Just found out that she left the show briefly to star in a couple of other shows that failed. How did they explain her absence?

I don't think they ever really did. You just didn't see her anymore. They shot around her and feature their dad (mainly for advice) a little more. At least that's what I remember of it.

In the first episode of season3, when Joe and Rhoda split,Ida is about to go on a tour of the US with an unseen Martin,I'm sure Martin makes an appearance in one episode without Ida,later in season3,saying he was making a vist to see Rhoda and Brenda.
Ida returns in the first episode of season 4 and wait till you hear the audience go wild!

They just aired that episode a few weeks ago (Ep1, Season 3) where Rhoda tells Ida she and Joe have seperated. It was a touching, moving, brilliant scene that could never be repeated again.

I think that Ida and Martin went on an RV trip around the country - but I could be wrong.

I think that Ida and Martin went on an RV trip around the country - but I could be wrong.

Yes thats right catlover79,I also agree the acting in that episode from Valerie Harper,David Groh and Nancy Walker is first rate.

Yes thats right catlover79,I also agree the acting in that episode from Valerie Harper,David Groh and Nancy Walker is first rate.
Thanks for confirming that!! :D

I think that Ida and Martin went on an RV trip around the country - but I could be wrong.

Yes, that was the explanation: Ida and Martin were off on a trip. I find it interesting that that's the way the chose to explain her absence. It suggests to me they were expecting Nancy Walker's series to fail and she'd return to Rhoda, which obviously did happen.

I can still remember how the fourth season began. Rhoda's divorce has just become final and Ida and Martin are returning from their trip. Rhoda's panicking about how to break the news to her mother that she's divorced. I haven't seen that episode since it originally aired in 1977, but that scene sticks out in my mind.

I also agree the acting in that episode from Valerie Harper,David Groh and Nancy Walker is first rate.

Same here! That's one of the best-acted, best-written sitcom episodes I've ever seen. It was brilliantly handled and so utterly real.

Same here! That's one of the best-acted, best-written sitcom episodes I've ever seen. It was brilliantly handled and so utterly real.

Yes it sure was. I will always remember Rhoda's reaction when she sates: "ooooohhhhh wow" after she hears that Joe wants to go off by himself for awhile

I can still remember how the fourth season began. Rhoda's divorce has just become final and Ida and Martin are returning from their trip. Rhoda's panicking about how to break the news to her mother that she's divorced. I haven't seen that episode since it originally aired in 1977, but that scene sticks out in my mind.

That should be airing on "ALN" around April 22, if my calculations are correct. They started the third season on March 11, and they air the show M-Th. Today they aired ep #9 ("Meet the Levys"), and there are 24 eps total.

Valerie Harper wasn't very well at the time of season 4,you can see how painfully thin,she is.(They replaced the pictures of Valerie Harper with healthier ones after a few episodes)

Rhoda isn't expecting Ida and as I put on another post,the audience goes wild when Ida reappears on the show.

They just aired that episode a few weeks ago (Ep1, Season 3) where Rhoda tells Ida she and Joe have seperated. It was a touching, moving, brilliant scene that could never be repeated again.
There is a scene, where Ida is about to leave Rhoda's apartment, and there seems to be tension between them. Ida imbraces Rhoda, and says "Rhoda, don't shut me out!" Was this the episode, and was she about to leave on the trip with Martin? I remember it being a touching moment.

Yes, that is it. At the very end she also tells Rhoda she wants to sleep over that night. Rhoda tells her its not necessary - and sends her home. As she's walking out the door, Rhoda calls out to her - she has changed her mind, and it's understood Ida stays the night.

Yes it sure was. I will always remember Rhoda's reaction when she sates: "ooooohhhhh wow" after she hears that Joe wants to go off by himself for awhile

Yes, that scene is so powerful. When Joe is trying to get his belongings and Rhoda keeps blocking the doorway, exposing her deep fear and insecurity, wow! There are some laughs there, but they're sort of nervous laughs, because it's so relatable and hits close to home with most people. Anyone who's been through a break-up knows exactly what she was feeling. You can see it all over her face and in her actions. It was real and it was raw. (Maybe it's my imagination, but Valerie looked like she was tearing up at that moment.) And as a viewer, it felt like we were going through this break-up with her. Viewers had been taken along on this joyous ride from the very beginning of a romance involving a character we had come to love years before. Now we were seeing it suddenly unravel right before our eyes. It was so impactful.

I wondered where Ida was.

I wonder what kind of contract Nancy Walker had with the Rhoda series. She also appeared on McMillan & Wife over on NBC as Mildred from 1971-76 which would have been simultanious to her first two years on Rhoda, 1974-76, then left both series and starred in ABC's Nancy Walker Show and Blansky's Beauties (1976-77). After these series were cancelled, she was back on CBS' Rhoda in the fall of '77. Very unusual for anyone to jump back and forth through all 3 networks in such a short period of time.