
Morgenstern, David Groh as Joe Gerard, Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern, Harold Gould as
Martin Morgenstern, Paula Victor as Ruth Maginness, Robert Alda as Paul Gerard, Bella
Bruck as neighbor, Norman Bartold as Maitre D, L.Music as Carlton the Doorman.
Special Guest Star: Robert Alda, who plays Joe's dad, is the real-life father of M*A*S*H star Alan Alda. Robert also appeared on occasional M*A*S*H episodes.
Memorable Quotes:
Rhoda [to Ma]: "Please, what about the time I brought Danny Brownell home? You had 15
dollars worth of cold cuts, and a cake that said "Welcome Danny,"--and he just
came to do homework!"
Brenda [to Rhoda, on why she told Ma that Joe would be coming over]: "I had to tell her-- She kept shoving donuts down my throat until I talked!"
Martin [after meeting Joe]: "How come you didn't ask if he was Jewish?"
Ida: "If he was Jewish, I would've asked!"
How we rate it:
Sarah: 8.5
Suzie: 8
The Short Version: Rhoda meets Joe's parents. Joe meets Rhoda's parents.
The Long Version: Brenda's been pressured into telling Ma that Rhoda has a date tonight so that Ma can come over and get a look at Joe. Unfortunately for Ma, Rho's meeting Joe at Shea stadium. Ma's upset: she tortures Martin by vacuuming the house at 2AM. Rhoda goes to visit Joe at work and discovers that Ma has asked for an estimate on wrecking her apartment building just so she can meet Joe. Rho decides that enough is enough, Joe has to meet her parents. She and Joe decide to meet each other's parents in one crazy day: lunch with Joe's parents and dinner with Rhoda's. Joe's parents turn out to be charming; so charming that Rhoda tells them what a great couple they are-- they've been divorced for twelve years. At dinner, Ida meets Joe and Rho at the door pretending she doesn't know what night it is although the apartment is spotless and the furniture is sans plastic covers. Ida wanders off and reappears in a formal black dress with a huge corsage and a tray of fancy h'ors d'ouevres and a chilled bottle of champagne. Rho complains that Ma has been quiet-- too quiet. Ida gives Joe the third degree. Then she reveals a magnificent feast in the dining room and lets all of the relatives in. All appears well until the relatives leave and Ida starts vacuuming again.
Firsts:
This was the first episode written by Charlotte Brown. It was also her favorite.
First appearance by series regular Harold Gould.
First appearances of Paula Victor and Robert Alda, playing Joe's parents. Paula Victor
also appears in Episode 9: "Rhoda's Wedding, Part 2." Robert Alda also appears
in Episode 12: "Anything Wrong?"
First appearance by Bella Bruck as Ma' s blasé neighbor. She does not appear in the
syndicated version of this episode.
First time we hear Ma's maiden name: Ida Nessel.
First time we see the extended Morgenstern clan.
What We Noticed:
This is the second time no plastic is seen on the furniture in Ma's apartment, this time Rhoda comments on the lack of it. (The covers are also off in Episode Two).
We learn in this episode that Ida cleans when she's upset.
Classic Elements:
Classic Ma episode: Nancy Walker at her best: absolutely superb, and hilarious!
For example, the following: Ma to Rhoda:"Oh, he [Joe] sounds real nice." Ma
pretends this is the first time she is hearing Joe's voice, although she previously
tricked him into speaking to her on the phone.
Classic Rhoda: Rho pays Ma back for this trick by disguising her voice on the phone and confronting her. Also see her classic double take when she finds out Joe's parents have been divorced for twelve years.
Fashions of the Decade
Rhoda:"It's a purse, made out of jeans, it's the latest thing."
The jeans purse fad was started by teenage girls. It combined two
seventies trends: recycling and denim. The seventies fad for ecology spilled over
into the fashion world: people made shirts out of ring pulls from soda cans (pop-topping)
and magazines like 'Seventeen' encouraged readers to make skirts out of old neckties.
Denim was so popular that the you could buy a car upholstered in it (AMC's 1973
Gremlin) or a TV covered in it (Zenith).
Obscure References:
Brenda [to Ma, towel drying her hair]: "Watch out, don't rub so hard,
I'm going to end up looking like Kojak."
"Kojak," was a popular TV show (1973-78, 89-90) starring Telly Savalas as the
title character. Savalas' head is as smooth as a billiard ball. Brenda
doesn't want Ma to rub her head bald.
Rhoda [to Joe]: "Four parents in one day. Evel Knieval
wouldn't try a stunt like that."
Evel Knieval was a notorious motorcycle stuntman. In 1974 he got an accident after
he crashed his motorcycle in Toronto. His son Robbie is also in the daredevil
business.
Rhoda [to Joe]: "The closest I came to knowing the manager of a
restaurant was this manager of a Jack-in-the-Box. He told me that
if I came home with him, he would tell me what was in the secret sauce."
Ruth [to Rhoda]: "Jack-in-the-Box-- Is that a new discotheque?"
Jack-in-the-Box is a fast food burger restaurant. The sauce in the hamburgers
was a huge proprietary secret, not unlike McDonalds' special sauce.
Rhoda [to Joe]: Yeah, we never had this couch reupholstered, we just had
it vulcanized."
Vulcanization is a process in which rubber becomes toughened to the elements, so it won't
crack and fall apart.
Martin [toasting at suppertime]: Here's to permanent peace in the
Middle East."
Several countries lost territory to Israel in 1967's Six Day War, among them Egypt and
Syria. In 1973 these two countries made a surprise attack on Israel during the
Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur (a holy day of fasting). Israel won the Yom Kippur War at
great human and financial cost. US aid to Israel during the war caused the Arab
nations of OPEC, who had a stranglehold on the world's oil supply, to retaliate with an
oil embargo, causing high prices, long lines, and rationing at American gas stations.
In 1974, the US worked out military disengagements among these countries, and
America's drivers began to look forward to a new future in compact cars.
70's Trendy Topics:
Discotheque: The Disco is the ultimate in 70s trendiness; it has been immortalized in a slew of films ("The Last Days of Disco," "54," "Saturday Night Fever," and "Stayin' Alive") and a few TV shows ("That 70s Show.") The most famous disco of them all, New York City's Studio 54, opened in 1977, well into the run of 'Rhoda.'
Ring of Truth
Martin [to Rhoda]: "Rhoda-- your usual--- a Weight Watcher's
cola?"
Valerie lost pounds in 1973 as a member of the Weight Watchers.
What's Going On
09/25/74 Scientists first report aerosol spray cans are destroying the ozone layer.
09/28/74 Andy Kim’s "Rock Me Gently" is the #1 pop single.