What is fascinating about The Mary Tyler Moore Show today is that it is seldom laugh-out-loud funny. The appeal of the show, about a single woman trying to “make it on her own” in a TV newsroom, completely eludes my 17-year-old raised on The Simpsons — curious since executive producer James L. Brooks helped create both series.

Brooks, 70, gave those shows something other sitcoms often lack: heart. The lesson for producers hoping to create shows that can be enjoyed decades after they were produced is that turning the world on with a smile may be more important than edge, daring or sizzle.

The grip MTM still has on Boomers runs deep and much of that is due to the cast. For viewers who grew up with the series, watching it today is like flipping through an old family album. Mary Richards (Moore), Mr. Grant (Ed Asner), Murray (Gavin MacLeod), Rhoda (Valerie Harper), Phyllis (Cloris Leachman), Ted Baxter (the late Ted Knight) and, later in the series, Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White) seem more like old friends or even family members than sitcom actors.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/article/896825--little-things-made-mary-tyler-moore-and-other-golden-oldies-matter

...as when Lou, angered once again over Ted's mangling the news copy on the air, waits for him to leave the studio, holding a sheet of paper in his hand...

LOU: [handing paper to Ted] (menacing tone) Read this....
TED: [glancing at paper for a moment] "You're fried".
LOU: (exploding) YOU'RE FIRED!!!! You can't even read that right!!

...or when everyone seems to be barging into Mary's bathroom while she's in the tub...

...or when the lights go out while Mary's holding another one of her disastrous dinner parties, and Johnny Carson walks in....


:tv:

I totally disagree with the writer's opinion that TMTMS is seldom laugh-out loud funny, even today. Other than the first season, when it was picking up steam, I can't think of too many episodes in Seasons 2-7 that DIDN'T produce at least two or three LOL moments.

I mean, there are even more "famous" TMTMS LOL moments than the ones TV Knowledge Fan listed, and then there was the basic interaction, with all the characters doing and saying things that were funny that people could relate to, and ALSO the constant stream of one-liners. In the newsroom (Murray, Lou) AND at home (Rhoda). Lots of laughs!

I do agree with the writer that the show had "heart", and that the cast members seem like old friends...so when you combine "real" writing, human situations, well-liked characters, and one-liners, there were always two or three situations to chuckle at!

Uproarious laughter? Once in a while, certainly as much as any other great sitcom, but NO show ever could constantly pull that off. This was an EXTREMELY well-written show, very witty, and the real-life situations certainly can be identified with and appreciated. Overall, it stacks up at the top with any sitcom I've ever watched, and that's a lot of them!

I totally disagree with the writer's opinion that TMTMS is seldom laugh-out loud funny, even today. Other than the first season, when it was picking up steam, I can't think of too many episodes in Seasons 2-7 that DIDN'T produce at least two or three LOL moments.

I mean, there are even more "famous" TMTMS LOL moments than the ones TV Knowledge Fan listed, and then there was the basic interaction, with all the characters doing and saying things that were funny that people could relate to, and ALSO the constant stream of one-liners. In the newsroom (Murray, Lou) AND at home (Rhoda). Lots of laughs!

I do agree with the writer that the show had "heart", and that the cast members seem like old friends...so when you combine "real" writing, human situations, well-liked characters, and one-liners, there were always two or three situations to chuckle at!

Uproarious laughter? Once in a while, certainly as much as any other great sitcom, but NO show ever could constantly pull that off. This was an EXTREMELY well-written show, very witty, and the real-life situations certainly can be identified with and appreciated. Overall, it stacks up at the top with any sitcom I've ever watched, and that's a lot of them!

Wow. Great post. I totally agree and couldn't have said it better myself.

I both agree and disagree with this assessment. I think there were PLENTY of laugh out loud moments - every time Ted screwed up the news, when Mary introduced her vertically-challenged date to Rhoda as "Eric Shrimp" (!!), and Mary's awful parties - to name but a few. On the other hand, the show DID have plenty of warmth and heart...with some of the best cast and crew members to boot!!! :cool: :D

The MTM show is definitely laugh out loud funny.Heck, I think Ted Baxter alone was one of the funniest characters ever to appear on television.

The MTM show is definitely laugh out loud funny.Heck, I think Ted Baxter alone was one of the funniest characters ever to appear on television.

:yeahthat

I recently saw the pilot episode of TMTMS and always wondered how the show got sold with that. The best part was the scene between her and Lou Grant in the interview. The rest of the episode is dull at best.

I guess Mary Tyler Moore's name on the thing helped. I always think of this show in the same category as The Andy Griffith Show. It wasn't for Moore or Griffith why people watched their shows but because of the supporting cast of each show.

^ I agree with that, and I think you could also add Bob Newhart's name to that list. :yeahthat

The pilot wasn't laugh-out-loud funny, but what it did was quickly give a lot of character information so you knew what you were dealing with and the show could move onward and upward from there.

Also, I agree that Mary and Bob let their casts shine, which was to their credit. But I also think both of them were hilarious enough to have handled a more Lucille Ball-like role. They just didn't have to.

You have your Lucy-type sitcom, where everything happens to the central character, and a lot of it is funny, but it's not always so believable.
Then you have your Mary and Bob sitcom, more realistic, where not everything happens to the main character - but when you have a star who can play off others, it works very well.

There's nothing wrong with either style, I just happen to like the realism more. And Mary and Bob, who were funny themselves, sure were great playing off the other characters!

Exactly. Hal Linden (Barney Miller) was much the same way. Oh, and how could I forget to add Dick Van Dyke? He definitely let his supporting cast shine. :D