Was The 1st Episode Of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' Really A Big Bomb? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 04-01-2011, 10:21 AM

I have been reading articles where the critics hated it, the studio audience barely laughed at the jokes and Mary actually cried after the tapings because she thought the show was going to get canned. Was this all true? In your own opinion, was the first episode really that much of a train wreck???

OH Nuts! · 04-01-2011, 04:23 PM

I loved it as I do practically all of the eps. I can't even think of an ep I even remotely disliked. As far as I'm concerned it was wonderful right from the get go.

Sometimes artists are too close to their work to judge them objectively. Also, you just never know what's gonna take with the public. (I remember reading that Claudette Colbert thought "It Happened One Night" was the worst picture she ever made right after making it - and the movie went on to win a heap of awards and become a classic)

Retro4Life · 04-01-2011, 09:08 PM

I thought it was just fine.

It was a new type of show, and critics probably didn't know how to react. A single woman on her own, no boyfriend, 30 years old with a cast of characters we didn't know yet and a setting that was unfamiliar. It may have taken them a while to understand and warm to it.

Not me, of course.

LittleRickyII · 04-01-2011, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

I have been reading articles where the critics hated it, the studio audience barely laughed at the jokes and Mary actually cried after the tapings because she thought the show was going to get canned. Was this all true? In your own opinion, was the first episode really that much of a train wreck???

The first episode was filmed twice. It was the first version (which never aired) that bombed in front of the studio audience and had Mary Tyler Moore in tears. Grant Tinker sent the writers back to tweak the script, and a couple days later it was re-shot with those minor script changes incorporated, and it clicked with the second studio audience. Everyone (Mary included) considered this second attempt to have been a success. Here she is discussing it in this clip, starting at 13:10:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-vXO...mbedded#at=497

What critics are you referring to that hated the first episode? I've never seen anything but positive reviews after the show premiered. Here are a few reviews of the first episode right after it aired in 1970. There seemed to be a consensus among the critics that it was one of the best new shows of the season:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...er+moore&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...er+moore&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...er+moore&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...er+moore&hl=en

tmac81s · 05-19-2011, 11:23 PM

quite surprising to hear! but I loved the first ep, it's one of my favorites. i've probably seen it more than any other!

04-01-2011, 10:21 AM	#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 The 1st Episode Of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' Really A Big Bomb? I have been reading articles where the critics hated it, the studio audience barely laughed at the jokes and Mary actually cried after the tapings because she thought the show was going to get canned. Was this all true? In your own opinion, was the first episode really that much of a train wreck???
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04-01-2011, 04:23 PM	#2
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	I loved it as I do practically all of the eps. I can't even think of an ep I even remotely disliked. As far as I'm concerned it was wonderful right from the get go. Sometimes artists are too close to their work to judge them objectively. Also, you just never know what's gonna take with the public. (I remember reading that Claudette Colbert thought "It Happened One Night" was the worst picture she ever made right after making it - and the movie went on to win a heap of awards and become a classic)
	Last edited by OH Nuts!; 04-02-2011 at 04:20 PM.

04-01-2011, 09:08 PM	#3
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	I thought it was just fine. It was a new type of show, and critics probably didn't know how to react. A single woman on her own, no boyfriend, 30 years old with a cast of characters we didn't know yet and a setting that was unfamiliar. It may have taken them a while to understand and warm to it. Not me, of course.
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05-19-2011, 11:23 PM	#5
tmac81s Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 06, 2011 Location: Kalispell, MT, USA Posts: 203	quite surprising to hear! but I loved the first ep, it's one of my favorites. i've probably seen it more than any other!
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