Usually the pilot or the 1st episode is considered to be the weakest of a HIT SERIES. Is this the case with TMTMS?


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RnlFOOpc8ls/SmVJo-e5i_I/AAAAAAAABdw/xl3mfVamerU/s400/Mary+Tyler+Moore1.jpg

I think the 1st episode holds up very well, in part due to the interview scene between Mary and Ed Asner. That scene has become a classic segment of '70s TV, repeated numerous times on retrospective shows over the years.

I think the 1st episode holds up very well, in part due to the interview scene between Mary and Ed Asner. That scene has become a classic segment of '70s TV, repeated numerous times on retrospective shows over the years.
:yeahthat

"You've got a lot of spunk. I hate spunk!!"

It holds up,but I do think the first episode was one of the weakest of the entire series.

I actually think the pilot is among my favorites. Usually, in a sitcom, the pilot isn't that great, b/c characters aren't quite "there" yet, or the storyline still needs work or whatever. But TMTMS came out w/ a bang right away. Mary and Ed's timing in the interview scene is just amazing. That scene alone makes it a classic, IMO.

I actually think the pilot is among my favorites. Usually, in a sitcom, the pilot isn't that great, b/c characters aren't quite "there" yet, or the storyline still needs work or whatever. But TMTMS came out w/ a bang right away. Mary and Ed's timing in the interview scene is just amazing. That scene alone makes it a classic, IMO.

I agree. (Surprising, huh, hehe :D ) The first episode is classic. I remember hearing something about how they actually aired the pilot once but not getting a whole lot of love for it, and then made it to what we know it to be now, and it was a hit. Can't recall where I heard that, but it might've been on a special or something.

I also like how they made Rhoda an enemy of sorts for Mary in the first episode, with Rhoda trying to claim Mary's apartment.