PHYLLIS - THE COMPLETE SERIES (CBS 1975-1977) RARE!!! Cloris Leachman, Lisa Gerritsen, Henry Jones, Jane Rose, Judith Lowry, Liz Torres, Richard Schaal, Barbara Colby

Created by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels, Phyllis was the second spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (the first being Rhoda). The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards' neighbor and college friend on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Left penniless after the death of her husband Lars, Phyllis and her daughter Bess (Lisa Gerritsen) move to San Francisco to live with Lars's mother, the scatterbrained Audrey Dexter (Jane Rose) and stepfather Judge Jonathan Dexter (Henry Jones). Phyllis takes a job as an assistant in a photographic studio. The owner, Julie Erskine, was played by Barbara Colby. Colby was murdered after three episodes of Phyllis had been filmed and the part was assumed by Liz Torres. Leo Heatherton (Richard Schaal) was a well-meaning but bumbling photographer at the studio.

Much of the first season's humor stemmed from Phyllis' attempts to fit into the job market having lived for many years as the spoiled wife of a rich dermatologist. Elderly actress Judith Lowry guest starred in an early episode ("Leaving Home") as Jonathan's mother, Sally Dexter. She was so well received by viewers that by the end of the first year Lowry became a regular when Mother Dexter joined the household.

The series premise was reworked for the second season. Erskine Photography and the characters Julie Erskine and Leo Heatherton were dropped with the explanation that Julie had married suddenly, sold the photography studio, and moved away, putting Phyllis out of a job. Leachman, Gerritsen, Jones, Rose and Lowry remained with the series with Phyllis being hired as an assistant to a San Francisco City Supervisor. New characters were Phyllis's boss Dan Valenti (Carmine Caridi), Leonard Marsh (John Lawlor), an inept politician in the office, and Leonard's secretary Harriet Hastings (Garn Stephens). Harriet was initially Phyllis's rival, but they later became friends.

This hard-to-find 6-DVD set contains all 48 episodes produced.

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Number of DVDs: 6

Number of Episodes: 48

Quality: 8.5-9/10

Running Time: 19 hrs 12 min (approx)

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Full Screen

NOTES: This is a fan-made DVD set. Not a studio release.  Pictures are screenshots from the DVD.