Ritchie's only scene was the opening phone call with Alan in the old house. It would have been nice at the end, or at some point, to see Rob and Laura visit Ritchie and his family at the old house instead of seeing them out of character.

One thought occured to me why we didn't see any scenes with Ritchie together with Rob and Laura. Mary's real son was also named Ritchie and killed himself in 1980. Is it possible that Mary requested to not have any scenes together with TV son Ritchie because it would have been too painful due to her real life tragedy?

I don't know if Mary had any final say -- or even any input at all -- on the script, but I just wanted to mention that she has never acknowledged her own son's death as being anything but accidental. In fact, a formal investigation by the L.A. Coroner's Office ultimately did lead to it being ruled an accident, but the circumstances indicated that it could just as likely have been a suicide.

Either way, I could see her not wanting to do any sort of mother/son scenes with Ritchie. :(

This may be a little out of place here, but I thought that the character Richie, not Larry Matthews was gay. I am pretty sure that I have seen one of Mary Tyler Moore's variety episodes where a Rob and Laura sketch had been done, in which Richie tells his parents. If so, I think that it would have been much better for Carl Reiner, eventhough he may not have had a part in the 1979 special, to keep the accuracy from the original series, as well as any reunions along the way. Would it really have been so bad to have him portraying a gay man?

Steering it back to the topic at hand...
On why Ritchie was not seen more in the Revisited special...

I believe it is because Larry Mazzeo, a.k.a. Larry Matthews, has not been a professional actor since the Dick Van Dyke Show left the air in 1966. Unlike other child actors, Larry left acting behind and went to work instead in television production and in sales (I know Larry did a Nick at Nite promo with Dick, and yes, he did the DVD commentary, but I'm not aware of anything else). It's one thing to be cast as a young boy because you're cute and say a few lines, and quite another 40 years later and be called upon to work with two TV legends who have 12 acting Emmys between them and act on stage as their son. My own casting choice would have been to ask Jim Carrey to appear as Ritchie!

Originally posted by algebra74
This may be a little out of place here, but I thought that the character Richie, not Larry Matthews was gay. I am pretty sure that I have seen one of Mary Tyler Moore's variety episodes where a Rob and Laura sketch had been done, in which Richie tells his parents. If so, I think that it would have been much better for Carl Reiner, eventhough he may not have had a part in the 1979 special, to keep the accuracy from the original series, as well as any reunions along the way. Would it really have been so bad to have him portraying a gay man?

The Rob and Laura sketch was part of Mary's failed variety show and was totally played for laughs, as most variety show sketches are. It should not be considered part of Rob and Laura's real life. Also, in that sketch, Mel called Rob to say that Alan Brady had died and asked Rob to write his eulogy. Since Alan is obviously not dead yet it would also not make sense to use anything that was in that sketch.

HAHA. I had forgotten about that one!

Richie, gay, thats a new one!

Ok, I'll say it...

Richie didn't appear with Rob and Laura because he's fat and bald and now looks more like their contemporary than their son.

And Mary, who right out of the gate made sure we saw that she's still as slim and perky as ever, just couldn't allow that...

:groucho

Originally posted by Sitcom Sally
Ok, I'll say it...

Richie didn't appear with Rob and Laura because he's fat and bald and now looks more like their contemporary than their son.

And Mary, who right out of the gate made sure we saw that she's still as slim and perky as ever, just couldn't allow that...

:groucho


I never considered that before, but it makes sense....and all this time I thought that my MOTHER just thought that about ME! :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Sitcom Sally
Ok, I'll say it...

Richie didn't appear with Rob and Laura because he's fat and bald and now looks more like their contemporary than their son.

And Mary, who right out of the gate made sure we saw that she's still as slim and perky as ever, just couldn't allow that...

:groucho
:eek2:
Steve

Originally posted by Sitcom Sally
Ok, I'll say it...

Richie didn't appear with Rob and Laura because he's fat and bald and now looks more like their contemporary than their son.

And Mary, who right out of the gate made sure we saw that she's still as slim and perky as ever, just couldn't allow that...

:groucho

Well, I gotta agree that's the reason. But I thought he did a good job and I'm glad he wasn't left out.
But, by the same token, would Laura
have gotten a facelift? I doubt it.

You are too funny Sitcom Sally :lol: I'm sure that's not the reason why Larry's part was so small but I have to admit when I first saw the promo group pics for the reunion I was like "OMG Mary so doesn't look old enough to be his mom" I know her youthful/plasticy appearance has become a worn out subject around here but I don't think she stands out from the rest of the cast any more than during the series. She was by far the most attractive cast member back in the 60s (although I have to admit Dick was pretty cute too :D ) so why shouldn't she stand out as being the most attractive in the cast today??

Personally, I don't think Mary looks all that attractive today. She's got a bad facelift but the rest of her is old and wrinkled. Especially her neck and hands. And she's way too skinny. But she probably think she looks good.

Originally posted by hawaii five-o
Personally, I don't think Mary looks all that attractive today. She's got a bad facelift but the rest of her is old and wrinkled. Especially her neck and hands. And she's way too skinny. But she probably think she looks good.

You must be under 40 years of age. Those of us over 40 tend to have a little more compassion about this sort of thing ;) , though I agree that Mary's facelift looks bad. Ahh well, there in a few years go I, (without the face lift! :lol: )

Lolac

...the rumors of MTM having multiple plastic surgeries date all the way back to the late '60s. I remember hearing it as a kid, and I'm, well... older now! Partially to blame were the gossip rags, which were a lot worse then than they are now. At least today they seem to aim for a grain of the truth.

But, where there's smoke...:eek:

So what's the big deal about Mary Tyler Moore's plastic surgeries? I mean, practically everyone in Hollywood has had something done. The only reason that I can figure out as to why people are making such a big deal about her plastic surgeries is that she has had a lot of them. Is this true?

Originally posted by algebra74
So what's the big deal about Mary Tyler Moore's plastic surgeries? I mean, practically everyone in Hollywood has had something done. The only reason that I can figure out as to why people are making such a big deal about her plastic surgeries is that she has had a lot of them. Is this true?

No, it's because she looks bad.

Lolac :(

No, it's because she looks bad.
Really? Please elaborate on how she looks bad. I think that she looks very well for a 67 year-old woman.

Originally posted by algebra74
Really? Please elaborate on how she looks bad. I think that she looks very well for a 67 year-old woman.

Her eyebrows and smile look pulled so tight, it's painful. It looks un-natural. Of course, I suppose you're not looking at her eyebrows, now are you?

:grineyes:

Lolac

In cosmetology circles, I've heard it said that the best make-up job is the one that makes the woman appear to have none on. Likewise, I suppose the only plastic surgery that looks good is the one you can't detect as having been done.
Either way, I suppose, it's all in the eye of the beholder?

Steve

I think people should be allowed to age gracefully without plastic surgery. Also, when an actor or actress gets plastic surgery and tries to look 20 when their 60, it limits their roles. Instead, they should forget plastic surgery and pursue grandma and grandpa roles, which are usually better anyway.

Originally posted by hawaii five-o
I think people should be allowed to age gracefully without plastic surgery. Also, when an actor or actress gets plastic surgery and tries to look 20 when their 60, it limits their roles. Instead, they should forget plastic surgery and pursue grandma and grandpa roles, which are usually better anyway.

I agree with you. It used to be rare for older actresses to get good roles. That is changing and a number of excellent movies have been made in recent years featuring actresses who'll never see 50 again.

MTM was a beautiful young lady. I'm sure she would have been a beautiful senior citizen if she had let God do the natural thing. She doesn't look terrible in my opinion, just unnatural. It's only going to get worse when she gets older.

Originally posted by Charlie Chan
I agree with you. It used to be rare for older actresses to get good roles. That is changing and a number of excellent movies have been made in recent years featuring actresses who'll never see 50 again.

MTM was a beautiful young lady. I'm sure she would have been a beautiful senior citizen if she had let God do the natural thing. She doesn't look terrible in my opinion, just unnatural. It's only going to get worse when she gets older.

I don't think Mary deserves to be bashed for having a few facelifts. It's important to consider the purpose of cosmetic surgeries. Young people in Hollywood today are using plastic surgery to transform themselves from average into so called physically perfect beings (reality TV) and in some cases the extreme transformation becomes a disaster (Michael Jackson)

Mary was blessed with NATURAL physically perfect beauty and did not attempt to alter her appearance in her youth through cosmetic surgery like so many others do. What she is doing now is simply trying to preserve some of her natural beauty and by doing so she is beginning to look a little unnatural. My point is that Mary is not using plastic surgery to be someone she isn't...she is just using it to be a younger version of herself.