The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
Encyclopedia
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd is an NBC
/Lifetime
comedy-drama
that aired from 1987 to 1991. It was created by Jay Tarses
and starred Blair Brown
in the title role.
and bohemian
. Molly seems to drift from job to job and relationship to relationship. Her ex-husband, a ne'er-do-well jazz
musician, still cares for her. In fact, nearly every man she meets (and the occasional woman) adores her. Her warmth and emotional accessibility are the root cause of most of Molly's problems in life.
, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd had story lines that often did not resolve in a single episode.
The show was filmed using a single camera, departing from the three-camera technique common in U.S. sitcoms since the days of I Love Lucy
. Using only one camera created a single point of view
, as if the viewer were observing the goings-on as Molly's companion.
Tarses wrote and directed
many of its episodes (and made a number of cameo appearance
s).
as her best friend Nina. Sandy Faison
was a cast member during its run on NBC. Actors David Strathairn
and Richard Lawson each appeared in about a third of the episodes (both playing characters who were romantic interests for Molly).
Major recurring roles were held by Victor Garber
, Richard Venture (who played Molly's father), George Gaynes
, John Pankow
, and J. Smith-Cameron
.
Now-well-known actors making multiple appearances in guest roles include Nathan Lane
and Gina Gershon
. Wesley Snipes
and Samuel L. Jackson
appear in a single episode as guests at a party.
nominations as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, one for each year the show was on. Tarses was also the recipient of multiple nominations.
success (it was featured in the network's then-powerhouse Thursday night lineup
), but was not featured in the network's fall schedule.
It was a mid-season replacement for NBC again in spring 1988, with 12 episodes (a season-ending 13th episode was produced but not aired). NBC canceled Molly Dodd after its second season.
The Lifetime cable network decided to pick the show up, first re-airing the 26 episodes originally produced, then commissioning three more 13-episode seasons for 1989, 1990, and 1991. Lifetime would continue to air Molly Dodd in reruns after original production stopped. After a few years, the show would reappear in reruns on GoodLife TV (now known as AmericanLife TV) for some time. In late 2001 and until 2002, local New York City's Metro TV put reruns on and even had Molly Dodd marathons especially on Mother's Day
2002. Metro TV was removed from New York's Time Warner
by 2003, and the channel folded altogether by the end of 2004.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
/Lifetime
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
that aired from 1987 to 1991. It was created by Jay Tarses
Jay Tarses
Jay Tarses is an American television comedy writer and producer. He created and produced The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd and The Slap Maxwell Story, co-created Buffalo Bill , and was an executive producer for The Bob Newhart Show...
and starred Blair Brown
Blair Brown
Bonnie Blair Brown is an American theater, film, and television actress. She has had a number of high profile roles, including a Tony Award-winning turn in the play Copenhagen on Broadway, as well as a run as the title character in the television comedy-drama The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd,...
in the title role.
Premise
The show depicts the life of Molly Bickford Dodd, a divorced woman in New York City with a lifestyle that could be described as both yuppieYuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
and bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
. Molly seems to drift from job to job and relationship to relationship. Her ex-husband, a ne'er-do-well jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician, still cares for her. In fact, nearly every man she meets (and the occasional woman) adores her. Her warmth and emotional accessibility are the root cause of most of Molly's problems in life.
Production
Unlike the traditional sitcomSituation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd had story lines that often did not resolve in a single episode.
The show was filmed using a single camera, departing from the three-camera technique common in U.S. sitcoms since the days of I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
. Using only one camera created a single point of view
Point of view (literature)
The narrative mode is the set of methods the author of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical story uses to convey the plot to the audience. Narration, the process of presenting the narrative, occurs because of the narrative mode...
, as if the viewer were observing the goings-on as Molly's companion.
Tarses wrote and directed
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
many of its episodes (and made a number of cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s).
Cast
In addition to Brown and Tarses, the cast included Allyn Ann McLerie as Molly's mother, James Greene as her building's elevator operation/doorman, William Converse-Roberts as her ex-husband Fred Dodd, and Maureen AndermanMaureen Anderman
Maureen Anderman is an American actress best known for her work on the stage. She has appeared in eighteen Broadway shows over the last four decades earning several Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nominations.-Career:...
as her best friend Nina. Sandy Faison
Sandy Faison
Sandy Faison is an American actress and singer.In 1977, Faison made her Broadway debut as Grace Farrell, secretary to Daddy Warbucks, in Annie. Additional theatre credits include Charlie and Algernon, Is there life after high school?, and You Can't Take It With You.Faison's feature film credits...
was a cast member during its run on NBC. Actors David Strathairn
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
and Richard Lawson each appeared in about a third of the episodes (both playing characters who were romantic interests for Molly).
Major recurring roles were held by Victor Garber
Victor Garber
Victor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...
, Richard Venture (who played Molly's father), George Gaynes
George Gaynes
George Gaynes is a Finnish-born American actor of stage, screen and television.He may be best known as Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy series, and to television fans as the curmudgeonly Henry Warnimont on the NBC series Punky Brewster, in which his wife, Allyn Ann McLerie,...
, John Pankow
John Pankow
John Pankow is an American film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for a supporting role on the sitcom Mad About You .-Early life:...
, and J. Smith-Cameron
J. Smith-Cameron
J. Smith-Cameron is an American actress.Smith-Cameron was born Jean Isabel Smith in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of architect Richard Sharpe Smith. She was raised in Greenville, South Carolina, and attended Florida State University where she was enrolled in the School of Theatre...
.
Now-well-known actors making multiple appearances in guest roles include Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...
and Gina Gershon
Gina Gershon
Gina L. Gershon is an American film, television and stage actress, singer and author, known for her roles in the films Cocktail , Showgirls , Bound , Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back , Face/Off , The Insider , Demonlover , Category 7: The End of the World , P.S...
. Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
and Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
appear in a single episode as guests at a party.
Awards
The show earned Brown five Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, one for each year the show was on. Tarses was also the recipient of multiple nominations.
Broadcast and cable
NBC first broadcast the show as a summer replacement in 1987 running 13 episodes. Molly Dodd was critically acclaimed and a moderate ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
success (it was featured in the network's then-powerhouse Thursday night lineup
Must See TV
"Must See TV" is an advertising slogan used by the NBC television network to brand its prime time blocks of sitcoms during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured such popular sitcoms as The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, A Different...
), but was not featured in the network's fall schedule.
It was a mid-season replacement for NBC again in spring 1988, with 12 episodes (a season-ending 13th episode was produced but not aired). NBC canceled Molly Dodd after its second season.
The Lifetime cable network decided to pick the show up, first re-airing the 26 episodes originally produced, then commissioning three more 13-episode seasons for 1989, 1990, and 1991. Lifetime would continue to air Molly Dodd in reruns after original production stopped. After a few years, the show would reappear in reruns on GoodLife TV (now known as AmericanLife TV) for some time. In late 2001 and until 2002, local New York City's Metro TV put reruns on and even had Molly Dodd marathons especially on Mother's Day
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
2002. Metro TV was removed from New York's Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
by 2003, and the channel folded altogether by the end of 2004.
External links
- Richard Lawson Official Website: The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd – features the video clip of Molly and Nathaniel's first meeting, plus a couple of other clips and production stills
- http://www.tvworthwatching.com/contributors/2010/09/classic-molly-dodd-series-rema.shtml