Rhoda
The Total Brenda
TV Flash files “The Total Brenda” as hour 106 of 110 in the TV Flash guide — Rhoda (1974–1978) on CBS, season 5, episode 9, aired 1978-12-09, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E09: listed hour 106 of 110 in the Rhoda guide, hour 9 of 13 in season 5. It aired 1978-12-09 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Jack's New Image” (S05E08). Next is “The Date in the Iron Mask” (S05E10).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
When Benny starts to feel down-and-out, Brenda tries to cheer him up by catering to his every whim.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Total Brenda sit in the Rhoda guide?
S05E09 is listed hour 106 of 110 — hour 9 of 13 in season 5, season 5 episode 9.
When did Rhoda S05E09 air?
The Total Brenda aired 1978-12-09 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need The Mary Tyler Moore Show first?
Helpful, not required. Rhoda is a direct MTM spin-off, but Harper's New York household plays as its own series once she is home.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Valerie Harper takes Mary's best friend home to New York, gets the wedding America watched, then lets the marriage fall apart on network air. MTM spin-off with Ida, Brenda, and sharper neurotic edges. Single-woman comedy that risked a real 'I don't.'
CBS moved Mary's best friend home to New York and programmed a wedding as mid-1970s event television — then refused to freeze the I do as a permanent sitcom trophy. Rhoda (1974–1978) ran five seasons, 110 episodes, a James L. Brooks and Allan Burns MTM spin-off that made Valerie Harper a lead. Nancy Walker's mother Ida, Julie Kavner's sister Brenda, and David Groh's Joe sharpened the neurotic edge Minneapolis could not fully use. Single-woman comedy gained a New York accent. Rex can keep the bridesmaid footnote.…
Filed against
- Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern Gerard
Valerie Harper’s Rhoda Morgenstern made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a city friendship in newsroom-adjacent wool — Minneapolis as a fitting room for a new kind of leading lady, an ensemble that dressed like adults, a hat toss still sitcom…
- Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern
Julie Kavner’s Marge Simpson is the blue-hair patience of Fox’s yellow family — a reference language still adding pages while the country litigates whether the golden age is over. Not a sitcom you finish. On TV Flash she is the…
- David Groh as Joe Gerard
David Groh’s Joe Gerard married Rhoda on network air — Valerie Harper taking Mary’s best friend home to New York, the wedding America watched, then a marriage allowed to fall apart. MTM spin-off with Ida, Brenda, sharper neurotic edges.…
- Nancy Walker as Ida Morgenstern
Nancy Walker’s Ida Morgenstern nagged Rhoda home to New York — wedding America watched, then a marriage that fell apart on network air — and kept McMillan & Wife’s San Francisco gloss in martini motion as Mildred. MTM neurotic edges; NBC…
- Harold Gould as Martin Morgenstern
Harold Gould played Martin Morgenstern on Rhoda — Valerie Harper taking Mary's best friend home to New York, the wedding America watched, then a marriage allowed to fall apart on network air. Ida, Brenda, sharper neurotic edges. TV Flash…