Was Ted Baxter Really So Unlikeable on 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show???' - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 01-27-2011, 06:41 PM

Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” A vain and shallow buffoon who somehow — 34-year-old spoiler alert — manages to be the only person to keep his job in the series finale, despite being the most deserving to lose it.

http://www.rrstar.com/updates/x18680...-TV-miscreants

Family Ties Forever! · 01-30-2011, 01:44 AM

Ted was funny. I would lump him in with Sue Ann and Phyllis. All three were vain and mean, but at times funny. Out of those three I liked him the most.

Brian Damage · 01-30-2011, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Family Ties Forever!

Ted was funny. I would lump him in with Sue Ann and Phyllis. All three were vain and mean, but at times funny. Out of those three I liked him the most.

Good points, I am not sure if MTM originally wanted viewers to hate him, but he was so over the top, you loved him. I know MTM wanted viewers to like Phyllis and Sue Ann, but they were a lot more unlikeable than Ted. IMO

old grouch · 01-30-2011, 03:14 PM

That picture is hilarious!!!

I think if the cast of of MTM was like a family, Ted would be like the younger brother, bratty and annoying, but someone whom you would be protective of. Phyllis and Sue Ann would be like the self absorbed older sisters, whom you would take pleasure in annoying.

Kristen · 01-30-2011, 03:27 PM

Ted kind of reminds me of Bulldog on Frasier - He's not somebody you'd want to work with, but as a TV character, he's funny. And most of the things Ted said or did, he didn't even realize anything was wrong. So you really couldn't blame him.

My 2 cents.

- Kristen

Family Ties Forever! · 01-31-2011, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kristen

Ted kind of reminds me of Bulldog on Frasier - He's not somebody you'd want to work with, but as a TV character, he's funny. And most of the things Ted said or did, he didn't even realize anything was wrong. So you really couldn't blame him.

My 2 cents.

- Kristen

Yeah he was kind of like Bulldog, lol.

True, you couldn't really blame Ted. Things just didn't tend to dawn on him,
I remember one episode Mary brought a paper to Ted while he was on the air. She told him to read it. When he started silently reading it she told him, "Out loud."

PGood97041 · 01-31-2011, 10:16 PM

To me, in the very early episodes Ted was vain and pompous, and he actually was kind of unlikeable.
But then they started writing him as so out-to-lunch-without-a-sandwich you couldn't help but think, OMG, what is he going to come out with next!
Add in the fact that he actually had the anchor job at WJM, and the recipe for hilarious situations was there.
And they later occasionally showed a softer side of Ted.
By the end, he was so loveable that even when he pulled one of his "I'm going to pretend I'm siding with Lou, but I'm really siding with you, Mary", she still couldn't really be mad at him!

OH Nuts! · 02-01-2011, 08:17 PM

He was pretty unlikeable to me - but - you kinda new he wasn't the brightest bulb on the block - and so you sort of tolerated him - lol- with his maturity )immaturity) level and childish antics he always reminded me of a baby chimp -

And yes, Phyllis and Sue Ann were nothing to write home about either.

But of all three, Phyllis is the one I disliked the most.

01-27-2011, 06:41 PM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Was Ted Baxter Really So Unlikeable on 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show???' Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” A vain and shallow buffoon who somehow — 34-year-old spoiler alert — manages to be the only person to keep his job in the series finale, despite being the most deserving to lose it. http://www.rrstar.com/updates/x18680...-TV-miscreants
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01-30-2011, 01:44 AM	#2
Family Ties Forever! Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 16, 2002 Location: Keaton residence Posts: 10,214	Ted was funny. I would lump him in with Sue Ann and Phyllis. All three were vain and mean, but at times funny. Out of those three I liked him the most.
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01-30-2011, 03:27 PM	#5
Kristen Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 17, 2000 Location: New York, USA Posts: 4,042	Ted kind of reminds me of Bulldog on Frasier - He's not somebody you'd want to work with, but as a TV character, he's funny. And most of the things Ted said or did, he didn't even realize anything was wrong. So you really couldn't blame him. My 2 cents. - Kristen
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01-30-2011, 03:14 PM	#4
old grouch Member Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2010 Location: montana Posts: 1,877	That picture is hilarious!!! I think if the cast of of MTM was like a family, Ted would be like the younger brother, bratty and annoying, but someone whom you would be protective of. Phyllis and Sue Ann would be like the self absorbed older sisters, whom you would take pleasure in annoying.

01-31-2011, 10:16 PM	#7
PGood97041 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 03, 2008 Location: Boston Posts: 747	To me, in the very early episodes Ted was vain and pompous, and he actually was kind of unlikeable. But then they started writing him as so out-to-lunch-without-a-sandwich you couldn't help but think, OMG, what is he going to come out with next! Add in the fact that he actually had the anchor job at WJM, and the recipe for hilarious situations was there. And they later occasionally showed a softer side of Ted. By the end, he was so loveable that even when he pulled one of his "I'm going to pretend I'm siding with Lou, but I'm really siding with you, Mary", she still couldn't really be mad at him!

02-01-2011, 08:17 PM	#8
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	He was pretty unlikeable to me - but - you kinda new he wasn't the brightest bulb on the block - and so you sort of tolerated him - lol- with his maturity )immaturity) level and childish antics he always reminded me of a baby chimp - And yes, Phyllis and Sue Ann were nothing to write home about either. But of all three, Phyllis is the one I disliked the most.