Did 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' Ever "Date" Itself? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 05-26-2012, 10:00 PM

Bob Newhart in a recent interview says HIS show still holds up today because it really never "dated" itself with many references from that era. Now, we know TMTMS is an all-time classic, but were there any references or episodes that totally dated itself???

TVFactFan · 05-27-2012, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

Bob Newhart in a recent interview says HIS show still holds up today because it really never "dated" itself with many references from that era. Now, we know TMTMS is an all-time classic, but were there any references or episodes that totally dated itself???

Well one example of MTM dating itself was the ep when Mary and Rhoda went to a divorce club to find a man-lol

No way would they have had to do that to find a man in 2012.lol

Another example is Rhoda deciding to mail a guy a letter to ask him how he feels about her. In 2012 she could have sent a text or email

ajgenard · 05-27-2012, 02:23 AM

Outside of characters' attitudes (and of course certain fashions) I think the show rarely dates itself. Granted, some plot lines revolve around Mary & other females in desperation because they're not married but the show is still amazingly relatable in the post-feminist world. And this is coming from a 26 y/o straight man. As compared to The Bob Newhart Show, it's probably slightly more dated simply because they weren't as stingy with the cultural references as Bob Newhart was. Particularly when dealing with contemporary newscasters. Every time Cronkite comes up it just SCREAMS 60s/70s to me. But those are minor offenses that are just too infrequent to distinctly label it a product of it's time.

old grouch · 05-27-2012, 12:16 PM

Some of the clothes that they wear are dated. Also, it seemed like Mary was always expected to make the coffee for the newsroom because she was a woman. Other than that, it's not very dated.

Cloud9 Lorraine · 05-27-2012, 05:27 PM

I think much about the show is dated, however, it was so well-written and used humor that never goes out of style. In that regard, it is not dated at all. What is dated, as others already mentioned, are clothing styles, and the way they did things -- looking for dates by joining a divorce club, using typewriters in the newsroom and the way newsroom ran in general.

Dianne3 · 05-28-2012, 03:24 PM

Yes - when money was discussed.

Examples of when money was discussed are when Mary & Rhoda are discussing their rents, when Lou wants to buy a bar, when it's mentioned how much Ted makes etc.

However, their were no cultural references.

Leslie Eckhardt · 06-09-2012, 12:04 AM

To me it's just the god-awful men's fashions that date the show. I wore some of these same now-hideous things myself! The same thing applies to most 70's shows. The dry-look helmet hair styles the men had don't look so great either. I still love TMTMS however. Dated trappings don't date well-written shows, they just turn them into period pieces like Mad Men.

05-26-2012, 10:00 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	Did 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' Ever "Date" Itself? Bob Newhart in a recent interview says HIS show still holds up today because it really never "dated" itself with many references from that era. Now, we know TMTMS is an all-time classic, but were there any references or episodes that totally dated itself???
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05-27-2012, 02:23 AM	#3
ajgenard Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 09, 2011 Location: PA Posts: 369	Outside of characters' attitudes (and of course certain fashions) I think the show rarely dates itself. Granted, some plot lines revolve around Mary & other females in desperation because they're not married but the show is still amazingly relatable in the post-feminist world. And this is coming from a 26 y/o straight man. As compared to The Bob Newhart Show, it's probably slightly more dated simply because they weren't as stingy with the cultural references as Bob Newhart was. Particularly when dealing with contemporary newscasters. Every time Cronkite comes up it just SCREAMS 60s/70s to me. But those are minor offenses that are just too infrequent to distinctly label it a product of it's time.

05-27-2012, 12:16 PM	#4
old grouch Member Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2010 Location: montana Posts: 1,877	Some of the clothes that they wear are dated. Also, it seemed like Mary was always expected to make the coffee for the newsroom because she was a woman. Other than that, it's not very dated.

05-27-2012, 05:27 PM	#5
Cloud9 Lorraine Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 10, 2007 Location: NY Posts: 342	I think much about the show is dated, however, it was so well-written and used humor that never goes out of style. In that regard, it is not dated at all. What is dated, as others already mentioned, are clothing styles, and the way they did things -- looking for dates by joining a divorce club, using typewriters in the newsroom and the way newsroom ran in general.

05-28-2012, 03:24 PM	#6
Dianne3 Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 07, 2002 Posts: 1,057	Yes - when money was discussed. Examples of when money was discussed are when Mary & Rhoda are discussing their rents, when Lou wants to buy a bar, when it's mentioned how much Ted makes etc. However, their were no cultural references.

06-09-2012, 12:04 AM	#7
Leslie Eckhardt Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 24, 2011 Posts: 293	To me it's just the god-awful men's fashions that date the show. I wore some of these same now-hideous things myself! The same thing applies to most 70's shows. The dry-look helmet hair styles the men had don't look so great either. I still love TMTMS however. Dated trappings don't date well-written shows, they just turn them into period pieces like Mad Men.