Any thoughts on the episode where Mary had to work during Christmas?
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More pictures from the Christmas episode.
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Thanks for the pictures! I have looked all over the web for some and couldn't find any. I got stuck working today and thought of Mary. It made it a little better. :)

Thanks for the pictures! I have looked all over the web for some and couldn't find any. I got stuck working today and thought of Mary. It made it a little better. :)

I had to work today, AND I'm working tomorrow. So I can def. relate to Mary. This is one of my fave Christmas eps! I also love "Not a Christmas Story" from Season 5. Watching the gang sing "12 Days of Christmas" is classic! I love how Lou yells, "Three French hens!" without even singing it. LOL

- Kristen

Awesome!

Thanks for the captures! I was just asking Kristen last night if she knew where I could find any. Oh yes! THE BEST Christmas episode EVER!!! ;) I still need to see it tonight. I thought of starting a tradition of watching it every year at Christmas Eve (last year).

My mother and I just finished watching "The Muppets Christmas Carol" and now she and my father are watching the rest of "A Christmas Story" on TBS.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

(~Erin~)

Erin, I thought of you the minute I saw this thread. :D

Mary certainly wasn't alone in having to work during Christmas, so many people have to do just that.

I love this episode. I watch it every year on Christmas Eve. :D

We had to drive somewhere last night, 12/31, and I grabbed a disk on my way out the door to make the long drive a bit more bearable.

Guess what? That episode was on that disk. I love that episode!

Happy New Year!

I can't tell you how much I love this episode! I think it's one of the best of the earlier ones in establishing the WJM camaraderie that made the show so great throughout its run.

And it's SO Christmas-y! From Mary having to work, to Phyllis bringing up Bess's presents (only Phyllis could carry off that plaid outfit!), to Mary and Rhoda exchanging gifts, to the guy at the transmitter also having to work but getting ready to go home, to the newsroom crew coming back for Mary, it's packed with holiday spirit! And those decorations!

I'd kind of forgotten about it, too. I finally got a DVD player last year and then bought Seasons 1-4, which I'm watching now (one episode every Saturday night). I'm definitely going to hold "Hard Luck Kid" out from now on and watch it just before Christmas every year!

P.S. This is my first post, so I hope it went all right. Also, MTM fans, never let up in terms of trying to get Seasons 5-7 put out!!!!!!!!

P.S.S. My favorite comedy from Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid II (loosely translated):
Lou: You gotta work Christmas
Mary: You mean I've got to work Christmas?
Lou: That's another way of putting it.

Hi, PGood! :) Nice to see a new face around here. I agree about never letting up on Fox about S5-7. If you need ideas on what you can do, see the "Season 5 Soon?" thread for petition links and an email address for Fox.

Hope you stick around!
- Kristen

Hi Kristen:
Thanks for the welcome.
Yes I've already signed two petitions, made two phone calls, and written two emails since I found out about this site.
And I plan to keep sending them out every once in a while until Fox gets its act together...although like others, I'm not too happy with the lack of responses!

Hi Kristen:
Thanks for the welcome.
Yes I've already signed two petitions, made two phone calls, and written two emails since I found out about this site.
And I plan to keep sending them out every once in a while until Fox gets its act together...although like others, I'm not too happy with the lack of responses!

Whoo!

Now that's a fan! (lol) [phone calls too? neat]

Welcome aboard, PGood. :D And thanks for sigining the petitions! FOX needs to get their ACT together!

I love this episode. I watch it every year on Christmas Eve. :D

Hey, cool. We both have the same tradition! ;)

Was there a second Mary Tyler Moore Christmas episode, and if so, could somebody remind me of the plot?
Maybe if Fox got its [expletive] together I'd have the DVDs from Seasons 5-7 and wouldn't have to ask!!!!

Was there a second Mary Tyler Moore Christmas episode, and if so, could somebody remind me of the plot?
Maybe if Fox got its [expletive] together I'd have the DVDs from Seasons 5-7 and wouldn't have to ask!!!!

Yes, Kristen mentioned it above. ^_^

"Not A Christmas Story" -- She can probably brief you on it more than I can. It's been quite sometime since I've seen it. I just remember the gang gathered around a table singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

i kinda remember that part, but i don't recall the plot...if nobody has the specifics i can probably google it
but that's why Fox MUST release seasons 5-7 so i can reacquaint myself with the fine points of these episodes!!!!

does anybody have a name of a fox exec who is in charge of DVD releases who i can bother with snail mail? it doesn't seem like these petitions and phone calls are having much effect

Now it's not completely Christmas for me until I see this episode.

Yes, Kristen mentioned it above. ^_^

"Not A Christmas Story" -- She can probably brief you on it more than I can. It's been quite sometime since I've seen it. I just remember the gang gathered around a table singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

Yeah, that's the one. It doesn't take place at Christmastime, it's just that Sue Ann was taping her Christmas special at the time (so she could go out of town during the holidays - I believe she said something about visiting her sister, whom we later meet and discover she hates, but I digress, hehe!). The gang is snowbound at work, and of course Sue Ann has all this food left over, so they have no choice but to go down and eat with her. She forces them to have a Christmas party and sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas." It's pretty funny, esp. when Lou yells "Three French hens!" when it's his turn, b/c he doesn't want to sing. LOL

Oh, right! They're all kind of mad at each other and then they have the party and sing "The 12 Days..."
Thanks for reminding me.
OMG, we MUST have seasons 5-7, and fast!!!!!!!!

I've heard a substantial edit is made in Christmas and The Hard Luck Kid II, Mary sings White Christmas and dances to the Nutcracker, but on the DVD set the scene is trimmed. I've never seen the original version. How much of White Christmas did she originally sing? "May your days be Merry" is the only lyric left on the dvd... I've looked on youtube hoping the edit would be posted (like someone did with WKRP) but no such luck.... Someone fill me in please!

Mary sings the ending of the song to the music:

May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

The audience on the show Mary's watching (not the MTM show studio audience) applauds, and Mary says "Thank you. For my next number...I think I'm going to cry." Then the Nutcracker begins; I think that's where the DVD picks up.

I'm lucky enough to have the uncut version on tape, but I can't post it to Youtube; sorry.

Thanks. For some reason TV Land took it out of their Christmas marathon for the last couple of years, and I was never able to see the edit.

Oh just a suggestion, maybe we can lobby Oprah to say something about getting Fox to release the last 3 seasons, she's always saying what a big fan of the show she is, that it is her favorite show, and when Oprah talks, people listen.

I'd have thought they'd at least release season 5, that season has the most memorable and popular episode of the series. I wish Fox would release the rest of it already.

I agree with all the wants for S5-7 (I'll be OK for now, as what they gave us is the Rhoda Era anyway...not quite ready to see the show without her yet ;-)). But unfortunately the reality is that business doesn't always = appreciation for art. "Money talks" is the bottom line, and I guess if you look at it as a business person, it should be.

I wonder, though, if Fox doesn't find the MTM series profitable, why not sell the library to Shout! Factory or someone that seems to release classics without the worry about business? Since they did good with Freaks and Geeks (that WAS Shout!, right?), maybe they can release PROPER versions of WKRP! Speaking of which, yes, I am interested in touching base with people with the non-Music Clearance Monstered versions of the certain TMTMS episodes off the current discs.

As A collector of christmas themed episodes with over 500 in my collection, the first season "Mary" episode is in my top 5 of all time....as for the dvd released musical edit of "white christmas".....the scene appears totally intact on the VHS release from the early 90's...it also doesn't have copyguard, so it can be easily transferred to dvd making a beautiful UNCUT version, tapes of it can be found rather cheaply on ebay........here's another interesting side note....the first season christmas episode of "That Girl" is also called "Christmas and the hard luck kid" where Ann must look after a child at a private school because his parents are traveling without him....basically the same episode premise, working at christmas and definately a tribute from the writers of mary to the first solo unmarried independent TV woman Ann Marie!

As A collector of christmas themed episodes with over 500 in my collection, the first season "Mary" episode is in my top 5 of all time....as for the dvd released musical edit of "white christmas".....the scene appears totally intact on the VHS release from the early 90's...it also doesn't have copyguard, so it can be easily transferred to dvd making a beautiful UNCUT version, tapes of it can be found rather cheaply on ebay........here's another interesting side note....the first season christmas episode of "That Girl" is also called "Christmas and the hard luck kid" where Ann must look after a child at a private school because his parents are traveling without him....basically the same episode premise, working at christmas and definately a tribute from the writers of mary to the first solo unmarried independent TV woman Ann Marie!

And another reason for that is (from TV.com):

James Brooks wrote the original "Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid" for the first season of That Girl. (edit)

Thanks for the info on the VHS, I will look for it. I have the 90's VHS releases of WKRP and I think there are some music edits in them... Although the "Hot Blooded" Les Nessman wig scene is intact... The quality is terrible though... Recorded in EP....

There aren't that many music edits on TMTMS, are there? I remember Fox was asked to let shout release WKRP and Fox firmly said no.

I would think Fox would want to release the last three seasons so they can get the true fans to double dip on a "complete series" box like so many other shows....

Yeah, that's the one. It doesn't take place at Christmastime, it's just that Sue Ann was taping her Christmas special at the time (so she could go out of town during the holidays - I believe she said something about visiting her sister, whom we later meet and discover she hates, but I digress, hehe!). The gang is snowbound at work, and of course Sue Ann has all this food left over, so they have no choice but to go down and eat with her. She forces them to have a Christmas party and sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas." It's pretty funny, esp. when Lou yells "Three French hens!" when it's his turn, b/c he doesn't want to sing. LOL
and; of course it's just Mary, Murray, Mr. Grant Ted, Georgette (of course:lol: ) and Sue Ann and noone else in the newsroom, or even the building!!!!! I mean; come on!!! These people are the only ones snowed in???? IN THE ENTIRE BUILDING????:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:



Seriously though; I never considered this a Christmas episode and I don't know why TV LAND has showed it as part of their "merrython".

That was a cute episode - but I thought it stunk that everyone else had the day off. :lol:

Well, I couldn't resist...I love this episode so much, I watched it last night!
It gets me into the Christmas spirit, and I'll probably watch it a few more times. There are a couple of other good sitcom Christmas episodes, but this is the best by far!

I also couldn't help but notice that I had my first post on this thread, and it was only about a year ago! It seems like it was a lot longer ago.
And this is no shock, but the subject of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment not putting out Seasons 5-7 came up!
At least we've made some progress on that score, though. Whereas last year there was no hope, at least now we have an official pronouncement that the seasons are coming out!

Well, I couldn't resist...I love this episode so much, I watched it last night!
It gets me into the Christmas spirit, and I'll probably watch it a few more times. There are a couple of other good sitcom Christmas episodes, but this is the best by far!

I also couldn't help but notice that I had my first post on this thread, and it was only about a year ago! It seems like it was a lot longer ago.
And this is no shock, but the subject of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment not putting out Seasons 5-7 came up!
At least we've made some progress on that score, though. Whereas last year there was no hope, at least now we have an official pronouncement that the seasons are coming out!
I really believe we wouldn't have that promise from Fox if not for you, PGood! :D It's hard to believe you only started coming here last year. "Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid" is one of my favorites. I usually have a marathon of Christmas eps. on Christmas Eve. I might make this one part of it, in spite of my self-imposed break from TMTMS.

- Kristen

aw, ty kristen, but i think it woulda happened anyway...like the guy said, "it was time"

but what's this about a self-imposed TMTMS break? it's never too good to stay away from TMTMS too long! unless you've watched the episodes so long you need a break, i suppose!

Well, I figured I wasn't going to watch until there was a release date for S5, then I could celebrate. But I've been going through withdrawals lately. LOL. Watching Dick Van Dyke does help, although it isn't quite the same.

- Kristen

I go through the same type of thing with the sitcoms I have on DVD. I'll cycle through them one episode a night until I've seen the entire series then put it away and watch the next one. Right now I'm wrapping up season 7 of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I have 9 episodes to go before I put Mary away for a while, but I might sneak in the two Christmas episodes before moving on to All in the Family.

I'll probably watch this episode again during the holidays too, along with a few other tv show christmas episodes.