Sitcom What-Ifs: CBS says Y-E-S to "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman"

[stevearino]

Hello Out There From TV Land,

I was thinking to myself a bit ago about doing a series of posts called Sitcom What-Ifs, where yours truly, Steve Arino, discusses select TV Sitcoms and how, IMHO, they would have done IF they'd been on different networks in a parallel universe.

For my FIRST Sitcom What-Ifs: What If CBS, instead of saying N-O to "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" (as both NBC and ABC would both say soon thereafter to Norman Lear), had said Y-E-S instead to airing "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" once a week, airing Saturday nights at 9 P.M. ET on the CBS Television Network via all CBS Television Network stations nationwide?

As I'm sure you all know, IRL "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" enjoyed a successful 2-year run in First-Run Syndication from January 5, 1976 - April 7, 1978 for 455 episodes, with Louise Lasser leaving the show after Season 1 of 325 episodes and the 2nd season, without Louise, re-named "Forever Fernwood," with Greg Mullavey as Tom Hartman becoming the lead character after Louise Lasser's Mary Hartman character left him for Sgt. Bruce Foley (Dennis Solomon) at the end of the first season of "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."

Midway through Season 1 of "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," Martin Mull made his debut as Garth Gimble, a wife beater who eventually killed himself on an aluminum Christmas tree in his home closet--an experience that would lead him to spin off into the '70s sitcom "Fernwood 2-Night" as Barth Gimble, Garth's identical twin brother, the host of a fictional local late-night TV talk show also called "Fernwood 2-Night" joined alongside sidekick/announcer Jerry Hubbard (Fred Willard) and bandleader Happy Kyne (Frank DeVol).

After "Forever Fernwood" forever ended on April 7, 1978, Season 2 of "Fernwood 2-Night" made its debut on April 10, 1978, with the setting changed from the fictional small town of Fernwood, Ohio to the similarly small town of Alta Coma, California, "the unfinished furniture capital of the world," telecast on the fictional UBS Television Network as "America 2-Night," with both the real and fictional show re-named "America 2-Night" for its 2nd season, allowing many guest celebrities such as Charlton Heston, Cindy Williams and Gary Burghoff to make one-shot guest appearances as themselves.

The following Summer, Norman Lear said goodbye to TV and also decided to end "Fernwood 2-Night," with the series finale telecast on July 7, 1978 by having stars Martin Mull and Fred Willard appear as both themselves AND their regular characters.

But think about this: in a parallel universe, what if CBS had said Y-E-S to airing "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" instead of rejecting the show flat out? Would the show have been a BIGGER hit? AND could it have lasted longer had it aired once a week in Prime Time on Saturday nights on CBS as well as "Fernwood 2-Night" on Saturday nights at 9 P.M. ET after "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" on CBS? Think about it: the Fall 1976 TV season on Saturday nights on CBS could have easily been the all-Norman Lear block, with "All in the Family" at 8 P.M. ET, followed by "The Jeffersons" at 8:30 P.M. ET, "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" at 9 P.M. ET and "Fernwood 2-Night" at 9:30 P.M. ET on the CBS Television Network via most CBS Television Network stations.

Many years after his retirement from TV, Norman Lear attempted a comeback IRL with a sitcom vehicle for Paul Rodriguez airing on the ABC Television Network called "aka Pablo," with Paul Rodriguez starring as struggling stand-up comic Paul Rivera; the sitcom lasted just SIX WEEKS on ABC's Spring 1984 lineup.

It would have been a VERY interesting Fall 1976 lineup had CBS said Y-E-S to "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."

Before I finish, just one more thing: if you want somebody to be your friend, you've got to be a friend to them. Bye Bye.