About this season
Mr. Rhodes is an American television situation comedy which was aired by NBC as part of its 1996-97 lineup. Mr. Rhodes starred comedian Tom Rhodes as an eponymous character who taught at a small-town preparatory school after having failed as a novelist. He found that his high school fantasy girl, Nikki was on the staff as a guidance counselor, and began a relationship with her. Like the title character's writing career, Mr. Rhodes' appearance on network television was a brief one; the program was not picked up for another season and last broadcast in March 1997.
Episodes (19)
1. Pilot
Aired 23 September 1996 • 30 min
Hip young writer Tom Rhodes thought he could breeze back home after a few lackluster years in New York and one worst-selling -- albeit critically acclaimed -- novel under his belt, but his new life as a small town English teacher living on campus at Harkin Academy supplies some major lessons in and out of the classroom. First off, there's chemistry between the longhaired iconoclast with a blue-collar background and Harkin's high-strung, beautiful guidance counselor Nikki Harkin. Once the girl of Tom's teen-aged fantasies, Nikki's now hooked on therapy and apparently attached to a rich boyfriend. Tom hits another snag with wannabe-hip headmaster, Ray Heary, who digs his image but frowns on his casual teaching style, as does acerbic, highbrow history teacher Ronald Felcher. Meanwhile, Harkin's outlandish woman-child math teacher Amanda Reeves worships Tom, and young Milo views his maverick new teacher with skepticism -- especially on the night Tom catches the disconsolate student going o
2. The Crush Show
Aired 30 September 1996 • 30 min
Harkin Academy's boys are agog when a movie star's gorgeous teen-aged daughter enrolls, but when smart, ""plain Jane"" Zoey's self-esteem plummets, an attentive Mr. Rhodes steps in to boost her confidence and inadvertently sparks Zoey's colossal crush on him. In the nick of time, Nikki and Amanda alert a clueless Tom to the fragile teen's feelings.
3. Tom Moves In
Aired 7 October 1996 • 30 min
Tom is in hot water when he becomes a dorm supervisor and holds a pizza party, only to have the boys he's responsible for sneak out for a night on the town; Nikki tries to conceal her feelings for Tom's book.
4. Nikki Quits Therapy
Aired 14 October 1996 • 30 min
Nikki becomes conscious of the fact that she's way too dependent on therapy, so she quits, a decision that only depresses her further.
5. Heary's Camera
Aired 21 October 1996 • 30 min
Seeing the great picture that Tom accidentally shot on his film, Heary considers a career with his new-found talent, the art of photography.
6. The Halloween Show
Aired 28 October 1996 • 30 min
At Halloween, a gift from Tom haunts Nikki, who's feeling guilty about Carl; Amanda's strange behavior spooks the staff; and Jake's scared silly over the prospect of a test.
7. Death, Lice and Videotape
Aired 4 November 1996 • 30 min
No synopsis.
8. Looking for Mrs. Goodbar
Aired 11 November 1996 • 30 min
It's Parents Weekend, and wouldn't you know that the woman who picks Tom up in a bar for a passionate one-night stand turns out to be -- Zoey's mother.
9. Amanda's Fix-up Show
Aired 18 November 1996 • 30 min
No synopsis.
10. The Thanksgiving Show
Aired 25 November 1996 • 30 min
Mr. Heary is anxious to put on Tom's gritty, unpublished play for Thanksgiving. But one of the school's biggest backers wants to see something that has Pilgrims.
11. The Christmas Show
Aired 16 December 1996 • 30 min
No synopsis.
12. The Sexism Show
Aired 6 January 1997 • 30 min
Tom learns that even a sensitive man of the 90s can have his faults when a school study suggests that he and other Harkin Academy teachers have been favoring boys over girls.
13. The Courtroom Show
Aired 13 January 1997 • 30 min
It's a blow to former townie Tom when a night out ends up in a barroom brawl provoked by local toughs -- and Tom gets slapped with a lawsuit.
14. The Italian Show
Aired 20 January 1997 • 30 min
Everyone swoons over the handsome, charismatic, popular new Italian teacher. When Tom's the only one who dislikes Giorgio, it's written off as jealousy, despite his best effort to prove the newcomer a pretentious, dishonest phony.
15. The Welcome Back Show
Aired 3 February 1997 • 30 min
Tom is helped over a crisis of professionalism by spectral pep talks from the characters of Welcome Back Kotter.
16. Tom's not Headmaster Show
Aired 17 February 1997 • 30 min
An obnoxious millionaire buys the school, and wants Tom to be the new headmaster.
17. The Valentine Show
Aired 10 March 1997 • 30 min
Cupid's arrow is especially sharp on Valentine's Day: Carl breaks up with Nikki, Nikki blames Tom, and Ronald just wants to call the whole thing off and celebrate Lincoln's birthday instead.
18. Feud For Thought
No synopsis.
19. The Goat Show
Jake is tried in a kangaroo court for harming Billy the Goat, the school's mascot, and the fact that he refuses to rat on his friends isn't helping him any.