Sunday, January 16, 2022

Molly Dodd


I was going to walk another link of the Green Chain yesterday. But the weather turned out to be so chilly and bleak that I just couldn't get motivated. We were promised some sun by the afternoon, but as you can see above, we didn't really get any.

I did manage to walk the dog twice, though, so that's something. And I kept myself busy around the house, doing laundry, vacuuming, going to the vet for dog food, taking shirts to the cleaners, blah blah blah. I also finished about 125 pages of "The Story of Mankind," so the end is within reach! I'm now up to the emancipation of slaves. I intend to finish that book today, but I also intend to walk the Green Chain, and how those two goals fit together I'm not sure but I'll make it work.


These are our snapdragons on the front porch. They've proven to be quite persistent, still blooming well into January. I'd only intended to plant them as annuals but I wonder if they might even make it through the winter. As you can see some of them have gone to seed but others still have flowers.

In the evenings, I've been watching...


..."The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd," an '80s sitcom starring Blair Brown. Do you remember this show? I loved it when it was on network TV in 1987 or so -- I was in college in Florida and fantasizing about having a cool urban life, just like Molly Dodd, who was a sort of singer/poet and had no consistent job yet lived on the Upper West Side in a doorman building (!). That's an image from the opening credits, above, and every time I saw it I yearned to be sitting in my own apartment on my own hardwood floor with my own cup of coffee, reading The New York Times. And then, years later, I wound up not just reading the Times but working there, and I did sit on my hardwood floor reading the paper and thinking of this very image. Funny how things happen.

Anyway, it's a good show -- I've never forgotten the wacky dream sequence where Molly is dancing with a Hasidic Jew as her mother glides around the room dressed as the Statue of Liberty on roller skates -- and it has a very progressive outlook, with Molly dating a black cop and being the object of an infatuation by her female therapist. I wonder if "Seinfeld," which came along just a year or two later, sort of eclipsed it. After all, how many clever, bantery, wacky, sophisticated New York sitcoms can a culture support? But it's on YouTube and I'm happy about that.

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

It sounds like a productive day. I don't remember the name of the tv show. I doubt it was screened here.

Moving with Mitchell said...

I have never seen a single episode of Molly Dodd. I don’t know why that never happened. Maybe I’ll give it a try on YouTube.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I hope that finishing "The Story of Mankind" does not involve any skimming as skimming is not the same as actually reading. I'm just sayin'.

Colette said...

I can't believe I never watched that TV show.

Bob said...

I never saw the show, so I may look for it.

Sidenote: every time you mention the Green Chain, my mind instantly goes to the Green Mile, and I'm glad you're not walking that!😁

Ms. Moon said...

I vaguely remember that show. In the 80's I was so busy with raising children that a lot passed me by.
Lovely shot of Olga in the cemetery.

Ellen D. said...

I have never seen Molly Dodd but I love the fact that you had a dream to work in NYC and sit on your hardwood floor while drinking coffee and you DID it! And then you decided to live in London and write a blog! I never would have heard of you otherwise so it amazes me. Well done, Steve!

Anonymous said...

I never watched Molly Dodd, but I think I may have to take a look on YouTube. Now I'm wondering what I did watch on TV in the 1980s. My then-husband was a news photographer and I was a re-entry college student in my 30s. Mmmm?

Sharon said...

I think I saw the Molly Dodd show once or twice. I recall the name and the star. I also never got hooked on Seinfeld.
I hope you got to take that walk today.

ellen abbott said...

I don't think I've ever heard of it. Certainly haven't watched any of it. But yeah, funny how you made your childhood/young adult dream a reality. but that's what we do, make our own reality so not so surprising.

Boud said...

Never having been a TV watcher I've never heard of this show, but I think I'll look it up, thanks.

You worked at the NYT? I think your current school librarian stint is easily as demanding and in my biased view (!) more valuable. But that's me.

The Bug said...

I remember the show but I'm not sure I ever watched it. I wonder if I was in Zambia? I probably would have loved it!

That top photo of Olga is just fabulous.

Red said...

This is one show I don't remember hearing about.

The Padre said...

Rock On Brother Reed - Olga Girl So Digs The Double Walks

Cheers

Wilma said...

I thought at first that you ad Olga had found Molly Dodd's grave at the cemetery!

Kelly said...

I didn't watch that show, but I did watch Seinfeld!

I love that top photo. There's just something about cemeteries.... (made even better by the inclusion of Olga)

Jeanie said...

I might even have some of those left on VHS (for which I have no player). I loved that show for all the reasons you said, not to mention a big crush on David Straithairn who played Moss and went on to some truly remarkable dramatic roles. Love the snapdragon. They don't bloom like that in Michigan in January!

Linda said...

I must have lived under a rock at the time. I don't even remember the name. I like Blair Brown though.

Lini said...

I loved the 'molly dodd' show- especially loved the character of moss played by david straithern. glad to hear it's on youtube. i've decided youtube is like 'alice's restaurant'- y ou can watch anything you want on youtube. thanks for the heads up on MD.

Margaret said...

I didn't think of snapdragons as being that hardy. I have heard of that show but never watched it. I'm currently looking for series to get me through the winter so that might do the trick.

Michael said...

I remember that show, but I don't think I ever saw it. Hopefully the sun will come soon!

Steve Reed said...

It wasn't a huge hit in the states, but it was a critical success, at least for its first few seasons.

Steve Reed said...

I wish there were better-quality clips available. The ones on YouTube seem to be taken from someone's VCR recordings and they're pretty blurry.I don't think the show never got released on DVD, allegedly because of rights issues regarding some of the music.

Steve Reed said...

I am not skimming! Sheesh, who are you, the Newbery Police?!

Steve Reed said...

I'm not sure it would have the same appeal now, after "Seinfeld" and "Friends," but if you want to give it a try, you can!

Steve Reed said...

Ha! I always get "The Green Mile" confused with "Shawshank Redemption," but I suppose either way, that would be bad.

Steve Reed said...

I honestly thought it was on a few years later than it apparently was. I'm surprised I was watching it in college. Didn't I have studying to do?!

Steve Reed said...

I have been very lucky to get to do so many of the things I wanted to do as a young person. London came completely out of left field!

Steve Reed said...

Maybe you were sensibly studying rather than watching TV! :)

Steve Reed said...

I didn't watch "Seinfeld" in its first several seasons, but I eventually got hooked in the mid-'90s.

Steve Reed said...

We do make our own reality, but we're also somewhat constrained by circumstances, so I feel very lucky to have been able to do what I've done.

Steve Reed said...

I loved working in journalism, at least as a young person. But it's a very demanding job and once I hit middle age I wanted something with an easier schedule! I do appreciate the fact that my current job feels purposeful.

Steve Reed said...

I think it came on in 1986 or 1987, and it only ran for a season or two on network tv before moving to Lifetime, where it continued into the early '90s.

Steve Reed said...

So many shows, so little time!

Steve Reed said...

And it's a good thing, because yesterday she didn't want to walk at all!

Steve Reed said...

God forbid!

Steve Reed said...

I love Seinfeld! It's one of the few shows that makes me laugh out loud every time. Olga and I often walk in that cemetery.

Steve Reed said...

Oh, if you still have VHS tapes, you should get them digitized! Who knows what amazing content you may have on there? I'd forgotten that David Strathairn was in that show -- that was a pleasant surprise.

Steve Reed said...

She's great. I saw her on Broadway years ago in "Copenhagen" and she also starred in one of my favorite movies, an obscure episode of American Playhouse called "A Flash of Green" from the mid-'80s. (Probably just before she began "Molly Dodd.")

Steve Reed said...

It IS amazing what's available on YouTube! I'm pretty sure these Molly Dodd episodes are bootlegs. I don't think the show was ever released on DVD or made available for streaming.

Steve Reed said...

I'm really surprised how well these snapdragons have lasted. If they survive the winter I might just put them in the ground!

Steve Reed said...

I wasn't a huge TV watcher back then, so I'm surprised it stuck with me. Then again, maybe that's why!

Ed said...

I have never heard of the show but it was on right before I went to college and had access to something called a television. Up until college, my family never owned (and my dad still doesn't) own a television. I came in right with Seinfeld, which I loved.