Rhoda - The Mary Tyler Moore Show Tie-ins

The Mary Tyler Moore Show Tie-ins

• Nancy Walker and Harold Gould originated their roles as Rhoda's parents on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In the second season episode ("A Girl's Best Mother Is Not Her Friend"), Ida visits Rhoda in Minneapolis. Rhoda's sister and brother, Brenda and Arnold, are casually referred to in this installment. It is also mentioned that Brenda lives in Chicago. In the fourth season (1973–1974), Mary and Rhoda travel to New York City for the wedding of Rhoda's sister, Debbie (played by Liberty Williams — a role that Julie Kavner originally auditioned for). Comedienne Brett Somers also makes an appearance in this episode as Rhoda's Aunt Rose. Brenda and Arnold are not seen or referred to.

• During the first season of Rhoda the closing credits show Rhoda crossing Broadway and Seventh Avenue in Times Square and attempting to emulate her friend Mary Richards by tossing her hat in the air, only to drop it. She then picks up the hat, pulls it down onto her head, and walks away slightly embarrassed.

• Mary Richards is featured in or referred to in seven episodes of Rhoda:

1. Mary accompanies Rhoda to the airport for her flight to New York City in the pilot episode "Joe" (September 9, 1974). This scene is shown prior to the opening credits, and was cut from U.S. syndication, as well as the Season One DVD release.
2. Mary is mentioned in the second episode of the first season when Rhoda first moves in to Brenda's apartment, and again when Rhoda is talking to her on the phone when in her old bedroom at Ida and Martin's apartment in the Bronx. (September 16, 1974)
3. Rhoda phones Mary to announce she and Joe are getting married at the end of the episode "Pop Goes the Question" (October 14, 1974).
4. Mary (along with Lou Grant, Murray Slaughter, Georgette Franklin and Phyllis Lindstrom) appear in the hour-long episode, "Rhoda's Wedding" (October 28, 1974).
5. A letter from Mary is referenced in the first season episode, "Everything I Have is Yours, Almost" (January 27, 1975).
6. Mary surprises Rhoda and Joe with a unannounced visit in the final episode of the first season, "Along Comes Mary" (March 10, 1975).
7. Rhoda phones Mary seeking advice and comfort when it finally becomes clear to her that her marriage to Joe is coming to an end in "The Ultimatum" (January 30, 1977).

• Rhoda and Joe are featured together on The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode, "Mary Richards Falls in Love" (November 22, 1975).

• In episode 165 ("Mary's Three Husbands") of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in a future fantasy sequence, an elderly Mary receives a postcard from Rhoda, which states she is "still waiting for Joe to come back." (February 26, 1977)

• Rhoda appears in the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "The Last Show" (March 19, 1977).

• A recently divorced Rhoda Morgenstern-Rousseau (with her adult daughter, Meredith) is reunited with her old friend, recently widowed Mary Richards-Cronin (with her adult daughter, Rose) after many years of estrangement in the made-for-TV movie Mary and Rhoda (February 7, 2000).