Phyllis
Bess, Is You a Woman Now?
TV Flash files “Bess, Is You a Woman Now?” as a desk essential hour — Phyllis (1975–1977) on CBS, season 1, episode 2, aired 1975-09-15, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E02: listed hour 2 of 48 in the Phyllis guide, hour 2 of 24 in season 1. It aired 1975-09-15 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Pilot” (S01E01). Next is “Up for Grabs” (S01E03).
Essential hour: “Bess, Is You a Woman Now?”. Bess, Is You a Woman Now? is the daughter hour as a title dare. Physical comedy as contact sport, vanity included: MTM timing without the WJM newsroom to hide behind.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Phyllis Lindstrom's "motherhood" is struck to the heart when she believes that her daughter's skiing outing has resulted in her becoming a "fallen woman. Phyllis, worried about her teenage daughter being all alone in the mountains, is encouraged to put in a call to make certain that everything is well. When a man answers the phone in Bess' room at the lodge, Phyllis thinks the worst. She nervously confides her fears to her boss, Julie Erskine, who advises her to have it out with, Bess as soon as she returns home. However, Phyllis can't bring herself to bring up the subject once Bess returns, accompanied by the "man" in question.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Bess, Is You a Woman Now? sit in the Phyllis guide?
S01E02 is listed hour 2 of 48 — hour 2 of 24 in season 1, season 1 episode 2.
When did Phyllis S01E02 air?
Bess, Is You a Woman Now? aired 1975-09-15 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need The Mary Tyler Moore Show first?
Helpful for the character's original bite, not required. The San Francisco household is a self-contained Leachman vehicle.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Cloris Leachman takes Mary's most self-absorbed neighbor west to San Francisco and lets the neurosis lead. An MTM spin-off that bets a supporting comic can carry a series on timing alone. Physical comedy as contact sport, vanity included, and no Mary Richards safety net in sight.
Open on a woman who steamrolls the room before the credits finish introducing the in-laws. Cloris Leachman's Phyllis Lindstrom, widowed and westbound, arrives in San Francisco as if Minneapolis had been a rehearsal. CBS's Phyllis (1975–1977), from Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels, is an MTM spin-off that makes a structural bet: a supporting neurotic can carry a series on timing alone. Henry Jones's Judge Jonathan Dexter, Jane Rose's Audrey, and Lisa Gerritsen's Bess fill the new household. No Mary Richards safety…
Filed against
- Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom
Cloris Leachman’s Phyllis Lindstrom made The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s Minneapolis feel crowded on purpose — vanity as a neighbor, timing as a contact sport, the self-absorbed orbit Mary Richards could not quite shake. Then Phyllis took the…
- Henry Jones as Judge Jonathan Dexter
Henry Jones played Judge Jonathan Dexter on Phyllis — Cloris Leachman taking Mary's most self-absorbed neighbor west to San Francisco, an MTM spin-off that bets a supporting comic can carry a series on timing alone. Physical comedy as…
- Jane Rose as Audrey Dexter
Jane Rose’s Audrey Dexter gave Phyllis a San Francisco in-law to bounce off — Cloris Leachman taking Mary’s most self-absorbed neighbor west, an MTM spin-off that bets timing can carry a series. Physical comedy as contact sport. TV Flash…
- Lisa Gerritsen as Bess Lindstrom
Lisa Gerritsen played the kid who saw through the vanity as Bess Lindstrom on Phyllis — Cloris Leachman’s self-absorbed neighbor spun west to San Francisco, MTM timing without a Mary Richards safety net. Physical comedy as contact sport.…