Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Forgotten TV: The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd



Interesting the credits list only Blair Brown and the creator, Jay Tarses. This was another show that looked at a woman with a bit more sophistication than other shows of the time. It was on from 1987-91, changing from NBC to LIFETIME. It used arcs rather than stories complete in an episode.

Molly was divorced and single in New York. Love interests were played by David Straitharn, Victor Garber and others. The rest of the cast was fairly unknown. Blair Brown made Molly Dodd into a real person and was nominated for an Emmy during every year of the show.

This was a series way ahead of its time and it got poor treatment from NBC in particular. They only ran it as a summer replacement. To my knowledge, it is still not on DVD.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Patti - What's really odd is that just the other day I was Googling that show. And here you are writing about it. I did really like the the way the story used arcs; it was more like real life if that makes sense.

George said...

I loved THE DAYS AND NIGHTS OF MOLLY DODD! As you say, it was way ahead of its time. And NBC didn't give it the time to find an audience.

Charles Gramlich said...

I vaguely remember this being on. Never watched it.

Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) said...

This was shown in the UK when I fist moved there and I remember liking it quite a bit - wow, that really has been a while and it would be great to see it again - thanks Patti.

seana graham said...

My sister and I were both really into this one, and very disappointed when it left NBC because we didn't have cable. I agree that it was ahead of its time, but I think it did act as a kind of groundbreaker for other shows to follow.

David Cranmer said...

I remember this show being highly regarded but I never watched it.

Todd Mason said...

This series and HOOPERMAN were touted as the new wave of "dramedy" when they debuted, and I liked them both OK, and was very glad they helped usher in the single-camera, laughtrack-free sitcom. Though SLAP MAXWELL might've been the best of that first freshet...except for the PBS anthology TRYING TIMES.

Todd Mason said...

And FRANK'S PLACE...goodness, how could I forget FP...2000-2001 might've been the best single year in US television, but 1987 sure as hell had some impressive sitcom debuts.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Buffalo Bill around then too?

seana graham said...

Frank's Place--now that's a great memory. I had completely forgotten.

I don't want to be sexist, but I think Molly Dodd may have spoken more to women. My sister particularly related to it as a young single woman living in the city. I don't really remember what my circumstance was.

Todd Mason said...

BUFFALO BILL was a 1983-84 series. Coleman failed upward (failed in ratings, improved slightly in artistic quality) from BB to SLAP, and then it was a slide...

Dave Zeltserman said...

This show used to be one of my favorites. And it was probably the first major role for the excellent actor, David Strathairn. Buffalo Bill was also very good.

Al Tucher said...

Twilight Zone moment. Yesterday, out of the blue I found myself thinking about this show.

pattinase (abbott) said...

You are the second person to say that.