20th Century Fox | 1974 | 624 mins. | Not Rated
Created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, The Mary Tyler Moore Show remains a television favorite, more than thirty years after the last first-run episode aired on March 19, 1977. When the series debuted seven years earlier, Mary Tyler Moore’s character of Mary Richards signaled a big change for women in television. She was the first female who wasn’t divorced or widowed; Mary Richards was a thirty-year-old woman, who wanted to date and hold a job, but wasn’t actively looking for a man to support her. As a matter-of-fact, she had lived with a man whom she had helped through medical school. He left her upon receiving his degree and she relocated to Minneapolis determined to “make it on her own.”That doesn’t sound revolutionary in 2009, but nearly forty years ago, this was revolutionary stuff.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is one of the few series in television history that may have never “jumped the shark.” While some episodes were clearly better than others, for seven seasons the show kept viewers laughing. Much of this had to do with the excellent ensemble cast: Edward Asner played Lou Grant, Mary’s WJM-TV newsroom boss, a gruff, old school newsman with a heart of gold; Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern, Mary’s wisecracking and proudly Jewish best friend; Ted Knight as Ted Baxter, the clueless, yet egotistical news anchor; Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, Mary’s landlady and an ardent feminist; Gavin MacLeod as wisecracking news writer Murray Slaughter, and Betty White as the man chasing, “Happy Homemaker” Sue Ann Nivens.
Looking at that roster of talent, it’s no wonder the show won a total of twenty-nine Emmys during its run. The show took home several of the coveted awards: Outstanding Comedy Series, Edward Asner won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Betty White won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Cloris Leachman took home a trophy for her work in “Phyllis Whips Inflation” and Ed Weinberger & Stan Daniels won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for the episode, “Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?” Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom always added some enjoyable and unpredictable comedic moments whenever she showed up on MTM. Coincidentally, “Phyllis Whips Inflation” would mark Leachman’s last regular appearance on the series (she would return for the finale), so she could launch the spin-off, Phyllis.
There are three episodes this season that many consider classics. “Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?” Has Mary spending a night in a jail cell with two hookers, in a battle over First Amendment rights. “Ted Baxter’s Famous Broadcasters’ School” finds Ted being conned into setting up a broadcasters school, and when one person actually signs up, Ted relies on his friends to deliver the lectures. And “You Can’t Lose ’em All” finds Lou winning the Albert Mason Award, which Lou always said went to people in the industry who have one foot in the grave.
After a long wait, 20th Century Fox has presented all 24 episodes from season five. Oddly, the standard size keep case that holds the three DVD’s, doesn’t contain episode descriptions anywhere. Fox can be forgiven though; it’s just great they’ve finally brought another season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show to fans. Here’s a brief rundown of the episodes:
1) “Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?” After Mary refuses to reveal her source, she has to spend a night in jail in an episode that, while a classic, it feels like part one of a two-parter that never airs.
2) “Not Just Another Pretty Face” Mary dates a very good looking man with whom she has little in common. She quickly becomes concerned that the relationship is superficial. Robert Wolders guest stars.
3) “You Sometimes Hurt the One You Hate.” Lou gets physical with Ted after the newscaster fills time on the air by endorsing one political candidate and libeling the other.
4) “Lou and That Woman.” Lou begins seeing a cocktail lounge singer but becomes uncomfortable about the number of men in her past. Sheree North guest stars.
5) “The Outsider.” A young Richard Masur guest stars as an efficiency expert whom Lou hires to boost the station’s ratings.
6) “I Love a Piano.” Barbara Barrie guests stars as a recent divorcee who hits it off with Murray at a party, and turns into a major temptation for the news writer.
7) “A New Sue Ann.” Linda Kelsey, who would go on to star on the series spin-off, Lou Grant, guests as a wide-eyed girl from Mary’s home town who has designs on Sue Ann’s job.
8.) “Menage-a-Phyllis.” Phyllis dates a man on a platonic basis for “cultural events”, but becomes jealous when he begins seeing Mary. John Saxon guest stars.
9) “Not a Christmas Story.” Trapped at the office due to bad weather, Sue Ann decides to serve her Christmas dinner early.
10) “What Are Friends For?” At a convention in Chicago, Mary discovers that Sue Ann has a vulnerable side.
11) “A Boy’s Best Friend.” Ted is upset to learn his mother intends to move in with her boyfriend.
12) “A Son for Murray.” After three daughters and a wife who doesn’t want to keep trying, a compromise has them adopting.
13) “Neighbors.” Lou wants a smaller place and moves in to Rhoda’s old apartment but can’t help interfering in Mary’s private life.
14) “A Girl Like Mary.” When Lou announces his intention to hire an on-the-air female newscaster “like Mary,” Mary decides to apply for the job herself.
15) “An Affair to Forget.” Now that Mary is producer, Ted thinks that he can make his move on her. He convinces the rest of the newsroom that they are having an affair.
16) “Mary Richards: Producer.” Mary doesn’t feel she deserves the title of producer and asks Lou that she be given the chance to produce The Six O’clock News alone.
17) “The System.” Lou teams up with Ted after the latter seems to have discovered a betting system that works, but a Super Bowl could be their undoing.
18) “Phyllis Whips Inflation.” Phyllis and Lars have a dispute and she finds her credit cards cut off. She looks for a job but finds that she has no relevant skills.
19) “The Shame of the Cities.” Lou launches an investigation into a councilman, ready to dig up some dirt, only to discover that the councilman is squeaky clean.
20) “Marriage Minneapolis Style.” Ted gets caught up in the spirit at Murray and Marie’s (Joyce Bulifant) 20th anniversary party, and proposes to Georgette (Georgia Engel), then gets cold feet.
21) “You Try to Be a Nice Guy.” Mary tries to help a female delinquent straighten out.
22) “You Can’t Lose ’em All.” Lou wins the Albert Mason Award, which sets off a mid-life crisis. Fred Grandy guest stars.
23) “Ted Baxter’s Famous Broadcasters’ School.” One of the funniest episodes has Ted addressing a class of one. Bernie Kopell guest stars.
24) “Anyone Who Hates Kids and Dogs.” Mary likes her new boyfriend but finds his son Stevie, absolutely intolerable.
Even after all these years, The Mary Tyler Moore Show is still wonderful; the jokes are funny and the writing is still top shelf. The ensemble feels like a family, and it still comes across that way.
It doesn’t look like Fox has done much of a restoration job on this set, so don’t expect a pristine presentation. Presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio, you’ll likely notice that edges are somewhat soft and there is some excess grain. However, the colors are as bright and distinct as when the show first aired.
The audio is a simple Dolby Digital 1.0 mono that emanates from the front-center and sounds like mono. Thankfully, the dialogue isn’t smothered by the laugh track. Subtitles are in English and Spanish.
There are no special features.
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