OH Nuts!
10-18-2011, 06:33 PM
The Mary Tyler Moore Show or his later show Too Close For Comfort.
For me its a standoff, I loved him in both. I liked the change of character as the kind of stuffy, but funny and steadfast cartoonist.
How do you all feel?
scotsguy
10-18-2011, 06:54 PM
I've never seen Ted in that show but "Too Close For Comfort" is the US
version of a UK sitcom called "Keep It In The Family".
Comparing the UK show to the MTMS show,"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
and Ted Baxter were way ahead of the other show.
Be interesting to see how Ted played the lead part in the US version.
shotzette
10-18-2011, 07:12 PM
I liked him better on tMTM Show. I thought the Ted Baxter character was more amusing--although over the top. IMO, MTM was the better show because it had a better cast and writing. TCfC always seemed uneven to me.
Brian Damage
10-18-2011, 10:32 PM
Both shows are good for different reasons, but for me Ted Knight will always be Ted Baxter.
OH Nuts!
10-19-2011, 06:12 PM
Both shows are good for different reasons, but for me Ted Knight will always be Ted Baxter.
I totally get that. But he was so great in Too Close For Comfort that for me it's a dead heat...what evens it for me is that Henry Rush is a more likeable character. (But Ted Baxter was definitely funnier)
Mr. Television
10-19-2011, 06:24 PM
I liked him on both but I don't think TMTMS ever JTS. TCFC wasn't the same after Sarah and Jackie left the show.
LittleRickyII
10-19-2011, 07:30 PM
I liked him better on tMTM Show. I thought the Ted Baxter character was more amusing--although over the top. IMO, MTM was the better show because it had a better cast and writing. TCfC always seemed uneven to me.
I totally agree with you. TMTMS is a timeless classic, superbly written and acted, while Too Close for Comfort was a silly old mostly forgotten show that mainly survived on the air because if its lead in, Three's Company. It did well its first two seasons simply because TC preceded it (though there was still a drop in ratings compared to TC). It was moved to a different night for its third season and ratings plummeted and ABC yanked it off the air at the end of that season. It then went into first-run syndication for a couple years after that, never to return again to network TV.
I never thought the show was funny, except for one scene in one episode when Ted's character, Henry, had jury duty and fell asleep. (Most of the episodes were rather silly and uninspired, and the "comedy" dialogue was lame.) I remember an article in TV Guide where Nancy Dussault was interviewed and she was being very vocal about her displeasure with the show and its scripts, which obviously embarrassed her. But she had a contract so I guess she had to continue.
LittleRickyII
10-20-2011, 08:55 PM
I've never seen Ted in that show but "Too Close For Comfort" is the US
version of a UK sitcom called "Keep It In The Family".
Comparing the UK show to the MTMS show,"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
and Ted Baxter were way ahead of the other show.
Be interesting to see how Ted played the lead part in the US version.
Here you go, you can see it for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO0XR1QBJDE&feature=related
gopyle
10-22-2011, 07:03 PM
I would have to go with MTM. Mr. Knight was very good in both, but the Ted Baxter character is on of the all time classics.