The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on NBC from May 21, 1987 to June 17, 1988 and on Lifetime from April 17, 1989 to April 13, 1991. It was created by Jay Tarses and stars Blair Brown in the title role.
| The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy-drama |
| Created by | Jay Tarses |
| Starring | Blair Brown |
| Theme music composer | Patrick Williams |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 65 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Bernie Brillstein |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production companies | You And Me Kid Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC (1987–1988) Lifetime (1989–1991) |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | May 21, 1987 – May 8, 1991 |
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 yuppie 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 (and the occasional woman) she meets adores her. Her warmth and emotional accessibility are the root cause of most of Molly's problems in life.
Cast
- Blair Brown as Molly Dodd
- James Greene as Davey McQuinn, elevator operator/doorman
- Allyn Ann McLerie as Florence Bickford, Molly's mother
- William Converse-Roberts as Fred Dodd, Molly's ex-husband
- Richard Lawson as Det. Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of Molly's romantic interests
- David Strathairn as Moss Goodman, one of Molly's romantic interests
Additional cast included:
- Maureen Anderman as her best friend Nina.
- Sandy Faison as Mamie Grolnick, Molly’s younger sister.
- Victor Garber as Dennis Widmer
- Richard Venture as Edgar Bickford, Molly's father
- George Gaynes, John Pankow, and J. Smith-Cameron.
Episodes
Season 1 (1987)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Here's Why Cosmetics Should Come in Unbreakable Bottles" | May 21, 1987 |
| 2 | 2 | "Here's Why There Are Instances When Vegetables Aren't Necessarily Good for You" | May 28, 1987 |
| 3 | 3 | "Here's Why You Should Stay Out of Coffee Shops If You Don't Drink Coffee" | June 4, 1987 |
| 4 | 4 | "Here's Why You Should Never Wear High Heels to the Bank" | June 11, 1987 |
| 5 | 5 | "Here's Why It's Not Good to Stare at People in Restaurants" | June 18, 1987 |
| 6 | 6 | "Here's Why It's Tough to Sell Watermelons After Midnight" | June 25, 1987 |
| 7 | 7 | "Here's Why a Torch Is Too Heavy to Carry in a Purse" | July 2, 1987 |
| 8 | 8 | "Here's Why They Call the Little One a Jingle and the Big One the Blues" | July 9, 1987 |
| 9 | 9 | "Here's Another Bedtime Story" | July 16, 1987 |
| 10 | 10 | "Here's Why It's Good to Have a Cake Burning in the Refrigerator" | July 23, 1987 |
| 11 | 11 | "Here's Why Henry David Thoreau Chose the Pond" | July 30, 1987 |
| 12 | 12 | "Here's Why You've Gottta Bake a Batch of Cookies Every Once in a While" | August 6, 1987 |
| 13 | 13 | "Here's Why Good Guys Sometimes Wear Black" | August 13, 1987 |
Season 2 (1988–89)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Here's Why You Shouldn't Get Too Attached to Your Cat" | March 24, 1988 | |
| 15 | 2 | "Here Are a Few Variations on a Sexual Theme" | March 31, 1988 | |
| 16 | 3 | "Here Comes That Cold Wind Off the River" | April 7, 1988 | |
| 17 | 4 | "Here's a Bunch of Photos from an Old Album" | April 14, 1988 | |
| 18 | 5 | "Here's a Side Effect of Serious Moonlight" | April 21, 1988 | |
| 19 | 6 | "Here's a Message from Your Local Bag Lady" | April 28, 1988 | |
| 20 | 7 | "Here's a Little Known Ingrid Bergman Incident" | May 25, 1988 | |
| 21 | 8 | "Here's Who Ordered the Pizza" | June 1, 1988 | |
| 22 | 9 | "Here's What Happened to That Earring You Lost" | June 8, 1988 | |
| 23 | 10 | "Here's a Reason to Keep Your Goats in the Barn" | June 15, 1988 | |
| 24 | 11 | "Here's Talkin' to Yourself" | June 22, 1988 | |
| 25 | 12 | "Here's Another Cryptic Message from Upstate" | June 29, 1988 | |
| 26 | 13 | "Here's That Old Shadow on the Wall" | April 17, 1989 | |
| NOTE: This episode was originally scheduled to be shown on NBC on July 6, 1988, but the network had cancelled the series by then; it was later shown on Lifetime on the night of the third-season premiere. | ||||
Season 3 (1989)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "Here's a Cute Way to Wrap up the Holiday Season" | April 17, 1989 |
| 28 | 2 | "Here's Why You Order from the Spanish Side of the Menu" | April 29, 1989 |
| 29 | 3 | "Here's the Groovy Piano Bar Episode" | May 6, 1989 |
| 30 | 4 | "Here's a Little Night Music" | May 13, 1989 |
| 31 | 5 | "Here's Why You Should Lock Your Bathroom Door" | May 20, 1989 |
| 32 | 6 | "Here's a Clever Yet Practical Gift Idea" | May 27, 1989 |
| 33 | 7 | "Here's Why You Should Always Make Your Bed in the Morning" | June 3, 1989 |
| 34 | 8 | "Here's a Rough Way to Learn a Foreign Language" | June 10, 1989 |
| 35 | 9 | "Here's Some Ducks All in a Row" | June 17, 1989 |
| 36 | 10 | "Here's a Major Organ Interlude" | June 24, 1989 |
| 37 | 11 | "Here's a Shot in the Dark" | July 1, 1989 |
| 38 | 12 | "Here's an Unexpected Twist on the Old Biological Clock" | July 8, 1989 |
| 39 | 13 | "Here's a Leisurely Stroll Through the Park" | July 15, 1989 |
Season 4 (1990)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1 | "Here's Why Pink Isn't Necessarily a Girl's Favorite Color" | Steve Dubin | Elaine Arata | April 6, 1990 |
| 41 | 2 | "Here Are Just a Few Things That Could Possibly Go Wrong" | Don Scardino | Richard Dresser | April 13, 1990 |
| 42 | 3 | "Here's Why You Can Never Have Too Much Petty Cash" | Steve Dubin | Sarah Paley | April 20, 1990 |
| 43 | 4 | "Here's a Perilous Research Project" | TBA | Albert Innaurato | April 27, 1990 |
| 44 | 5 | "Here's Something I Forgot to Mention" | TBA | Richard Dresser | May 11, 1990 |
| 45 | 6 | "Here's Why Restaurants Have a Minimum" | TBA | Elaine Arata | May 18, 1990 |
| 46 | 7 | "Here's Another Lost Weekend" | TBA | Richard Dresser & Elaine Arata | May 25, 1990 |
| 47 | 8 | "Here Are a Couple of Games You've Probably Played" | TBA | Elaine Arata | June 1, 1990 |
| 48 | 9 | "Here's a Rare Photo Opportunity" | TBA | David Suehsdorf | June 8, 1990 |
| 49 | 10 | "Here's an Expensive Item with No Returns, Refunds or Exchanges" | TBA | Richard Dresser & Elaine Arata | June 15, 1990 |
| 50 | 11 | "Here Are Some Things That Go Bump in the Night" | TBA | Richard Dresser | June 22, 1990 |
| 51 | 12 | "Here's a Quick and Easy Recipe for Leftovers" | TBA | Richard Dresser | June 29, 1990 |
| 52 | 13 | "Here's a Good Reason to Check Your Answering Machine on a Regular Basis" | TBA | Richard Dresser & Elaine Arata | July 6, 1990 |
Season 5 (1991)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 1 | "Here's a Neat Way to Tie Up the Loose Ends" | January 19, 1991 |
| 54 | 2 | "Here's a New Way of Looking at Cappuccino" | January 26, 1991 |
| 55 | 3 | "Here's When the Fat Lady Sings" | February 2, 1991 |
| 56 | 4 | "Here Are Some Overnight Lows" | February 9, 1991 |
| 57 | 5 | "Here's a Pregnant Pause" | February 16, 1991 |
| 58 | 6 | "Here's a Good Excuse for Missing the Party" | February 23, 1991 |
| 59 | 7 | "Here's One Way to Fill Every Waking Moment" | March 2, 1991 |
| 60 | 8 | "Here's a High Dive Into a Shallow Pool" | March 9, 1991 |
| 61 | 9 | "Here's How to Break the Other Leg" | March 16, 1991 |
| 62 | 10 | "Here's How to Put an Egg in Your Shoe and Beat It" | March 23, 1991 |
| 63 | 11 | "Here's Why You Shouldn't Talk to Strangers in the Park" | March 30, 1991 |
| 64 | 12 | "Here's When Life Begins At" | April 6, 1991 |
| 65 | 13 | "Here's a Little Touch of Harry in the Night" | April 13, 1991 |
Production
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.
Production took place in Hollywood for the first two seasons before moving to Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York in season 3.[1]
Tarses wrote and directed many of its episodes (and made a number of cameo appearances).
Reception and network change
NBC first broadcast the show as a summer replacement in 1987 running 13 episodes. Molly Dodd was critically acclaimed and a moderate ratings 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 this second short season.
After it was canceled by NBC, Lifetime cable network picked 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.
Awards and nominations
The show earned Brown five Emmy Award 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.
Music rights
Despite some demand for the show on DVD or streaming services, the original producers did not clear music rights for subsequent broadcast. Since Brown often sang as Molly, the cost to secure those rights would be substantial. In an interview, Brown indicated "all the songs that I sang, they never got the rights. So [the show is] in a vault somewhere and will never see the light of day."[2]
References
- Champlin, Charles (August 22, 1989). "A New Day and Night for Blair Brown". Los Angeles Times.
- Gerard, Jeremy (December 15, 2017). "Blair Brown On Uma Thurman, Queen Lear – And The Mystery Of 'Molly Dodd'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
External links
- The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd at IMDb
- The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd at TV.com
- The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd at epguides.com
- Richard Lawson Official Website: The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd – features the video clip of Molly and Nathaniel's first meeting, plus other clips and production stills