Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

People who watch the sociological trends in television often cite important series that are milestones and landmarks for various factions. When discussing "independent female" roles, programs from the 1960s such as Diahann Carroll's "Julia" and Marlo Thomas' "That Girl" are frequently pointed out as important, and certainly in the 1970s, a big boost was given by "Maude" and "Mary Tyler Moore." I offer up the next important series in that chain: Blair Brown in "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd." Ten years and two months after Mary Richards exited WJM-TV, Jay Tarses (who happened to be in the MTM stable as a frequent writing contributor to "The Bob Newhart Show" back in the day) created this next logical evolutionary step for "The Television Woman." Molly Dodd was an attractive, 30something, single Manhattan woman who was, basically, a mess. There was nothing together or even mildly prepared about this woman, either in her work, her home life or her romantic relationships. She had been married to, then divorced from a modestly successful saxophonist who somehow wasn't quite out of her life and whose only worthwhile contribution to her was his surname. Her door/elevator man was an amateur philosopher. Her mom was a reflection of herself, and not in a good way. Her career was stuck in dead-end jobs. And when relationships did come along, there were always bizarre complications attached: such as her relationship with an NYPD undercover detective named Nathaniel Hawthorne, or when it devolved into a love triangle with a bookseller named Moss. Or when it got even more complicated, and then tragic.Somehow, Molly managed to take everything that happened to her in stride, at least in many cases, and that approach helped make her situations bearable, at least for the audience! The other charming and wonderful thing about the lead character was in her imperfections, and her willingness to be OK with them. She rarely had the answer, and even when she did, she often didn't know it! Yet, even as her world was spinning out of control, she kept her equilibrium, and continued on her way, in a sprightly manner. If she could make it there (with all of the people in her life *attempting* to help), she just might make it after all.Clearly, Molly owed some things to Mary Richards, and definitely paved the way for a character like Ally McBeal, who also had many of the quirky traits that Ms. Dodd had, albeit Ally was a successful lawyer. The "Dramedy" genre that Ms. McBeal dwelled in was first presented here, and that makes this series a very important link in the "History of Women on TV" chain.As such an important part of television history, the series should be available on DVD for everyone to see! There were only 65 episodes, so this shouldn't be that difficult.

I guess the most peculiar thing about this show is that there was indeed a real Molly Dodd (1921-1981) who made numerous television appearances all throughout the sixties and seventies, I guess she is most notable today on reruns of the Brady Bunch.She made two appearances, one as a store clerk, but her other appearance is as the bigoted neighbor Mrs. Payne in the episode "Kelly's Kids" with Ken Berry, Brooke Bundy, Billy Allton and Todd Lookinland, the real life younger brother of Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady); this was the episode with the 3 Musketeers boys, each of a different race. Molly Dodd also appears in the movie Harper Valley PTA with Barbara Eden and Fannie Flagg. She was the snooty gambler who had the horse manure dumped on her at the end. Now what part this woman's name could have in this Blair Brown TV show, I wouldn't know. She certainly didn't look like Blair Brown.But Molly Dodd isn't an incredibly common name.Or is it?

An endless list of reviews have called The Days & Nights of Molly Dodd an 80s version of either Mary Tyler Moore or Ally McBeal, in that the show centered on a single, quirky, professional woman living alone. A key difference however is Blair Brown.No disrespect towards MTM or Calista Flockhart, but Blair Brown brought a very unique difference to her character. Mary always seemed to be on the edge of total embarrassment and Ally on the edge of total emotional meltdown. Molly Dodd on the other hand, while often not knowing what she really wanted, was always able to handle whatever life threw at her. She wasn't socially awkward like Mary Richards nor was she emotionally bipolar like Ally McBeal.Consequently Molly Dodd was someone you'd not just want to go out with, but would want to be friends with. Blair Brown made Molly not only attractive, but fun, lovable and most of all, trustworthy. Not to be too sexist, but she made Molly 'one of the guys'. So never played relationship mind games, and instantly saw (and laughed) when someone did. She valued people totally on their character & personality.If you woke up next to Mary Richards you'd see her silently & guiltily sneaking out of bed. Ally McBeal would either be planning your wedding or putting a knife in your back. But Molly Dodd would just be there.And again, while MTM is (or was) attractive enough, she had a very standoff-ish, patrician, repressed kind of look. And Calista Flockhart is just, well, very cute. But Blair Brown, on the one hand she blends unnoticeably into a crowd, but on the other she is a gorgeous, drop-dead classic beauty.

This show turned me into a lifelong Blair Brown fan. It was sophisticated yet quirky, and I enjoyed its urban flavor at a time when I was living in a small town and longing for the big city. It tried to be challenging in its depiction of characters and relationships, and in that sense was probably ahead of its time. (Those of you who are Blair Brown fans -- particularly if you're from Florida -- should try to get hold of "A Flash of Green," which unfortunately is not an easy movie to find.)