We all know that, aside from having the character carry over, this was a different kind of program from MTM, obviously. I wondered what us MTM fans thought of it?

Nice topic as we wait for Season 5, JM!

When TMTMS ended, I remember really pining for Mary and the gang on Saturday nights. But I was 17, my senior year of high school was coming up, and college after that, so with so much going on I think that kind of helped me deal with the fact that the show was over...being busy.

But as a journalism student, the thought of a "Lou Grant" series kind of intrigued me. I didn't think they could, or should, do a serious show with the total Lou persona from TMTMS, but somehow I could work with them changing him to a real journalist.
And I gotta tell ya, for the first year and a half, that show was really solid! The topics were timely and interesting, I loved the Joe Rossi character, I thought "Animal" the photographer was cool, and Linda Kelsey as the female lead was smart and cute (remind you of anyone a tiny bit?). The theme song was catchy, perfect actually. As I was learning, the show was very realistic. Oh, and the lady who played the Tribune's owner was GREAT in that role!

Alas, partly because I was busy, partly because the excitement of some of the first plots wore off (which happens on a lot of shows, especially dramas), and partly because I eventually missed Lou's humor from TMTMS, I didn't watch as often after the first year and a half. But it was well done. I may be biased because I'm in that field, but I'm pretty sure anybody who watched would consider "Lou Grant" a worthwhile and creative effort.

I have a friend who is an MTM fan like me and saw LG back when it first aired. He loved it - he said the viewer really got a feel for the newspaper world and that the stories were compelling. I've never seen an episode of LG but would like to. Plus my man Gregory Sierra (:eyes:) was a guest star in the last season!!

I liked it when i first saw it, and I have been enjoying seeing the show again on American Life :thumbsup:

lou grant is one of tv;s all time great dramas i remember even watching it when as a kid and noticing that it was a cut above alot of other shows and how special the writing was

I didn't care for it. I just couldn't get into watching Lou without Mary, much like I couldn't watch Rhoda or Phyllis without Mary either.

Had I been a fan of the show, the turn off would have been when the latter seasons became a vehicle for Ed Asner's left leaning political views, which eventually caused it to be cancelled.