Here's thoughts on The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, episodes 14-17

 

via Imgur/Courtesy Cali

"I'm not going to be a party to this disorganized grousing. This is hopeless. I'm going shopping. Even though it is raining. Except that I can't get out of here."
"No, you can't, mother. You are trapped. Well, we're all trapped. Isn't that what we were just saying? We're just a bunch of angry broads here, ya know?"
"Let's castrate something."

How's this for luck? The first batch of consecutive episodes* for a Women of 1988 TV post is a quartet that made me want to keep watching! It didn't take me long to get into The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. I got a kick out of the low-key but compelling forward motion of the story, as well as Blair Brown's performance. At the same time, I can see why both would be hard for sitcom audiences to accept. Dodd is a dramedy. You want big laughs? Keep searching. We're in romantic comedy land, and what an appealing place it is.

*In terms of the plot, not air dates.

"Blatant."

"What?"

"It was my robbery. I was victimized. I was barfing in the bathroom and you were out here moving in on my cop."

"Nathaniel Hawthorne. It has a very nice ring, doesn't it? It's kind of New Englandy."

Series creator Jay Tarses directed all four of these episodes, writing or co-writing three. We start with "Here's Why You Shouldn't Get Too Attached to Your Cat." Nina (Maureen Anderman) thinks she's lost Ladyfingers to the guys who robbed her place. The case is investigated by Nathaniel (Richard Lawson). The interracial aspect of Molly and Nathaniel getting together is only referred to once in this batch, when her mom (Allyn Ann McLerie) hopefully asks if Molly's "strange rumblings" are "white Anglo-Saxon Protestant rumblings?" Nathaniel is one of a few men Molly could end up with. There's also ex-husband Fred (William Converse-Roberts), ex-boyfriend Dennis (Victor Garber) and my pick, adorkable Moss Goodman (Dennis Strathairn).

*Moss has dropped some books he was stocking*

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Oh, I think so. I didn't fall, did I? Usually, I'll fall and will split my head open."

"Ah. I hope these books didn't get wrecked."

"No. No. Books should be dropped from time to time. They, uh, need to be shooken up. It's good for them."

Learning the ropes at Goodman Books, Molly observes Moss' eccentricities, including spending a lot of time not making eye contact. Molly wondering in "Here's Another Cryptic Message From Upstate" if Moss is "a normal guy, or are you just as bizarre as humanly possible?" has aged uniquely. At the same time, most new jobs begin with an explanation of duties or operations, not with the supervisor mistaking the employee for a customer. For her part, Molly admits to being fascinated by certain aspects of the situation. By the end of the four episodes I watched, Moss has been invited over for dinner. It's halted by the death of her father, Edgar (Richard Venture). Moss did a bit of seducing earlier, in "Here Are a Few Variations on a Sexual Theme."

"'Suddenly she became small in his arms. Small and nesting. It was gone. The resistance was gone. And she began to melt in a marvelous peace. And as she melted, small and wonderful in his arms, she became infinitely desirable to him. All his blood vessels seemed to scald with an intense yet tender desire for her. For her softness. For the penetrating beauty of her in his arms.' ... Uh ... Lawrence. D.H. It's over there, under, uh, 'L.'"

"Here Comes That Cold Wind Off the River" was written by Bob Brush (The Wonder Years). If dinner with Moss and her father's death weren't enough, there's also Molly's discovery that sister Mamie (Sandy Faison) is having an affair. "Affairs are for people who slink in the night. ... Men with black socks." And that's not all; Molly and Fred also have a parting of the ways when she responds in person to his "Thinking of you" postcard. With all this relationship trouble, I can't say I blame Molly for flirting with Davey (James Greene). Sure, he's old enough to be her father, but he's got a sense of humor and compassion. She'll also always know where he is. Davey loses his elevator operator job to modernization but gets hired as Molly's doorman.

"Let's not fence around here, Molly. I wrote you a card to let you know I was alive, and you show up here. What do you expect from me?"

"Fred, you should just see yourself. You know, you are just ... so pathetic. Or I am so pathetic. The situation is pathetic. This place is pathetic."

"Molly, when I dream at night, I dream of you dreaming of me dreaming of you."

"So what do we do now?"

"I don't know."

*she starts to leave*

"You gotta find somebody else, Molly. ... It's the only way. You gotta find somebody else. I can't do it."

"Just leave everything up to me."

Finally, we have Dr. Lichfield (Christine Healy). After two episodes of evading ex-therapy patient Molly, Lichfield comes out in "Sexual." She doesn't "usually fall in love with women. I don't think of myself as ... gay." Lichfield admits that her attraction probably has very little to do with Molly herself. "But it's there, and it's real. And some things you just can't ... wish away." You can, however, remain closeted. Lichfield follows her speech by accepting a date with a man. "*as Molly leaves* Italian sounds great. ... Where in the Village? ... *nearly crying* Sure. I love that place." Different times, yes, but still well-written and especially acted. I cheated and saw that "Sexual" is Healy's last Dodd episode. Well, at least she went out on a high note.

"... Why do you girls insist on gumming up your lives?"

"C'mon, mom, the '80s are a barrel of monkeys."

"Yeah, it's a lot of fun, hanging around the clinic, waiting for the test results."

"Or casually hooking your date up to a lie detector."

"If you have a lie detector."

"If you have a date."

Thoughts:

-- "Can you imagine what it's like to walk in your apartment and find everything ransacked? Underwear hanging out of the drawers?" "Yes, I can, but I'm a bad example."

-- Awards Watch: Brown and Tarses (as a director) were Emmy nominated in 1988, with her also receiving a nod in 1989. According to IMDB, Brown won the CableACE in 1991 for her work on Dodd, although it was in the dramatic category. She and the show lost in the comedy category in 1990.

-- So, what was the deal with Apartment 12F, whose tenant seems to have daily heart attacks and might not be living alone? Or should I just watch the whole show and be surprised?

-- Musical Moment: In a flashback, Fred, Molly and his band perform "Lullaby of the Leaves" ("Upstate").

-- Fanservice Junction: Fred is hanging out at an indoor pool when he and Molly talk ("River").

-- Hey, It's the Late '80s!: Moss is not impressed with author Sybil Drayton, who Molly says writes "all those Hollywood sex novels" and is famous for "her sensuality and her hair" ("Sexual"). That same episode, Dennis mentions Fatal Attraction when warning Molly about her supposed jealousy, neurosis and obsession with him. Earlier, Nina laments losing her VCR and recently-bought cassette deck with Dolby ("Cat").

-- Today in Sketch Comedy: "This Girl," written by and starring Julia Sweeney for On the Television.

Courtesy YouTube

-- "Oh -- we have to plan Thanksgiving, or as your brother refers to it, 'Rape of the Indian Day.'" "Hey, listen, you know, I got a great idea for Thanksgiving. What do you say to a turkey?"

-- Next: Cagney & Lacey. On deck: Murder, She Wrote.