I'm sure this has come up before, but it's probably been a while, so.. What is your favorite opening for MTM?

Myself, my favorite is probably the sequence, along with the music, used for the seventh and final season.
Really, I pretty much like them all, but season three loses me a little.

Season one is pretty good, I like the scenes of Mary driving into Minneapolis, I just don't really care for the going away party sequence..

Originally posted by Restless
I'm sure this has come up before, but it's probably been a while, so.. What is your favorite opening for MTM?

Myself, my favorite is probably the sequence, along with the music, used for the seventh and final season.
Really, I pretty much like them all, but season three loses me a little.

Season one is pretty good, I like the scenes of Mary driving into Minneapolis, I just don't really care for the going away party sequence..

Not having really watched this show in awhile, I'd have to say the first season. I like how it kind of gave you the premise of the show. But really, they're all good. I'd have to say my favorite part was always the famous hat-toss thing. hehe.

Kristen

I like season one the best. However, I like the scenes from the later seasons where she's washing her car and where she is shopping and throws the meat into her cart with a disgusted look on her face. Then there's the hat toss.

Season 1. Hat toss is the best! :D

"Thank you" to the person who started this thread! One of the unique traits of this show is that I can tell from the opening credits which season it is. (Until seasons 6 & 7, then it gets dicey and it changed within those seasons, as well.) Anyway, on to my answer:

SEASON 3:
I like this opening the best because it contains more scenes from actual episodes (as opposed to scenes filmed exclusively for the opening montage).

Side Note:
I didn't care much for a version of the theme song used intermittently during season 7 -- it was too "soft". There are lots of flutes and violins and no trumpets. (Yeah, it's a weird observation but when else am I going to get this opportunity?)

Originally posted by ~Dreamer2004
Season 1. Hat toss is the best! :D

That was in the opening of every season.

TVgen, I was just curious; the version that you don't care for, are you referring to the shortened, instrumental version?

It's kind of interesting, and yes, believe it or not, I do have somewhat of a life, but..
When I watched MTM on Nick, many, many years ago now, most of season six had the shortened, instrumental theme, but every now and then, they'd play the complete opening(the one used from season four on).

Then with the seventh season, there was a slightly revamped version of the opening, but on Nick, only a few episodes had it, where on video, and maybe TVLand(but I'm not certain), just about all the episodes feature it).

I guess it's obvious that some tampering has been done with the opening sequences through the years.. I wonder how they were all arranged when it originally aired.

One more quick example.. When season four aired on Nick, it normally featured the pic of mary walking with the school children, and only once in a blue moon was the pic of Mary & Rhoda walking by the shops used.. The latter version also features a different shot of Mary walking by the lake, she doesn't turn around.. However, on video, all the episodes from season four feature the shot of Mary & Rhoda, and the alternate shot of Mary by the lake, where doesn't turn around. .

It would make sense that the pic of Mary & Rhoda was used for season four, considering Rhoda was still a big part of the series, but why did Nick usually feature the version with the school children instead?

Originally posted by Restless
TVgen, I was just curious; the version that you don't care for, are you referring to the shortened, instrumental version?

It's kind of interesting, but..most of season six had the shortened, instrumental theme, but every now and then, they'd play the complete opening(the one used from season four on).


I was referring to the full-length version of the 7th season opening. It opens with an electric organ and seems to feature strings and woodwinds. (Earlier versions were more brass- and percussion-heavy.)

Although I'm familiar with the shortened version you mentioned, I cannot say for certain why it was used. Two possibilities come to mind:

[list=1]
This was part of the original run and used when air time may have been shortened due to: scheduling irregularities (e.g., sporting events, special presentations) or increased ad space.
It was created for use in syndication, when time slots are more "ad-heavy". (The cause of all those deleted scenes, making us jump out of our chairs and scream, "WHAT THE...?!")
[/list=1]
Otherwise, part of my comment was that seasons 6 & 7 seemed to have more than one version of the opening sequence. (Obviously something you've also noticed.) This makes them harder to identify solely by the opening. It's even more confusing since some versions were used in each of those seasons!

I like the openings from seasons
one and two the best by far. And
I especially like the ones with
the outtake of Mary breaking up
at something Cloris Leachman has
said and Cloris' surprise and glee
at having gotten her. Just a nice moment.

The first season song and sequence is my favorite. :)

Season 1 is my favorite. Though I enjoy all of them. Considering I was someone who mimicked the hat toss as a kid, of course it's one of my favorite themes of all time. :lol: :)

I also liked the season 1 song & opening sequence the best.

my favorite's season 1.

Right now I just have S1 and S4 to compare (long story, I ended up buying the DVDs backwards pretty much so I watched a little of S4 before getting the rest). As an opening theme tune, the "Who can turn the world on..." version gets my nod, taking the opening sequence with it. When I think of the part after the first "You're gonna make it after all" (Dun-dun-dun-dun, dun-dun, dun dun DUN DUN dun...) I see Mary hugging everyone in my mind :-)

However, the funky camera effects with the first-season arrangement are pretty obsession-forming too.

The closing theme is a bit tougher, as the "mellow" one of later seasons is good, but I really like the instrumental partial-reprise of the opening theme of Season One. The arrangement is sharp and exciting, and I like the end of song stinger + Mimsie's meow in the MTM logo.

I like season one the best. However, I like the scenes from the later seasons where she's washing her car and where she is shopping and throws the meat into her cart with a disgusted look on her face. Then there's the hat toss.

I also like the face she makes when she pops up from behind the car. As for the meat, if she is digusted, I wonder why she is buying it anyway? (I probably need to pay more attention when I get back to those eps., but that part of the supermarket always looked like a bakery to me)

As for the hat toss, of course I'd be remiss if we didn't mention the end sequence of Rhoda episodes :-)

^ I think the digusted reaction to the meat was probably the price. That is my guess. :lol:

Wow. As a relative newcomer to the MTM message board, I'm amazed at how detailed some of the observations are.
I can't honestly pick a favorite open, as I thought they were all good and they mixed and matched and updated each season...and comparing the music is way beyond me. What I will rank are my favorite scenes from all the openings:
1) The hat toss. An iconic moment in television...no matter how many times you saw it, you always marveled at how she happened to get it to frisbee up like that, and how the camera framed it so nicely
2) The car wash. I could actually picture Mary in her Fran Tarkenton Vikings shirt out washing her car, and one season suddenly there it was. And I liked how she just kind of popped her head up.
3) The meat toss. I agree it probably was meant to be because of the price, but it also could have been whether she was on a diet and was cheating, or whether she even thought eating meat was ok. It just showed something that a regular person would do.

Honorable mention: Her looking back at the joggers, her squishing, then fixing, Ted's hat, and her crossing the street with the kids. I enjoyed MTM and Cloris cracking up, and am glad they included it, but I thought that looked more like a blooper.

^ I think the digusted reaction to the meat was probably the price. That is my guess. :lol:

See what happens when I try to read into things? I miss the obvious :-)